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Rating: 
Summary: I want Moore! Four and a half stars!
Review: First of all I can't recommend this book to people who don't read or are not familiar with comic books, especially classic Superman books. It's not that you won't enjoy this book. It's just that it may not seem like much. To a new comic reader, Supreme reads like a cheesy, stupid, superhero book. To people who have reads tons of cheesy, stupid, superhero books, Supreme is pure gold. It's a semi-serious satire of the Superman mythos.
Writer Alan Moore, who single handily is reshaping the comic book genre, has great fun exposing all the flaws of a character like Superman. Moore's character, Supreme, can build a futuristic space fortress in no time, battle dozens of villains at once, but is a little slow when it comes to common sense. He can't even figure out why people don't recognize him as his alter ego when all he really does is put on glasses. By the end of this book Supreme is confrounted with the ultimate truth...that he is nothing more than a comic book hero, unfortunately he's too dense to get it.
The writing and art pay tribute to those comic creators that came before them; there are respectable nods to Captain Marvel, Legion of Superheroes, Jack Kirby, and Superman. It's not a spoof of comics; it's just Alan Moore pulling the curtain back far enough for us to see him winking in our general direction.
I highly recommend more of Mr. Moore's work including, "Watchman" and "From Hell"
Rating: 
Summary: "'King' will do."
Review: It's hard to overstate how good a book like Supreme really is for people who like their superheroes sunny-side up. "The Return" is by turns compelling, sad, funny, and ludicrous, as virtuoso comics writer Alan Moore continues to polish the tired old Overman archetype until it shines. In the wake of his battle with Darius Dax at the end of the previous book, Supreme has to deal with his old flame Judy Jordan, his new love Diana Dane, and a supervillain jailbreak. Alliteration aside, the characters are warm and very human, and Supreme's awkward romance with Diana is one of the great moments in superhero comics. Moore's writing on Supreme transcends the source material and gives the reader something completely new - a heartfelt book that's so absurd, it approaches the sublime.
The art on the previous volume was hit-and-miss, but Moore has adopted regular penciler Chris Sprouse, whose attractively stiff rendition of rock-jawed superheroes makes a clever counterpoint to Rick Veitch's organic, loving homages to artists long gone in the flashback sequences.
Unfortunately, the book's final two chapters are as-yet unpublished, thanks to the untimely demise of Rob Leifeld's Awesome Comics. The book ends on a high note, with Moore, Veitch, and Leifeld's eye-popping Jack Kirby tribute, but several plot threads are left unresolved. Still and all, this book is the best classic super-hero work on the market right now, and should be on any Superman aficionado's shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Further campy, postmodernist Superman stories.
Review: More stories after the pattern of the previous volume (STORY OF THE YEAR), though this one takes itself even less seriously than the first. Also, it's more self-referential, several stories here focusing on the concept of comicbook characters existing within a comicbook continuity. Moore explores this sort of idea further with the PROMETHEA series, several years later.I gave this volume one star more than I gave STORY OF THE YEAR, mostly because the reprinting looked just a little clearer (though not as good as the original comics) and because this book contains fewer of those 8-page Silver Age flashback sequences that we saw so much of in the first volume. The first 3 or 4 of those things were clever, but after reading several over a period of a few days, they start to get on your nerves. I can recommend this one (and its predecessor) to people who are fans of the Mort Weisinger/Julie Schwartz-era Superman comics. Also to the tons of Alan Moore fans, but they likely don't need any recommendation. Oh, by the way, the primary artist in this book is actually Chris Sprouse, not Joe Bennett like it says in Amazon's title section.
Rating:
Summary: Further campy, postmodernist Superman stories.
Review: More stories after the pattern of the previous volume (STORY OF THE YEAR), though this one takes itself even less seriously than the first. Also, it's more self-referential, several stories here focusing on the concept of comicbook characters existing within a comicbook continuity. Moore explores this sort of idea further with the PROMETHEA series, several years later. I gave this volume one star more than I gave STORY OF THE YEAR, mostly because the reprinting looked just a little clearer (though not as good as the original comics) and because this book contains fewer of those 8-page Silver Age flashback sequences that we saw so much of in the first volume. The first 3 or 4 of those things were clever, but after reading several over a period of a few days, they start to get on your nerves. I can recommend this one (and its predecessor) to people who are fans of the Mort Weisinger/Julie Schwartz-era Superman comics. Also to the tons of Alan Moore fans, but they likely don't need any recommendation. Oh, by the way, the primary artist in this book is actually Chris Sprouse, not Joe Bennett like it says in Amazon's title section.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good stuff (for the right reader)
Review: This trade collects the last 10 issues of Moore's run on Supreme. Unfortunately, the series was canceled before the storyline was properly concluded, but still this is an enjoyable read for superhero fans. Moore's Supreme series is basically an homage and parody of Superman- unlike the first "Story of the Year" storyline, though, "Return" has far fewer flashback stories-I actually enjoy the meticulous recreations of 50s and 60s-style stories, but I know it annoyed some readers. Also, the printing quality of Return is pretty good-unlike the first volume I'm really more a fan of Moore's early work (Halo Jones, Miracleman and Watchmen). However, as a person who at least appreciates Superman, Supreme is a lot of fun. I certainly liked it a lot more than "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (both are period pieces, but Supreme has a more entertaining storyline).
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