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Product Description
Product Description
The world's most famous superhero has never looked so good, as red-hot new writer Gail Simone ("Birds of Prey") teams up with classic, fan-favourite artist John Byrne ("Superman: The Man of Steel")! When magnetic-powered supervillain, Doctor Polaris, arrives in Metropolis - pursued by the terrifyingly powerful Repulse - Superman must use all his strength of body and mind to save him! And, when Doctor Psycho turns the people Metropolis' love for Superman into a deadly obsession, will the world's greatest hero survive? Ideal for readers new to the "Superman" series, this is the first step into a bestselling new era for the Man of Steel!
About the Author
Gail Simone is a rising star of comics, with work on Birds of Prey, The Simpsons and X-Men Unlimited. John Byrne has amassed a huge volume of work, both as writer and artist, covering major comic book characters, including Superman, Batman, The X-men, Spider-Man, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, Captain America and Wonder Woman. He has also won almost every major comic book award!
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Firstly, don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this novel (although it maybe gets an extra star just 'cos I like Superman comics!) and I would recommend it. My problem with it was that, to my mind, the characters didn't really behave as they would in the situations presented. Batman's a genius - he wouldn't react to Supes the way he does - rather, would offer to help. Wonder Woman's actions, whilst terrible, were not as unforgivable as made out and wholly necessary given the alternative.
It's the characterization all over that I find flawed - these characters DO make mistakes and they DO have flaws but they're portrayed here almost as fools. The art work is good and the fight scene very well done - you join Superman in his confusion and that as well as several other aspects work very well.
C'mon DC - we need comic characters people can respect and that are consistent - thier characters shouldn't be altered to suit any 'event' or storyline. A bit of a shame as these are great characters. More of the Loeb, Meltzer & Johns Superman please.
It's the characterization all over that I find flawed - these characters DO make mistakes and they DO have flaws but they're portrayed here almost as fools. The art work is good and the fight scene very well done - you join Superman in his confusion and that as well as several other aspects work very well.
C'mon DC - we need comic characters people can respect and that are consistent - thier characters shouldn't be altered to suit any 'event' or storyline. A bit of a shame as these are great characters. More of the Loeb, Meltzer & Johns Superman please.
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This story was a prequel to the Infinite Crisis event, and used as the excuse to break up the "DCU Trinity".
The original concept called for Superman to basically lose any respect for life and put him in a position where he became the bad guy and needed to be stopped by a heroine.
Keep in mind that during those days Greg Rucka (the architect of this story) was the writer of the Wonder Woman book (which was selling very poorly until then), and a new gimmick was needed to improve sales for that character (the cover of this book was the cover of WW #219). The result was this story that shows us how superman can be mentally manipulated, and be broken to the point of being willing to kill anyone to avenge the death of a loved one.
Of course, Rucka's heroine (WW), comes at the end to the rescue, fights a zombie-out-of-control-superman (who himself thinks is fighting a monster called "Doomsday"), and gets to stop him (and even suggests that she could have killed him).
This is totally out of character for Superman, as shown in an incredible book that you can also find here (Superman: Ending Battle, ISBN 9781401222598), where the authors show us the real strength of superman. His power goes beyond the application of his super-strength and other abilities, but in his amazing auto-control for not injuring badly his enemies (no matter what they have done to him!). I would strongly recommend reading that book instead of this one.
"Superman sacrifice" is a sacrifice but of Superman's true character, it was designed by an author who never understood the man of steel, and whom is obsessed in showing us that super-heroines are better than their male counterparts. This attitude can be easily observed in any of the titles that Rucka wrote for DC during his tenure in the company. I believe this book will be enjoyed by folks that hate (or really dislike) Superman and/or are die-hard fans of wonder woman.
The original concept called for Superman to basically lose any respect for life and put him in a position where he became the bad guy and needed to be stopped by a heroine.
Keep in mind that during those days Greg Rucka (the architect of this story) was the writer of the Wonder Woman book (which was selling very poorly until then), and a new gimmick was needed to improve sales for that character (the cover of this book was the cover of WW #219). The result was this story that shows us how superman can be mentally manipulated, and be broken to the point of being willing to kill anyone to avenge the death of a loved one.
Of course, Rucka's heroine (WW), comes at the end to the rescue, fights a zombie-out-of-control-superman (who himself thinks is fighting a monster called "Doomsday"), and gets to stop him (and even suggests that she could have killed him).
This is totally out of character for Superman, as shown in an incredible book that you can also find here (Superman: Ending Battle, ISBN 9781401222598), where the authors show us the real strength of superman. His power goes beyond the application of his super-strength and other abilities, but in his amazing auto-control for not injuring badly his enemies (no matter what they have done to him!). I would strongly recommend reading that book instead of this one.
"Superman sacrifice" is a sacrifice but of Superman's true character, it was designed by an author who never understood the man of steel, and whom is obsessed in showing us that super-heroines are better than their male counterparts. This attitude can be easily observed in any of the titles that Rucka wrote for DC during his tenure in the company. I believe this book will be enjoyed by folks that hate (or really dislike) Superman and/or are die-hard fans of wonder woman.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Superman is arguably one of the three most recognizable fictional characters in the entire world. He is known all over America, Europe, Africa, Asia, etc. He is the ultimate immigrant and embodiment of the best human qualities. Several books have been written explaining the origin and appeal of this incredible character during his long career (one of the most recent, and very recommendable: Our Hero, by Van Zee).
He is usually depicted as invulnerable. However, he has no defense against a terrible force that has plagued fictional characters always: Bad Editors and Poor Writers.
This title (Sacrifice) was an attempt to deconstruct the superman mythos, and give us a broken character that needed to be fixed during the next several years (hence given DC editors a nice steady income).
The storyline was presented back in 2005 when plans to refresh the entire DC-Comics line of characters were underway. At that point in time, a second tier character in need of yet again a new injection of vitality was chosen to help breaking the superman mythos: wonder-woman (a well known character in North America, and a few other countries, but basically unknown in most of the world).
The idea was to present a renewed wonder-woman that could appeal to male readers, given her a stamina almost as impressive as superman's. In addition, an emphasis was given to the few weapons this character relies upon (tiara, lasso, etc.) indispensables to ensuring her survival in a fight against the most powerful being in the DC-Universe.
This approach produced a short term interest in the second tier character, however, over the last few years the increased power levels have been a drawback for wonder-woman comics sales. After the original appeal of having a female crime fighter willing to kill if appropriate, during 2007-2010 her comic book sales were steadily decreasing to the point of selling less copies than practically unknown characters (such as Booster Gold). A new change was needed, and in mid-2010 wonder-woman was depowered (yet again), to more human levels (roughly half the strength of Superman), and a new costume was given to her. The objective is to make her close to Superman strength (70-80% of his), and focusing her adventures to the realm of magic and mythos.
Fortunately, the editors at DC comics seem to have learned that in order for their fictional universe to work, Superman needs to be the epitome of greatness. He cannot be portrayed as a supporting character (as he is in this collection) in any storyline of relative importance. This is especially true if these books have any hope to be sold outside the US, where Superman is still considered the Greatest Hero of Them All !!!
He is usually depicted as invulnerable. However, he has no defense against a terrible force that has plagued fictional characters always: Bad Editors and Poor Writers.
This title (Sacrifice) was an attempt to deconstruct the superman mythos, and give us a broken character that needed to be fixed during the next several years (hence given DC editors a nice steady income).
The storyline was presented back in 2005 when plans to refresh the entire DC-Comics line of characters were underway. At that point in time, a second tier character in need of yet again a new injection of vitality was chosen to help breaking the superman mythos: wonder-woman (a well known character in North America, and a few other countries, but basically unknown in most of the world).
The idea was to present a renewed wonder-woman that could appeal to male readers, given her a stamina almost as impressive as superman's. In addition, an emphasis was given to the few weapons this character relies upon (tiara, lasso, etc.) indispensables to ensuring her survival in a fight against the most powerful being in the DC-Universe.
This approach produced a short term interest in the second tier character, however, over the last few years the increased power levels have been a drawback for wonder-woman comics sales. After the original appeal of having a female crime fighter willing to kill if appropriate, during 2007-2010 her comic book sales were steadily decreasing to the point of selling less copies than practically unknown characters (such as Booster Gold). A new change was needed, and in mid-2010 wonder-woman was depowered (yet again), to more human levels (roughly half the strength of Superman), and a new costume was given to her. The objective is to make her close to Superman strength (70-80% of his), and focusing her adventures to the realm of magic and mythos.
Fortunately, the editors at DC comics seem to have learned that in order for their fictional universe to work, Superman needs to be the epitome of greatness. He cannot be portrayed as a supporting character (as he is in this collection) in any storyline of relative importance. This is especially true if these books have any hope to be sold outside the US, where Superman is still considered the Greatest Hero of Them All !!!
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