Superman: Tales of the Bizarro World [Paperback]

Jerry Siegel (Author), John Forte (Illustrator), Wayne Boring (Illustrator), Curt Swan (Illustrator), Jaime Hernandez (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Superman (DC Comics) | Publication Date: September 1, 2000

Me hate Bizarro Superman. Him worst idea DC comics ever have. Himstupid! Talk funny! Him live by Bizarro code: Us do opposite of all Earthly things!Us hate beauty!Us love ugliness!Is big crime to make anything perfect on BIZARRO WORLD! Superman am strong, handsome, and morally spotless--boring! But Bizarro Supermanam ugly, stupid, and unethical. Him wonderful! Me hate him!From his very first appearance in the 1950s Superman newspaper strip to theepisode of Seinfeld devoted to him, Bizarro has flown (backwards andupside down) into comic fans' hearts. Tales of the Bizarro World is apurist's delight, collecting 15 full-length stories of Bizarro and friends(Bizarro Lois, Stuporwoman, Bizarro Krypto, and hordes of copies of BizarroNumber 1). It's full of great episodes like "Bizarro's Secret Identity" (he's areporter at the Daily Htrae--"Earth" spelled backwards) and "Bizarro GoesSane!"What's most pleasing, and most irritating, about the whole Bizarro thing is thatsometimes Bizarro World is opposite Earth, and sometimes it's just... well,bizarre. Writer Jerry Siegel and artists John Fort, Wayne Boring, and Curt Swanwere clearly having fun when they created Bizarro, and fans can't get enough ofthe weirdest guy ever to wear a red cape. Don't buy Tales of the Bizarro World! It stupid comic. It not make youlaugh! --Bizarro Therese Littleton

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Me hate Bizarro Superman. Him worst idea DC comics ever have. Him stupid! Talk funny! Him live by Bizarro code:

• Us do opposite of all Earthly things!
• Us hate beauty!
• Us love ugliness!
• Is big crime to make anything perfect on BIZARRO WORLD!

Superman am strong, handsome, and morally spotless--boring! But Bizarro Superman am ugly, stupid, and unethical. Him wonderful! Me hate him!

From his very first appearance in the 1950s Superman newspaper strip to the episode of Seinfeld devoted to him, Bizarro has flown (backwards and upside down) into comic fans' hearts. Tales of the Bizarro World is a purist's delight, collecting 15 full-length stories of Bizarro and friends (Bizarro Lois, Stuporwoman, Bizarro Krypto, and hordes of copies of Bizarro Number 1). It's full of great episodes like "Bizarro's Secret Identity" (he's a reporter at the Daily Htrae--"Earth" spelled backwards) and "Bizarro Goes Sane!"

What's most pleasing, and most irritating, about the whole Bizarro thing is that sometimes Bizarro World is opposite Earth, and sometimes it's just... well, bizarre. Writer Jerry Siegel and artists John Fort, Wayne Boring, and Curt Swan were clearly having fun when they created Bizarro, and fans can't get enough of the weirdest guy ever to wear a red cape.

Don't buy Tales of the Bizarro World! It stupid comic. It not make you laugh! --Bizarro Therese Littleton

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563896249
• ISBN-13: 978-1563896248
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.3 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #688,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Me hate this book!, September 4, 2000

By 

Bob S. (New York, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Superman: Tales of the Bizarro World (Paperback)

This am bad book. It am full of stories about Bizarro World, home of Bizarro, the handsome duplicate of Superman. Every story start with Bizarro Code: "Us do opposite of all earthly things! Us hate beauty! Us love ugliness! Is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizarro World!" Me cry every time me read this book. Me hate it so much, me give it to all my friends. Since book is so bad, you should buy lots of copies.

Hello!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Un-sane, November 8, 2005

By 

Babytoxie (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Superman: Tales of the Bizarro World (Paperback)

SUPERMAN: TALES OF THE BIZARRO WORLD is a collection of stories that ran as backup features in Adventure Comics #285 - 299 (1961 - 1962). They follow the adventures of Bizarro #1 and his family on the cube-shaped planet Bizarro World (Htrae), which is populated by imperfect duplicates of Superman, Lois Lane, and other familiar supporting characters from the Superman titles. Xaime Hernandez supplies a cover that is an excellent tribute to Action Comics #1.

Fittingly, the humorous introduction to this collection is written by none other than David Mandel, the writer of the "Bizarro Jerry" episode of Seinfeld. What follows is 185 pages of weirdness, courtesy of regular writer Jerry Siegel and artists John Forte, Wayne Boring, and Curt Swan. Of course, we're all familiar with the Bizarro grammar, which throws standard rules out the window. In addition, teeth are brushed with shoe polish, flowers are pulled from weed gardens, alarm clocks signal the time to go to bed, cars have square wheels, and best of all: everyone knows that Bizarro #1 is really Bizarro Clark Kent. The stories are absolute chaos, with plots frequently shifting directions and concluding nowhere near the initial premise. But remember, this is the Bizarro World, so no complaints here! Also, they are quite funny - there are some priceless bits of dialogue, and for some reason, the fact that Bizarro Perry White smokes exploding cigars makes me laugh every time I think of it. John Forte is the primary artist for these stories, and his depiction of life on Htrae captures the oddball mood of Siegel's stories perfectly, with bent skyscrapers, multiple planets in the afternoon sky, and colors that would make any visitor from Earth vomit.

If there's any complaint I have for these stories, it's that Siegel sometimes overdoes it in reminding us that Bizarro culture is so different from ours. For example, while a Bizarro will indeed drive its car through an intersection on a red light, I don't need to be told that, on Earth, we stop at a red light, in order for the gag to work. The stories would work more smoothly if Siegel had just left the interpretation to us. But that's a small complaint - I spent more time laughing at the stories than nitpicking. Cheers to DC for a well-deserved reprint!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS AM BAD BOOK OR ELSE!, November 10, 2000

By 

"tazwert" (Blaine, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Superman: Tales of the Bizarro World (Paperback)

Me am thinking you not like this book because it not about Bizarros. It am about Bizarros. Bizzaro code: Us do opposite of earthly things. You am not going to read this book. IT AM BAD. :o)