Ngutierrez31's Reviews > The Death and Life of Superman

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!