Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 4 [Paperback]

John Byrne (Author), Marv Wolfman (Author), Paul Levitz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Superman (Graphic Novels) | Publication Date: September 1, 2005

The fourth collection featuring Superman tales from the 1980s! Superman encounters Rampage for the first time, has a rematch with Mammoth, contends with a mysterious Superboy, and more!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marv Wolfman is the former Editor-In-Chief of Marvel Comics. He is a longtime comic writer who had long runs on Tomb of Dracula for Marvel, which is where Blade the Vampire Hunter made his first appearance and New Teen Titans for DC Comics. Blade was later adapted to film form with Wesley Snipes in the starring role. Wrote the landmark DC Comic series Crisis on Infinite Earths. Created the character 'Bullseye' for Daredevil comics. Created the current iteration of Robin (Robin III/Tim Drake) for DC comics. The character has remained popular for nearly twenty years and has its own self-titled long-running series

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401204554
• ISBN-13: 978-1401204556
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.4 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Legion fans, April 4, 2008

By 

"extreme_dig_cm" (Chicago, Il USA, Amazon.com Fan!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 4 (Paperback)

I like this volume, but being mainly a Marvel & Byrne fan, the Legion of Super-Heroes content probably appeals more to the longtime fans than it does to me. Byrne has 4 issues of content here- which is less than in previous editions.

Highlights here for me...
*Superman 7- Superman vs. Rampage; an orange, She-Hulkish monstrosity. A decent, single-issue battle.
*Action 590- The Man of Steel vs. the Metal Men. I liked this; in his Modern Masters interview, Byrne mentions he might be interested in working with the Metal Men in the future. This is like a preview to that possibility(!).
*Superman 8- Nice cover. My favorite of the Legion issues; it seems Rob Liefeld maybe created Badrock based partly on Blok?
*Adv. of Superman 431- Who knew Erik Larson would turn up in a Man of Steel volume? I didn't! I actually kind of like this, in spite of the fact that it's obviously very quickly done. Great Reagan! The inking, also quickly done, is credited to India Inc. (That's cute.) Terry Austin is listed in the front of this paperback amongst the inkers, yet his name isn't in any individual issue. Mystery solved?

As I said: I like this volume. But I like edition 5 in this series so much more. The amount of Byrne content has everything to do with it.

Included in this volume:
*Superman #7- John Byrne writes & pencils; Karl Kesel inks
*Adv. of Superman #430- Marv Wolfman writes; Jerry Ordway pencils & inks
*Action Comics #590- John Byrne writes & pencils; Dick Giordano inks
*Legion of Super-Heroes #37- Paul Levitz writes; Greg LaRocque & Mike DeCarlo artists
*Superman #8- John Byrne writes & pencils; Karl Kesel inks
*Action Comics #591- John Byrne writes & pencils; Byrne & Keith Williams inks
*Legion of Super-Heroes #38- Paul Levitz writes; Greg LaRocque & Mike DeCarlo artists
*Adv. of Superman #431- Marv Wolfman writes; Erik Larson pencils; India Inc.(Terry Austin?) inks

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner by Byrne!, January 9, 2007

By 

Patrick D. Preston "LobVolley" (Lexington, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 4 (Paperback)

John Byrne does the best Superman ever!

In the mid-eighties, DC asked John Byrne, who had written a long run of The Fantastic Four, to revamp Superman, who was about fifty years old at the time. In what I would consider typical "Marvel style," Byrne added characterization and scientific explanation to the Superman mythos as he reinvented classic characters and retold their stories. His beautiful art work and excellent story-telling ability make these comics a JOY to read!

I would STRONGLY recommend that you purchase all FOUR volumes of John Byrne's Superman; each one picks up right where the last one left off. When I was finished reading them, I purchased the rest of Byrne's run on the Superman comics; they were that good.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent stories of a slightly vulnerable Superman with guest appearances by other DC characters, November 19, 2011

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 4 (Paperback)

These Superman stories are a demonstration of how DC decided to revamp the Superman character after decades of being above it all to a persona that was much more modern. Lois Lane is no longer the admirer from afar, Clark Kent is no longer the incompetent man with the ladies and Superman actually shows some emotional vulnerability and weakness. These changes were largely successful, although some of the language has not matured.
The language is still often corny, Ma Kent uses the phrase "Land Sakes" and Superman says "Great Scott!!" when he is surprised. Other comic characters that appear are the Metal Men and some members of the Legion of Superheroes. Doc Magnus, the creator of the Metal Men is portrayed as being more emotionally unstable than in previous issues.
The longest story is one involving Superboy and Superman encountering each other through the machinations of the Time Trapper. He has manipulated multiple time lines to the point where Superboy must battle both the legionnaires and an alternate Superman. This Superman did not adopt the superhero persona until adulthood so he has no recollection of ever having been Superboy. The story is a complex weaving of storylines; it is at times confusing as the reader is initially unaware of the previous events.
Superman is a great comic book character, like Batman he improves with the exhibiting of human frailties. Siegel and Shuster used the vulnerabilities of Kryptonite and magic to make Superman vulnerable, but having the son of Krypton have a semblance of emotional frailties is much better.