- Hardcover: 168 pages
- Publisher: Titan Books Ltd; De Luxe edition edition (18 Dec 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1848564317
- ISBN-13: 978-1848564312
- Product Dimensions: 28.2 x 18.8 x 1.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 421,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this on a whim after reading a short review that basically said: A Superman story that's actually good!
The story is based on one premise, and it's an extremely clever one with incredible cosequences: What if Superman had landed on Earth 12 hours earlier? ...and then been brought up as a good communist at the height of the cold war to become Mother Russias ultimate weapon/deterrant.
America is left with the cleverest man on Earth to find a solution: Lex Luthor.
Along the way we see the Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and a Russian Batman all try and 'stop' Superman from what seems at first an ideal way of leadership.
Enough said, if you have'nt read this I dont want to spoil it for you.
It's definatley one of the most clever stories I've read in a while with extremely well thought out issues. What could have been a boring political book is nothing but entertaining and a real page turner. And the ending...? One of the most jaw dropping that you'll remeber for a long long time.
Mark Miller is writer, Dave Johnson and Kilian Plunkett on artwork duties.
The story is based on one premise, and it's an extremely clever one with incredible cosequences: What if Superman had landed on Earth 12 hours earlier? ...and then been brought up as a good communist at the height of the cold war to become Mother Russias ultimate weapon/deterrant.
America is left with the cleverest man on Earth to find a solution: Lex Luthor.
Along the way we see the Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and a Russian Batman all try and 'stop' Superman from what seems at first an ideal way of leadership.
Enough said, if you have'nt read this I dont want to spoil it for you.
It's definatley one of the most clever stories I've read in a while with extremely well thought out issues. What could have been a boring political book is nothing but entertaining and a real page turner. And the ending...? One of the most jaw dropping that you'll remeber for a long long time.
Mark Miller is writer, Dave Johnson and Kilian Plunkett on artwork duties.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm not a big reader of comics, though I do occasionally like to dabble. The idea of this I found intriguing - an alternate history of a fictional, and yet familiar enough with a big enough back story and enough cultural cachet to justify an alternate history all of his own.
Essentially, without damaging the enjoyment of anyone that wishes to read this for himself, Superman arrive on Earth 12 hours earlier than he would have in the established mythos and becomes a more literal Man of Steel, next to Stalin (which, of course, means Man of Steel. Also: not his real name). The Superman character is, as I've come to expect, a good man. In spite of the system he's working in, he attempt at all times to do the right thing. So, whilst the outcome of much of what Superman does is less than good, his intentions are uniformly good. He really believes in socialism and wants it to work - I think Millar handles this quite well - it would've been easy to make him the "bad" Superman, but he resists this and thus keeps the character sympathetic.
The comic is then an entertaining romp through the DC universe with many other characters making an appearance throughout to side or battle with Superman. I particularly liked the Soviet Batman (and this is really a personal political quirk of mine - I like Batman! Really! So no implied criticism here) seemed a little less of a reactionary in the context of the Soviet system (he fights purely for people's liberty in this - he's not a rich vigilante - though I realise that now Batman has a rich back story now and there is more to the character than that). It includes also, naturally, Lex Luthor, an un-assassinated JFK, Hal Jordan, Wonder Woman and many other people real and from the Superman universe.
As far as I can tell, it's written in a good comic book style (so rattles on at a fair pace) showing respect for its source.
My only criticism would be that as, I believe, it was originally only 3 issues, it's probably a tad on the short side. There's a lot of stuff going on on this, all of it highly enjoyable.
Essentially, without damaging the enjoyment of anyone that wishes to read this for himself, Superman arrive on Earth 12 hours earlier than he would have in the established mythos and becomes a more literal Man of Steel, next to Stalin (which, of course, means Man of Steel. Also: not his real name). The Superman character is, as I've come to expect, a good man. In spite of the system he's working in, he attempt at all times to do the right thing. So, whilst the outcome of much of what Superman does is less than good, his intentions are uniformly good. He really believes in socialism and wants it to work - I think Millar handles this quite well - it would've been easy to make him the "bad" Superman, but he resists this and thus keeps the character sympathetic.
The comic is then an entertaining romp through the DC universe with many other characters making an appearance throughout to side or battle with Superman. I particularly liked the Soviet Batman (and this is really a personal political quirk of mine - I like Batman! Really! So no implied criticism here) seemed a little less of a reactionary in the context of the Soviet system (he fights purely for people's liberty in this - he's not a rich vigilante - though I realise that now Batman has a rich back story now and there is more to the character than that). It includes also, naturally, Lex Luthor, an un-assassinated JFK, Hal Jordan, Wonder Woman and many other people real and from the Superman universe.
As far as I can tell, it's written in a good comic book style (so rattles on at a fair pace) showing respect for its source.
My only criticism would be that as, I believe, it was originally only 3 issues, it's probably a tad on the short side. There's a lot of stuff going on on this, all of it highly enjoyable.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book operates on a fascinating principle. What if Superman fell to earth a few hours earlier?
It's an interesting book. There are no heroes in this book, only anti-villains. Superman is trying to do what he thinks is best, but he's using surveillance, brain washing, and lobotomisation to achieve that. Lex Luthor is fighting for truth, justice, and the American way, but he's still the supervillain we know and love. Wonder Woman gets sucked into Superman's way of thinking before being tossed aside; when she fights to end Superman's corrupt rule, it's not for the good of the people but to get revenge for him not loving her. The closest to a hero is Batman (and his sexy ushanka). He's still fighting against the people who killed his parents, but this version is much more willing to kill, even if he tries to minimise the damages. So he's a bit more anti-hero.
The artwork is great, and the colours are true and vibrant. A lot of work was put in to determine how this brave new world would look. It's not just our world with a few more Soviet flags; it has a different design aesthetic. The best example would be in the Green Lantern Corps uniforms. The Red Son GLs don't look remotely like the DCU's GLs. The former have a far more militaristic look and feel.
The story is well thought out, and there are shout outs made to earlier Superman stories. There's stuff in here for every Superman fan. The only problem is sometimes a lot of stuff happens on one page. Also, characters are very briefly referenced and never show up again. (An example is Ma Kent.) However, the latter is done to make Superman fans happy so it's acceptable. Whilst it's a serious story, it's obvious Millar is having fun with it and wants the fans to have fun too.
Overall, it's a good book for fans of "What if" scenarios. Also, it's totally worth it just to see Batman in the ushanka.
It's an interesting book. There are no heroes in this book, only anti-villains. Superman is trying to do what he thinks is best, but he's using surveillance, brain washing, and lobotomisation to achieve that. Lex Luthor is fighting for truth, justice, and the American way, but he's still the supervillain we know and love. Wonder Woman gets sucked into Superman's way of thinking before being tossed aside; when she fights to end Superman's corrupt rule, it's not for the good of the people but to get revenge for him not loving her. The closest to a hero is Batman (and his sexy ushanka). He's still fighting against the people who killed his parents, but this version is much more willing to kill, even if he tries to minimise the damages. So he's a bit more anti-hero.
The artwork is great, and the colours are true and vibrant. A lot of work was put in to determine how this brave new world would look. It's not just our world with a few more Soviet flags; it has a different design aesthetic. The best example would be in the Green Lantern Corps uniforms. The Red Son GLs don't look remotely like the DCU's GLs. The former have a far more militaristic look and feel.
The story is well thought out, and there are shout outs made to earlier Superman stories. There's stuff in here for every Superman fan. The only problem is sometimes a lot of stuff happens on one page. Also, characters are very briefly referenced and never show up again. (An example is Ma Kent.) However, the latter is done to make Superman fans happy so it's acceptable. Whilst it's a serious story, it's obvious Millar is having fun with it and wants the fans to have fun too.
Overall, it's a good book for fans of "What if" scenarios. Also, it's totally worth it just to see Batman in the ushanka.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
a revisionist history
Well I've not read any Superman since I was a kid and damn my Aunt May for cajoling me into getting rid of my collection but at least I didn't grow up to be a comic nerd, so at... Read more
Published 18 days ago by Mr. P. A. Martin
Superman will provide?
I bought this for my son who was 13 at the time (14 now) as I'm trying to get him to read more, he's into all the recent Superman, Batman and Spiderman type movies so thought I'd... Read more
Published 22 days ago by K. MOONEY
Truth, Justice and the Russian Way
What if Superman had landed in Soviet Russia instead of Smallville, Kansas? DC's "Elseworlds" series imagines an alternate take on the Superman story with "Comrade Superman"... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sam Quixote
superman +mark millar+hes a comunist = omg
Ok if you love things like V for vendetta and nemesis ,you will love this so much, that you will most likely stay three days out of work reading it cover to cover, 25 times ( I... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Doctor polical nerd
A Masterpiece of The Iron Age
Like so many of the greatest works of the iron age of comics, Red Son is at its heart a dialectic (to use a classically Marxist term) between the merits of freedom on the one hand,... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Theo
Supermanski
A graphic novel telling an alternative version of Superman.
Landing elsewhere on Earth Superman rather than fighting for Truth, justice and the American Way, works for... Read more
Landing elsewhere on Earth Superman rather than fighting for Truth, justice and the American Way, works for... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Lord Of All He Surveys
better than red pants
by far the greatest story of superman ever told, if the people out there in movie land had any kind of brain they would make this into a film instead of the normal pap they put out... Read more
Published 7 months ago by the rodge
Epic and hilarious.
Mark Millar is one of my favourite comic writers, so I was instantly interested by this idea. I thought "Superman in Soviet Russia? Why not?" So I went on and got this book. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Patricia
Extraordinary. A decent graphic novel for grown ups
With its intruiging 'what if?' plot and great artwork, this had me lured in. I'm fairly new to graphic novels, but I knew I was looking for slightly more adult, slightly more... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Benminx
Very disappointed
First off, I have to say I'm not a Superman fan. I always thought of him as too powerful and black-and-white for my tastes. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Hammerbolt
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