Customer Reviews

The Death and Return of Superman Omnibus

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The Death and Return of Superman Omnibus" is a great example of editorial and sales having a fundamental inability to understand what makes a story great, and trying to make decisions based on what's flashy and will sell, instead. The result is profoundly dissatisfying.

The Doomsday/Funeral For a Friend/Reign of the Supermen story is one of the great superhero epics ever written, with record-breaking sales and a generation of Superman fans who grew up with this as their foundation with the character. And while "The Death of Superman" was what drew people in, "Funeral For a Friend" is what made them care--and what guaranteed that the clever third act would be a success. Without "Funeral For a Friend," it's just a really long action movie. And while those can be fun, you're left with a story that has very little soul. And that, more than anything else, is what happened here. In an effort to keep costs down, DC opted to remove a ton of content from "Funeral for a Friend" (some other stuff, too, but mostly from FFaF) and ended up with a story where the most important, interesting part of the saga--how the world gets along without a Superman, after having had one--is almost completely lost. The emotional core of the story is shattered and all you're left with is the continuity stuff--this feels like a Cliff's Notes to the death and return of Superman.

In that respect, though, it accomplishes what it set out to--it's a great companion to the equally disappoinging "Superman: Doomsday" DVD movie.

There really is no reason to get this omnibus. Usually you can expect a larger size, better quality paper, etc. The fact is the format/size is same as previous TPs and if you do side by side comparisons, the color is richer in previous TPs while the omnibus is more on the faded side. The quality is poorer than the previous paperbacks. Sad.

I immediately put this one away. Its the poorest hardback omnibus I've yet seen at a price where you are much better off purchasing the three TPs. This reprint makes no sense, especially for previuos collectors looking for a better treatment of their favorite collections. Why a hardback book? I've had much better treatment with paperback.

This is the first I've seen anything like this, and I hope its the last. Should have been cheaper and in paperback. Top Cow Compendium's are paperback and far exceed this, and at a better price. Just crazy.

I hope sales are not good, even though folks like me will be stung. There should be a clear message back to the publisher by lack of sales to stop this trend. If you are going to reprint as omnibus and give it the hard back treatment, PLEASE provide something extra, such as better reproduction, larger format, improved paper quality, etc.

When i was thirteen, "The Death of Superman" was the story arc that got me into comic books for the first time. Naturally i was thrilled to have the whole saga in one hardcover collection. Imagine my grief and disappointment when i picked up the book to find it printed on cheap newspaper quality paper. When you spend 75 dollars on something, you expect quality. Take DC's Absolute Editions for example. 75 bucks gets you an oversized, hardcover slipcased edition full of rich, glossy pages and tons of extras.
Don't bother on this overpriced cheap reprint. You can still get the individual Death, Funeral and Return paperbacks for half the price and the same quality.
Shame on you, DC. Shame!

Since writing this review last year, several people have piped up, defending this volume by saying I shouldn't compare it to an Absolute Edition because it has twice the page count. Fine. Let's compare it to a Marvel Omnibus. The Captain America-Ed Brubaker Omnibus has about the same page count as this one, but for 75 bucks, you get an OVERSIZED volume, rich GLOSSY pages, and MORE extra features. There's NO EXCUSE for DC to put out such a sub-par volume. NONE.

Lets start with the facts...The Doomsday/Funeral For a Friend/Reign of the Supermen story is one of the great superhero epics ever written!
This was a year long story of comic which kept the reader interested

Bruce Timm, Producer of Superman Doomsday DVD (Superman - Doomsday (DC Universe Animated Original Movie) ), describes this tale as epic in scope. I agree. It was a battle that started a super villian battle, a Funeral of a fallen Comrade and his rebirth

The graphic novel, which encompasses The Doomsday/Funeral For a Friend/Reign of the Supermen, is seemless. The story is an interesting ideal of rebirth

You understand the character is all about truth, justice and the American way. This showed that icons can be hurt and even die. People do fill the gaps of his loss..and on his rebirth, there are also immatators to his greatness

So is this graphic series worth is? YES!! YES!! YES!! This is better that Marvel's Secret Wars, Civil Wars or DC's Crisis...This was the first of its kind involving a major character and drawing it out instead of canceling the book like the DC staff with the 1980's Green Arrow book.

To have this all in one volume is a collector's dream. It is nice to own your dreams!

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

Well o.k. this is a great story and all and definetly needs to be printed in one handsome looking edition. I do agree with those that say the paper quality should be better when spending this much money, I just received the Captain America Omnibus and it is probably the best looking HB I ever received. It will probably outlast me. The Superman Omnibus is great for collecting a great story into one volume and should not be overlooked for the quality of its paper. If you loved the story pic up the book, if not pull out your old issues and take a walk down memory lane with the Man of Steel that way.

Well first off this isn't an oversized slipcase edition,just omnibus and it is clearly stated.I on the other hand didn't not pay $75 for mine like the previous guy did,I bought mine for about half of that which is what he said it would cost just to buy the trade paperbacks,and yes this is the story that got me into comics and its still a great read over and over again,I say if you love the story or if you haven't its still a must buy for anyone.

When DC announced they were killing off their flagship hero, well, needless to say, it sent shockwaves all throughout the country, and the world. Now, the entire Death and Return of Superman saga is collected here in this deluxe, handsome hardcover omnibus; which collects the Death of Superman, Funeral For a Friend, and the Return of Superman, along with a horde of extras. You know the story by now: super-monster Doomsday rears his ugly head, takes out the Justice League, goes on a murderous rampage, and finally goes head to head with the Man of Steel, resulting in a cataclysmic showdown that leaves Superman dead, for a while anyway. Eventually, Supes returns as four other men with similar attributes all claim to be the real deal, concluding in some massive action sequences that nicely re-affirm Superman in the DC universe (mullet and all). Writer/artist Dan Jurgens is the man who everyone blamed for the storyline (you either like it or you hate it), and there is a horde of talent alongside him, including veterans Roger Stern and Karl Kesel, who lend their talents in putting the Man of Steel to rest. This nicely assembled omnibus features a horde of extra material as well, and is well worth the price of admission for comic readers who don't own the single TPB's already. Other than that, the Death and Return of Superman Omnibus has a right to be on your shelf considering it's an important piece of mainstream comic book history, and in that respect alone, the overall storyline has been a sound success.

This omnibus is twice the number of pages of an average DC Absolute Edition. At nearly 800 pages, this would need to be a 2-volume absolute edition. While the paper quality is less than an absolute edition, the book is relatively light and easy to hold and read - which I appreciate.

I am a fan of this epic story, but DC definitely goes cheap with their omnibus collections (look at Starman). I would expect something on par with Marvel's Omnibus collections, which offers up great paper quality and the stories in their entirety, but for some reason DC continues to go cheap as another costumer said. Even Marvel larger collections which run 20 bux can collect about 12 or more issues are better than this. DC has done a diservice to fans of this epic story. If DC decides to collect the entire story all over again, they need to make sure they also toss in all of "Legacy of Superman" (and Funeral for a Friend/World Without a Superman) in their omnibus or their deluxe editions, cause I heard they're going to collect all 3 story arcs in hardcovers. Do it right next time DC, many of us are long time fans for a reason, but you continue to make it difficult with your overpriced and shoddy collections of stories and books we love, we can only remain loyal for so long...

The Death and Return of Superman was the best graphic novel that I have ever read. The elements that have been included in the story have shown intense amounts of collaborative thinking and inter-mingling ideas. The graphics within the story have shown above average amounts of detail and resolution and the overall plot of the story is superb. The book only took me 2 days to read because of the amount of addiction that the novel has enhanced me with. I would highly recommend anyone with a passion for great action and adventure to read this book.