Rating: 
Summary: Great else world story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: THis graphic novel took me completely by surprise in its presentation of how supe became a man who becomes all dictating to the realization of the monster he has become to humanity. Lex Luthor as the obsessed scientist who will do anything to stop had me gasping with surprise. And the twist ending will leave your jaw dropped.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a cause & effect, but a complete overhaul
Review: I am a big fan of Marvel's long-lost WHAT IF series, in which one small change in a familiar storyline would result in radically different outcomes for heroes or villains. When DC began their Elseworlds imprint, I took notice, hoping that this would satisfy my craving for more variants on the old standards. I've noticed more and more, however, that Elseworlds is not so much a continuation of the WHAT IF premise, but complete reimaginings of the DC Universe. What's more, they really don't make much sense, and that is no more apparent than with Mark Millar's SUPERMAN: RED SON.From reading the cover and introduction, the premise of this book appears to be "If Kal-El's rocket was off by a few minutes and landed in the USSR instead of the USA, how would that affect the DCU?". Reading on, however, I realize that the premise instead is "How would the DCU look in a world dominated by the USSR?" That's a whole different ballgame, and not nearly as interesting to me. The reason I say this is that Millar does not make it clear how the effects presented in RED SON are caused by Superman's existence as a communist figurehead. For example, why would Superman's not being in the USA make Jimmy Olsen decide to become a government agent instead of working for the Daily Planet? Why would a Russian boy with murdered dissident parents become Batman instead of Bruce Wayne? Why would Oliver Queen work for the Daily Planet instead of becoming Green Arrow? It seems to me that Superman's existence in the "regular" timeline had no effect on Olsen's desire to work at the Planet, the murder of Bruce Wayne's Parents, or Oliver Queen being stranded on an island; therefore, these characters should remain pretty much the same in this alternate timeline. All I can assume is that Millar wanted to give us more bang for the buck, giving us a quick thrill upon spotting familiar characters in different circumstances, but his cause-and-effect gets sloppy in the process. There are a few well-done moments, such as the creation of Bizarro and the release of the super-villains, but these were overshadowed for me by the little inconsistencies I mentioned before (and others) that just didn't add up. This is not a simple "alternate timeline" caused by a different destination for Kal-El's rocket... this is an complete reinterpretation of the DCU, and not much fun for me.
Rating:
Summary: Not a "what if", but a random interpretation of the DCU
Review: I am a big fan of Marvel's long-lost WHAT IF series, in which one small change in a familiar storyline would result in radically different outcomes for heroes or villains. When DC began their Elseworlds imprint, I took notice, hoping that this would satisfy my craving for more variants on the old standards. I've noticed more and more, however, that Elseworlds is not so much a continuation of the WHAT IF premise, but a complete reimagining of the DC Universe, and that is no more apparent than with Mark Millar's SUPERMAN: RED SON. From reading the cover and introduction, the premise of this book appears to be "If Kal-El's rocket was off by a few minutes and landed in the USSR instead of the USA, how would that affect the DCU?". Reading on, however, I realize that the premise instead is "How would the DCU look in a world dominated by the USSR?" That's a whole different ballgame, and not nearly as interesting to me. The reason I say this is that Millar does not make it clear how the effects presented in RED SON are caused by Superman's existence as a communist figurehead. For example, why would Superman's not being in the USA make Jimmy Olsen decide to become a government agent instead of working for the Daily Planet? Why would a Russian boy with murdered dissident parents become Batman instead of Bruce Wayne? Why would Oliver Queen work for the Daily Planet instead of becoming Green Arrow? It seems to me that Superman's existence in the "regular" timeline had no effect on Olsen's desire to work at the Planet, the murder of Bruce Wayne's Parents, or Oliver Queen being stranded on an island; therefore, these characters should remain pretty much the same in this alternate timeline. All I can assume is that Millar wanted to give us more bang for the buck, giving us a quick thrill upon spotting familiar characters in different circumstances, but his cause-and-effect gets sloppy in the process. There are a few well-done moments, such as the creation of Bizarro and the release of the super-villains, but these were overshadowed for me by the little inconsistencies I mentioned before (and others) that just didn't add up. This is not a simple "alternate timeline" caused by a different destination for Kal-El's rocket... this is an complete reinterpretation of the DCU, and not much fun for me.
Rating:
Summary: Superman Behind The Iron Curtain
Review: I have enjoyed many of the Elseworlds books ever since the precursor, Gotham By Gaslight. This is probably the best Superman title and one of the best overall. A few hours difference in the arrival of superman's space capsule could mean landing half a world away from Kansas and that is the premise. Superman has landed in the Soviet Union and has been raised by loyal Socialists. Superman's presence in the Soviet Union drastically alters the future. Superman rises to power despite the conflict of political ideals and the Warsaw Pact signs on new members. We see the world change and see the lives of many familiar figures form the DC universe; Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, etc. This is more than just a remake of the Nazi Superman (Ubermensch) as seen on Saturday Night Live. The story is fairly believable and Superman is as true to his upbringing as in the regular DC universe. The story progresses nicely until we see the final surprise plot twist. A wonderful story for Superman and Elseworlds fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Red Son
Review: I haven't read a comic in a long time. Can't remember the last time I actually did. I read some good stuff about this book and also like things that play around a little bit with mythology and ask a few "what if" questions. Millar has created a world where Superman is Russian and doesn't even use a secret identity. Lex Luthor is elevated to a status of a great American icon whose motivations might be bad, but do the ends justify the means?
The book asks a lot of good moral questions and yet doesn't get preachy at all; it also remains immensly enjoyable.
It's a good read. The illustrations are top notch. I'm extremely happy I picked it up and will be looking for other Mark Millar novels.
It's a Superman story that's dying to be translated to the big screen, but likely will never happen. Pick it up and enjoy it for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I waited a long time for this book. I was thrilled to get it via Amazon. I was *very* disappointed by it, and for many reasons.
The first reason is that the premise is too narrow for such a long story to hold one's interest. A great comic is read breathlessly, and only upon a second or third reading does one clearly identify the boring bits. Here they are evident from the beginning and only become more so upon re-reading. A long Elseworld book like "Golden Age" will warrant a fourth or fifth re-reading. Not the case with Red Son.
The second reason is that it is inconsistent. Lex and Lois Luthor appear to be in their 20s in 1953 (the year of Stalin's death, at the beginning of the book). That would make them about 65 when Lex is elected President. At the time there is no indication that they have any children, and yet a complete lineage of Luthors is created in the final chapter, and a son is shown when there is no intimation that he should exist, or when he came to be. Also, there is no reason why Richard Nixon should have been elected in 1960, and murdered in 1963, or why John F. Kennedy would be elected President in 1968 and hang around for about 20 years. His marrying a fat, slutty Marilyn Monroe is fun but farcical. That is clearly a take on Nixon in "The Watchmen", where he is still President in 1985. There is no reason either why a pseudo-Batman should exist in the USSR, as the child of murdered dissidents, since Kal El's arrival in The Ukhraine in the 1930s should have no impact on NKVD activities prior to his adulthood.
Finally, the book shows a profound ignorance about Communism. Stalin is presented as a fairly malevolent old goat, but showing Stalin's son as the head of KGB is ridiculous, given that Stalin never gave a hoot about his own children and actually drove one of them to suicide in a German KZ. And the drawings aren't so hot, except for the simulated "Socialist" posters. A sort of "Social Realism", a la "Batman Year 1" would probably have been more suitable. As it is, it looks cartoony in a cheap sort of way.
One doesn't expect deep social criticism from a comic book (although they can provide it on occasion), but "Red Son", so long in the making, was subject to high expectations, which it hasn't discharged.
All in all, an opportunity lost. A pity.
Rating:
Summary: a fun flight of the imagination
Review: It's not often that you find a comic book with critics' reviews quoted on the back. Right there that means one of two things: that this is a better-than-average comic book, or DC is trying ^way^ too hard.
Fortunitely for my attention span, it's the first. This comic book is good -- no, great. It's only when you take him out of his original setting that you find out what made Superman American, and more intriguingly, what still makes Superman Superman. His dance with Wonder Woman is beautifully surreal -- he wears the uniform of a human, yet makes no effort to hide what he is and they're both actually floating off the ground.
I found that the biggest question "Red Son" raised was, "Would Communism have worked if the Russians had Superman to run it?" Statistically it does work, but somewhere along the line, Superman the Moralist becomes Big Brother, and the "Superman Robots" are disturbing! Of course, it all makes sense -- power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
And then the entire thing ends in a quasi Jennifer Paradox. Joy.
Strongly reccommended for anyone who likes escapist literature and wants to stretch the imagination.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not Great
Review: Not the best "Elseworlds" Superman title: I have two other 'Elseworlds' titles of Superman - the mediaeval 'Kal' & 'Superman: The Dark Side' (raised by Darkseid) - and they're both FAR better than this one, even the fact that 'Kal' is MUCH shorter doesn't detract from its impact. 'The Dark Side' is definately the best story of the 3 ('Kal' doesn't have much time for a story to develop), but there's something else to it that I can't quite put my finger on. Don't get me wrong: it's a good story & worth getting if you like Superman graphic novels, it just doesn't have the same kick as 'The Dark Side'. I think it might be that it's so focused on Superman vs Lex Luthor that the other super-heroes mentioned (Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern) get short shrift. There's also no clear 'bad guy' in it which made 'Kal' & 'TDS' enjoyable: who do you get fired up AT if there's no clear bad guy? I gave it 3 stars because it's "good, as you'd expect" instead of "Wow! that's awesome!"
Rating:
Summary: "Red" hot
Review: Probably one of the best "what if" stories i have ever read. It has all the elements of a great grophic novel. Good story telling, good art, and exelent dialogue.
Rating:
Summary: "Red" hot
Review: Probably one of the best "what if" stories i have ever read. It has all the elements of a great grophic novel. Good story telling, good art, and exelent dialogue.
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