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Alan Moore's: Supreme: The Story of the Year

Alan Moore's: Supreme: The Story of the Year

List Price: $26.95
Your Price: $17.79
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nostalgia
Review: Alan Moore has written a comic book (¿graphic novel?) showing how DC comics had to manage Superman in the nineties. Although in Watchmen Moore took a critical look, in Supreme he does not pretend to ridicule the Golden Age or to create something new as other authors. Moore tries to give a new life to the old kind of hero and I am thankful for his effort.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Flawed Reproduction of Great Work
Review: Alan Moore's writing on this book is great. He's able to take the Mort Weisinger version of Superman from the 1950s and early 60s and give it the Alan Moore touch. However, this particular collection is a terrible reproduction of the series. It almost looks like someone photocopied the pages from the original comic books and just bound them together.

Were the original production proofs not available?

You must read this work by Alan Moore. However, buying this particular production of it should be the third choice for acquiring it only if a better production in the future is impossible or if you cannot get the original comics due to the lack of availability or prohibitive cost.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Flawed Reproduction of Great Work
Review: Alan Moore's writing on this book is great. He's able to take the Mort Weisinger version of Superman from the 1950s and early 60s and give it the Alan Moore touch. However, this particular collection is a terrible reproduction of the series. It almost looks like someone photocopied the pages from the original comic books and just bound them together.

Were the original production proofs not available?

You must read this work by Alan Moore. However, buying this particular production of it should be the third choice for acquiring it only if a better production in the future is impossible or if you cannot get the original comics due to the lack of availability or prohibitive cost.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: C"mon Get Real!
Review: Almost all of these reviewers have got it all wrong. This is genius Alan Moore. The flashbacks sequences are comic satire at it's best. This is one giant post-modern take on Superman. If you liked what he did with "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" or the Superman Annual that he did ("For the Man who has Everything") then this collection comes as a super-sized portion. Through the silver age flashback sequences, Moore disects and lovingly reconstructs over sixty years of Superman mythology. This book is a brightly crafted ode to Comics; a more optimistic Watchmen. I wish they showed what "Grim-Eighties Supreme" looks like. What a wonderful collection. Forget the transfer. The previous reviewers have grossly exagerrated the mistakes. This a beautifully crafted story on one of history's most mythical and beloved figures.

I love it, and you should, too.
I'm patiently waiting for the return!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A flawed collection, but still worth your money
Review: Forget the name Supreme - this is really Alan Moore doing Superman, and doing him like he SHOULD be done. Moore was one of the people who clearly saw that DC Comics made a mistake when they redefined Superman in the mid-eighties, throwing decades of often silly, but also very imaginative history out of the window. Moore realized that they'd basically thrown the baby out with the bath water. Fortunately the baby's back in this gripping story. This is glorious entertainment - unlike the grim and depressing superhero stories that Moores's eighties work helped spawn, this story is a pure joy. The art isn't always top notch, though. The flash back sequences, handled by Rick Veitch, are all glorious gems of retro comics nostalgia, but the 'modern-era' sequences are only so-so. They're done in the Image Comics style of the mid nineties, and they already look dated, unfortunately. Better artists would later help Moore evolve the flashy over-the-top nineties style into something more gorgeous and timeless in books like "Tom Strong" and "Promethea". The sometimes average artwork doesn't really ruin this book, though. This is all about the story. And while it's not quite up their with Moore's very best, it's extremely good. Yes, the quality of the printing is dissapointing, and real fans of comic book artwork should maybe consider seeking out the original issues. But I feel that other reviewers have exaggerated the problems slightly. If you're mainly in it for Moore's writing then this edition, even though it's flawed, will do okay.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A "Supreme" waste of time
Review: I ordered two of these graphic novels based on the exceptional work of Alan Moore, who I greatly admire. It's perhaps the worst stuff I've ever read. While the timeline plotlines were an innovative idea, it was the worst sort of dreck. I expected better. I purchased these based on the 5 star ratings I saw on Amazon, & this is the 1st time I've been thoroughly disappointed. "Worst episode(s) ever!" as the Comic Book guy on the Simpsons might say. Waste of time, money, and effort.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Alan Moore Knows the Score
Review: I read this without knowing anything of Supreme. The first chapter is a mash-up of Crisis On Infinite Earths and Grant Morrison's Animal Man, so I was kind of expecting a post-modern, existential comic treatment. Boy, was I surprised!

I think you really have to be a comics-lover to truly enjoy this book. As stated by other reviewers, it's a brilliant parody of Superman and the Justice League, but it's not sardonic; it's a sincere homage. Supreme is really just a comic book character and all of his memories are 1950s-70s comics stories (with goofy aliens, silly ghosts, and all of that nonsense), drawn with great panache by Rick Veitch.

Normally when reading Moore's work, I can always feel the plot moving forward, but the first 11 chapters of this story seemed like disconnected adventures (including one very "meta" issue where the characters' dialogue mimics the actual events). And then, BAM! All of the previous plot points suddenly come together at the end, and I was left slack-jawed, with a brand-new appreciation for Moore.

If you're looking for the deep, exhaustively researched, works-on-multiple-levels story that Alan Moore has become famous for (Watchmen, etc), this is not it. This is just a rollicking good story, but still well worth the read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Some of Alan Moore's best work ever!
Review: I think it would be rude to ignore that this comic had a whole series of stories before and after Moore's run, but I must be rude then. You can walk into this graphic novel with NO knowledge of Supreme before this and enjoy it as much as any fan of silver age superman comics would. But it is more than that. It treats the subject of comics creation with much reverence. I think that Alan Moore may be the most talented archivist writing stories for comics today. There are so many references to the 60's superman that one can only conclude that the writer is in love with the medium he is creating. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT???? Nothing. The genius of these stories is that it is not about just any old superman. It is about comics. Supreme's version of Lois Lane wears earrings with Herriman's Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse on either ear. GENIUS! The twisted love affair of the Kat & the Mouse & Offisa Pupp is still considered one of the most complex love triangles in comics history. Alan Moore is not a novice. His other work speaks for itself and if you do not know WATCHMEN, SWAMP THING (20 - 65), MIRACLEMAN, TOM STRONG, THE KILLING JOKE, and PROMETHEA, then I suggest reading those first. Yes, Moore came to Supreme when sales were lagging. Yes, he completely reinvented the character. But he also continued to create one of the finest writers portfolio's in all of comics. Any Alan Moore fan would be lacking something without reading this set. Highly recommended.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Moore proves he can write Superman, but little else.
Review: Over the past three decades Alan Moore has created an amazing body of work in the world of comics. Start naming comics that changed the world of comics and Moore's name pops up more often than not. In Swamp Thing Moore used the horror genre to champion environmentalism. He continued with Watchmen and V for Vendetta to open up comics to the collective fear of nations and abuses of power. You can keep going and time and again Moore uses rather simple conventions in comics to reach further into the ego of humanity and modern concerns. The mind-blowing, larger-than-life (even super-life) boomerang ending is here which Moore perfected two decades ago in Watchmen. It was great then, but now, it's become old-hat for Moore -- and for fans of Moore, it's too expected. Story of the Year has some good story-telling, but little depth beyond that. When Moore's on, he can take something as benign as a comic and make it a powerful, aware peice of literature. Here, however, he's chosen to look into comics themselves and those of us hoping for something gritty and real are left dissapointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Anything has potential in the correct hands
Review: Supreme was conceived of by Image no-talent and general comics nuisance Rob Liefeld as a violent, egotistical play on Superman. I guess that wouldn't be so bad if the guy could actually craft a story, but it was clear from the beginning that this was just another pointless Image comic with grimaces and violence from start to finish. Enter Alan Moore, comics genius, who could see that there was potential in the character, albeit in the exact opposite direction. Under his guidance, Supreme became an homage to Superman, and can be jokingly referred to as "the greatest run of Superman comics ever". Moore put his imagination into overdrive for this comic. It contains, by far, some of the best comic writing of the late '90s - early '00s.

These stories could only be crafted by someone with an intense love for the Golden and Silver Ages of comics, as well as a deep understanding of Superman. Moore begins this run with a "revision" of Supreme, in the style of a DC-Crisis epilogue. From there, he fills in the background of Supreme, step by tantalizing step. You will learn of Supreme's 60-odd-year history; his origin; his friends, villains, & loves; the extended Supreme Family; and then the "shocking truth" behind his origin. By the time you finish this collection, you will feel closer to him than to any other comic hero. The writing is complex, but not exclusive, and very insightful.

Moore is joined by a team of artists: Joe Bennett's style, definitely influenced by Image, actually seems to be tempered by the top-notch quality of Moore's writing, to the point where it's almost endearing. Alex Ross provides a great cover and chapter sketches, featuring his version of Supreme that you don't see in the book but wish you would. Future regular series artist Chris Sprouse does one issue. But the crowning achievement in the art department is the work of Rick Veitch. Veitch, known for his masterful Superman tribute THE MAXIMORTAL, as well as art chores on Moore's 1963 series, fills in the blanks of Supreme's story with masterful recreations of period comics, imitating the dominant art styles and themes of the respective years. There is plenty of Curt Swan-style artwork, "Modern Art Supreme", a Steranko photo collage, EC horror work, and best of all: "Supremelvin", a spot-on parody of the work of Wally Wood and Bill Elder for MAD Mgazine. The neat thing about Veitch being involved with the art for this comic is that Moore's tight conclusion calls to mind some of Veitch's writing on The Maximortal. Read both and you'll see what I mean.

Do not pass up this book.


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