2010

It has been quite a while since I posted a book review on here. In the spirit of resuming timely posts, I have compiled a list of the books I read during 2010.

"Superman: Secret Identity" by Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immomen

First off, let me say that I am not a huge Superman fan. As characters go, I don't find him very interesting for all the typical reasons: he's too static making the stories boring, he's too powerful making the stories boring, and he's too much of a boy scout - again making the stories boring. I've always preferred superheroes with more depth and edge.

If the Grant Morrison/Frank Quitely team hadn't starting working on "All Star Superman", there is no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't have read "Superman: Secret Identity". I remember seeing the issues when they came out a couple of years ago - the story was originally released in four issues in the presige format (DC speak for double sized issues in expensive packaging). At the time I thought to myself: "hmmm, I really like Busiek's writing, and I really like Immomen's art - it's too bad that this is a Superman story".

I passed on the book and never looked back, even when Heinrich told me that I should read this. Fortunately I came around eventually, because this turned out to be quite a good read.

The story focuses on a teenager in the "real world" - on the planet Earth we live on where superheroes exist only in comic books, and Superman is no more than a popular character. The books protagonist has had the misfortune of misguided parents who named their small town Kansas son Clark Kent. Understandably, the child grows up ridiculed. The genius of Busiek's story, however, is that ten pages into the first issue, this mild-mannered Kansas boy somehow develops strange powers, awfully familiar to Superman fans.

So really, this story isn't so much about the established Superman character, as it is about the core concepts of the character. Each issue takes place at a distinctly different point in Clark's life, and the reader gains limitless insight into the psyche of comics greatest character.

I really liked this twist on the archeotype, and it provided a freshness to the character that I revelled in. Maybe Superman has always been too established of a character for me and this story (like "All Star Superman") provided me with an opportunity to see the character anew. Whatever the reason behind it, with this story I found myself more than just enjoying a good read, but being sucked right into the Superman world. It was a pleasant surprise.