ALL-STAR SUPERMAN (Morrison/Quitely, 05-08)
(read: 20220805->13): Though I'd read most of ALL-STAR in single issues when it first came out, (05-08+/-?) I missed the end (the last two or three issues, I think) due to the years of moving about and lack of Newbury Comics (or of any comics shop for that matter).
Not sure what more I can add to the discussion that hasn't been said but this really is the best Superman story of this nascent century, everything I love about the character's potential for the strange and weird – that I've been immersed in Silver Age SUPERMAN and JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA comics these past several months heighted my appreciation for Morrison and Quitely's work here even more – wrapped in a story full of heart and emotion and populated by what is, by far, my favorite version of Superman's cast.
Morrison's work has always been at its best when brought to life under the pencil of Frank Quitely: his knack for delivering Morrison's Kirby-on-LSD-level Silver-Age bombast (can we please let the two of them loose on THE FOURTH WORLD?) through tight restraint and tiny detail that makes the human shine through – his penchant for facial expressions of his interpretation of these classic characters rivals even that of Joe Shuster's and, thanks to Chip Kidd's (whose most recent DESIGN MATTERS interview is a must-listen) introduction, I can't unsee how Superman's spitcurl is the S symbol on his forehead – somehow managing to both ground and elevate Morrison's excesses in and to human and superhuman levels.
Nothing short of a triumph.
P.S: FWIW: my three favorite Superman iterations: Flesicher's 1940s cartoons, ALL-STAR, and, because I am nothing if not a child of back then, the 90's triangle era.
