Book Review: Superman For All Seasons

Book: Superman For All Seasons written by Jeph Loeb with illustrations by Tim Sale and color by Bjarne Hansen

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

I actually had a hard time trying to figure out what to say, not because I didn't like it (I gave it 5 stars) but for the fact that I thought it was Perfect. The excellent writing coupled with the amazing artwork told a captivating story.

It was a great take on Superman and you got to see what made him such an awe inspiring character. Although Superman For All Seasons is about Clark's journey to being Superman, it's not told from his point of view instead it told by Jonathan Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor and Lana Lang in four different yet interconnecting stories. You get a sense of how they saw him whether it be love or hatred (in Lex's case) but also as a hero.

This was not a re-telling of his origins but more of a snapshot of a year in his life. The first story set during the Spring narrated by Jonathan Kent, told of how Clark was dealing with how different he was feeling but also showed a father's love and concern for his son. After a tornado ripped through town, Clark wished he could have done more to help the people and the town. He wanted to make a difference and to just help. Knowing he would have to leave his home to do this, Clark embarked on a new life in Metropolis as well as being the new hero Superman.

The second story set during the Summer narrated by Lois Lane, gave the reader a chance to see why this man who could do anything especially with all of his abilities, chooses to help. To be a hero. Even though she's a seasoned reporter, you can tell she's a bit blown away by the existence of Superman. That he's too good to be true (her own words) yet it's the idea of what he stands for that inspires her as well as piqued her curiosity and whether she would say it or not, awed her.

So far with these two stories, there was an underlining sense that Lex Luthor was not happy that someone was taking all of the city if not the world's attention off of him. Like Superman just trying to help has somehow threatened Luthor in some way. In the second story, Luthor put his jealousy to work by creating the Guardians of the City to help protect the city. He wanted that attention back and to do that he needed to be the hero to the city again.

So by the third story set during the Fall with Lex Luthor as the narrator, you get to see Superman through Luthor's twisted mind. To see how Superman has taken the city away from him. His pride is so injured he came up with an plan to destroy Superman but not in the usual way. He needed to tear down the Man of Steel's confidence in his ability to keep the city and its people safe. And in a way it worked.

Which leads to the last story set during the Winter told by Lana Lang. This story showed Clark back in Smallville sorting through his life. There are these two pages that I love, it shows Lex Luthor and Lois Lane as they are both staring out the window of their perspective buildings. Lex is as happy as he could be while with Lois you could see her sense of longing for not just Superman but also for Clark (who had decided to take some time off).

Through Lana's story the reader got a good understand of who Clark was as a friend and as a hero. He genuinely wants to help and what you see is what you get. And when a flood threatens the town, Clark's main focus was on trying to help. It was interesting that you got to see his heroics through the eyes of the town's people and his parents and Lana. I love that not only was Clark able to save the town he also got the top story for the Daily Planet. And even though Luthor thought he won, the only thing he did was inadvertently create an even stronger Man of Steel. Clark had to realize that he couldn't do everything like he thought he could in the beginning but he could still do the best he could. Which is all that anyone can do, super powers or not.

I absolutely love this story because it captured everything perfectly, be it Clark's life in Smallville to the grandness of Metropolis. But also Clark's loneliness in the big city and how different he felt returning to Smallville. In a way he was no longer that small town guy. I like how Smallville felt like I was looking at life by Norman Rockwell with a feeling of the Andy Griffith show. While Metropolis was shown mostly from the air looking down at all the tall buildings with everyone going at a fast pace.

Sorry this was a bit long, I just wanted to write how amazing I thought this was. Sort of wished I hadn't waited so long to read this.