Squadron Supreme

Rating:
Summary: A Grand Comic Book Epic
Review: This graphic novel reprints the amazing epic comics written by Mark Gruenwald. The 'Squadron Supreme' was a group of unknown heroes I've never heard of before this book. But it made the reading even more exciting by figuring out who everyone is, what they think, and how they get along with each other.

The members of the 'Squadron Supreme' decide to create a utopia for mankind. This idea slowly divides the team against each other. At first they do good by getting food for the hungry and finding job opportunities for the out-of-work. However their deeds become more and more controversial, albeit well-meaning, such as banning guns and criminal reform via mind altering.

The story progresses to a final deadly conflict. In the end you question to what limit your own morals extend. ... This is highly recommended for comic book fans. A must-read for those who enjoyed 'Marvels' and 'Kingdom Come'.

Rating:
Summary: It belongs with Dark Knight Returns and the Watchman
Review: When Mark Gruenwald passed away in 1996, the comic book industry lost one of it's most hard working writers. Mark loved writing comics and this series was one he was most proud of. It deals with how far superheroes can go to solve the world's problems and even if they have the best of intentions, it can still end with tragic results. That's what happens here. This was the first time that such ethical/moral issues were discussed in comic book writing. If you like Dark Knight returns and the Watchman, then read Squadron Supreme, it really makes you stop and think.

Rating:
Summary: Now I get it
Review: When this series was originally released, I didn't give it much attention and wrote it off in 4 issues. I saw it as a pale parody of the Justice League of America, and I only focused on my theory that Marvel was trying to copy DC's greatest heroes. After reading Waid and Ross' Kingdom Come years later and hearing the references to Mark Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme, however, it all came together. I had to buy the collected edition.

Reading the Squadron Supreme storyline all at once, it's amazing that this was a sleeper. It may have been due to several factors, ones which led me to give this book 4 stars: the varying quality of the art (all of it good, but some much better), the cheesy Stan Lee-styled dialogue (sometimes hilariously so), or the outrageous melodrama (too many upstanding heroes wearing their emotions on their sleeves). Whatever the case, the overall storyline is exceptional, and Mark Gruenwald deserves much more attention for this story than he gets. There are WAY too many similarities between SS and KC, and I can't continue to give KC the fanatical praise I once did - Gruenwald did it first.

This is a fairly realistic treatment of a pseudo-JLA, showing what might happen to the world if a group with that kind of power existed. For all the potential that the real JLA has, they're held back by history, popular culture, and the editor's fear of alienating fans. Squadron Supreme has no such boundaries, and the result is a real treat. Don't waste your time reading (or more appropriately "looking at") The Authority. This is the way to go.

Rating:
Summary: Now I get it
Review: When this series was originally released, I didn't give it much attention and wrote it off in 4 issues. I saw it as a pale parody of the Justice League of America, and I only focused on my theory that Marvel was trying to copy DC's greatest heroes. After reading Waid and Ross' Kingdom Come years later and hearing the references to Mark Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme, however, it all came together. I had to buy the collected edition.

Reading the Squadron Supreme storyline all at once, it's amazing that this was a sleeper. It may have been due to several factors, ones which led me to give this book 4 stars: the varying quality of the art (all of it good, but some much better), the cheesy Stan Lee-styled dialogue (sometimes hilariously so), or the outrageous melodrama (too many upstanding heroes wearing their emotions on their sleeves). Whatever the case, the overall storyline is exceptional, and Mark Gruenwald deserves much more attention for this story than he gets. There are WAY too many similarities between SS and KC, and I can't continue to give KC the fanatical praise I once did - Gruenwald did it first.

This is a fairly realistic treatment of a pseudo-JLA, showing what might happen to the world if a group with that kind of power existed. For all the potential that the real JLA has, they're held back by history, popular culture, and the editor's fear of alienating fans. Squadron Supreme has no such boundaries, and the result is a real treat. Don't waste your time reading (or more appropriately "looking at") The Authority. This is the way to go.