Customer Reviews

It's Superman!: A Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is what a Superman story should be. Strip away the "perfect," noble figure and show the true Kal-el: someone born with great power who gradually assumes responsibility for humanity. The greatest contribution to this story is placing Supes back in the era from whence he came. The 1930s were tumultuous, fear ridden, and filled with people looking for a savior. Is it any wonder Superman came about in that time.

If you like this, then you'll love "Proxies of Fate," another novel about superheroes in the 1930s.

Superhero origins are told and re-told countless times, evolving to fit different eras, ideals, and various target audiences. Unlike the constant revision and re-imagining that heroes go through throughout the decades, this book returned to Superman's true origins in the 1930s.

Instead of meeting Clark as a young adult preparing to try and make it in Metropolis (with a quick montage scene, a few flashbacks and anxious recollections to provide the foundation for the future Man of Steel, Tom De Haven created an entire universe in which we would meet Clark and see him evolve from a simple country boy into the famous Son of Krypton.

Clark's journey to Metropolis (New York City in this universe, something that hearkens back to the real-world inspiration for the comic book city) takes several years. We see events across the nation that will eventually affect Clark and push him to deciding to use his powers to try and help his fellow humans (as he views himself).

This book felt very real and created a world where Lex Luthor's actions are truly taken seriously, where the characters are real, and the events and devices in the book are ones you could image in the real world. Rather than using the brush of suspended disbelief throughout, De Haven created a world where the events could have evolved in our own world. The Superman at the end of the book is not the invincible figure so well established in our understanding. Instead, he is a young man who has taken on a huge burden and is determined to measure up to it, leaving room for future development as he comes into his own and officially becomes the Last Son of Krypton.

I loved this book. Its 1930's feel combined with the complex (but not overwhelming) plot made this a book I couldn't put down. I would love to see more books like this for other classic DC superheros such as the Batman, the Flash, Wonder Woman, and Hal Jordan's Green Lantern. And of course, a sequel to this work would also be very welcome!

Words can't do this book justice-- amazingly well-written, with an emotional punch lurking in the final chapters that'll hit you like a sack of bricks. This is by no means a novel only meant for Superman-- any reader who enjoys reading about the 1930s, New York, and what it means to be both powerful and hopeless at the same time, needs to read this novel.

For everyone who has ever read a comic book here's a story you must read. Tom De Haven's brilliant imagining of the early years of the iconic man of steel begins with "Our version of the story opens on the last Saturday of May 1935 with the arrival of Sheriff Bill Dutcher at the police station in Smallville, Kansas."

For most that year, 1935, brings to mind the Depression and the attendant gloom, hopelessness that settled over our country. Times were especially tough in Kansas where a young farm boy, Clark Kent, watched as the once fertile earth turned dry. Oh, they can still make a living but it's a meager one.

However, like many high school boys Clark is swept up in personal problems - maintaining his grade average and wondering about himself, the things that make him different.

Life is almost the opposite in New York for Columbia student Lois Lane. She has a boyfriend, photographer Will Berg who soon finds himself accused of murdering his pawnbroker. He's innocent, of course, but has been framed by villainous politico Lex Luthor. Innocent or not Will is forced to run and who should he meet as he skedaddles across the country? Of course, Clark. What a pair they are as they crisscross the U.S.

Clark learns a lot from his more sophisticated pal but not quite enough to prepare him for New York City, the tempting Lois Lane, and the challenges of leading a double life.

Author De Haven mirrors a Depression ravaged America with painterly accuracy and engenders smiles as Clark comes to terms with who he is and what he might accomplish.

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

For everyone who has ever read a comic book here's a story you must hear. Tom De Haven's brilliant imagining of the early years of the iconic man of steel begins with "Our version of the story opens on the last Saturday of May 1935 with the arrival of Sheriff Bill Dutcher at the police station in Smallville, Kansas."

For most that year, 1935, brings to mind the Depression and the attendant gloom, hopelessness that settled over our country. Times were especially tough in Kansas where a young farm boy, Clark Kent, watched as the once fertile earth turned dry. Oh, they can still make a living but it's a meager one.

However, like maMy high school boys Clark is swept up in personal problems - maintaining his grade average and wondering about himself, the things that make him different.

Life is almost the opposite in New York for Columbia student Lois Lane. She has a boyfriend, photographer Will Berg who soon finds himself accused of murdering his pawnbroker. He's innocent, of course, but has been framed by villainous politico Lex Luthor. Innocent or not Will is forced to run and who should he meet as he skedaddles across the country? Of course, Clark. What a pair they are as they crisscross the U.S.

Clark learns a lot from his more sophisticated pal but not quite enough to prepare him for New York City, the tempting Lois Lane, and the challenges of leading a double life.

Author De Haven mirrors a Depression ravaged America with painterly accuracy and engenders smiles as Clark comes to terms with who he is and what he might accomplish.

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

I am a huge Superman fan, and I loved everything about this novel. I also enjoy the 1930-40s as a historical setting, so it's like this book was tailored for me. I cannot recommend this novel enough. While it was admittedly very important to me that De Haven get the iconic core of the character "Superman" right, I also think this book could be enjoyable to someone unfamiliar with all the Superman lore. There's a lot of American history intermingled with the story of Clark Kent growing into Superman. This works no two levels: illustrating why two boys during this real-life era felt the need to invent a character like this, and what about Superman makes him, to this day, a sort of American institution.

In this novel, Clark Kent is only one of several characters who grows into themselves. Characters like Lois Lane and Lex Luthor parallel original characters like Willi Berg, who becomes a unifying element for the individual threads to the story. One of the things I really loved about the book was that every single character, from major to minor, seems to work extremely hard to "become" who they are by the end of the novel. While their upbringing contributes, and so too do their circumstances, somewhere in their life-journey is the definitive choice or choices that sets them on the path they lead. If you believe in an old-fashioned American ideology that reinforces ideals like the fundamental power of choice, the possibility of struggling toward a better future, the self-made man, and the capacity of each of us to be extraordinary in our own ways, I recommend this novel. It's both a richly layered and an entertaining read.

Let me say first off, I am not a big Superman fan. I've seen the movies, may have seen an episode or two of "Lois and Clark," but do not watch "Smallville" or read the comics.

That being said, I did enjoy this book. Even those with a rudimentary knowledge of Superman's origins should find this book enjoyable. We know about Superman's early life, but this book fills in the missing years just prior to Clark Kent leaving Smallville and then arriving in Metropolis. We also learn the origins of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor's characters.

This is a breezy read and a lot of fun. True fans might be disappointed, but hey, it's just a book.

This book was much better than I expected it to be. Here we find a portrait of the superhero as a young man.

The young Clark Kent is insecure and confused - not sure who or what he is. The story is presented in a style reminiscent of film noir - Clark and his traveling partner are on the bum jumping freight trains during the depression. He eventually meanders to NYC and gradually becomes Superman. He is very much intimidated by the far more intelligent and wildly rich Lex Luthor, yearns for Lois lane (and is actually jealous of himself - that is to say Superman - who Lois prefers.

I never was much of a comic book reader - even as a child - so I know Superman mostly through the old black and white television show that was always on reruns when I was a kid (and the dumb, corny 70s movie versions). Needless to say this book presents the story in a much more literate and thoughtful manner. Highly recommended.

This book is totally different than any depiction of Superman I have come across. It has the feel more of the Dark Night Batman tales. In this one Clark is a type of rebel that has a difficult relationship with his father. Clark is an ultra farm "hick" who works for the local newspaper part-time (the newspaper is a weekly edition) and covers very mundane things like an old lady who designs color postcards.

Clark's father is an outcast from the town because he spurned the church and let a "Negro" live in his house. Clark's parents never understand what he really is and struggle with expressing love to him. Clark is a middle to slightly below average student and he wrestles with self doubt and self worth problems. He finds it very difficult to befriend girls and he tends to get into trouble a lot. He hides his "special" abilities because he will only be treated worse by his peers and when he does use them, "bad" guys tend to die.

Lois Lane is portrayed as almost a "loose" woman who goes through several "sleep-in" boyfriends. One of them, Willi is framed for a murder and goes on the lam. Willi ends up in Kansas and meets up with Clark. He finds out Clark's special abilities and convinces Clark to leave Kansas because he was meant for better things. The two travel the country like hobos, hiding in freight trains and sleeping among winos.

This book gives us a less powerful Superman who can be hurt and sometimes cut. He does not have a baby blanket sewn into a costume. As a matter of fact each time he does something in costume, the costume usually ends up shredded.

There is no Metropolis in this tale. The Daily Planet is located in New York and the author does a good job of recreating the era (1937) with many historical figures involved in the tale.

The author tackles prostitution, homosexuality, phyical and sexual abuse and many other "taboo" subjects that are normally ignored in Superman tales. All of it works very well and I would love for this tale to end up as a film!

Can't wait for another installment from the author.

This was an interesting read, and well written. It brought to mind Philip Wylie's `Gladiator'.

I most enjoyed the `30s atmosphere - that, and the `40s, and `50s, are still my favorite time frames for Superman.

I began reading Superman back in the `50s, when I was a kid. That said, I am not a fan of what he - and other super heroes - have evolved into, today. This story is about Clark Kent, and he is not the same Clark Kent that I grew up on. Neither is Luthor. As written, this tale could very well turn up, one day, on tv ... a la `Smallville'.

Times change, and I accept that Superman had to change, in order to appeal to today's audiences. De Haven gives more hues and shades to the characters. They become more `real'. There were a few moments, however, when I winced at what at what I read - then I reminded myself that this is ... 2009. Complexities and darkness, are in. Simplicity is out. (I, for one, shudder at the prospect of a `darker' Superman, that is being hinted at for the next sequel)

The pages turned quickly, and I found this to be a fairly quick read. I would recommend this novel to contemporary fans of Superman, those who are `open' to revisions, and those who are just looking for an interesting read.

`Old timers', like myself, might - possibly - prefer to just remember the Superman from ... `back-in-the-day'.