It really is a special time for fans of comic books. If you told me that in the summer, we could see a new movie about the ultimate super-hero Superman, the super-hero that started it all. And then a mere two weeks later (two weeks mind you) we could see a movie about the most famous family in the world, a family that literally started the Marvel Universe, the Fantastic Four…well I would not believe you, would even declare you insane, and then banish you from the store.
But we are getting this scenario. It really is a dream come true. I will see both films multiple times. As usual, my trailer-boycott is still intact, and I am quite proud of that. So I am really going in this thing blind.
Like Curt, Superman is my favorite character. Like Curt, Thing is probably my favorite too. When I write those two sentences, I can barely keep down the amount of glee that wants to erupt from my mouth.
I will continue the Superman recommendations in preparation for the movie that will come out…golly…next week! Last week’s recommendation was what I personally consider to be one of the best Superman storylines of all time: The Death of Superman.
This week’s Superman recommendation definitely gives The Death of Superman a run for its money. And I am referring to Superman: Exile.
Superman: Exile ran for 13 issues in 1989 and was a direct consequence of when Superman was forced to take the lives of three Kryptonian criminals. There were many consequences for Superman from this action, but it all cumulated to his decision to go into a self-imposed exile and find himself again.
Much like the Death of Superman, this ran through all the Superman issues at the time. But what makes this unique, at least in my mind, was that this event would bring into fruition the so-called ‘Triangle Era’ where all the Superman books continued from each other and you could follow the order with the numbered Superman shield-triangle on the front cover. This is the event that started it all.
What’s more, is that it has all the creators that we love and who would continue to bring impact to not only Superman as a character, but to the world of Metropolis and beyond. Jerry Ordway, Roger Stern, Dan Jurgens guided by Mike Carlin brought Superman’s inner turmoil to the page, and set it in a universe full of aliens, war, conflict and Mongul. Not only did they flesh out the character, but I would argue they fleshed out the DC Universe. I included the reading order below, but DC did recently release a beautiful Omnibus sized edition of the event and that is definitely worth checking out.
Superman Exile Reading Order:
Superman 28
Adventures of Superman 451
Superman 29
Adventures of Superman 452
Superman 30
Adventures of Superman 453
Adventures of Superman 454
Action Comics Annual 2
Superman 32
Adventures of Superman 455
Superman 33
Adventures of Superman 456
Action Comics 643
All of these issues are affordable and you can find them quite easily at a Comic Book store that has a solid back issue bin. Hunt these down and I promise you, you won’t regret it.
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