What do you think?
Rate this book
The Death and Life of Superman
"Superman-dead!"--The Daily Planet. On November 18, 1992, news of Superman's death shocked the world as the legendary Man of steel was killed defending Metropolis from the monster called Doomsday.
Here at last is the dramatic story behind the best-selling comic book of all time: the fates of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Ma and Pa Kent, the Justice League, and the reign of the four super-beings who mysteriously appeared after Superman's funeral, each claiming to be the real Last Son of Krypton. And finally, here is the complete incredible story of Superman's triumphant retum!
In this thrilling novel, Roger Stern, a veteran writer of Action Comics, chronicles the most amazing comeback in comic book history--told with more gripping detail and background than ever before.
Here at last is the dramatic story behind the best-selling comic book of all time: the fates of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Ma and Pa Kent, the Justice League, and the reign of the four super-beings who mysteriously appeared after Superman's funeral, each claiming to be the real Last Son of Krypton. And finally, here is the complete incredible story of Superman's triumphant retum!
In this thrilling novel, Roger Stern, a veteran writer of Action Comics, chronicles the most amazing comeback in comic book history--told with more gripping detail and background than ever before.
527 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1993
About the author
Roger Stern
1,494 books108 followersRoger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews
October 20, 2014
The novelization of an epic journey
Don't worry, I have you!
It shocked me this quote on the book since it took me back to 1979 when I was like 6 years old and I went to a local cinema theater to watch Superman, the movie with Christopher Reeve. (Yes, I know that the film was premiered on 1978, but on those sweet old times, a synch global premiere was something that you didn't even dream about, in Latin American countries, we used to wait several months, even sometimes a year to watch a movie coming from United States, but since Internet didn't exist, we haven't any spoilers! Hehehe!)
Also, you have to know that back then, in my country, Costa Rica, the exposition to Marvel stuff was quite limited, and the "coolest" animated TV show was Superfriends, so, there was a general sense that Superman was the best ever! Nothing was better than Superman then!
Well, just pictured me, six years old, with a white t-shirt with a Superman shield and a plastic cape. (Which both items were cleverly sold in the hall of the theater and you can bet that any child without those "valuable" items will have a sad experience on the theater!) Like 45 minutes later, Superman appears!!! (Since in those sweet times, kids weren't used to special effects, so to me, and I bet, most of the kids on the theater, the guy on the blue/red suit wasn't an actor, he wasn't Christopher Reeve, he was Superman!!!) Me, and the rest of kids on the theater, we were jumping in our seats, since a man was flying on the screen!!! A man was flying!!! (Since, again, in those sweet times, we weren't being exposed to so many characters flying, in those times we still can be getting excited to watch a flying super-hero.)
Superman appears, flying!, and right away he catched Lois saying "Easy, miss. I've got you.", (Close enough to the quote that I mentioned first), and after having a woman on one hand, he catched a helicopter with the other hand!!!
That moment got printed in stone on my memory, and even now, when I am quite aware that it was the smart combination of special effects, I am indulging myself and I get excited again believing that a man can fly...
...most of today's heroes would probably never have gotten started if it hadn't been for Superman. I'm not even sure there was such a term as "super-hero" before he came along...
I made a comic book collection when I was a kid, mostly from Spanish-translated reprints done by a Mexican publishing house named "Novaro", which reprinted American comic books, from DC Comics. After some years, I guess that the company broke or something since the comics stopped to come here, to Costa Rica. So, for many years I was kinda disconnected from comic books.
And then, in 1992, I read in newspapers, (No, not the Daily Planet, but real newspapers, since it was a worldwide news.), that Superman was going to die due a bloody battle against a monster known as "Doomsday". I couldn't believe it. But what shocked me even more was the reason... The article said that due the Superman titles were selling so bad, they thought best to kill off the character. Then, I realized that there were already some comic books, in English, selling in some stands in my country. Yes, I had to get back to comic books.
So, my formal current comic book collection started with Superman #75, I did like the following year of the four titles related to Superman, later I expanded to other DC titles, also Marvel titles, and even later I was able to get some Indy titles. And now my comic book collection only get bigger and bigger. All thanks that the "death" of Superman made me to realize that I had lost something important to me, something from my childhood, and I wanted to do it again. I learned to read thanks to comic books, and it was time to include them again in my literature genres.
He is hate... death and bloodlust personified. Nothing more.
This novelization, is the prose adaptation of the three major events that re-shaped the universe of Superman in comics books, back in the 90's. And if you have some hesitation of reading it, just because, you don't know much about Superman and the related characters, don't worry, since Roger Stern, the author (and also, editor & writer for several years on DC Comics), did an impeccable job doing detailed explanations and flashbacks commentaries, where you will get to know anything that you need to know about Superman and the rest of the characters on the related comic book titles on that moment. So, you will be able to understand totally this wonderful adaptation that even offers more detailed scenes of the original storyline presented on its comic book format.
DOOMSDAY
The first part will guide you through the epic battle between Superman and Doomsday, crossing thousands of miles, in the middle of the heart of the United States, causing millions of losses in properties, generating more than 500 deaths, and even sending the Justice League of America to the hospital.
FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND
The second part will show you how grim is a world without Superman. The world's greatest hero has fallen and people starting to realize how much they had been taking for granted. The safety that living in a world with Superman was lost, but also, in secret, some people had lost even more, some of them had lost: a fiancée, a workmate, an ally, a friend, a son.
THE REIGN OF SUPERMEN
The third part will impact you with one of the best storylines ever crafted in the history of comic books. Four mysterious characters rise, all four reclaiming the mantle of Superman. Who are they? What are they planning to do?
Early in his career, he'd had to recognize the simple fact that he couldn't save every life.
So, this great novelization will take in a journey like none other prose novel has ever done before to get to know the death and life of Superman. An epic story of sacrifice, duty and most of all... heart.
You're able to do so many wonderful things with your powers, Clark, but even you can't solve all the world's problems.
And if you are so kind to indulge me once more, I just want to finish the review, with a couple of lines from, again, the Superman movie, that they are dialogues that when I was a kid, I didn't get their impact, but after keeping watching the movie, over and over again, at some point, I matured enough to appreciate the greatness of those lines, that they showed the most powerful trait of Superman... his humility. A lesson to all mankind and to all those who think that they are better than the rest of us.
Warden: This country is safe again, Superman, thanks to you.
Superman: No, sir. Don't thank me, Warden. We're all part of the same team. Good night.
Don't worry, I have you!
It shocked me this quote on the book since it took me back to 1979 when I was like 6 years old and I went to a local cinema theater to watch Superman, the movie with Christopher Reeve. (Yes, I know that the film was premiered on 1978, but on those sweet old times, a synch global premiere was something that you didn't even dream about, in Latin American countries, we used to wait several months, even sometimes a year to watch a movie coming from United States, but since Internet didn't exist, we haven't any spoilers! Hehehe!)
Also, you have to know that back then, in my country, Costa Rica, the exposition to Marvel stuff was quite limited, and the "coolest" animated TV show was Superfriends, so, there was a general sense that Superman was the best ever! Nothing was better than Superman then!
Well, just pictured me, six years old, with a white t-shirt with a Superman shield and a plastic cape. (Which both items were cleverly sold in the hall of the theater and you can bet that any child without those "valuable" items will have a sad experience on the theater!) Like 45 minutes later, Superman appears!!! (Since in those sweet times, kids weren't used to special effects, so to me, and I bet, most of the kids on the theater, the guy on the blue/red suit wasn't an actor, he wasn't Christopher Reeve, he was Superman!!!) Me, and the rest of kids on the theater, we were jumping in our seats, since a man was flying on the screen!!! A man was flying!!! (Since, again, in those sweet times, we weren't being exposed to so many characters flying, in those times we still can be getting excited to watch a flying super-hero.)
Superman appears, flying!, and right away he catched Lois saying "Easy, miss. I've got you.", (Close enough to the quote that I mentioned first), and after having a woman on one hand, he catched a helicopter with the other hand!!!
That moment got printed in stone on my memory, and even now, when I am quite aware that it was the smart combination of special effects, I am indulging myself and I get excited again believing that a man can fly...
...most of today's heroes would probably never have gotten started if it hadn't been for Superman. I'm not even sure there was such a term as "super-hero" before he came along...
I made a comic book collection when I was a kid, mostly from Spanish-translated reprints done by a Mexican publishing house named "Novaro", which reprinted American comic books, from DC Comics. After some years, I guess that the company broke or something since the comics stopped to come here, to Costa Rica. So, for many years I was kinda disconnected from comic books.
And then, in 1992, I read in newspapers, (No, not the Daily Planet, but real newspapers, since it was a worldwide news.), that Superman was going to die due a bloody battle against a monster known as "Doomsday". I couldn't believe it. But what shocked me even more was the reason... The article said that due the Superman titles were selling so bad, they thought best to kill off the character. Then, I realized that there were already some comic books, in English, selling in some stands in my country. Yes, I had to get back to comic books.
So, my formal current comic book collection started with Superman #75, I did like the following year of the four titles related to Superman, later I expanded to other DC titles, also Marvel titles, and even later I was able to get some Indy titles. And now my comic book collection only get bigger and bigger. All thanks that the "death" of Superman made me to realize that I had lost something important to me, something from my childhood, and I wanted to do it again. I learned to read thanks to comic books, and it was time to include them again in my literature genres.
He is hate... death and bloodlust personified. Nothing more.
This novelization, is the prose adaptation of the three major events that re-shaped the universe of Superman in comics books, back in the 90's. And if you have some hesitation of reading it, just because, you don't know much about Superman and the related characters, don't worry, since Roger Stern, the author (and also, editor & writer for several years on DC Comics), did an impeccable job doing detailed explanations and flashbacks commentaries, where you will get to know anything that you need to know about Superman and the rest of the characters on the related comic book titles on that moment. So, you will be able to understand totally this wonderful adaptation that even offers more detailed scenes of the original storyline presented on its comic book format.
DOOMSDAY
The first part will guide you through the epic battle between Superman and Doomsday, crossing thousands of miles, in the middle of the heart of the United States, causing millions of losses in properties, generating more than 500 deaths, and even sending the Justice League of America to the hospital.
FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND
The second part will show you how grim is a world without Superman. The world's greatest hero has fallen and people starting to realize how much they had been taking for granted. The safety that living in a world with Superman was lost, but also, in secret, some people had lost even more, some of them had lost: a fiancée, a workmate, an ally, a friend, a son.
THE REIGN OF SUPERMEN
The third part will impact you with one of the best storylines ever crafted in the history of comic books. Four mysterious characters rise, all four reclaiming the mantle of Superman. Who are they? What are they planning to do?
Early in his career, he'd had to recognize the simple fact that he couldn't save every life.
So, this great novelization will take in a journey like none other prose novel has ever done before to get to know the death and life of Superman. An epic story of sacrifice, duty and most of all... heart.
You're able to do so many wonderful things with your powers, Clark, but even you can't solve all the world's problems.
And if you are so kind to indulge me once more, I just want to finish the review, with a couple of lines from, again, the Superman movie, that they are dialogues that when I was a kid, I didn't get their impact, but after keeping watching the movie, over and over again, at some point, I matured enough to appreciate the greatness of those lines, that they showed the most powerful trait of Superman... his humility. A lesson to all mankind and to all those who think that they are better than the rest of us.
Warden: This country is safe again, Superman, thanks to you.
Superman: No, sir. Don't thank me, Warden. We're all part of the same team. Good night.
July 6, 2020
Stern did a really good job here of incorporating all of the little details and sidebars from a baffling array of incidents and events from interconnected magazines that made up the death and re-birth of Superman. Back in the day DC (as well as Marvel) was much more conscientious about maintaining perceivable and believable chronology, and they weren't so quick to retcon and reboot their whole universe at the drop of a hat. No one believed that Superman was really dead (or, rather, that he would stay dead), but it was quite the comics event of the time. This novel is well constructed in the prose narrative form, and does a good job of character exploration, as well as translating the comics storyline. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
July 5, 2017
I remember reading this sometime in high-school and really enjoying it. I never got the actual comics though. I really don't know where my copy is now but I am quite sure it should be in storage somewhere.
May 29, 2014
Back in the early 90's, DC decided to do a storyline of the death of Superman and then later on, they did a storyline of his return. This is the novelization of these storylines.
When the comics came out with their respective black and white wrappers I purchased both of them. I have never opened them hoping they would be worth something (they aren't) and I have always been curious about this storyline. I thought this book did a great job putting this comic storyline to novel form. Even if you know nothing about Superman, there are flashbacks to fill the reader about his life. I thought all the main characters were spot on esp. Lois Lane. I thought the author did a tremendous job with the battle with Doomsday and Superman's death. Even though it is a fictional character and we know it isn't permanent, I did get choked up. I was surprised a book based on a comic could affect me this way and the author deserves praise.
With superhero movies being the rage nowadays, this novel is an excellent read and you don't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy this novel.
When the comics came out with their respective black and white wrappers I purchased both of them. I have never opened them hoping they would be worth something (they aren't) and I have always been curious about this storyline. I thought this book did a great job putting this comic storyline to novel form. Even if you know nothing about Superman, there are flashbacks to fill the reader about his life. I thought all the main characters were spot on esp. Lois Lane. I thought the author did a tremendous job with the battle with Doomsday and Superman's death. Even though it is a fictional character and we know it isn't permanent, I did get choked up. I was surprised a book based on a comic could affect me this way and the author deserves praise.
With superhero movies being the rage nowadays, this novel is an excellent read and you don't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy this novel.
April 3, 2015
Wow, this one really surprised me! I must first confess to not being a huge Superman fan. I don’t dislike him so much as simply tend to prefer superheroes that are more human-like and use brains and gadgets to become super. Ironman, Batman, or, even better, the pulp heroes of yesteryear like Doc Savage are more to my taste. (And the Hulk. Can’t help but love Hulk). But Superman…nearly indestructible…tends to be boring for me.
I also remember back in 1992 when the announcement came that DC Comics was going to kill off Superman. So, maybe not so indestructible after all? This book is the novelization of that storyline as told in the actual comic books and, surprisingly (at least for me) is quite good. It’s told in three acts, (Doomsday, Funeral for a Friend, and Reign of the Supermen), each addressing major events of the story arc. You don’t have to be a comic book aficionado to appreciate it.
I was worried at the beginning of the book because, by necessity, there were a lot of info dumps. Many characters are introduced including the entire newer version of the Justice League, many of whom are not common household names for readers. Not being much of a follower of the DC Comics universes myself, I found myself frequently consulting internet sources to see how these people all fit together. That’s actually a good sign for me because when I started reading I did not expect to become so vested in the characters. The info dumps were handled pretty well for the most part, in the sense that most were done via short flashback sequences. For example, Superman would be flying along and see a particular building and flashback to the time he first met Jimmy Olsen. It seemed like there were a few too many of those flashbacks but now, looking back at the entire novel, I can see their importance because every one of those characters played important roles in later events and at least I knew them.
Happily, this book read like a novel, not like a pieced-together word version of a series of comic books. It had pretty good characterization, a complex plot, and plenty of action mixed in with well-written drama. I’m glad I read it.
I also remember back in 1992 when the announcement came that DC Comics was going to kill off Superman. So, maybe not so indestructible after all? This book is the novelization of that storyline as told in the actual comic books and, surprisingly (at least for me) is quite good. It’s told in three acts, (Doomsday, Funeral for a Friend, and Reign of the Supermen), each addressing major events of the story arc. You don’t have to be a comic book aficionado to appreciate it.
I was worried at the beginning of the book because, by necessity, there were a lot of info dumps. Many characters are introduced including the entire newer version of the Justice League, many of whom are not common household names for readers. Not being much of a follower of the DC Comics universes myself, I found myself frequently consulting internet sources to see how these people all fit together. That’s actually a good sign for me because when I started reading I did not expect to become so vested in the characters. The info dumps were handled pretty well for the most part, in the sense that most were done via short flashback sequences. For example, Superman would be flying along and see a particular building and flashback to the time he first met Jimmy Olsen. It seemed like there were a few too many of those flashbacks but now, looking back at the entire novel, I can see their importance because every one of those characters played important roles in later events and at least I knew them.
Happily, this book read like a novel, not like a pieced-together word version of a series of comic books. It had pretty good characterization, a complex plot, and plenty of action mixed in with well-written drama. I’m glad I read it.
Shelved as 'dnf'
January 27, 2021DNF @ 40%
This is a novelization of the three story arcs pertaining to Superman's death and its aftermath. I haven't read those comics but I do know a little of the story.
Now firstly, I like Superman a lot which is why I picked this up. I've read two Batman novels earlier which were both good more or less and I had high hopes from this one too.
There are a lot of characters here and the author does a good job of explaining them to a new reader. He uses flashbacks to introduce most of them and also to share important events from Supes' life. I liked reading those.
The problem is that most of the chapters that aren't about Clark or Lois or Luthor were pretty boring. All the chapters for DC characters that I hadn't heard of failed to keep me interested.
I could have still made it through till the end; it wasn't that boring but I had a lot of work to do these past few days. Couldn't get much reading done and I just decided to move on to other books.
My TBR pile isn't getting smaller and there's no point in reading something I'm not enjoying too much anyway. If you're a DC/Superman fan you should probably check this book out though.
This is a novelization of the three story arcs pertaining to Superman's death and its aftermath. I haven't read those comics but I do know a little of the story.
Now firstly, I like Superman a lot which is why I picked this up. I've read two Batman novels earlier which were both good more or less and I had high hopes from this one too.
There are a lot of characters here and the author does a good job of explaining them to a new reader. He uses flashbacks to introduce most of them and also to share important events from Supes' life. I liked reading those.
The problem is that most of the chapters that aren't about Clark or Lois or Luthor were pretty boring. All the chapters for DC characters that I hadn't heard of failed to keep me interested.
I could have still made it through till the end; it wasn't that boring but I had a lot of work to do these past few days. Couldn't get much reading done and I just decided to move on to other books.
My TBR pile isn't getting smaller and there's no point in reading something I'm not enjoying too much anyway. If you're a DC/Superman fan you should probably check this book out though.
June 18, 2018
Lois <3
July 26, 2021
Pretty decent story and action, but gosh darn it, some of minor characters are dated. Instead of killing "sooperman" they should have updated the side characters or killed them off. Good thing Image comics came along and changed a lot of old character dynamics in comics.
May 22, 2012
HELLLLOOOOOOO, ITS SUPERMANNNNNNNN!!!!! i loved this book, i loved it so much i re-read it again and again and again. Can you tell i love Superman. anyone who loves the man of steel should read this.
May 13, 2024
Incredible!!!!!!
December 22, 2013
I have ambivalent feelings concerning The Death and Life of Superman. I very much enjoyed many things! Doomsday, the build up to the appearance of the pseudo Supermen, and the return of the Hero that cannot be slain (in either body or spirit) were all absolutely fantastic. It was great to see the world miss Superman so earnestly, though I wished the author would have conveyed the mourning in a brusquer manner. Regardless, the extravagant amount of time spent showing the reader how much the world loved Superman really paid off when his imitators began arising from the ashes of the world in need. I think this was the strong point of the book as we saw that the world loved Superman so much that collectively, the world refused to accept his death. There was an ecumenical attitude saying, if our Superman has been vanquished, we will continue in his spirit! To see that spirit of benevolence and compassion live on in mankind because of the effect Superman had on the world’s disposition was the most enjoyable concept.
That being said, I disliked the writing style, the vocabulary, the speed of the novel, and 80% of the characters. The Justice League truly sounded like a complete joke from the very start. Superman’s loved ones (Lois, his Parents, Lana, Jimmy) are all generic, dull, and absolutely trite characters. I could not stand a moment concerning any of them. In addition, the book really did read like a comic book. Everything was said in the most straightforward way possible. That’s fine, but because of this, there was really no opportunity for interesting literature. I found the writing bland and long-winded, overstuffed with generic “good VS evil” scenarios.
In conclusion though, I feel like the book was worth the time it took to read. Now I know why Superman is a badass, and I think a lot of people probably overlook this. It’s not because of his super strength or his heat vision. It’s because of his superlative integrity, and how the world loved him so that they refused to let him perish. Lame but true!
That being said, I disliked the writing style, the vocabulary, the speed of the novel, and 80% of the characters. The Justice League truly sounded like a complete joke from the very start. Superman’s loved ones (Lois, his Parents, Lana, Jimmy) are all generic, dull, and absolutely trite characters. I could not stand a moment concerning any of them. In addition, the book really did read like a comic book. Everything was said in the most straightforward way possible. That’s fine, but because of this, there was really no opportunity for interesting literature. I found the writing bland and long-winded, overstuffed with generic “good VS evil” scenarios.
In conclusion though, I feel like the book was worth the time it took to read. Now I know why Superman is a badass, and I think a lot of people probably overlook this. It’s not because of his super strength or his heat vision. It’s because of his superlative integrity, and how the world loved him so that they refused to let him perish. Lame but true!
May 7, 2018
I want to emphasize that this is not bad but it did take me months to read. I think it’s a great adaption of the comic arc but the dialogue was outdated and overall felt dry because I was bored reading non-Clark or Lois stuff. I did not care for every single character’s POV*. I enjoyed reading Lois’s and wish the story was solely from her POV instead—I would eagerly read through her parts and felt the story dragging when it was other POVs. Superman’s would have been enjoyable too but his dialogue almost always ended with exclamation points and I found that was annoying (this did not take away from his characterization, only the reoccurrence of the punctuation became annoying).
Still, I was glad to read the arc as a novelization because it was easier than reading comic panels for such a massive story. I would definitely recommend the book but be aware that it was written in the 90s.
***MILD SPOILERS FOR TOWARDS THE END***
I’m changing my original 2 star rating to 3 stars because while reading the Lois and Clark reunion conversation, I had to pause for my excitement to wear down because it is sooooooo good and exactly what I needed the entire time. I have not finished reading yet but my feelings on the book have changed because of the scene.
*Batman: No Man’s Land was a better read for me because there were more characters that I cared about so the continuous change in POV didn’t bother me.
Still, I was glad to read the arc as a novelization because it was easier than reading comic panels for such a massive story. I would definitely recommend the book but be aware that it was written in the 90s.
***MILD SPOILERS FOR TOWARDS THE END***
I’m changing my original 2 star rating to 3 stars because while reading the Lois and Clark reunion conversation, I had to pause for my excitement to wear down because it is sooooooo good and exactly what I needed the entire time. I have not finished reading yet but my feelings on the book have changed because of the scene.
*Batman: No Man’s Land was a better read for me because there were more characters that I cared about so the continuous change in POV didn’t bother me.
February 20, 2008
First let me say that my husband talked me into reading this book; I generally do not enjoy superhero fantasy novels. I've never been a reader of comic books, and other than film adaptations, my prior knowledge of Superman was practically nil. The story begins with a brief background of Superman, including his arrival on Earth, his life, loves, and death at the hands of Doomsday. The majority of the book focuses on the time after his death, where several imposters try to take his place. Who are the imposters, and are they really imposters? Did Superman really die? These are all questions answered in the action-filled plot. While mildly entertaining, the writing was downright cheesy and amateurish. The dialogue was terrible. It was unrealistic, full of stereotypes, and felt very dated, not to mention the "cringe worthiness" of the many one-liners. For being easy reading, it took me awhile to get through this; it just couldn't maintain my interest. When I do choose to read a fantasy book, I want the story to feel real, like it *could* really happen, but this novel did not accomplish that for me.
September 7, 2019
I liked this well enough, but it was pretty dry at times. I can see how it works as a comic, since so much of it is visual, but in novel form it felt off--comicy dialogue, too many expository flashbacks, a lot of "Suddenly" prose moments, etc. That being said, it's still a great story, and an iconical arc in the DC timeline. Stern does a great job filling everyone in on who the players are, even the arcane ones like Guardian, Bibbo and the Newsboy Legion. His lengthy fight scene between Superman and Doomsday was probably the best part of the book. But, unlike Greg Rucka's Batman: No Man's Land novel, which I found more entertaining than the comics, I'd say only read this if you don't have time to read the plethora of comics that make up the Death of Superman arc. I commend Stern for being able to seamlessly squeeze a couple years' worth of comics into 450 pages, and he's a good writer, but I think, ultimately, it's better in comic form.
May 20, 2013
Certainly one of my most favorite comic story arc! This novelization was pretty good. Maybe not the most 100% top notch epic type novel I really enjoy to read, but very well done for a comic to prose transition!
If you would like to know more of my thoughts on this story arc take a look at my blog posts (There will be 14 when they are all posted)
http://congruentculture.wordpress.com...
If you would like to know more of my thoughts on this story arc take a look at my blog posts (There will be 14 when they are all posted)
http://congruentculture.wordpress.com...
February 18, 2018
This is a novelization of one of the most epic stories in the DC Universe. The graphic novels were amazing, but this book gives detailed insight into the lives of the people most affected by the death of, arguably, the greatest hero of all time. Sometimes, the dialogue got quite "comic-y," but I appreciated it anyway, considering that it was written over two decades ago. Fans of classic Superman should not miss out on this.
August 15, 2013
Surprisingly good for a novel based off of a comic book story.
July 8, 2016
I remember reading this back when it first came out and being very disappointed with it. Granted, I did not understand [or think about] how enormous the novel would be if it truly followed the multiple storylines of every single comic involved in this 'event' in the life of Superman. I had most of the comics in this 'story'; one of the things that bugged me the most was Green Lantern [Hal Jordan] not playing a part in the novel like he did at the end of the story in the comics. Ah, youth! [well, early college, anyway]
This is a novelization of Superman's overhyped death [and resurrection] storyline from DC Comics back in the early 90s. The novel was written well after the comic's story was completed. I read it to see what I was missing in the comics I did not have for this story; needless to say I was severely disappointed the first time I read it because it did not include any of what I remembered in the 'later issues.' So had I reviewed it back then, I would have given it maybe two stars at most. Having read it a second time, I thought the author did an amazing job composing such a large number of comics into one novel [when he could easily have written two novels out of the material available]. I still would have liked to have seen some more backstory in some parts, but that is a personal preference [and would have increased the size of the already enormous novel].
The book starts out with Superman undergoing 'mundane' things in life - saving people, wooing his fiancee, trying to maintain his double-life as Clark Kent. Y'know, basic stuff. Somehow or other, Doomsday awakens and batters his way free from his prison. The JLA is called into action and soundly defeated. The JLA's membership at the time [as described] seemed like it should have been rather powerful, but they were quickly beaten by Doomsday. Superman joins the battle and realizes he is in for the fight of his life. He ends up using all reserves of his energy to 'kill' the monster, dying in the arms of his lover/fiancee.
The next section of the book deals with Superman's death and how various agencies are vying for control of his body. I think I most enjoyed how Batman handled a bomber during Superman's funeral procession. People recollect how much Superman meant to them and how his death has changed everything. Luther is still a jerk - how could Supergirl have fallen for this guy!?! Well after the funeral, Superman's body disappears, is recovered, and disappears again. Strange things are afoot!
The next section deals with the appearance of various individuals who either claim to be or are claimed to be Superman in some form or another. One individual appears half-Superman, half-Cyborg; one appears most like Superman but wears a visor; and one man is wearing a form of hi-tech armor [a la Tony Stark, I'm sure]. The 'final' individual is an escaped clone of Superman, only this clone is in his teens . Some good is done in Superman's name; the chap wearing the visor has no problem dealing Punisher-like 'justice' in how he deals with criminals. The armored-clad chap is trying to rid the streets of weapons he recognizes as being based on former prototypes of his. The Cyborg is the most convincing, despite his appearance . Superboy is a teen trying to cope/deal with his powers as he was awoken to discover he had powers with no past. Tough job there!
The next part of the book involves tussles between the various characters. Steel [the armored guy] has it out with the Eradicator [the visor-wearing Superman] and they end up in Coast City. Using a prior conversation the Eradicator had with Lois Lane, Steel is able to talk some sense into the Eradicator on how Superman would truly have acted. The Eradicator remains in Coast City [important plot point!] while Steel returns to Metropolis. Meanwhile, an alien warship enters Earth's solar system and heads for Earth. Eventually, the alien warship heads for Coast City. The Cyborg is called by the US President to head to Coast City; he meets Eradicator as the vessel drops 77,000 bombs [yes, seventy-seven THOUSAND bombs] across Coast City. The bombs explode and the Eradicator is believed to have been killed by the villain[s]. Superboy flies out to help the Cyborg and is captured.
We find out Mongol is subservient to SOMEBODY WHO SHALL REMAIN UNNAMED [for now] who also wishes to destroy the Earth because of Superman. Mongol intends to turn the Earth into another Warworld, making him the most powerful, the most deadly, being in all the universe. Superboy learns that Metropolis is the next target, and he manages to escape. Upon reaching Metropolis, he discusses what he has learned with Steel, Supergirl, and Lois Lane. A giant robot appears in Metropolis and a short fight ensues. The robot is knocked out of commission, spilling its contents. A man dressed in black appears and convinces Lois he is the one and only Boyscout. Superboy, Steel, and Superman fly to Coast City to put a stop to Mongol's fiendish plan[s]. Upon arriving, Superman picks up a buncha big guns as his powers are not at their peak. Steel leads the charge into Mongol's fortress. An all-out battle ensues. Will the heroes save the day? [of course they do!]
I thought it was a well-written novel, considering the author was trying to combine multiple comics into one novel. Tough job! Any kind of adaptation can be a tough thing, so kudos to Roger Stern for doing such a good job! It moved at a fast pace; despite it being over four hundred pages of relatively small print it still took me maybe ten hours [spread out over two days] to read it [if that much time]. The action was well-written; the dialogue and interactions between characters were believable [in my opinion]; obviously the title of the book gives away the fact that Superman does not remain dead, but that still did not take away from the book. It does get toe the 'deep end' in terms of scientific stuff, but always remains readable and understandable. Other reviewers have complained about 'dues ex machina' stuff and the dialogue in the book - it's based on a buncha comic books! What did you expect? Comics from the 60s and 70s used to have brief backstory explanations as to how a villain [or the hero] managed to escape from what was believed to have been certain death. DC even did that with some of their titles when they rebooted their titles under 'the New 52' runs.
Perhaps it has to do with rereading it when I am older, but I have a much greater appreciation for Roger Stern did in this novel a second time around. A resounding five stars.
This is a novelization of Superman's overhyped death [and resurrection] storyline from DC Comics back in the early 90s. The novel was written well after the comic's story was completed. I read it to see what I was missing in the comics I did not have for this story; needless to say I was severely disappointed the first time I read it because it did not include any of what I remembered in the 'later issues.' So had I reviewed it back then, I would have given it maybe two stars at most. Having read it a second time, I thought the author did an amazing job composing such a large number of comics into one novel [when he could easily have written two novels out of the material available]. I still would have liked to have seen some more backstory in some parts, but that is a personal preference [and would have increased the size of the already enormous novel].
The book starts out with Superman undergoing 'mundane' things in life - saving people, wooing his fiancee, trying to maintain his double-life as Clark Kent. Y'know, basic stuff. Somehow or other, Doomsday awakens and batters his way free from his prison. The JLA is called into action and soundly defeated. The JLA's membership at the time [as described] seemed like it should have been rather powerful, but they were quickly beaten by Doomsday. Superman joins the battle and realizes he is in for the fight of his life. He ends up using all reserves of his energy to 'kill' the monster, dying in the arms of his lover/fiancee.
The next section of the book deals with Superman's death and how various agencies are vying for control of his body. I think I most enjoyed how Batman handled a bomber during Superman's funeral procession. People recollect how much Superman meant to them and how his death has changed everything. Luther is still a jerk - how could Supergirl have fallen for this guy!?! Well after the funeral, Superman's body disappears, is recovered, and disappears again. Strange things are afoot!
The next section deals with the appearance of various individuals who either claim to be or are claimed to be Superman in some form or another. One individual appears half-Superman, half-Cyborg; one appears most like Superman but wears a visor; and one man is wearing a form of hi-tech armor [a la Tony Stark, I'm sure]. The 'final' individual is an escaped clone of Superman, only this clone is in his teens . Some good is done in Superman's name; the chap wearing the visor has no problem dealing Punisher-like 'justice' in how he deals with criminals. The armored-clad chap is trying to rid the streets of weapons he recognizes as being based on former prototypes of his. The Cyborg is the most convincing, despite his appearance . Superboy is a teen trying to cope/deal with his powers as he was awoken to discover he had powers with no past. Tough job there!
The next part of the book involves tussles between the various characters. Steel [the armored guy] has it out with the Eradicator [the visor-wearing Superman] and they end up in Coast City. Using a prior conversation the Eradicator had with Lois Lane, Steel is able to talk some sense into the Eradicator on how Superman would truly have acted. The Eradicator remains in Coast City [important plot point!] while Steel returns to Metropolis. Meanwhile, an alien warship enters Earth's solar system and heads for Earth. Eventually, the alien warship heads for Coast City. The Cyborg is called by the US President to head to Coast City; he meets Eradicator as the vessel drops 77,000 bombs [yes, seventy-seven THOUSAND bombs] across Coast City. The bombs explode and the Eradicator is believed to have been killed by the villain[s]. Superboy flies out to help the Cyborg and is captured.
We find out Mongol is subservient to SOMEBODY WHO SHALL REMAIN UNNAMED [for now] who also wishes to destroy the Earth because of Superman. Mongol intends to turn the Earth into another Warworld, making him the most powerful, the most deadly, being in all the universe. Superboy learns that Metropolis is the next target, and he manages to escape. Upon reaching Metropolis, he discusses what he has learned with Steel, Supergirl, and Lois Lane. A giant robot appears in Metropolis and a short fight ensues. The robot is knocked out of commission, spilling its contents. A man dressed in black appears and convinces Lois he is the one and only Boyscout. Superboy, Steel, and Superman fly to Coast City to put a stop to Mongol's fiendish plan[s]. Upon arriving, Superman picks up a buncha big guns as his powers are not at their peak. Steel leads the charge into Mongol's fortress. An all-out battle ensues. Will the heroes save the day? [of course they do!]
I thought it was a well-written novel, considering the author was trying to combine multiple comics into one novel. Tough job! Any kind of adaptation can be a tough thing, so kudos to Roger Stern for doing such a good job! It moved at a fast pace; despite it being over four hundred pages of relatively small print it still took me maybe ten hours [spread out over two days] to read it [if that much time]. The action was well-written; the dialogue and interactions between characters were believable [in my opinion]; obviously the title of the book gives away the fact that Superman does not remain dead, but that still did not take away from the book. It does get toe the 'deep end' in terms of scientific stuff, but always remains readable and understandable. Other reviewers have complained about 'dues ex machina' stuff and the dialogue in the book - it's based on a buncha comic books! What did you expect? Comics from the 60s and 70s used to have brief backstory explanations as to how a villain [or the hero] managed to escape from what was believed to have been certain death. DC even did that with some of their titles when they rebooted their titles under 'the New 52' runs.
Perhaps it has to do with rereading it when I am older, but I have a much greater appreciation for Roger Stern did in this novel a second time around. A resounding five stars.
July 22, 2024
As someone who’s not a big Superman fan I enjoyed this book a decent bit. The central plot line featuring Superman and the Supermen is pretty enjoyable but there are a lot of side characters that were just boring to read about. Very classic story that I enjoyed reading for the first time.
April 25, 2016
Excellent vignette of what happened to the Man of Steel's legend.
And Supergirl was in it. Yah!
January 25, 2024
I'm only casually aware of the whole Superman mythos (Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Kryptonite) and not at all of most of the other superheroes who feature in this book, so I can say that the author does a good job of dumping vast reams of existing backstory into the narrative for the benefit of those who may not know or remember all the relevant plot points from decades back, and of making the result pretty readable. As I don't get on with the graphic novel format, this is probably actually more readable for me than the original comic strip panels would have been - the experience is often very reminiscent of reading a superhero strip, with the advantage that I actually get to know what was intended to be happening during the action sequences and all the subtext that was supposed to be in the juxtapositions of imagery!
As novelisations of comic strips go, this is a pretty good one. As actual reading... it's maybe a bit one dimensional, consisting of vast amounts of action, fairly minimal characterisation, and a very convoluted plot-line involving multiple incarnations of Superman running around after the original was supposedly dead. It genuinely wasn't obvious which one was the 'real ' one, and it was interesting that when the original Superman did return, his dialogue felt immediately 'right' in a way that the others' hadn't...
As a reading experience it feels very 'condensed', with what are in effect multiple volumes of plot tumbling one on top of each other into a single book. I feel as if I have now had a crash course in forty years or so of accumulated lore slimmed down to the minimum necessary to grasp the current scenario and protagonists!
Surprisingly accessible to the non-aficionado.
As novelisations of comic strips go, this is a pretty good one. As actual reading... it's maybe a bit one dimensional, consisting of vast amounts of action, fairly minimal characterisation, and a very convoluted plot-line involving multiple incarnations of Superman running around after the original was supposedly dead. It genuinely wasn't obvious which one was the 'real ' one, and it was interesting that when the original Superman did return, his dialogue felt immediately 'right' in a way that the others' hadn't...
As a reading experience it feels very 'condensed', with what are in effect multiple volumes of plot tumbling one on top of each other into a single book. I feel as if I have now had a crash course in forty years or so of accumulated lore slimmed down to the minimum necessary to grasp the current scenario and protagonists!
Surprisingly accessible to the non-aficionado.
October 11, 2020
This is one I've read quite a bit, mostly back in my high school and college days. There's something comforting about Roger Stern's take on Superman - it's a bit old fashioned, a bit quaint, but he manages to really capture the heart and spirit of Superman and bring him to life in a way where both Clark and Superman feel like the same person portrayed in different ways. It's been a while since I last read it - probably close to a decade - and I was worried it wouldn't hold up.
Fortunately, I was wrong - it did hold up pretty well.....for the most part. Parts I and II of the story are fantastic, weaving the various issues of the comics that made up Death of a Superman and Funeral For A Friend into a coherent narrative that was streamlined just enough without leaving much out. Part III though, Reign of the Supermen - it was the weakest leak in the original comics, and it's the weakest link here as well.
The positives first!
Like I said, Stern can really capture the old school spirit of Superman - the guy who does good because it's the right thing to do. The guy who gets to know the people he rescues, the one who is always there to be a comforting presence if need be. It really comes across great on the page - he feels like a living legend, and we get to see Stern flashback to a lot of major events in Superman's career in fun ways.
He's also great at capturing the - at the time - main cast of the comics. Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, the Kents, even Luthor, are all portrayed very well. I'd forgotten how nice it was to have the Kents still alive and around as support for both Clark and Lois and the various others in their world. The fact that Superman could save the day and then stop at home for some homemade pie - I don't know, that's just such a Superman thing to do, and I love it. It seems like too many writers and creators want to do a realistic and dark take on Superman, but for me, I can never get enough of that cheery optimism and hopeful portrayal.
There's also a man named Bibbo, a kind of roughneck former boxer/almost criminal who tried to fight Superman and got roughed up. Then he turned his life around out of respect for his "favrit." He wins the lottery and ends up buying a bar, using it to employ people who are down on their luck and using his money to help out those in need in his community - and again, it's that perfect portrayal of the effect that Superman can have. Batman would beat up someone and probably terrify them, either causing them to slip further into crime or become too afraid to ever attempt to do it again. Superman, on the other hand, ends up inspiring a guy who could easily have become a one off villain into becoming a better man. When all the different Supermen pop up, Bibbo ends up putting on a Superman shirt and delivering sandwiches to people, and saving puppies from drowning. That's the real spirit of Superman right there.
Now for the bad.
If you're not familiar with the comic storyline already, this would probably be kinda confusing at parts. Like, Luthor is pretending to be his secret son when instead he's a younger clone of himself after faking his death (holy soap opera Batman!) That's a lot of stuff to just kind of throw away in a few paragraphs here and there, and it kinda worked better in the comic, and not so much when it's delivered in prose form.
One thing that didn't really work in the comics, and I don't really blame Stern for (though who came up with the idea originally, I don't know) is that Supergirl is in a relationship with Luthor. This isn't the Supergirl that most are familiar with though - in the late 80's and early 90's, there was an edict that Superman could be the only surviving Kryptonian. One of the ways they decided to try and get around this was by creating an alternate universe where Supergirl is created from protoplasm and given similar abilities (but not nearly the same) as Superman in an effort to save that universe. Long story short, Supergirl is critically injured and reduced to a childlike state. The Kents help her, and she eventually regains her Supergirl persona, taking off into space. When she returns and crash lands into Earth, she's recovered by Luthor, who, in his new younger body, looks just like her creator on the other world, and she falls in love. Now...in both chronological terms and in terms of world experience, Supergirl is pretty much a kid. So even though nothing is ever shown and it's pretty soap operaish in it's portrayal, it's still super gross. Honestly, this whole concept of Supergirl was really weirdly done, and wouldn't really get shown the proper love until Peter David would later come in to revitalize and recreate the character into someone who felt a lot more alive. But that's not relevant to this particular story - Supergirl's parts aren't really fleshed out super well, though I did like her when she wasn't cozying up to Luthor (because again, ew.)
I felt like John Henry Irons, aka Steel, also got the short end of the stick here, along with Superboy (err, I mean Superman of course - he doesn't like being called Superboy.) They barely get any page time, and most of their storylines from the comic are extremely streamlined or glazed over. It's a shame - John Henry in particular could've been given a different role. His whole subplot with the gang using his weapons is basically solved within 50 pages of being introduced, and we don't even get to witness the destruction of the factory or his confrontation with his former coworker. If you're going to cut him out of the story like that, at least give him something else to do, that's more relevant to the actual story.
Finally, there's just the whole nature of continuity of comics versus continuity of prose novels. There's a lot of references and characters that could've probably been cut or streamlined.
Don't get me wrong though - the book is well worth it for the first two parts, which make up the majority of the book, and the third part isn't terrible - it's just disjointed, and suffers a bit from trying to compress that many comic plotlines into a single part of the book.
Fortunately, I was wrong - it did hold up pretty well.....for the most part. Parts I and II of the story are fantastic, weaving the various issues of the comics that made up Death of a Superman and Funeral For A Friend into a coherent narrative that was streamlined just enough without leaving much out. Part III though, Reign of the Supermen - it was the weakest leak in the original comics, and it's the weakest link here as well.
The positives first!
Like I said, Stern can really capture the old school spirit of Superman - the guy who does good because it's the right thing to do. The guy who gets to know the people he rescues, the one who is always there to be a comforting presence if need be. It really comes across great on the page - he feels like a living legend, and we get to see Stern flashback to a lot of major events in Superman's career in fun ways.
He's also great at capturing the - at the time - main cast of the comics. Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, the Kents, even Luthor, are all portrayed very well. I'd forgotten how nice it was to have the Kents still alive and around as support for both Clark and Lois and the various others in their world. The fact that Superman could save the day and then stop at home for some homemade pie - I don't know, that's just such a Superman thing to do, and I love it. It seems like too many writers and creators want to do a realistic and dark take on Superman, but for me, I can never get enough of that cheery optimism and hopeful portrayal.
There's also a man named Bibbo, a kind of roughneck former boxer/almost criminal who tried to fight Superman and got roughed up. Then he turned his life around out of respect for his "favrit." He wins the lottery and ends up buying a bar, using it to employ people who are down on their luck and using his money to help out those in need in his community - and again, it's that perfect portrayal of the effect that Superman can have. Batman would beat up someone and probably terrify them, either causing them to slip further into crime or become too afraid to ever attempt to do it again. Superman, on the other hand, ends up inspiring a guy who could easily have become a one off villain into becoming a better man. When all the different Supermen pop up, Bibbo ends up putting on a Superman shirt and delivering sandwiches to people, and saving puppies from drowning. That's the real spirit of Superman right there.
Now for the bad.
If you're not familiar with the comic storyline already, this would probably be kinda confusing at parts. Like, Luthor is pretending to be his secret son when instead he's a younger clone of himself after faking his death (holy soap opera Batman!) That's a lot of stuff to just kind of throw away in a few paragraphs here and there, and it kinda worked better in the comic, and not so much when it's delivered in prose form.
One thing that didn't really work in the comics, and I don't really blame Stern for (though who came up with the idea originally, I don't know) is that Supergirl is in a relationship with Luthor. This isn't the Supergirl that most are familiar with though - in the late 80's and early 90's, there was an edict that Superman could be the only surviving Kryptonian. One of the ways they decided to try and get around this was by creating an alternate universe where Supergirl is created from protoplasm and given similar abilities (but not nearly the same) as Superman in an effort to save that universe. Long story short, Supergirl is critically injured and reduced to a childlike state. The Kents help her, and she eventually regains her Supergirl persona, taking off into space. When she returns and crash lands into Earth, she's recovered by Luthor, who, in his new younger body, looks just like her creator on the other world, and she falls in love. Now...in both chronological terms and in terms of world experience, Supergirl is pretty much a kid. So even though nothing is ever shown and it's pretty soap operaish in it's portrayal, it's still super gross. Honestly, this whole concept of Supergirl was really weirdly done, and wouldn't really get shown the proper love until Peter David would later come in to revitalize and recreate the character into someone who felt a lot more alive. But that's not relevant to this particular story - Supergirl's parts aren't really fleshed out super well, though I did like her when she wasn't cozying up to Luthor (because again, ew.)
I felt like John Henry Irons, aka Steel, also got the short end of the stick here, along with Superboy (err, I mean Superman of course - he doesn't like being called Superboy.) They barely get any page time, and most of their storylines from the comic are extremely streamlined or glazed over. It's a shame - John Henry in particular could've been given a different role. His whole subplot with the gang using his weapons is basically solved within 50 pages of being introduced, and we don't even get to witness the destruction of the factory or his confrontation with his former coworker. If you're going to cut him out of the story like that, at least give him something else to do, that's more relevant to the actual story.
Finally, there's just the whole nature of continuity of comics versus continuity of prose novels. There's a lot of references and characters that could've probably been cut or streamlined.
Don't get me wrong though - the book is well worth it for the first two parts, which make up the majority of the book, and the third part isn't terrible - it's just disjointed, and suffers a bit from trying to compress that many comic plotlines into a single part of the book.
July 14, 2021
Interesting book! Stern does an effective job of bringing the reader through the Doomsday arc and gives the reader enough relevant background information to understand the characters even if you’ve never read any Superman before.
With that in mind, Stern’s use of language is… less than ideal. He could benefit from the saying, “Show don’t tell.” In addition, his language use surrounding race is a little dated. He often refers to people of color by their race first (i.e. black, African-American, Arab, etc.), but never refers to any of the white characters as white, as far as I can tell. In addition, some of his dialogue feels awkward or unnatural, but that may also be a leftover from the comic book dialogue.
All things considered, this is a good book to read if you want a solid novelization of Superman or if you want to follow the death of Superman, the four supermen, and Superman’s return without digging through all of the comics. That is, as long as you can deal with a sometimes awkward writing style.
With that in mind, Stern’s use of language is… less than ideal. He could benefit from the saying, “Show don’t tell.” In addition, his language use surrounding race is a little dated. He often refers to people of color by their race first (i.e. black, African-American, Arab, etc.), but never refers to any of the white characters as white, as far as I can tell. In addition, some of his dialogue feels awkward or unnatural, but that may also be a leftover from the comic book dialogue.
All things considered, this is a good book to read if you want a solid novelization of Superman or if you want to follow the death of Superman, the four supermen, and Superman’s return without digging through all of the comics. That is, as long as you can deal with a sometimes awkward writing style.
December 10, 2013
A Look At The Death And Life Of Superman
Back in bygone days of the early 1990’s, Superman died. But don’t worry, he got better. And yes, I have used this line before.
If you look aways back here on the blog to my review of Superman Doomsday, ye shall see my perspective (and that same opening line) on the YA novel that adapted the epic storyline featuring the demise of our hero Kal-El.
To recap for those of you who came in late, back in the early 1990′s the creators working on the Superman comics had to jettison one major story (the wedding of Lois and Clark) due to the television show and slam together something new right away. That something new involved a very old trope of killing the hero. And this spontaneous idea steamrolled into one the biggest and most well known comics stories ever, adapted into a cartoon movie, and the aforementioned YA novel, and what I am looking at today, a hardcover fiction book.
The Death And Life Of Superman by Roger Stern is a five hundred plus page book which translates, condenses, and in some cases changes, well over six months worth of storylines that weaved through multiple comics and crossovers, all to tell this massive tale.
We start with Superman and his life at the time. Protecting Metropolis, working as Clark Kent at The Daily Planet, engaged to Lois Lane who also knows his secret, still flying home to Smallville to hang out with Ma and Pa Kent, trying to figure out to get this newest version of the Justice League to work, and saving people from falling off of a construction site. In other words, a typical status quo day for Kal-El.
Into this normalcy comes a mindless monster from a prison in the depths of the Earth. He becomes known as Doomsday and quickly starts laying waste everywhere he goes. When the Justice League arrives, he quickly rips apart their ranks. Superman arrives and a pitched battle storms through the countryside, causing horrendous damage, and ends up in Metropolis. Amidst the devastation, Superman finally kills the rampaging beast, but at the cost of his own life as well. The world mourns with a huge funeral, while Lois, Ma and Pa, and Lana share quiet sorrow together. With the wound of his passing still sore, four beings arrive in Metropolis, all to fill the void of Superman.
One is a Superboy, a cocky loud mouthed teenager who is partial clone of Kal-El. Created by a secret government organization called Project Cadmus, but freed before he was ready, this young man really wants the world to call him Superman. Another is the Man Of Steel, an inventor who was once saved by Superman, and now is dedicating himself to living up to Kal-El’s ideal, all with the help of his mechanized armour. Using more lethal tactics is the Last Son, a strange being who claims to be a resurrected Superman, but needs to repower off of a matrix egg in the Fortress. And finally we have the Cyborg Superman, another hero claiming to be Kal-El brought back, but this time with slight memory loss and parts of his body replaced by Kryptonian technology.
These four interact with Metropolis, Superman’s friends and enemies, and each other, sometimes in ways not very conductive to the public good. Tensions and egos build until the climax, where we really find out who’s who, what’s what, and the status quo of the one true Superman is reestablished, but now with an even larger supporting cast of allies and enemies.
Having read and completely enjoyed this storyline from way back when it first came out over twenty years ago, I mostly expected a beat by beat recreation of all that had occurred. But along the way, changes crop up, some big, some small, and some downright annoying. The scenes immediately after Superman’s death are powerful and emotional in the comics, with a wonderful layer of logic applied all through. The book version slightly truncates this, taking away some of the impact, and I cannot understand why.
Towards the last hundred pages or so, it is noticeable the sudden condensing of the comics with whole issues being summarized in a paragraph or two. Once the final leg of the journey starts, the pace returns to a more normal routine. At this point, another veering from the source material pops up, a very major one which I can understand this time since the ramifications from this plotline would pad this book out by another whole whack of chapters.
While I may sound slightly negative about The Death And Life Of Superman, it is more a feeling of disappointment. The book just feels disjointed to me and far too episodic. The fault for this does not lay with veteran comics writer Roger Stern, who has literally penned thousands of stories including acclaimed runs on Spiderman, The Avengers, Action Comics and Superman, but with the deadline I heard the book was produced under. Part of me envisions some book editor, reviewing each chapter as it comes in, and telling Stern how to speed things up, or the eternal problem comics based projects face, how to “fix” them.
A few of my favourite Geek out moments with the book which survived any tampering by the know nothings includes the awesome cover featuring the blood dripping S symbol popularized during this storyline, a list in the front of all the creators whose work was adapted, the writing of Lois and Clark as a couple, and the merry inclusion of Bibbo liberally throughout. Gotta love Bibbo, he’s my fav’t!
For the diehard, The Death And Life Of Superman would be in your collection even if the results are uneven. Superman Geek OCD is like that. For the uninitiated, it will serve as an okay introduction to what the mythos were at the time. A snapshot of Superman 1992.
And, by the way, Superman dies. But not for long.
Back in bygone days of the early 1990’s, Superman died. But don’t worry, he got better. And yes, I have used this line before.
If you look aways back here on the blog to my review of Superman Doomsday, ye shall see my perspective (and that same opening line) on the YA novel that adapted the epic storyline featuring the demise of our hero Kal-El.
To recap for those of you who came in late, back in the early 1990′s the creators working on the Superman comics had to jettison one major story (the wedding of Lois and Clark) due to the television show and slam together something new right away. That something new involved a very old trope of killing the hero. And this spontaneous idea steamrolled into one the biggest and most well known comics stories ever, adapted into a cartoon movie, and the aforementioned YA novel, and what I am looking at today, a hardcover fiction book.
The Death And Life Of Superman by Roger Stern is a five hundred plus page book which translates, condenses, and in some cases changes, well over six months worth of storylines that weaved through multiple comics and crossovers, all to tell this massive tale.
We start with Superman and his life at the time. Protecting Metropolis, working as Clark Kent at The Daily Planet, engaged to Lois Lane who also knows his secret, still flying home to Smallville to hang out with Ma and Pa Kent, trying to figure out to get this newest version of the Justice League to work, and saving people from falling off of a construction site. In other words, a typical status quo day for Kal-El.
Into this normalcy comes a mindless monster from a prison in the depths of the Earth. He becomes known as Doomsday and quickly starts laying waste everywhere he goes. When the Justice League arrives, he quickly rips apart their ranks. Superman arrives and a pitched battle storms through the countryside, causing horrendous damage, and ends up in Metropolis. Amidst the devastation, Superman finally kills the rampaging beast, but at the cost of his own life as well. The world mourns with a huge funeral, while Lois, Ma and Pa, and Lana share quiet sorrow together. With the wound of his passing still sore, four beings arrive in Metropolis, all to fill the void of Superman.
One is a Superboy, a cocky loud mouthed teenager who is partial clone of Kal-El. Created by a secret government organization called Project Cadmus, but freed before he was ready, this young man really wants the world to call him Superman. Another is the Man Of Steel, an inventor who was once saved by Superman, and now is dedicating himself to living up to Kal-El’s ideal, all with the help of his mechanized armour. Using more lethal tactics is the Last Son, a strange being who claims to be a resurrected Superman, but needs to repower off of a matrix egg in the Fortress. And finally we have the Cyborg Superman, another hero claiming to be Kal-El brought back, but this time with slight memory loss and parts of his body replaced by Kryptonian technology.
These four interact with Metropolis, Superman’s friends and enemies, and each other, sometimes in ways not very conductive to the public good. Tensions and egos build until the climax, where we really find out who’s who, what’s what, and the status quo of the one true Superman is reestablished, but now with an even larger supporting cast of allies and enemies.
Having read and completely enjoyed this storyline from way back when it first came out over twenty years ago, I mostly expected a beat by beat recreation of all that had occurred. But along the way, changes crop up, some big, some small, and some downright annoying. The scenes immediately after Superman’s death are powerful and emotional in the comics, with a wonderful layer of logic applied all through. The book version slightly truncates this, taking away some of the impact, and I cannot understand why.
Towards the last hundred pages or so, it is noticeable the sudden condensing of the comics with whole issues being summarized in a paragraph or two. Once the final leg of the journey starts, the pace returns to a more normal routine. At this point, another veering from the source material pops up, a very major one which I can understand this time since the ramifications from this plotline would pad this book out by another whole whack of chapters.
While I may sound slightly negative about The Death And Life Of Superman, it is more a feeling of disappointment. The book just feels disjointed to me and far too episodic. The fault for this does not lay with veteran comics writer Roger Stern, who has literally penned thousands of stories including acclaimed runs on Spiderman, The Avengers, Action Comics and Superman, but with the deadline I heard the book was produced under. Part of me envisions some book editor, reviewing each chapter as it comes in, and telling Stern how to speed things up, or the eternal problem comics based projects face, how to “fix” them.
A few of my favourite Geek out moments with the book which survived any tampering by the know nothings includes the awesome cover featuring the blood dripping S symbol popularized during this storyline, a list in the front of all the creators whose work was adapted, the writing of Lois and Clark as a couple, and the merry inclusion of Bibbo liberally throughout. Gotta love Bibbo, he’s my fav’t!
For the diehard, The Death And Life Of Superman would be in your collection even if the results are uneven. Superman Geek OCD is like that. For the uninitiated, it will serve as an okay introduction to what the mythos were at the time. A snapshot of Superman 1992.
And, by the way, Superman dies. But not for long.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2018
Superman isn't just a favorite for me; as a youth, I idolized the Man of Steel.
In 1993, I didn't follow the comics closely, but when I came home from school, Mom had a copy of the Death of Superman graphic novel waiting for me. I devoured that graphic novel, just as I had devoured the book. I am willing to argue with anyone that the Death and Return of Superman was one of the greatest science fiction stories ever told. This book was a tremendous literary adaptation of that story.
The book read well, it flowed, and I didn't find myself lost at all. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys anything Superman related.
In 1993, I didn't follow the comics closely, but when I came home from school, Mom had a copy of the Death of Superman graphic novel waiting for me. I devoured that graphic novel, just as I had devoured the book. I am willing to argue with anyone that the Death and Return of Superman was one of the greatest science fiction stories ever told. This book was a tremendous literary adaptation of that story.
The book read well, it flowed, and I didn't find myself lost at all. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys anything Superman related.
May 23, 2020
A very intriguing read! The Reign of the Supermen was, by far, my most-loved section out of this whole Superman story arc. It has further educated me of the interesting backstories that my two favourite Supers- Steel and The Eradicator - have. I do have a few gripes with the whole entire novel, however. For starters, it just goes too in-depth with the side stories of some of the more minor characters, such as the Supermen Cultists and the Cops, as well as Lex Luthor's personal opinions and relationship with Supergirl. Although, these stories do tie in neatly with the main Superman storyline. Altogether, this novel by Roger Stern is very well made and receives a solid 4 stars in my opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2017
I can't believe this wasn't on my shelves. I loved this novelization of the best comic book run in Superman history.
I probably read this way back when it first was released and then a million times since then. So I don't know how it was not shelved and or reviewed by me before then.
Actually, I was looking for a kindle version of this and I'm sad to say there is no e-book of the Death and Life of Superman novelization. Bummer.
I probably read this way back when it first was released and then a million times since then. So I don't know how it was not shelved and or reviewed by me before then.
Actually, I was looking for a kindle version of this and I'm sad to say there is no e-book of the Death and Life of Superman novelization. Bummer.
August 28, 2023
"Power carries a lot of responsibilities."
A book my husband picked up and never read, so I'm getting it off my TBR cart.
Things I was confused about:
1. Supergirl is dating Lex Luthor
2. Superman is not in the Justice League
3. There are a ton of superhero/villain names I've never heard before
4. The Suicide Slum?
5. Supergirl giving, quote, "the molecules of her sleeping gown a mental shove, then, just that easily" transforming her clothes into her superhero costume
A book my husband picked up and never read, so I'm getting it off my TBR cart.
Things I was confused about:
1. Supergirl is dating Lex Luthor
2. Superman is not in the Justice League
3. There are a ton of superhero/villain names I've never heard before
4. The Suicide Slum?
5. Supergirl giving, quote, "the molecules of her sleeping gown a mental shove, then, just that easily" transforming her clothes into her superhero costume
July 8, 2010
I've always been morbidly interested in this time of comics history, and I remember vividly the television news reports of my childhood proclaiming Superman's death and the progression of stupidity to follow. I've kept myself vigilantly ignorant of the whole narrative until I had the chance to read this novelized form of the comic books, which I've been saving for a summer read since probably 1997.
The first part is great. It is epic in scope, encompassing a cast of thousands, and if you can get past the cheesy comic book dialogue, a fast and action-packed read. This part, Superman's battle with the mysterious Doomsday, is the part I am most familiar with from my comic book collection. I remember being frustrated with the character Doomsday, dismayed that Superman would meet his end at the hands of a walking Dues-Ex-Machina of Death, instead of in some climactic and picturesque battle with his old nemesis, Lex Luthor. But now I find the mysterious hatred of Doomsday pretty gutsy as far as plot arcs go, and I don't really care to find out what inevitable history/future the character has in DC comics.
The second part (Funeral for a Friend) quieted everything down and here the novel entered soap-opera mode, as various characters reflect on Superman's passing, which is pretty annoying to read about when you think about it since even from the title of the book the reader knows He's [sic:] coming back and it seems a waste and in poor taste to read pages and pages of people grieving for a lost one that will inevitably come back to life.
The Third part, Reign of the Supermen, was the part that intrigued me the most since I didn't know much about this part of the story. It was a bit of a disappointment, more silly than everything else. Roger Stern's retelling of the mammoth storyline gets severely chopped up and edited here, and gone are characters like Gangbuster (omitted entirely from the novel) and instead are re-imaginings of the first appearances of the four false-messiah Supermen.
I remember vividly the comic book where Superman comes back to life, after appearing in a heart-attack induced dream Johnathon Kent, his father, is having. After the storyline ends, there are four short chapters where the future Supermen are introduced, and it ends with the Cyborg one leaping in the sky after burning a memorial plate for Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday outside the Daily Planet. It was an iconic image to me, as it looks both uplifting and twisted, as the Cyborg looks like a Superman/Terminator combination. In the novel, this part is handled in a totally different matter that just ruins any sort of dramatic foreshadowing and the Krypton Superman is the one that burns the plate. I don't know, that little change grated me, as did Stern having to resort to a lot of exposition and recaps of comic book issues he couldn't fit into the novel without it being thousand of pages long.
Anyway, if I were to tell the four supermen stories (and this is only interesting to me, I guess), here's what I would do.
-I'd keep the Superboy clone, even though he is a 90's Bart Simpson cooldude embarrassment.
-I'd make Steel much less powerful, probably more in keeping with the lame-ass Shaq movie, and only concerned with urban crime and redevelopment.
-I'd keep the Krypton Superman's backstory, but I would make him much more villainous and more of the Anti-Christ of the story, using his awesome powers to eradicate whole populaces in his plan to spread truth, justice, and the american way.
-Instead of a really pitiful cardboard villain, I'd make the Cyborg some crazy science experiment gone bad that thinks he really is Superman and has to be put out of his misery like a rabid dog.
-I'd also pay more attention to the end-of-days Supermen cultists, as that was an interesting idea that really went nowhere.
Anyway, when Mongul shows up this story really enters ham-fisted hammy comic book cosmic comic fartland, which is a real departure from the second part, which was so "human interest" related. It was more action-packed, but it just seemed silly and deflating by this point.
There were many instances of groan-inducing unironic meta-ness sprinkled through this novel. It's no secret that when Superman died in the comics it was a huge money-grubbing scheme, with pollybag "collector" issues complete with giant-size posters and commemorative memorial black armbands flying off the shelves. It seems like a mean trick to play on an unsuspecting hero-worshiping populace. All through the book there are people cashing in on Superman's name, from a vendor at his tomb selling armbands to Superboy's broadcast sponsor trying to copyright the Superman logo. It's a bit weird to read about, and reminds me that although the Superman story is full of nods to Christianity (his body goes missing from his grave, he returns as the Man in Black), Superman's shield is also pentagonal in shape, which gives a little unsettling Anti-Christ edge to the Man of Steel.
Anyway, everything from a gnome-controlled robot to a giant squid to a telekinetic shape-shifting Supergirl from another dimension in love with Lex Luthor's heir (that is really Lex Luthor's brain transplanted into another body) appear in this sprawling book so it's well worth the price of admission.
The first part is great. It is epic in scope, encompassing a cast of thousands, and if you can get past the cheesy comic book dialogue, a fast and action-packed read. This part, Superman's battle with the mysterious Doomsday, is the part I am most familiar with from my comic book collection. I remember being frustrated with the character Doomsday, dismayed that Superman would meet his end at the hands of a walking Dues-Ex-Machina of Death, instead of in some climactic and picturesque battle with his old nemesis, Lex Luthor. But now I find the mysterious hatred of Doomsday pretty gutsy as far as plot arcs go, and I don't really care to find out what inevitable history/future the character has in DC comics.
The second part (Funeral for a Friend) quieted everything down and here the novel entered soap-opera mode, as various characters reflect on Superman's passing, which is pretty annoying to read about when you think about it since even from the title of the book the reader knows He's [sic:] coming back and it seems a waste and in poor taste to read pages and pages of people grieving for a lost one that will inevitably come back to life.
The Third part, Reign of the Supermen, was the part that intrigued me the most since I didn't know much about this part of the story. It was a bit of a disappointment, more silly than everything else. Roger Stern's retelling of the mammoth storyline gets severely chopped up and edited here, and gone are characters like Gangbuster (omitted entirely from the novel) and instead are re-imaginings of the first appearances of the four false-messiah Supermen.
I remember vividly the comic book where Superman comes back to life, after appearing in a heart-attack induced dream Johnathon Kent, his father, is having. After the storyline ends, there are four short chapters where the future Supermen are introduced, and it ends with the Cyborg one leaping in the sky after burning a memorial plate for Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday outside the Daily Planet. It was an iconic image to me, as it looks both uplifting and twisted, as the Cyborg looks like a Superman/Terminator combination. In the novel, this part is handled in a totally different matter that just ruins any sort of dramatic foreshadowing and the Krypton Superman is the one that burns the plate. I don't know, that little change grated me, as did Stern having to resort to a lot of exposition and recaps of comic book issues he couldn't fit into the novel without it being thousand of pages long.
Anyway, if I were to tell the four supermen stories (and this is only interesting to me, I guess), here's what I would do.
-I'd keep the Superboy clone, even though he is a 90's Bart Simpson cooldude embarrassment.
-I'd make Steel much less powerful, probably more in keeping with the lame-ass Shaq movie, and only concerned with urban crime and redevelopment.
-I'd keep the Krypton Superman's backstory, but I would make him much more villainous and more of the Anti-Christ of the story, using his awesome powers to eradicate whole populaces in his plan to spread truth, justice, and the american way.
-Instead of a really pitiful cardboard villain, I'd make the Cyborg some crazy science experiment gone bad that thinks he really is Superman and has to be put out of his misery like a rabid dog.
-I'd also pay more attention to the end-of-days Supermen cultists, as that was an interesting idea that really went nowhere.
Anyway, when Mongul shows up this story really enters ham-fisted hammy comic book cosmic comic fartland, which is a real departure from the second part, which was so "human interest" related. It was more action-packed, but it just seemed silly and deflating by this point.
There were many instances of groan-inducing unironic meta-ness sprinkled through this novel. It's no secret that when Superman died in the comics it was a huge money-grubbing scheme, with pollybag "collector" issues complete with giant-size posters and commemorative memorial black armbands flying off the shelves. It seems like a mean trick to play on an unsuspecting hero-worshiping populace. All through the book there are people cashing in on Superman's name, from a vendor at his tomb selling armbands to Superboy's broadcast sponsor trying to copyright the Superman logo. It's a bit weird to read about, and reminds me that although the Superman story is full of nods to Christianity (his body goes missing from his grave, he returns as the Man in Black), Superman's shield is also pentagonal in shape, which gives a little unsettling Anti-Christ edge to the Man of Steel.
Anyway, everything from a gnome-controlled robot to a giant squid to a telekinetic shape-shifting Supergirl from another dimension in love with Lex Luthor's heir (that is really Lex Luthor's brain transplanted into another body) appear in this sprawling book so it's well worth the price of admission.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews