Superman Vol. 1: What Price Tomorrow? (The New 52)

This book came on time and was in great condition. The graphics were draw so vividly and the read was easy. I recommend this to anyone who wants a fast read with action.

Reprints Superman (2011 ongoing series) #s 1-6. DC has had a number of 'Crisis' mega-events over their publishing history, wherein massive threats to the universe (or multiverse) result in a change in continuity, removing some past material from canon while keeping other stories intact. One of the most radical was the Flashpoint event of 2011; immediately after its conclusion all former ongoing titles were canceled, although many of them were relaunched the very next month. What they wanted to do was have 52 new ongoing series premiere in one month with 52 # 1 issues. Some characters, like Batman, had the bulk of their history preserved (although needlessly compressed into 5 years instead of the previous 10-15 years that were supposed to have passed since the main characters started up), while Superman was one of the ones that got a really radical reworking. In essence, ALL of the Man Of Steel's previous adventures and stories got cut out of canon, and Superman and Action Comics relaunched with new # 1s that started telling the 'current' happenings while simultaneously filling in the previous five years for his backhistory. Even longtime comics fans find all this rearranging hard to keep straight, so I can only imagine how confusing it must be to newcomers, but basically if you get Superman Volume 1: What Price Tomorrow? you're starting out with Superman and company on the ground floor, with no prior knowledge of the previous decades of storytelling needed. If you were already a fan of the existing Superman material, all you could do was give the new books a chance based on their own merits, and maybe hope that a future canon-altering event might somehow stitch some of those previous stories back into official continuity.So what do we have based just on this volume? The Superman we have for the New 52 series has a different relationship to the public than the previous. He's still an immensely powerful being, one of the last survivors of Krypton, dedicated to protecting and fighting for justice everywhere for everyone regardless of species or country. But, in one of the biggest surprises of the relaunch, he's not universally lauded by the general public. A lot of citizens of Metropolis still love him, but others think he draws far more trouble than he prevents, and this radical split in opinion is echoed elsewhere among the general population of the Earth. Superman/Clark Kent's relationship with Lois Lane is also totally reworked; previously they were married in issues that came out in the 90s and were happily together ever since; in the New 52 this is gone, Clark and Lois are coworkers and friends, but have never even dated, and she doesn't know that Clark and Superman are the same person. If you were disappointed by that change, it's clear that Superman is disappointed too: he has secret feelings for Lois but she thinks of him only in the friend zone. Another change: in his previous history, Superman generally is able to save everybody. It was perhaps unrealistic but we all tended to accept it because Superman wasn't like the police or any other superhero, he was Superman. The New 52 Superman, apparently a little less powerful, isn't always able to save everyone when disaster or the latest supervillain shows up. He still has Superman's idealism though, in that he is not at peace with this situation at all: he accepts only with extreme reluctance the very idea that he can't save everyone, let alone the reality of it. And in this volume he's up against not one but three new force-of-nature type villains, and that's just for starters. These take the form of a fire-like creature, an invisible powerhouse monster, and an ice-like creature.One other point is that it seems they've decided right from the start to give Superman's main supporting characters plenty of page time. Lois always gets page time, but they're using Perry Mason, Jimmy Olsen and the rest of the Daily Planet staff a lot here, centering in a storyline where the Daily Planet has been sold to Morgan Edge and is being rebranded. Jimmy's new reporting partner Miko--I think this book is her first appearance--also looks to be a strong player in the revamped Superman.Okay, quickly now: any negatives? There are places where the dialogue could have been better (sorry). It usually doesn't work when Superman engages in too much witty banter with his enemies. And all in all, there are signs that this new incarnation of the Superman mythos is still finding its footing in these first issues. It's off to a really good--although Very different--start for the new 52 Man Of Steel. I like this collection now better than when I first read it, and I'll give it four-and-a-half stars.P.S. I love the art on the hornblowing creature early in the book.

It's Supes! Love the new 52 stories.

I decided to pick up the "New 52" (that reboot has been active for two years now, so we really ought to stop calling it that, I guess) issues of Superman. This comic is set five years after the ongoing Action Comics title by British comics writer Grant Morrison. In other words, while Morrison's work is set at the very beginning of "the age of heroes" - marked by the beginning of the careers of Superman and Batman - Superman is set five years later during the "present day".I was hesitant to pick this up because I have heard a lot of bad things about the story. To say that Perez's work on this title was much criticized would be a huge understatement. I wanted to sift through that, to "separate the wheat from the chaff", to use a biblical term, because I knew that much criticism would be due to those who generally dislike the reboot as a whole.Well, I read it and.... I have mixed reactions to it. I think that the personal interactions, the story of Clark Kent relating to the other characters, especially Lois and Jimmy, was really neat. But I also did not like the Superman part of the tale. It seemed to be, well, not very "Superman-like", if you will. The dark and brooding one is supposed to be Batman, not Supes. In many ways, it seemed that Clark and Supes were not the same person. Clark was much friendlier than Supes was, when usually both are really friendly.I was kind of surprised that this was written by the famed George Perez, whose past work included the much-lauded reboot of Wonder Woman and work on The Teen Titans, both in the '80's. Of course, the friction that he had with some of the editors at DC, as well as with Grant Morrison may have contributed to the lackluster quality of the title. Who knows.This really wasn't bad at all. Those who make it out to be so are kind of over the top, in my opinion. But neither is it the high-quality writing that so many have come to expect from George Perez, either.

I'm 43 and I have to say, you don't have to be a genius or have any knowledge at all in DC Comics in order to start this comic (Vol. 1). I bought it just for curiosity on how "The New 52" series will tell the story. Honestly: I was amazed on how well it was illustrated, written and explained. No wonder this new generation likes that much "The New 52" series.It gets you right on the introduction of the story and right on the adventures of Superman.Astonishing art...well placed dialogue and action sequences...Everything has an explanation in the story, well done!!!If you are looking to get into Superman comics for the first time, this is definitely the one to buy (Vol. 1).I like it so much that I bought Vol. 2 and already pre-ordered Vol. 3. You won't regret it....

In case you were on the fence about this volume, I just want to say it is worth it to buy it. The story is engaging. I have no idea where the story is going with the aliens superman is fighting. I love today's telling of superman because this volume talks about him being alien. The cost of fixing metropolis after alien attacks, and the fact that all these alien attacks have occurred only after superman arrived. Is he responsible just by being there? A great read. I recommend it.