Rating: 
Summary: Proof Mark Gruenwald was the all-time best comic author.
Review: Even without SQUADRON SUPREME, his excellent runs on CAPTAIN AMERICA and QUASAR speak for themselves. But this is one of his finest hours.This limited series is not the first appearance of the Squadron Supreme; they had shown up in several issues of THE AVENGERS, parodying DC's trademark heroes and "proving" that the Avengers would beat them. But it was the late, great Mr. Gruenwald who took them and placed them in a superb mini-series that combined comedy, drama, and action with moral arguments. Even to this day, the questions remain. Who was right--Hyperion or Nighthawk? Where EITHER of them right? And so forth. Rest in peace, Mr. Gruenwald. After writing this, you've earned it.
Rating:
Summary: Proof Mark Gruenwald was the all-time best comic author.
Review: Even without SQUADRON SUPREME, his excellent runs on CAPTAIN AMERICA and QUASAR speak for themselves. But this is one of his finest hours. This limited series is not the first appearance of the Squadron Supreme; they had shown up in several issues of THE AVENGERS, parodying DC's trademark heroes and "proving" that the Avengers would beat them. But it was the late, great Mr. Gruenwald who took them and placed them in a superb mini-series that combined comedy, drama, and action with moral arguments. Even to this day, the questions remain. Who was right--Hyperion or Nighthawk? Where EITHER of them right? And so forth. Rest in peace, Mr. Gruenwald. After writing this, you've earned it.
Rating:
Summary: Held up well over last 100 years
Review: Given this book's publication date of 1903, I'd say it has held up remarkably well. It goes without saying that it is the great grandaddy of all coincidences that the names of the artists working back then are identical to some working today. It just goes to show you what a family business sequential art really is.
Rating: 
Summary: buy it for the script, not the art
Review: i just bought this book (in october)and i must say i was very disappointed, the art is sub-par, i mean it stinks . to me the illustration part is more than half of a story, i helps to bring one in to a universe, into a story and this book (even through it is writen very well) couldn't because of the art, i couldn't finish reading this book, it just didn't draw me in. too many artists and inkers ( 9 all together), that to many . that's really to bad, i heard alot about this book being great and that mark gruenwald had put his heart and soul into writing it. marvel should go back and redo this book with 1 penciler (not 4) like alex ross or brent anderson, and 1 inker (not 5) to accomadate. another gripe is they don't have the covers to the comics that make up this trade back, no cover gallery, but i'm sure the art on them is just as bad
UPDATE: dec 19, 2004, i have finished reading this book and i must repeat that this title needs to be redone (on the art) the book is so beautifully written, the story is so compelling. MARVEL, if u r listening: REDO! it would be a shame not too
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of the Alternate Timeline Comics Genre!
Review: I recently bought and read the collection after having read the original limited series back in the 1980s. The late Mr. Gruenwald's storytelling skills and love for the old JLA series continue to shine. I loved some of MG's takes on the classic heroes. How would Superman change his outlook if he abandoned his Clark Kent persona? How would the Golden Age Wonder Woman act if she outlived Steve Trevor and lost her Amazon homeland? Would Batman be more effective on the streets or the White House? We see all kinds of fantastic technology in comics, but what would happen if it was unleashed on the real world? Before Kingdom Come, he had the courage to present the ramifications of great power taking on greater responsibility at the expense of free will. Unlike KC, SS does not get bogged down in dark tones and endless fights, while it still allows the reader to empathize, as well as root for, the Squadron even though they have gone beyond their lawful duty. One wonders what comics would have looked like today if Squadron Supreme had been the big influence instead of Watchmen.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of the Alternate Timeline Comics Genre!
Review: I recently bought and read the collection after having read the original limited series back in the 1980s. The late Mr. Gruenwald's storytelling skills and love for the old JLA series continue to shine. I loved some of MG's takes on the classic heroes. How would Superman change his outlook if he abandoned his Clark Kent persona? How would the Golden Age Wonder Woman act if she outlived Steve Trevor and lost her Amazon homeland? Would Batman be more effective on the streets or the White House? We see all kinds of fantastic technology in comics, but what would happen if it was unleashed on the real world? Before Kingdom Come, he had the courage to present the ramifications of great power taking on greater responsibility at the expense of free will. Unlike KC, SS does not get bogged down in dark tones and endless fights, while it still allows the reader to empathize, as well as root for, the Squadron even though they have gone beyond their lawful duty. One wonders what comics would have looked like today if Squadron Supreme had been the big influence instead of Watchmen.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent story! Mark Gruenwald put himself into it!!!
Review: Mark Gruenwald LITERALLY gave his all in this project. It was his opus as a comics writer, a quiet masterpiece that has been copied by other writers who were called "revolutionary" for their copies. But it was Gruenwald who first took superheroes down the road to a "utopian hell". He put all his heart and soul into these comics. And, when this trade paperback was being prepared as Mark Gruenwald passed away, he asked to be cremated so that his ashes could be mixed into the ink used in the first edition press run. So Mark gave his body to the Squadron as well. That shows you how much he thought of them, and it comes through in the story.
Rating:
Summary: fantastic book
Review: Once upon a time, there was a superhero team that decided fighting crime wasn't enough. They finally realized that, if they really wanted to make a difference, they'd have to combat the ills of society, things like war, poverty, famine and disease. So they took over and started going about rebuilding society from the ground up, trying to turn their world into a utopia. If the concept sounds vaguely familiar, it should. For years superhero comics have been exploring such moral questions as these, all the way back to the famous story "Must There Be A Superman?" In that tale, the man of steel wrestles with the fact that by doing so much to help society he might actually be holding them back from striving and succeeding on their own. In the end Superman decides that he will help the people of Earth with problems beyond their means like earthquakes and supervillains, but for the rest of it we were on our own. Not so in the 1985 Marvel maxi-series Squadron Supreme. In this book, the heroes decide that we humans need someone to make decisions for us. So they usurp the government's power, take over America, and start fixing things the way they see fit. Now that description of the book makes it seem like these heroes are bad guys, but they're not. They're good people, heroes with the best of intentions. But you know what they say about the road to hell, right? Pretty quickly one of the heroes speaks out against the rest of his team. He objects to the ideas of these heroes, stating that by taking control away from the common man, they are trampling on all the freedoms America stands for. But this hero is voted down by the rest, who say that a few of the individual's rights lost are nothing in the face of what will be gained by society as a whole. So this hero resigns from the team and starts planning a way to show the Squadron Supreme the error of their ways. And that hero is Batman. Well, actually it's Nighthawk, but it might as well be Batman. It is well-documented that writer Mark Gruenwald was a huge fan of the Justice League and that, when he created the Squadron Supreme at Marvel, he was openly aping the DC team so he could play with the other company's toys in his own backyard. Even reading the names of some of these heroes you can see obvious parallels. Hyperion, Power Princess, Amphibian, Whizzer, Dr. Spectrum-the list goes on and on. But Gruenwald takes the characters and makes them his own, drawing on the archetypes we're familiar with and taking their personalities to the inevitable conclusion. Each character stands out from the creation they were originally carbon-copied from. Golden Archer's obsessive love for Lady Lark stretches into darker corners than Ollie and Dinah's relationship ever did, and Nuke's youthful impetuousness is at times incredibly destructive, a far cry from Firestorm over in the JLA. Apart from making the characters his own, Gruenwald similarly pulled no punches with the plot and showed that even the actions of superheroes have very real consequences. This story is mired in tragedy and heartbreak; as the story unfolds over the course of a year in this utopia, members of the Squadron Supreme quit the team, are forced out, and even die. The inevitable conclusion to the story is very much a predecessor to the widescreen action style we see in comics of today, yet its violence is not sensationalized or especially bloody. Characters are killed in horrific ways in this melee, not just for a cool fight scene but for a logical purpose, to drive the theme of the story home for the reader. Dozens of stories since 1985 have taken this idea and run with it, and I freely admit that those books, books like Kingdom Come or The Authority, did the concept a bit better than Squadron Supreme does. The art here is uneven and juvenile at times; the dialogue is similarly a bit cheesy, as characters break into long speeches to debate the larger moral issues behind their actions without a hint of subtlety. But still this work is groundbreaking and many stories of today owe Squadron Supreme a great debt of gratitude. For this reason, and for many others, this book is worth your attention. Unfortunately this graphic novel has never received the credit it so deserves to its initial release coming at almost the same time as Watchmen's. But with the new series Supreme Power by J. Michael Straczynski and Gary Frank on its way in August (supposedly set in the same universe and involving the same characters), now this story might finally be recognized for the paradigm-shattering masterpiece that it truly is.
Rating:
Summary: Squadron Supreme-supreme comic writing.
Review: Other reviews have mostly summed it up. This story is superb. Mr. Gruenwald is underappreciated genuis. It's unfortunate he, and the Squadron, haven't been appreciated sooner. And, that Mr. Gruenwald didn't get to see his most cherished creation enjoy the recognition and popularity it deserves. The exciting and innovative concepts and ground-breaking devices aside, I enjoyed the heck out of the Hyperion character. With Superman being one of the premier characters of the superhero genre, and practically a pop-culture institution today, it seems odd that unlike other hit characters, he has never seriously been emulated. But it is that very popularity that prevented it. He is so recognizable, writers were just too afraid of being "copycats". Leave it to Gruenwald to have the courage to create his own version of a classic(as well as the rest of JLA), and instill it with it's own identity, and his own unique vision. Not unlike an "ElseWorlds" story, there is much familiar, and much strikingly different. Powers and origin parallel. But Hyperion, like the other Squadron characters, has his own unique quirks, hang-ups, dreams, and ambitions. The story takes the "What-If?" concept to extremes. Fans of Superman and/or JLA should love this, as will any fans of good comic story telling. Don't pass on this one, if you miss it the second time, you may regret it.
Rating:
Summary: The Squadron Supreme is indeed a "supreme" endeavor
Review: The late Mark Gruenwald was well known at Marvel Comics for his writing and editor positions (and lesser known for the occasional artwork he drew). Among his BEST works was Marvel's "Squadron Supreme." Originally established as a team of villains from a mirror universe (who occasionally guest starred in "The Avengers" and "Thor" in the 1970s) the Squadron Supreme were knock-offs of rival DC Comics's Justice League. Hyperion=Superman, Whizzer=Flash, Lady Lark=Black Canary, Nighthawk=Batman, etc. In the 1980s, writer J.M. DeMatteis wrote an intriguing storyline in "The Defenders" which brought back the Squadron Supreme. This time, the team featured additional members (borrowing again from some of the "Justice League" characters and adding a sense of warped nostalgia for comics fans). Following the success of their appearance, Gruenwald and Co. launched a 12-part mini-series which focused on the plight of the post-"Defenders" appearance Squadron Supreme. The mini-series was *outstanding*. The characters were given more depth and background. Subplots and mysteries abounded. Artist Paul Ryan blossomed into a mainstream artist with his pencilling work (and let's not forget Bob Hall's contributions). From issue #1 through #12 of this limited series, you wanted the Squadron Supreme to have a permanent place on the comic book store shelves. The stories were VERY well-done. And ironically, DC Comics's effort with its "Justice League" comic (at the time) paled in comparison to "Squadron Supreme." If you're a long time Marvel fan--even a DC Comics fan--take the time to purchase this compilation of issues #1-12 of the Squadron Supreme mini-series. It is a strong testament to why Mark Gruenwald is sorely missed in the world of comics. Rest in Peace, Mark.
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