Superman: Exile

Rating:
Summary: Companion piece for this great graphic novel
Review: As great as this graphic novel was by itself, I know of one helluva great companion piece in the form of a book entitled "The Adventures of Darkeye: Cyber Hunter" whose odd manner of having log-entries over chapters seems almost like the script for a graphic novel, even though it is in the science fiction/high-tech and cyberpunk genre along with books like "Cryptonomicon", "Snow Crash", "Prey", and "Altered Carbon". Very fast-paced and visual as well as being very exciting due to its action-packed pages.

Rating:
Summary: Companion piece for this great graphic novel
Review: As great as this graphic novel was by itself, I know of one helluva great companion piece in the form of a book entitled "The Adventures of Darkeye: Cyber Hunter" whose odd manner of having log-entries over chapters seems almost like the script for a graphic novel, even though it is in the science fiction/high-tech and cyberpunk genre along with books like "Cryptonomicon", "Snow Crash", "Prey", and "Altered Carbon". Very fast-paced and visual as well as being very exciting due to its action-packed pages.

Rating:
Summary: Fortress Of Solitude
Review: Superman Exile is a solid multipart story from the late 90's that originally spanned the whole line of the hero's books. The trade paperback collects the entire 13 part saga and includes a cover gallery.

The story from Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Jerry Ordway, and George Perez examines what happens when a hero's emotional state leads to a drastic decision. After Superman is unable to prevent a devastating loss by his hand, he is consumed by overwhelming guilt and remorse. Convinced that his adopted planet would be better off without him as Earth's protector--he sees no alternative, but to leave forever. At first the story may seem like a hard sell. However, it all comes off much better than you might think. Superman's actions seem quite plausable, considering what the character stands for. Of course in his travels, there's plenty of action throughout the story. The man of steel encounters both Eradicator and Mongul, as he decides what's next for him.

The art is pretty good and features work from one of my favorites from the industry--Curt Swan--his stuff helped define my comic book reading in the 80's Most of the work from Swan and the other artists on the book is bold, bright, and well defined, thanks to superior stock paper used for this trade paperback.

Superman Exile is a good example of what happens when Supes is done right. It is worth your time and better realized than say The Trial Of Superman, or The Death Of Clark Kent. Recomended. The book has 291 pages.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best Post-Crisis Superman stories out there.
Review: Superman: Exile is the story of Superman's grief after the first time he ever had to kill anyone. He has decided that the only way Earth can remain safe is for him to leave, so he dons a gasmask and portable teleportation unit and disappears into deep space. Features the first appearance of the Eradicator, Mongul, and War Planet. I really liked the Exile story-line, and I've re-read it at least once. I would highly recommend it to any Superman fan.