Customer Reviews

Superman: True Brit (Superman, DC Comics)

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

 

 

DC takes an interesting premise and throws all its potential out the window with SUPERMAN: TRUE BRIT, an original graphic novel that asks the question, what if Kal-El's rocket landed in England instead of the USA? This is not a serious Elseworlds tale by any means, but rather a bunch of gags drug out over 96 pages. Writer Kim Johnson presents the reader with a question: in a reserved, uptight British society, how would a godlike character like Superman fit in? To answer that question, all Britons are unfortunately portrayed as bumbling, conservative stereotypes who have no place in their lives for someone whose superior abilities make him stand out from the crowd. Monty Python's John Cleese provides a writing assist, but it's mainly to inject some Pythonesque humor, the result being inside jokes that non-Python fans will miss. And one of the more unfortunate parts is how this Superman story just HAS to give a nod to Batman, and there's an awful lot of effort required to build up to a relatively small appearance. It's almost like they came up with the Batman angle first and then built the Superman story around it. Well, the story is about Superman, so why not focus on him and let the stupid Batman jokes fall by the wayside?

But as bad as the story is, it is accompanied by the best John Byrne art I've seen in years - probably because it was inked by Mark Farmer, who provides a very polished finish to Byrne's normally "scratchy" pencils. Superman's costume is a nice change as well, incorporating the Union Jack and a collar into the standard togs that he's worn for almost 70 years. I would have preferred it if DC had let Byrne write this one, as he would probably have provided a more serious and interesting take on an English Superman than what we have here. So this book gets a big thumbs down, and this comes from both a Superman fan and a Monty Python fan.

While this book certainly has its moments, I was expecting something funnier. The artwork is standard John Byrne, which means it's good. The story seems to try to strike some balance between being a straight Superman story and being a comedy. In my opinion, it would have been better to go strictly for laughs. A couple of scenes had me on the floor--young Colin milking the cows, for one--but there weren't enough of those. Too many of the silly ideas (Superman attempting to help the National Health Service shorten the waiting time for hip surgery) were followed by realisticly somber consequences (a rash of infections in the patients Superman helped with).

Python fans will appreciate the many references scattered throughout the book (e.g. a car containing two of the Rutles about to plunge out of an upper story of the Mr. and Mrs. Brian Norris Car Park).

All in all, it seems to be more a satire on British society than the rip-roaring laugh-fest I wanted it to be. I'm afraid it's neither serious enough or silly enough for me--a testament, perhaps, to my American distance from the British mindset.

This is Mr. F.G. Superman.

If that name brings a smile of recognition to your face, then this book is for you! Rather than being a vessel to explore the character of Superman, "True Brit" is aimed squarely at Great Britain, its culture and foibles. The land of the stiff upper lip, cricket, and Page Three girls is shown to be a very silly place, indeed.

There are also plentiful references to characters and events from the Monty Python canon, some of them positively subtle, others....not so subtle. Highly reccommended for fans of Python in particular, and British humor in general.

With art by John Byrne and John Cleese on the writing staff, this should have been one of the greatest Elsewhere novels of all time. I could not have been more disappointed. Aside from a few cheesy jokes, I was literally bored reading this. Save your money, folks, unless you're a diehard John Byrne fan who's out to collect everything he's ever done.

What a great premise unfortunately squandered by trying (and failing) to turn the story of Superman into a comedy. The boy that would become Superman crash lands in Great Britain rather than America and grows up to be a bumbling idiot even when he's trying to help the country. It's as if he acted like Clark Kent even after the glasses were off. On top of that, the press has turned on him, and it seems like everyone doesn't like him. This is the source of most of the book's gags, and they're really not funny; they're just sad (a running joke has his parents trying to abandon him because they don't think he should be using his powers).

Basically, if you like Superman, then you should definitely avoid this book. It's not even worth wasting the short time it takes to read it.

"Monty Python" writer Kim "Howard" Johnson, with the assist of John Cleese (also of MP fame), pens this new take on the Man of Steel, who crash-lands in England instead of Kansas as a baby. Raised as Colin Clark and hiding his superpowers out of embarrassment, he becomes a reporter for a sleazy tabloid, creates the persona of Superman, and uses the fame to further his career. Unfortunately, this Superman gets more bad press than Spider-Man!

Taking a premise that has near-endless possibilities, Howard settles for a prolonged, teeth-gnashing English comedy sketch complete with hit-or-miss gags and useless Batman references, the comic's only saving grace being the artwork by John Bryne. So then what's a `true Brit' for us? Maybe he leads the British to victory in World War II, or rescues the Queen from assassins, or even protects the country from the clichéd alien invasion. But no, we just get men in tights. Perhaps you should begin the hunt for "Red Son." Cheerio.

This comic is unrated: Violence.

I'm mainly an 80's Byrne fan, and I highly recommend his 80's stuff, but he's done quite a bit of work since then, so I thought I'd check this out.

The thing that shocked me about this right off the bat is that this is the most cartoony art I've ever seen from him. It's just not his 80's-style Superman at all. That's OK really- as long as people know what they're getting up front. The reason I actually kind of like this artwork is that this is some of the most *detailed* work we've seen from him in a while. The inks are crisp & tight; the colors are brilliant. The humor is whimsical at best, overly redundant at worst, and is too over-the-top British for most people, I'd think. Having said all this, I kind of like it- at least as a change of pace. Colin Clark is Superman here, and he's constantly reminded by his parents that the worst thing he could ever do is to "stand out from the crowd". This is, of course, what Superman does by nature, and his parents are so embarrassed they repeatedly move their residency without even telling their son, just to get away(!). They're constantly afraid of the attention he'll bring. It's a running gag throughout the whole book, which is packed with extremely British references on almost every page. Interesting side characters include: Louisa Layne-Ferret, the hot looking, manipulative, younger cousin of Lois Lane; a modern Jimmy Olsen; and a comical appearance by The Bat-Man! I liked the crazy take on Bat-Man here, even if the joke is obviously forced.

His mid-90's & early 2000's work tended to be a bit loose & sketchy; this is certainly not the case here. If you're looking for something different from Byrne, this is it! Still, I generally recommend his 80's Superman over this.

Now, I'm not going to hold the fact that I did not read carefully against the book - that's my fault, not the book's.

I was hoping for something a bit more serious, like Millar's "Red Son" in which Superman is raised in the USSR rather than in the USA.

But, this book is a tongue-in-cheek take on Superman, based on the premise that he landed in Kent in England, rather than Kansas, USA. Co-written by Monty Python contributers (it doesn't seem quite right to call John Cleese a mere contributor), this is an irreverant look at English culture, government and media - Superman is merely the medium used to deliver these scathing attacks.

A lot of the book deals with how normal people react to someone with super powers. Unfortunately, much of this ground was covered by Pixar's "The Incredibles" (both "The Incredibles" and "True Brit" were released in 2004) and even, to a lesser (and darker) extent by Frank Miller's first Dark Knight series.

The real lesson in this book is that good parents are very important. Superman's English parents can't hold a candle to Superman's traditional American parents.

The art of this one is a real strength - it reminded me very much of the vivid, clean lines of the Superman comics that I read when I was a kid.

So, mixed scores: Strong art, the Superman story is sacrificed for the jokes, but they are good jokes, no new ground covered when it comes to regular people's reactions to Super Heroes...

This one gets a C+ from me.

Wow, I cannot believe how boring I found this book. While I did enjoy the artwork, the writing is just dull, flat, lifeless. I expected soooo much more from the man who wrote Faulty Towers. Not for Superman fans, not for Cleese fans, not for anyone, really.

As always John Byrne does an outstanding job with the pencils for this graphic novel. The story on the other hand was very disappointing. I don't know if it was just too "British" for me but I just didn't find it entertaining. The approach that was taken with Superman as a British citizen was not very flattering to the British people as a whole and the type of hero the British Superman became was insulting to the American version. I realize this is an "Else Worlds" tale and does not "count" from a continuity perspective but I did expect a more Superman-like story. Unless you really enjoy British perspectives on American heroes, I wouldn't waste your money on this one. There are plenty of other works by John Byrne to buy.