Superman: For Tomorrow, Vol. 2 [Hardcover]

Brian Azzarello (Author), Jim Lee (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up It's become something of a fad to shake up the story lines of long-running series in order to reach a new generation of readers. In Tomorrow, the result is a mixture of high drama, colorful exposition, and ridiculous fantasy. The tale is so convoluted and melodramatic that only the most dedicated fans will want to slog their way through it. The story involves the mysterious disappearance of a million people from Earth (including Superman's wife, Lois) only to reappear in some unknown paradise world. Superman tries frantically to find them while his various allies and enemies rush to stop him. When he finally discovers what caused the vanishing, he, too, enters the mysterious paradise where he comes face to face with an enemy so powerful that it threatens to destroy everything he has ever known. There is really no doubt that he will come out on top, but it's unlikely that readers will care enough to get to the ending. In attempting to tell the story of Superman's psychological and spiritual struggles, the book becomes a parody of itself a pastiche of every superhero tale and self-help book ever written. The clichés are too numerous to list; suffice to say that the book is full of large-breasted women, incomprehensible musculatures, and lines like, I'm a man who can fly…but it's this woman who sweeps me off my feet. Azzarello may be an accomplished storyteller, but this is far from his best work. Steev Baker, Kewaskum Public Library, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Fresh from an acclaimed stint on DC's flagship, Batman (see Broken City, 2004), artist Jim Lee, a fan favorite, takes on the company's other big gun, Superman, with rather less success. The story begins a year after a million people, including Superman's wife, Lois Lane, mysteriously vanish from the face of the earth. As the Man of Steel tries to solve the puzzle while dealing with his personal loss as well as guilt over failing to prevent the disaster, a parallel story line concerns a priest questioning his faith and serving as Superman's confessor. Unfortunately, this intriguing setup gives way to a denouement featuring a megalomaniac bent on interplanetary conquest, which at least gives Lee the chance to draw the superpowered slugfest his fans demand. The attempt to portray an emotionally vulnerable Superman is admirable, but rather than humanizing the character, Lee's overwrought approach--the series' main selling point, however--makes him appear even more godlike than usual. Meanwhile, Azzarello's forte is dark crime stories populated with flawed characters (he made his bones with the modern noir 100 Bullets); he's just not cut out for larger-than-life. Nevertheless, artist's and writer's fans will clamor for these two volumes collecting their 12-issue Superman run. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401207154
• ISBN-13: 978-1401207151
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #437,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Read It, But Beware, November 25, 2008

By 

R. Benson "Dedwyre" (KCMO, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Superman: For Tomorrow, Vol. 2 (Paperback)

When this story originally came out, I canceled my subscription to whichever Superman book I was getting (there were, like, four), because I thought I'd missed something. Maybe I did; DC isn't as good at keeping their graphic novels organized in chronological order as Marvel. But I figured I didn't want to be spending money on a book I wasn't enjoying. I was surprised, too, because I loved Jim Lee's "Batman: Hush" storyline, but I didn't think about he fact that "Hush" and "For Tomorrow" had different writers, so the stories were majorly different.

Anyway, I've finally read the whole "For Tomorrow" story after all these years, and after a bit of deliberation, I've decided that I like it. It's not my favorite, but it's pretty good.

However, the story is confusing, and not in the same way that "Hush" is. "Hush" is a maze of a storyline where you're trying to find out who's responsible. "For Tomorrow" is philosophical and focuses a lot on questions of ethics, faith, doubt, and the boundaries of a super hero. It's also got a couple annoying specifics (like where Superman tells Batman that he doesn't like him, even though a few story arcs from the same time period would lead you to believe otherwise; also, what's with Wonder Woman and Halycon?), but if you can look above the story itself and focus on the basic themes behind it, it's a very interesting study of the legendary super hero. It took me a while and required me to go back and reread some parts, but I think it works.

Ultimately, I think "For Tomorrow" probably would have worked better as its own mini-series rather than being put in the main Superman books. It doesn't really gel well with the other stories of the time.

Jim Lee's art is good, obviously, though I do think he tends to go overboard with Lois Lane. There's not much else to say on that.

So I recommend reading the book (both parts; preferably in order), but I warn you that it isn't as straightforward as, say, "The Death of Superman." I also personally prefer "Up, Up, and Away" as a Superman story in case you're wondering.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good, October 24, 2005

By 

C. A. F. Guifarro "A Comics Fan" (Honduras) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Superman: For Tomorrow, Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

This is so much better than the volume 1, it's a good story and a fresh way to re-introduce an old enemy. A darker but a very good story than the ussual storys from the world of superman, yet in this story superman gives the feeling that he is a little heart less.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's with all the bad reviews?, October 20, 2005

By 

Michael Rutschky "The sage is shy and humble ... - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Superman: For Tomorrow, Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

This might sound hypocritical after reading my review for (the much more light-hearted) Showcase Presents: Superman, but I thought For Tomorrow was awesome. I liked it better than Broken City, and I loved Broken City.

Was it too cynical? I didn't think Superman was too dark and mopey. He did something that he thought would benefit people and it wound up biting him in the ass. Hasn't there always been Superman stories like that? Isn't that how (pre-crisis) Lex lost his hair for cying out loud? I thought the story did a great job of exploring his role on Earth as a savior, an alien, a man, and a husband. Sure there's some self doubt, but the story is epic enough and fascinating enough and entertaining enough that the doubt doesn't bring the story down at all.

And I definetly didn't think that Superman acted anything like some cocky jerk from 100 Bullets.

Great action, great art, cool villains, really neat idea for a story, as well as FANTASTIC dialogue. Why is it getting such bad reviews everywhere?