The Return of Superman [Paperback]

Dan Jurgens (Author), Karl Kesel (Author), Roger Stern (Author), Louise Simonson (Author), Gerard Jones (Author), Tom Grummett (Illustrator), Jackson Guice (Illustrator), Jon Bogdanove (Illustrator), Mark Bright (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 1993

This massive book is the finale to the saga of the death and rebirth of Superman, including the final fate of the four impostors who attempted to take his place, including Steel and Superboy. This is the definitive volume for all fans of Superman.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (September 3, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563891492
• ISBN-13: 978-1563891496
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 1.2 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting but Drawn Out, September 21, 2002

By 

Tony C "Tony C" (Los Angeles, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Return of Superman (Paperback)

In 1992, DC Comics made national headlines when it announced its intention to kill Superman. The year-long storyline spanned over three dozen comic books in more than half a dozen titles, including all four monthly Superman titles (ACTION COMICS, SUPERMAN, THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN and SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL). It left the Superman mythos with two new villains (the Cyborg and Doomsday) and three new allies (Superboy, Steel and the Eradicator), all of whom had their own titles for a while. It began an era of Superman's publishing history which would last for the remainder of the decade, in which the titles were treated not as individual titles, each with its own identity, but as parts of one continuing storyline, a weekly Superman comic book with four or more creative teams rotating chapters. As a result, the 1990s Superman comics would be marked by long, convoluted storylines with protracted resolutions, a billowing supporting cast populated by two-dimensional characters who existed more as plot devices, and a sense of excess and disjointedness in almost all of the stories.

The story that began it all was collected in three volumes: THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN, a slugfest heavy on dynamic visuals and weak on plot; WORLD WITHOUT A SUPERMAN, the best of the three, which explored the ramifications of the death of Earth's greatest hero (and a part of the story later sagas would sorely miss); and THE RETURN OF SUPERMAN, in which four pretenders claiming to be Superman emerged, all to take part in a great battle when the real Superman returned.

In this collection's first third, the creative teams explore one Superman pretender apiece to varying results. The best is Roger Stern and Jackson Guice on the Last Son of Krypton. Stern is one of comics' grandmasters of characterization and pacing, which meshes well with Guice's realistic but cinematic style. Close on their heels are Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett (Superboy), whose loose, frenetic but clean, often melodramatic storytelling show why they would become THE teen superhero duo, both in Superboy's own title and in ROBIN. In comparison, writer-artist Dan Jurgens (Cyborg Superman), the Michael Bay of comics, finds his grandiose images at war with his writing tendency towards exposition over characterization, to the extent that two of his chapters are almost solely a series of drawings with narration captions. Worse yet is the Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove team (Man of Steel). Simonson tries for a social conscience but is clumsy and preachy in her delivery, and Bogdanove's unfairly maligned impressionistic, exaggerrated style clashes with the other three. (For the record, after his own short-lived, Simonson-penned series ended, Steel would become one of DC's best, most complex supporting players.)

Unfortunately, these explorations can only last so long before the story must be resolved, and it is, as convoluted as possible. Too many chefs spoil the pot, as each team's need to include a major plot point revolving around their faux Superman slows the pacing to a near crawl. There are exciting set pieces, but the weaknesses of one team affect all of them. Jurgens' lack of characterization, for example, gives the reader no emotional investment in his Superman's sudden plot twist. And the sudden introduction of Green Lantern in the eleventh hour, from his own title by Gerard Jones and M.D. Bright, distracts from the central plot.

Still, the collection IS exciting. For comic series completists, this is a handy gap filler, although be warned: The last few issues are not reprinted in their entirety, as subplots introducing later storylines were cut from the collection. For comic books fans just wanting to see this pivotal story, this collection is a must, although I also highly recommend Roger Stern's novel THE DEATH AND LIFE OF SUPERMAN to fill in the gaps in background and present a more even flow to the stories presented here.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MASSIVE, August 1, 2000

By 

Hassan Galadari (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Return of Superman (Paperback)

The first thing that should be said about this book is how huge it is. It's around 500 pages og pure unadulterated comic book delight. I wa never a fan of Superman, I always thought of him as just too super for me and simply has nothing going for him. The book makes you think otherwise.

It introduces four different characters all claiming to be the Man of Steel and picks up the mystery from there. Though the identity of Steel and Superboy are set from the beginning, serious doubts and frustrations form as to who or what is that cyborg Superman and the one with the visor, where the comics trult succeeeds in making you believe they can both be the real deal incpite of the circumstances. They look like Superman (the cyborg looks like Terminator, but hey, who's complaining here), but the act completely different all together from the original. The mystery does truly delve deeper into who or what they are, where those questions are then truly answered in an unbelievable ending. The storyline takes its time to build up, but upon reaching the climax, you are just too awe-stricken to say the least. The one true Superman appears in the end, much to the delight of fans and readers and we can all say, it was finally due.

I don't think DC has done any far reaching things with the character as they did with him here. They changed his costumed in later years and turned him into an energy entity which brought another media frenzy to a character as much part of the American culture as any other , but truly nothing beats what they did with his death and return. Great book...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly exciting, March 2, 2007

By 

N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Return of Superman (Paperback)

The final chapter in Dan Jurgens' Death of Superman trilogy, Return of Superman is an exciting and massive final nail in the coffin. After Superman's body mysteriously disappears, four superhumans appear in a crime ridden Metropolis, all claiming to be the real deal. We have the Cyborg (not Vic Stone from Teen Titans either) who looks like Superman with a Terminator-esque endoskeleton taking up half of his body. There's the Eradicator, who wears a visor and kills the criminals he fights. We have Superboy (who was never handled well, except by Geoff Johns in the much later relaunch of Teen Titans), a younger clone of the Man of Steel, and last, we have Steel; who is weapons designer John Henry Irons in a suit made of steel (and subject of the ungodly bad movie Steel starring Shaq). As this massive TPB goes on, we learn just who's who, and what the Cyborg is really up to; all of which leading up to the return of the real Man of Steel. Though the dialogue may be corny, there are a number of pivotal moments here. This is the first appearnces of Superboy and Steel, as well as the destruction of Coast City; better known as home to Green Lantern Hal Jordan, which would lead to the much maligned Green Lantern Paralax saga where Hal goes insane. The art varies from issue to issue in this TPB, but there's nothing overly bad to be found here either. All in all, Return of Superman isn't an essential addition to your Superman library, but it is pivotal chapter in the life of one of the most popular and oldest superheroes in comic book history.