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Current Comic of the Month | About the Club
It's been a while since the H&D Comic Club has looked in on that most venerable of comic-book genres — the super-hero. What better way to return our attention to super-heroes than by examining the first, and possibly the greatest, super-hero of them all?
The theme of March's meeting is Superman Past and Present. We'll read and discuss two seminal Superman stories, representing the alpha and omega of super-heroic adventure:
Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man
of Tomorrow? is the last story of the Silver Age Superman. In
many ways, it's the final word on the Superman most of us grew up with.
Published immediately after Crisis on Infinite Earths, the two issues
reprinted here are a coda to the Silver Age adventures of Superman — a tale
of his last days intended to close the book on then-current notions of the
character and set the stage for a complete reinterpretation. In the
story, writer Alan Moore brings together the most important elements
of the Superman saga for one final conflict in the never-ending battle for
truth and justice.
Pencilled by classic Superman artists Curt Swan and Kurt
Schaffenberger and inked by George Pérez, these are the last
Superman tales edited by recently-departed living legend Julius Schwartz.
Man of Steel, by contrast, is
the 1986 relaunch of Superman. This six-issue mini-series reprinted
here tells the origins of Superman through a modern lens, incorporating
elements from other media, such as the Christopher Reeve films of the ' 70s
and ' 80s.
In Man of Steel, superstar writer-artist John Byrne redefines
Krypton, strips away extraneous elements of the Superman legend (such as
Krypto and Supergirl), resurrects the Kents as moral role models for the
adult Superman, and recreates Lex Luthor as a villainous powerhouse for the
1980s.
Was the reinvention of Superman necessary? Does the "new" Superman speak to readers differently than the Silver Age version? Bring your thoughts on these and other topics to our next meeting — Thursday, March 4 at 7:30pm — where we'll compare and contrast both stories.
If you've never attended Comic Club, this is a great chance to meet our members and learn all about the program. If you decide to join, there's a $20 per year membership fee, which also entitles you to a year-round 20% discount on all graphic novels (not just the ones we read for Comic Club).
RESOURCES
Both books are available at Heroes and Dragons now:
Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man
of Tomorrow?
Retail Price: $6.95 HDCC price
(with membership card): $5.56
Man of Steel
Retail Price: $9.95 HDCC Price
(with membership card): $7.96
REMEMBER:
Comic Club members save 20% on all graphic novel purchases at
H&D!
Previous Comics of the Month:
| February 2004 | | Torso |
| January 2004 | | Sgt. Rock: Between Hell and a Hard Place |
| December 2003 | | Kingdom Come |
|
November 2003 | |
Batman: Arkham Asylum |
| October 2003 | | Vault of Horror, Volumes 1 and 2 |
| September 2003 | | Blankets |
| August 2003 | | Sin City, Volume 1 |
| July 2003 | | Astro City: Life in the Big City |
| June 2003 | | The Golden Age |
| May 2003 | | League of Extraordinary Gentlemen |