:superman: ☄ Superman: Space Age Discussion (Spoilers; #2 Drops 9/27) ☄ :superman:


Acclaimed writer Mark Russell and equally acclaimed artist Mike Allred take Superman on a groovy and ginchy adventure as only they can in Superman: Space Age #1, debuting at comic stores on July 26th.

What are you expecting from this series? A supreme adventure for all time? A hip and hep tale that will put pep in your cape?

While we’re talking about Mike Allred’s latest work to star Superman, check out his covers for The Superman/Madman Hullabaloo, for they are indeed groovy and ginchy!

Trade cover:

If you’d like to celebrate 25 years of Mike Allred’s first Superman gig, you can do so right here:

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I have… no idea what to expect.

From what I’ve read of Mark Russel’s writing (Superman vs Imperious Lex, some Flintstones), there’s quite a bit of satire and social commentary. His tone isn’t straight up comedy, but it’s definitely not overly serious either. The descriptions for this series make it sound like an epic tale, though. Not sure if that indicates a different tone, or a bigger stage.

Love the Allred art previews. Didn’t know much about him before this solicitation, but there’s a bold, streamlined quality to his work that I really like.

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That satire and commentary are especially evident in this series:

A DC You favorite of mine, and a sorely underrepresented mini in general. Try it out, @moro. You might like it.

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Mark Russell always delivers a solid story and I love me some Mike Allred, so I’ll be getting this one.

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It’s almost here!

Super excited.

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Superman: Space Age has really caught my interest. Look like a great book to read.:grinning:

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Space Age #1 is my Book of the Week pick for next week, that’s for sure.

It may be 10 bones an issue, but look at it this way:

That’s 10 clams for multiple pages of Mike Allred art, which is always worth spending some bread on, given how fantastic his art is.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Space Age ends up as one of 2022’s grooviest minis, daddy-o. :sunglasses:

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Today’s the day, as #1 is on store shelves right now.

Grab a copy and then share your spoiler-filled thoughts below! :superman_hv_3:

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Was… quite fantastic. Feels like the opening act in an epic, decades spanning movie. Love the ending with the creation of the Justice League. Writing is a lot more serious in tone than I expected (good thing), and the art is amazing. May expand on my thoughts later :slightly_smiling_face:.

Side note: Anybody else get Forrest Gump vibes? Not the character, but all the 60s historical stuff and the narration reminded me of the movie. Maybe it’s just me and my silly head.

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I’m not crazy about the art but I enjoy this immensely regardless.

This gave me some Richard Donner superman vibes and if they were ever going to make a JL movie set in that time period, this is how I will do it.

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Some additional thoughts (mild spoilers ahead):

  • There’s some deconstruction here: Clark trying to find his place in the world, and butting heads with Jonathan a bit about saving the world, only to find that the world may be self destructive in its own right. I imagined some fans would be up in arms about it, especially with the Jonathan’s WWII story, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
  • Superman action is there and serves the story well, but it is definitely not a focal point, at least not yet. Curious to see where they go with it next issue.
  • This page was fantastic; cue the John Williams score:
  • Was cool to see Jor-El training Clark on how to use his powers in the fortress.
  • Linking this story to COIE was brilliant. It kinda contextualizes US history within that of DC Universe continuity.
  • This was an interesting version of Lex. Equal parts the evil businessman we’re familiar with and Gene Hackman “criminal mind” with a dry sense of humor. Love it.
  • The 89 page length is something I really enjoyed. Don’t like the 2-month wait until the next book though. Oh well, better to get it right than to rush it!

Again, loved everything about this, and looking forward to what comes next.

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I just finally was able to pick this up and read it, and really enjoyed it. I liked Mike Allred’s art in this a lot more than I have in the past, especially how he draws the Anti-Monitor. I’m looking forward to seeing how he draws other more alien/fantastic characters in the next issues. I am intrigued by how this ties into mainline continuity, like what happened to Coast City (although I’m nervous that this will lead to Hal becoming Parallax :stuck_out_tongue: ). I also like this portrayal of Lex, since at the same time he seems more reasonable and almost friendly than he has when I’ve seen him in other places, but he’s also a lot more blatantly evil.

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Literally reading this as I type (got behind in my reading, just a smooch :pinching_hand:t2:) and yeah, Space Age #1 is everything I want it to be: groovy, groovier and :superman:uper-ginchy, baby.

Speaking of Hal and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, have you seen this (now available at Walmart, as its exclusive to them):

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Superman: Space Age #2 has landed! :partying_face:

What do we think, and…is Superman: Space Age on its way to being a modern classic Superman mini-series?

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It’s certainly an engaging read and a joy to look at. This issue solidifies a unique take on Clark Kent. He is unsure of himself, his mission, and his place in the world. He remains so even after having been at it for a decade. The more he doubts though, the more he digs deeper into his humanity. He connects with people, falls in love, gets married, has a kid. This is contrasted with Bruce Wayne, who also has his doubts, but gets more nihilistic as we progress, blowing up his own tower to rid his company of corruption. The characterizations remind me a bit of Clark & Bruce in the Snyder movies. Far from carbon copies, but there are some similarities in characterization.

You can also contrast this Clark with the one we currently see in Action Comics. That Clark exudes confidence and charisma, stands in front of the United Nations and addresses the world in an effort to inspire us to be our best selves. This Clark stumbles when Lois or Bruce question his purpose or what he does, repeatedly saying “I saved the Earth from an asteroid”, to a pretty good comedic effect.

Speaking of comedy, it’s there. Present enough to elicit a smile or two, and subtle enough so as not to overpower the narrative. It doesn’t just come from Clark, but from other Justice League members, especially Flash, as they themselves ponder their actions in somewhat dysfunctional team meetings. The story offers something for them to coalesce around though, in the form of the big threat from Brainiac, foreshadowing the even bigger threat of Anti-Monitor.

Mike Allred’s art is great. The whole thing is just beautifully rendered with its bold lines and exquisite colors. Clark flies a lot here, and the gracefulness of his flight is captured in every panel. Bruce does a lot of Batmaning, and those shots really capture the dynamism and action. There’s a couple different designs to Batman’s costume and his Batmobile too, and I like Allred’s takes on ‘em all the same.

This books has had me thinking since I finished it last night, and that’s always a sign of a very well done comic. I have more thoughts, but this post is getting overly long already. I may post again later. To answer the ”is it a modern classic” question though… it could be, depending on where they go with the third act. I do think it will end up deserving to at least be in the conversation, based on the questions it brings to the forefront about Superman, and the fantastic artwork.

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I agree with your points that preceded the above quote, but I wanted to highlight Allred’s art, because it IS great, and then some.

I kinda-sorta want to re-read The Superman/Madman Hullabaloo, since that too was a three-issue Superman mini that Allred drew.

Anyhow, Space Age #2 is the next book in my To Read stack, and I can’t wait for it! I hope its even better than #1.

SN: Thank you for the correction, @Shayera.Hol. :superman_hv_4: Somehow, my four eyes missed that detail. :nerd_face:

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I’ve really liked Space Age so far. It probably deserves a deep dissection once it’s finished. But, for now, I just want to highlight two moments from issue #2 that I thought were important for Superman:

Jor-El: They are suspicious of you because they are driven by greed, ambition, and for the lust for power. So they assume you must be the same. It’s not you they fear, my son, but themselves.

Spot on.

I also though this was beautiful:

Superman: And maybe that’s why it’s so important to give people hope. Even when there’s no good reason for it. Because hope is the lie we make come true.

Two great moments that encapsulate things I believe about Superman.

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Does it have the making of a modern classic? That depends on how they stick the landing. Personally, I have faith that they will end in triumphant fasion. That being said, the second issue wasn’t as good as the first.

It sorely lacked the narration of Lois Lane’s article and personally, I thought it spent way too much time on Bruce Wayne. I understand they were trying to establish different perspectives on the same problem but I want to read about Superman in a book title Superman:Space Age. Their use of the Barry was great though. Just enough to establish a checkov’s gun situation and capture the awkward good hearted nature of the character without him coming across as just Wally “haha” West. If Mark toned down Bruce’s involvement to the level of Barry and instead spent that time with Lois or Clark, then I think the pay off of their marriage and her knowing that he was Superman this issue would have been 10x better.

Still The issue found time for deep character development. We see Clark, a decade into his time in trunks, as unsure but eternally optimistic. As needing people, needing the small moments, to be grounded. We see him trying his best because what other option does he have? I think Russel nails Clark Kent’s personality. And he writes an excellent Lois Lane to boot.

I’m very interested to see where issue 3 goes considering the ending with all of the brainiacs and the inevitable coming of the Anti Monitor. Plus we got that flash forward of Superman wearing a black S visiting a dead planet. I think it was a multiverse earth or krypton? It was late when I was reading it.

All In all, I couldn’t put it down. It was a good read with solid art. Very excited for the next issue.

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Yeah Those quotes were awesome. They were the highlightable moments in a series sure to be full of them.

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I think seeing Bruce going through similar doubts as Clark and contrasting how he ultimately reacts to them is what helped drive the point home about Clark’s hopefulness and who he is as a person. This was an instance where I didn’t mind some Batman time at all in a Superman story.

I don’t disagree. However, I also think PKJ nails it, and Bendis, and Jurgens, and Waid, and Byrne. There’s differences between how all those writers write Clark, some more subtle than others, but they pretty much all share the essential traits we all know. I think it speaks to Superman’s versatility as a character that he can be adapted with different voices.

Regarding Clark in the black S, I think that was Brainiac visiting another earth in the multiverse, trying to recruit a Superman to his cause.

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