I dedicate this blog to the Austin Public Library. Why would I do this you ask? A few months ago Superman: Earth One was released and ever since I’ve been trying to get my hands on it in the cheapest way possible. I ordered it online using a coupon, and after being on back order for over a month my order was cancelled. People raved about how good this graphic novel was, so as a Superman fan I was at my wits end. I decided to just do what I do a lot of. I would go to Borders, read the graphic novel, and then put it back on the shelves. But before I did what some would call ‘immoral’ I had to stop off at the Austin library to pick up a hold. To my surprise I found Superman: Earth One waiting for me in the graphic novel section. Victory is mine!
It seems like every year for the past several a new interpretation of Superman’s origin has been released. From Jeph Loeb’s A Superman For All Seasons to Geoff Johns more recent Superman: Secret Origin. Now J. Michael Straczyski has come up with his own version of Superman that some have already called ‘the Twilight Superman.’ As I sat down on my day off to read this graphic novel that nickname didn’t instill me with much faith seeing how Twilight is something that has ruined vampires and werewolves for me for the next decade. But could Straczynski really do a better job than Loeb and Johns, two comic writing legends?
Superman: Earth One starts with Clark Kent coming to the big city of Metropolis to find his way. On his shoulders is the need to provide for his mother and his desire to not be in the spotlight like his father wanted. After several job interviews, one of which includes The Daily Planet, Clark seems more lost then ever as what to do with his life. That is until an alien race comes to Earth to find him. Led by a being named Tyrell they have come to find the last son of Krypton and will destroy the Earth in the process. Will Clark risk revealing himself to the world in order to save it? If you have any idea who Superman is I think you know the answer to that question.
I’ll get the cons out of the way first. I have watched Smallville for ten seasons and Straczyski managed to put more of Clark’s whining about his destiny in one graphic novel than Tom Welling did in ten years on TV. I didn’t really sympathize with this Clark Kent too much. I wanted to smack him and tell him to man up. This Clark didn’t put on the tights till the very last minute because he was too busy feeling sorry for himself. People criticized Brandon Routh in Superman Returns for being mopey, well this Clark Kent is the Edward Cullen of mopiness. This graphic novel also has less jokes than Black Swan, but at least that story had Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis making out to lighten the mood.
I’m a fan of chronological order. I don’t mind flashbacks as long as they’re something we’ve already seen. Whether it be an important line or item. This whole graphic novel goes back and forth from Clark talking to his parents as a child, to his present day battle. It’s like in The Lord of the Rings novels, you leave the present story to tell about something in the past. But by the time you come back to the present you don’t remember what’s going on, or you’ve lost your momentum. That’s why I couldn’t make it through even 100 pages of those hobbit books.
Meanwhile I felt like the story centered around Clark so much I didn’t have time to get to know Jimmy and Lois, practically the only other two characters in this graphic novel. We are briefly introduced to them, and the next thing we know they are helping Superman, and then the story ends. I will give Straczynski credit on Jimmy Olsen though. Jimmy is what Clark fights for. Jimmy’s innocence and faith in mankind is what helps Clark continue his mission, and when Superman was down it was Jimmy who tried to rush in and save him. 
Now comes my praises on this beautifully drawn graphic novel. Shane Davis has been on my favorite artist since his work on Green Lantern and this graphic novel would not have been set apart from all other Superman had it not been for Davis drawing the characters different than others before him. I prefer my Superman a little more Christopher Reeve than Brandon Routh but I like what Davis did so I’ll still give him points for originality.
Speaking of originality, Straczynski may have been a little off the mark on our hero, but I loved how he nailed the villain. Mainly because it wasn’t a known Superman villain. Lex Luthor was nowhere in this story, and when the aliens attacked it wasn’t Darkseid or Brainiac. This gave it a breath of fresh air, that again set it apart for from the other retellings. Tyrell’s origin story was something Superman fans had never seen or I’m sure even thought about. Good one Mr. Straczynski, but now I want to know who was the Kryptonian that betrayed his people and lead to his planet’s destruction? My money is on Zod, but I feel like you’re too smart for the obvious choice.
Superman: Earth One sets up at the end for a sequel with more story to tell. Straczynski quit working on Superman’s ongoing comic series to work on a sequel to this 2010 hit graphic novel. I’m hoping for a trilogy for no other reason than to see even more outside-of-the-box Superman stories. Before the sequel though comic writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank are releasing their own retelling with Batman: Earth One.
Straczynski tries to update Superman for younger fans, and today’s Twilight culture. I think ordinary people will enjoy this updated version of Superman that is free from continuity and conventions. But as for the true blue Superman fans I see this as the teenie bopper invasion into our Fortress of Solitude. The world already has one super powered whiny/annoying boy, we don’t need another, especially if it’s America’s hero.
Rating: C+
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