Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

John Byrne (Author), Dick Giordano (Author)

Book Description

Series: Superman (DC Comics) | Publication Date: September 1, 1991

This is the bestselling book that reestablished Superman as the world's foremost superhero! Relive the legend of Superman, from the doomed world of Krypton to his first encounters with archenemy Lex Luthor, ally Batman, and fellow reporter Lois Lane.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (September 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930289285
• ISBN-13: 978-0930289287
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.4 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Man of Steel gets a reboot, October 7, 2006

By 

Tom Benton (North Springfield, VT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

In 1986, DC Comics commissioned writers to create "reboot" stories for their three largest properties: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Two of those reboots became some of the most famous comics ever written: Frank Miller's BATMAN: YEAR ONE, and John Byrne's SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL.

THE MAN OF STEEL was originally a 6-issue miniseries. Issue 1 dealt with the destruction of Krypton, Clark's discovery that he was adopted, and Clark's invention of his alter-ego, "Superman". Issue 2 involved Superman's first rescues in Metropolis, the appearance of mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, and the beginning of Lois Lane's infatuation with the Man of Steel. In Issue 3, Superman travels to Gotham City to arrest Batman, but instead comes to accept Batman's vigilante methods as the two battle the villainous Magpie. Billionaire Lex Luthor tests Superman's abilities in Issue 4, ultimately being arrested by Superman at the Metropolis mayor's command ("You can't arrest me," Luthor says. "I'm Lex Luthor!"); Luthor vows to take down Superman. In Issue 5, Luthor's attempts at cloning Superman fail as they discover that he is not a mutation, but an alien lifeform; the result is the deformed Bizarro. In the final issue, Issue 6, Superman is haunted by a hologram of his father, Jor-El; he learns his otherwordly origins while dealing with the pain he inflicted on Lana Lang by telling her his secret and then disappearing after high school.

THE MAN OF STEEL is notable for many reasons besides being the Superman reboot. For one thing, here Superman is not born on Krypton and then sent to Earth; he travels through space in a "birthing matrix", where he develops before finally being born on Earth. The most important change of Byrne's comics is that Clark Kent becomes the real person, while Superman is the alter-ego; almost always Superman is shown as being the true person with Clark Kent as the alter-ego. Using Clark Kent as Kal-El's true identity was also used on the hit TV series LOIS & CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN in the 1990s. The final major change is Lex Luthor, who previously was no more than a brilliant evil scientist, but here becomes the third richest man in the world, a ruthless businessman.

John Byrne's writing is great. It moves fast, it's exciting, and it lets us feel how Superman feels. He uses each character and situation to further the story, and in the end it all works extremely well. My only complaint would be the dialogue. While Frank Miller revolutionized comic book dialogue with his realistic, straightforward, 40s noir-style dialogue, Byrne's dialogue is like that of old: hokey and unbelievable. Some of the characters are incredibly outspoken. Byrne makes Superman explain each and every move to the fullest; Batman rambles on in the campy fashion of his 60s TV series, coming across as a far nicer and more chatty character than the Batman who appeared in works like BATMAN: YEAR ONE and BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS.

Byrne's artwork, inked by Dick Giordano and colored by Tom Ziuko, is excellent. Not excellent in a film-quality, panoramic sort of way, a la SIN CITY or WATCHMEN, but excellent in an above-average, classic comic sort of way. The artwork isn't extraodinarily complex, but it is colorful, vivid, and pronounced. Byrne's drawings of Superman/Clark Kent are especially wonderful.

All in all, SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL is great. The writing's great, save for the campy dialogue, but even that just seems to add to the charm of the comic. The artwork's great. It's not an incredible comic, but it's interesting, fun, and well-made, a fitting reboot for the ultimate superhero. If you're trying to decide between the 2004 reboot, SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT, and this 1986 reboot, I'd recommend the '86 reboot. A superb re-telling of the Man of Steel's origins.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Man of Steel - Good but Dated, March 3, 2006

By 

Joey Lombardi "Joey" (Southern New Jersey) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

I missed this run when it initially came out (I was 6) and didn't really know about it until I started to dig back into comic histroy a bit. This is the post-crisis reboot of Superman. And it changed up alot of the status quo.

Superman wasn't concieved by standard "relations", he is basically a test tube baby. He was never actually exposed to his own planet - he was inside a "Birthing Matrix". This is my major issue with the story.

Krypton is a cold a sterile place - all science no love... It works, but the hand is a bit too forced. I prefer the basic origin story.

The story is a series of minor tweaks: His father lives, He isn't great friends with Batman (they fight and then respect each other - but they aren't Super-friends (hehe)), Lex Luthor is a fat business man who STILL has no reason to hate superman so much...

There is a great debate on which origin is better - the almost 20 year old Man of Steel or the recent Birthright. Having read them both in the last year - my opinion is that Birthright is by far a better story.

But this is good superman history. The art and dialog are great for the time and it is an overall satisfying story.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Byrne Does It Again, July 18, 2000

By 

Peter A. Greene (Franklin, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

John Byrne's strength as a writer/artist is that he sees clearly to the heart of the character. Here, as he did with the Fantastic Four, he not so much re-invents as clarifies the character. All of the fat and foolishness is stripped away, and new details are added that fit so well that you wonder how the feature went fifty years without them. Byrne is totally respectful of what has come before, and yet makes it all fresh and new. This is truly Superman reborn and reinvigorated. Landmark comics, and also a great "starter" book for the fledgeling comics reader.