Customer Reviews

Superman: The Kents

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've long felt that comics could be a powerful educational tool and here the medium realizes this potential. Ostrander and Truman, along with Mandrake and Bair, are far from novices and the benefits of their collective experiences shimmer through this, likely their finest work. Everyone knows that Superman's adoptive family found the infant Superbaby in a Kansas cornfield and raised the prodigious progeny in Smallville. This tale tells how the Kent family comes to Kansas and it is the story of the American westward expansion. There are rich characterizations here in Nathaniel and Jeb Kent, two brothers divided by personal, familial, and eventually political differences; the lovely half white, half Delaware native Mary, whose passion and grace sustains Nathaniel Kent through many trials, as well as the reader; and Jonathan Kent himself, the adoptive father of Superman, who narrates the saga in a series of letters to his son the reporter in Metropolis and his bride. Then there are the cameos; some historical; some purely from the western comics genre, including Brian Savage, the Scalphunter; Jonah Hex; John Wilkes Booth, John Wesley Hardin, the James brothers and so many others. This delicious tapestry is not only for comics fans, but also for Western readers (those who love John Jakes or Dana Fuller Ross, will find much to love here as well) and American history buffs. Ostrander did a superb job with the research here. Simply a glorious family saga in the full richness of that tradition.

The Kents is not about the relationship between Clark Kent and his father Jonathan. It is a mini series regarding Jonathan's kin in 1880's Kansas. It has very little to do with the Supermen legend, and there are hints of the BIG RED S thrown in .


John Ostrander has done his research. This western saga is well told. This could be told in a regular novel format, it is better as a graphic novel. Ostrander's storytelling ability is excellent. Even without the Superman family name, this could be the next best western on film, if some studio would take notice

The art of Timothy Truman is amazing, and I do not use that word lightly. The classic artistic style that Truman has used in previous westerns makes this graphic novel a force to savor and enjoy. His work seems to pop off the pages, like 3-D. I always get humbled on what he does with his art on his projects, including his turns on Jonah Hex graphic novels

good work...enjoy

Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD

This is a history lesson. It is well written and explains how the Kents came to Kansas and the hardships that occured during that time.
This is not a tale about Superman, but instead of Clarks Earthly family history. Nice change of pace.

My 11-year-old son read this first, as he is a huge Superman fan. Unlike most of the Superman books, however, with this one he lingered for a long time, really savoring the graphic novel. When he was done, he came to me and said, "Mom, you really HAVE to read this!" Then he read it again about a week later.

When I read it, I understood his absorption, and also why it took longer to read than most comics. First, there is a LOT of history squeezed into the book. While I agree with one reviewer that it strains credulity that the Kent family should encounter practically EVERY important historic personage of the period, I felt that it made excellent dramatic sense. As a homeschooler, I loved how it summarized the historic period for my son. Yes, it is a bit violent, but appropriate to the subject matter. There is no gratuitous violence; rather, the characters and events demonstrate the value of human life and decry the lives lost to war and prejudice.

The book is thought-provoking. The art is superb. All of the artists are wonderful; the change of artists did not bother me in the least. The fictitious Kent characters were well-rounded, much less one-dimensional than most comic book characters. I was heavily invested in the story of Nathaniel by 3/4 of the way through; I literally couldn't put the book down because I wanted to find out what happened to them!

An epic graphic novel with as much heart as Larry McMurtry's novel "Lonesome Dove." This book details the history of the family that would one day shape the attitude and spirit of Clark Kent.

This book is also enjoyable for people who have never experienced graphic fiction before, as my wife will attest.

Comics are a wonderful medium. So few media have the ability to reach their participants in such a personal and moving fashion. Sure, there's plenty of chaff in the comics marketplace, but oh, the wheat!

The Kents by John Ostrander, Timothy Truman and Tom Mandrake is one of the finest recent examples of what the comics medium can do when it sets out to do something special. The Kents is a historical fiction. It sweeps across the years of the 19th century from the peak of the Abolitionist movement to the taming of the west. The primary characters are the Kent family, the fictional ancestors of Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman's adoptive parents. But you'll find little of Superman, Lex Luther or anything of Metropolis in this tale.

The story is guided by correspondence between Jonathan and Clark Kent. Jonathan has uncovered a volume of letters and journals from his ancestors that chronicle their family history and he's relating his findings to his son, Clark (yes, *that* Clark Kent) with letters of his own.

Silas Kent brings his two sons, Nathaniel and Jebediah, to Lawrence, Kansas, where they set up a printing press and fight for the abolition of slavery. What follows is an intense and emotional journey of this family. History is not kind to them. In the process, they experience the Civil War and the raging chaos of the Wild West. Along the way, we meet historical figures like the violent abolitionist, John Brown, Wild Bill Hickok, George Armstrong Custer, Jesse James and the James Gang and dozens more figures who made history in this era.

The art is superb. The Kents is actually a collection of a 12-issue monthly series. The first eight chapters are illustrated by Tim Truman, no stranger to western comics having drawn several recent Jonah Hex series, also for DC Comics, and his own Scout, the story of a Native American character. The last four chapters cover the years after the Civil War and the opportunity to change the pace is met by illustrator Tom Mandrake, whose skill in working with darkness and facial expressions is virtually unmatched in the comics industry.

Writer Ostrander obviously did his research on this series. You'd think he was born to write westerns. Having had the opportunity to correspond with Ostrander while working as a comics industry journalist, I know that he didn't even like westerns until his late wife, Kim Yale, got him hooked on them! Many thanks for pushing her husband in the right direction. Ostrander has gone on to write other excellent western comics, such as Marvel's Blaze of Glory.

The Kents transcends what most people think of what comic books are capable of. Me, I've known it all along and hope that you pick up this book and find out for yourself!

While I liked the concept behind "The Kents", the book contains two of my biggest pet peeves; the artist changed midstream, and there were entirely too many famous people portrayed.

I'm a fan of Tim Truman's work. His work on "Jonah Hex: Two Gun Mojo" and "Scout" are wonderful examples of realistic, quality comic art. I don't know why he didn't illustrate the last few chapters of "The Kents", but the change in artwork and style was jarring and unfortunate.

My other problem with "The Kents" deals with the overabundance of cameos from historical figures. Many movies about the old west commit this same artistic sin. Just because you set a story during the Civil War doesn't mean that your characters are going to run into everyone you've read about in high school. John Ostrander does his best to shoehorn all of their appearances in, but they still feel forced.

In spite of the inconsistent artwork, and the hackneyed cameos, I did enjoy the book's structure. Having Pa Kent send Clark packets of discovered historical documents worked well in comic book's episodic form. I only wish that the story didn't play out like the "Civil War's Greatest Hits".

The Kents is basically a pastiche of Civil War-era history, a name-dropping who's who that also tries to achieve the scope of The Sacketts. Tim Truman's artwork is great as always (his Bloody Bill Anderson and young Jesse James are both easily worth the cover price). In fact, the only problem I have with the series is its representation of Jonah Hex; he received the scar on the right side of his face AFTER the Civil War, when he returned to the tribe of Apaches with whom he had spent the latter part of his childhood.