Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

Superman

Question of the Week: What’s Your Favorite Superman, Batman and DC Universe Story?

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As you’re all well aware, I spend a lot of time on Comic Book Herald talking about Marvel Comics. It’s my first love, and I won’t sit here and pretend that when the great Marvel vs. DC brouhaha of 2016 breaks out I won’t be on the side of the (arch)Angels. Nonetheless, I love my share of DC stories and this leads us to this week’s doozy of a question from the comments of my DC Reading Order guide: [Read more…] about Question of the Week: What’s Your Favorite Superman, Batman and DC Universe Story?

DC’s New 52 Year One Reviews: Action Comics by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales

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If you’re a collector, you probably bought the new 52 Action Comics #1 for the numbering. With an ongoing run that began in June of 1938 with Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, Action Comics became the go-to example for just how dramatic DC’s new 52 was going to be. “They’re renumbering Action Comics! Giving the iconic Superman line an all new number one issue! My heavens, have they completely lost it?!!!”

I’ll admit, it’s pretty easy to get caught up in the speculative gold rush of a new number one issue, even for a non-collector. Nonetheless, the main reason Action Comics held so much appeal out of the gate was not because it defied a deep and storied history that few people know. No, it was the fact that DC announced Grant Morrison as lead writer, this less than a decade after his All-Star Superman redefined what we talk about when we talk about the Man of Steel. [Read more…] about DC’s New 52 Year One Reviews: Action Comics by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales

All-Star Superman Review – OR – The Point of Ongoing Superhero Comics

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I’ve never been much of a comic book collector. This is, perhaps, odd for an individual so desperately in love with the medium, but I prefer my stories whole (just like my women! wait… well, never mind). Comic books – in there purest form – are serial testaments to a realm of unfinished story. Each issue is merely a component of a greater design and it’s generally not until they’re taken together that they form an arc (40 cubits by 40 cubits). This is why I’m so into collecting trade paperback issues/graphic novels/whatever you want to call them. AT LEAST THEY’RE WHOLE! MOSTLY! A LOT OF THE TIME!

It was with some hesitation, then, that I recently branched out into the the world of comic shops and single issue arcs. The DC New 52 has roped me into buying issues 1-8 of both Animal Man and Action Comics. More on all these particular comics at a later date – for now, I mention this to explain why I felt so suddenly compelled to consume Grant Morrison‘s All-Star Superman, a giant omnibus edition I’ve admired on my shelves for half a year now. Seemed like a fun idea to read All-Star Superman before Morrison’s new take on Supes in Action Comics. Little did I know, All-Star Superman would help me explain the very existence of Action Comics as a comic book trove.  [Read more…] about All-Star Superman Review – OR – The Point of Ongoing Superhero Comics