Intro to Superman

General Discussion
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I’ve never been a huge fan of Superman but not out of dislike for him. I haven’t read much of anything really so what are some stories that will make me love the character?

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Always makes me happy when another person is ready to read Superman for the first time. Here are some of my suggestions.

Superman: The Man of Steel by John Byrne,
All Star Superman: Grant Morrison, Superman: Brainiac By Geoff Johns, Superman Rebirth. Superman: For all seasons by Jeph Loeb. Just to name a few.

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Awesome! Thank you I will look into them ASAP!

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Superman Rebirth by Tomasi is really fun. It was my first comic and it was just really cool.

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Any time! Let me know what you think!

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Origin Stories:

  • Man of Steel by John Byrne
  • Secret Origins by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank
  • Birthright by Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu

Out of Continuity Stories

  • All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
  • Superman For All Seasons by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
  • Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross

In Continuity Story Arcs:

  • Superman: For Tomorrow by Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee
  • Superman Brainiac by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank
  • Death & Return of Superman by Dan Jurgens (and others)
  • Superman Doomed by Greg Pak (and others)
  • The Unity Saga by Brian Michael Bendis & Ivan Reis (current run; has not concluded yet).

Shorter Stories (also in continuity)

  • For The Man Who Has Everything by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
  • Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow by Alan Moore and Curt Swan
  • What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way? by Joe Kelly, Doug Mahnke, and Lee Bermejo
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If you’re starting on Superman I would avoid All-Star Superman for a while, it expects you to know a lot about the mythos right off the bat and is really more of a celebration of the character for long-time fans. I would start with Superman for all seasons then immediately go into Superman : Brainiac. Happy reading!

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I hadn’t read a ton of Superman (or any comics) when I read All Star, and didn’t have that hard of a time with it. Then again, you are probably giving good advice… it is Morrison after all.

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With All-Star, I think you can read it with just a passing knowledge of Superman from seeing stuff like the movies and TV shows and be able to understand the basic plot. A lot of the deep cuts the book does is explained within the book itself and is really more like fun set dressing for the personal, human story.

Another story that comes to mind as a good intro to the character is Superman: American Alien, where each issue is a short story of Clark Kent growing up to eventually become Superman.

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All great recommendations. I second @moro’s list.
Favorite of those:
All-Star Superman
Superman For All Seasons
Kingdom Come
Secret Origins: Superman Brainiac
For the Man Who Has Everything
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow

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Much of this is repeated from above, but I wanted to give you a proper reading order:

  1. Secret Origin
    What it says on the tin. Currently the official origin.

  2. The Wedding Album
    Lois and Clark tie the knot.

  3. What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?
    Manchester Black and other “heroes” think they can do the job better!

  4. Last Son
    A Kryptonian child shows up! What could it mean?

  5. Escape From Bizarro World
    Superman’s imperfect duplicate stirs up some trouble.

  6. Brainiac
    One of Superman’s greatest foes returns…for the first time?

  7. Convergence: Superman and Lois and Clark
    Superman and Lois find themselves displaced in a new timeline.

  8. Superman: Rebirth and Son of Superman
    Superman retakes his role as this (new) Earth’s hero.

  9. Path of Doom
    The monster who once killed Superman is back!

  10. Welcome to the Planet
    Lois and Clark finally come out of hiding in this new world.

  11. Black Dawn
    Manchester Black is back!

  12. Hopes and Fears
    The Kent family goes on vacation!

  13. The Oz Effect
    A mysterious figure finally reveals his identity!

  14. Imperious Lex
    Luthor has been an ally in this world thus far, but will he stay that way?

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Wow! Thanks guys I appreciate all the feedback. I started Superman rebirth and not gonna lie I was a little lost at first but the father son dynamic has got me hooked being a parent myself. I’m enjoying it very much so far.

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It’s also worth noting that we have Superman Book Club here that will offer weekly curated readings for you! This week, in honor of a certain film that was just released, they’re reading some stories featuring Harley Quinn in Metropolis (and space!).

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That sounds cool but I’m not clearance lvl 3 yet unfortunately

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(Psst…not every member actually has Level 3 clearance. :stuck_out_tongue: )

But it’s up to @Vroom, of course.

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I believe you meant “spaaaaaace!”. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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It’s not that hard to become level 3. I think I got it in like a day.

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Oh, trust me: the Tim Curry reference was on the tip of my proverbial tongue. :stuck_out_tongue:

Also, I was considering making some pre-Crisis Superman suggestions, but I don’t know how SRTLOWE will feel about “Classic Krusty.”

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Tim Curry is…Legend.

Also, the BTAS Joker 'fore The Guyver took over the role.

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Right on sign me up lol

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