Superman Earth One Review

Superman Earth One is a re telling of the origin story of Superman aimed predominately at the modern generation, adding to the Superman mythos while keeping the mainstays that define the character and the world he inhabits.

Earth One begins with a young Clark Kent entering Metropolis for the first time and as the reader we see Clark is dealing with the two sides of his personality and how he is trying to fit into this world he calls home. The struggles Clark faces in this book are much more relatable than previous iterations of the character, things such as fitting in and being different are tackled in this book and ultimately the responsibility of becoming Superman. Most if not everyone can relate in someway to growing up taking responsibility and becoming the person you want to be or being face with an event that shapes your life and Superman Earth one rides this line.

Superman Earth One

Before actually speaking about the story as a first impression the cover art is amazing and does a good job of setting itself apart, the hardcover version is brilliant as well it genuinely feels high quality, it features no dust jacket either I much prefer this style it will stand up to wear and tear and just looks better.

Now getting onto the guts of the book. The first quarter of the book starts a little slow, I was wondering just what direction the story was going to take, towards the half way mark the beginning makes more sense and had has a lot more meaning given the context of the second half of the story and the events that take place which makes the finale mean more because of it. I will not go too far in explaining the story due to not wanting to spoil it, a fan of the series can kind of guess events that will happen but it is the growth of the character and how he deals with these events which makes it an enjoyable read.

The character of Superman feels more fleshed out and relatable while holding true to the background of the character I would say we get to see more of the cogs turning in his head over decisions and questions in his life than I have seen before in previous instalments.

I enjoyed this version of Superman as he certainly feels different and almost more rough around the edges, he is coming to terms with the person he actually is , because of this his actions are unpredictable it makes reading the book interesting as it always leaves a question of how far will he go and what he is capable of in the long run.
The villain in Earth One, for me personally I really liked him he has a nice background I just wish more time was spent on him so we could learn a little more about him and the reasoning for his actions, it feels like a missed opportunity. This also brings me to a complaint about the final act, it flashes by a little to quickly especially given everything leading up to it I really think it should have been longer not to say it is bad I just think given what is going on you want it to be longer, this could also be passed off as a good thing as I really enjoyed the final act, I wanted to see more of it. Even with this, the story has a good resolution leaving open some questions for future instalments.

Sketch work for young Clark Kent

The graphical style employed in Superman Earth One serves both the story and the general tone and theme of what the intentions of the book are, while it shares many familiarities with previous Superman books it all rounds feels modern and current. Looking at the young Clark he fits in the modern world with the clothing/style and more so for the actually story, the outfit he is wearing on the cover makes a lot of sense he has layers which helps cover up his muscular build helping him to blend in. Blending in I think is a key point with the young Clark Kent with his personal struggles it helps the character but also the relation to the audience.

The art is some of the best I have seen in awhile one touch I like are the characters, the face detail display good emotion and it has the effect that the characters look alive as in what they are thinking, which can be said for many of the panels, they evoke a lot of feeling.

Superman Earth One is a refreshing, satisfying retelling of the origin of Superman, for people who may have been put off by the character in the past for lacking emotion or being a bit wooden, Earth One could be the Superman they are looking for. Overall the book is fun to read from cover to cover which leaves you with a good feeling and ultimately wanting to read more of this new style of Superman.