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Written by Mark Waid; Art and cover by Leinil Yu and Gerry Alanguilan;
A new softcover edition collecting the 12-issue miniseries that features the entire modern-day retelling of Superman. Superman's origins have been imagined and reimagined over the years. Here is a new take on the character's roots.

Superman: Birthright retells the early chapters of Superman's story, from escape as an infant from the doomed planet Krypton to arrival as reporter Clark Kent at the Daily Planet and his first public exploits. Writer Waid puts his own spin on the legend, rethinking nearly every aspect of the venerable character while remaining respectful of his established history. Waid wisely integrates ideas from the popular TV series smallville but doesn't slavishly follow its innovations; for instance, a young Lex Luthor befriends Clark in high school, but unlike in the series, his sinister nature is clear even then. Waid similarly tweaks the rest of the well-known cast, from Lois Lane and Clark's other Planet colleagues to Ma and Pa Kent.

Ironically, though he updates the character, Waid evokes Superman's pre-World War II incarnation, whom his Depression-reared creators kept engaged in righting society's ills. Leinil Francis Yu's stylized artwork is expressively dynamic to the point of caricature, but this larger-than-life visual approach befits the retelling of a myth.

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Superman: Secret Origin is a six-issue monthly American comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank that has long been announced but finally launched. Superman's origin story, most recently told in 2003's Superman: Birthright, has received numerous retcons and changes in the aftermath of the DC Comics event Infinite Crisis. As such, Superman's origin story in the current DC Comics continuity has yet to be told.

This story therefore features what Johns and DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio are calling a "definitive" telling of the origin story of Superman, dealing with his life in Smallville, his first adventure with the Legion of Super-Heroes, his friendship and eventual bitter rivalry with Lex Luthor and his arrival in Metropolis and at the Daily Planet. Dan DiDio decided to have Secret Origin run as its own mini-series, instead of within a Superman title as Johns had done previously with Green Lantern: Secret Origin. DiDio said, "They’ll be doing the definitive origin of Superman as we’ve seen it all take place, and incorporating the changes that we’ve seen or suggested since Infinite Crisis." The series' first issue was released on September 23, 2009 and will run through February of 2010.

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From amazon:
Superstar Gary Frank joins writer Geoff Johns for an epic story teaming Superman with an adult version of the Legion of Super-Heroes. When he was a boy, Clark Kent was isolated and alone until he met this teen team from the 31st Century. Today, it's been years since Superman saw his childhood friends. Why haven't they returned to visit him? What's become of the symbol of Superman in the future? And just why is the future so dangerous for Superman? They warned him away, but now he's determined to help his friends -- even if it means his life!

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From amazon's customer review:
SUPERMAN: NEW KRYPTON Vol. 2 reprints SUPERGIRL #35-36, SUPERMAN #682-683, and ACTION COMICS #872-873, this collected story arc helping to set the stage for the 12-issue SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON maxi-series (which I'm digging very much). This volume, as well as the volume preceding this (Superman: New Krypton, Vol. 1: Birth), illustrates that where and how you were raised plays an integral role in determining your adult worldview. Where it truly counts, there's more of the Kansas farm boy in Superman than there is the godlike extraterrestrial. Even so, with one hundred thousand Kryptonians suddenly walking our planet and rubbing elbows with him, Kal-El's Earth upbringing clashes hard with his alien heritage. Going into this bunch of issues I wasn't sure which side he'll end up on. But I did know - and you knew, as well - that this storyline is going to force him to choose. And this, with Clark still very much reeling from Jonathan Kent's death.

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Product Description:

Best-selling writers Geoff Johns (INFINITE CRISIS, GREEN LANTERN) and James Robinson (STARMAN, JSA: THE GOLDEN AGE) unleash a massive storyline that changes Superman's life forever!

After a devastating battle with the alien villain Brainiac, The Man of Steel learns that a piece of his home planet Krypton survived - the shrunken, bottled city of Kandor! And when the city is grown to normal size, it looks like Superman finally has the connection to his past he's been missing all his life as thousands of Kryptonians are suddenly able to walk the Earth. But his happiness soon turns to dread as relations between the Kryptonians and humans dissolve, and the two cultures face a massive clash!

This is just the beginning of a 9-part mega-event that alters The Man of Tomorrow down to his core.

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Product Description:
Before he came to Earth, the people of Superman's homes planet Krypton had battled Brainiac, a cold and callous alien obsessed with the control of knowledge.

Now, Brainiac has set his sights on destroying Earth and finishing off the Last Son of Krypton once and for all. This epic battle will change Superman's world forever.

Editorial Reviews:
From School Library Journal, Grade 9 Up. Facing off once again with his old foe Brainiac, Superman is shocked to learn that the coldly logical supervillain was responsible for the disappearance of both an entire Kryptonian city and the death of hundreds of Kryptonians. When Brainiac turns his sights to Earth and adds the city of Metropolis to his collection of miniaturized specimens, the Man of Steel must confront a far more powerful and cruel opponent than he ever dreamed of, and Supergirl must overcome her own misgivings about her power in order to stop Brainiac's robotic minions from destroying the Earth.

This somewhat standard tale of Superman confronting an evil alien bent on destroying the world is enlightened by realistic characters and dialogue as well as some heartrending displays of emotion. With a fair amount of graphic violence, this is a somewhat darker Superman than some audiences may be comfortable with; that said, the plot is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats. The artwork is excellent, with wonderful use of color. A fine general choice for collections in need of solid superhero titles.(Dave Inabnitt, Brooklyn Public Library, NY)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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From School Library Journal:
Grade 7 Up. When an asteroid that he recovers proves to be carrying a living Kryptonian boy, Superman is initially overjoyed, even going as far as to convince his long-suffering lover, Lois Lane, to adopt him. Although Kryptonian-hating Lex Luthor attempts to kidnap the child with the help of the grotesque Bizzro-Superman, he is easily defeated, and all seems well until it becomes apparent that the boy's parent—the fiendish General Zod, freshly escaped from the limbolike Phantom Zone along with a host of henchmen—is intent on finding the youngster and turning Metropolis into his own personal kingdom. Once Zod imprisons Superman in the Phantom Zone, the hero must break free and turn to the one person he despises most for help—Lex Luthor. Detailed enough for longtime Superman fans but also accessible to new readers, this is a fast-paced and well-written work, and fans of the classic 1981 Superman II film will enjoy the return of evil General Zod. Furthermore, the conflict between Superman's loyalties to the human race and his pride as a native Kryptonian are explored in a nuanced and interesting way. Although the book includes a pair of difficult-to-remove and easy-to-lose 3-D glasses, this still is a fine first choice for most collections. (Dave Inabnitt, Brooklyn Public Library, NY)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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From amazon's customers review:
This is probably the most beautiful graphic novel I've ever seen. Alex Ross is a national treasure. His art is matched by a strong story which contrasts the eternal qualities of legendary heroes like Superman and Wonderwoman with the moral ambiguities of a rapidly changing world. I know its herecy to quote Peter Parker in a DC comics review, but if great responsibility is supposed to come with great power, can even Superman know what he should do with that power in every situation?

Walk a few miles beside an elderly, world-weary preacher and witness Kingdom Come for yourself.

This is a unique trip through the DC universe. The device of seeing the ultimate war of the meta-humans through the eyes of a human preacher steeped in the apocalyptic visions of the Bible was masterful. As both a preacher and a comic book fan, this graphic novel really hit home for me. The artwork was phenomenal. stirring and beautiful. The presentation of the moral dilemmas faced by our legendary heroes was epic. There is nothing about this story that I didn't like. BUY IT! READ IT! THINK ABOUT IT! READ IT AGAIN!

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From amazon:
Morrison, Quitely and Grant conclude their fresh and compelling take on the most iconic superhero in comics. Recently, grittier modern-day reinterpretations of classic characters, set outside normal continuity, have become the popular way to do a limited series such as this one.

Morrison's Superman, however, is the same defender of truth, justice and the American way recognizable to generations of comics readers. Now, however, his days are numbered. Slowly dying from overexposure to solar radiation, Superman is faced with the dilemma of how to do the most good in his final days and how to prepare the people and planet he loves to carry on without him. Morrison's feverish style is both a blessing and a curse, as the overwhelming deluge of ideas thrown at the reader confuses even while creating a parallel with Superman's own constant supersensory information overload.

Yet Morrison's writing recaptures the sense of simple wonder and virtue essential to a classic Superman tale. Quitely and Grant's art is evocative of the earliest images of the character, a refined evolution of the bright costumes, skylines and chiseled jaws that adds a dignity and humanity to the characters beyond their cartoonish origins. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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From amazon:
Two of the comics industry's top creative talents, writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, the acclaimed team behind JLA: EARTH 2, reunite to redefine Superman based on the timeless, essential iconic elements that everyone knows about the Man of Steel.

In the first volume, the World's Greatest Super-Hero rescues a doomed group of astronauts on the surface of the sun when he's exposed to massive amounts of solar radiation no one could possibly anticipate how he'll be affected - except Lex Luthor!

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From amazon:
Strange visitor from another world who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands… and who, as the champion of the common worker, fights a never-ending battle for Stalin, Socialism and the international expansion of the Warsaw Pact.

In this startling twist of a familiar tale, a certain Kryptonian rocketship crash-lands on Earth carrying an infant who will one day become the most powerful being on the planet. But his ship doesn’t land in America. He is not raised in Smallville, Kansas. Instead, he makes his new home on a collective in the Soviet Union!

From the mind of Mark Millar, the best-selling writer of THE AUTHORITY and Wanted, comes this strangely different take on the Superman mythos. Featuring art by Dave Johnson, Kilian Plunkett, Andrew Robinson, and Walden Wong, with an introduction by film producer Tom DeSanto (X-Men, X2: X-Men United, Transformers), this Deluxe Edition also features an extensive sketch gallery by Johnson, Plunkett and Alex Ross.

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Publisher: DC Comics
Release: January 11, 2005

DC Comics took every DCU tale written by Alan Moore and put them in one trade paperback collection, "Across the Universe: The DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore (Paperback)" which features 16stories by the writer. This is a collection of stories Alan Moore wrote for DC in the 1980's before becoming one of the most famous writers in comics history.

Written by Alan Moore Art by Jim Aparo, Jim Baikie, Brian Bolland, Paris Cullins, George Freeman, Dave Gibbons, Klaus Janson, Kevin O'Neill, Joe Orlando, George Pérez, Kurt Schaffenberger, Curt Swan, Rick Veitch, Al Williamson and Bill Willingham Cover by Brian Bolland Don't miss this exhaustive collection featuring the World's Greatest Super-Heroes as interpreted by one of the most acclaimed authors in comics!

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The Worlds Greatest Super-Heroes as interpreted by one of the most acclaimed authors in comics today.The work of Alan Moore (WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA, LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN) in the DC Universe during the 1980s is now considered a benchmark for great stories with fresh approaches to iconic characters.This volume collects such well-known classics as The Killing Joke and Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

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From wikipedia:
"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" is a 1986 comic book story featuring the DC Comics character of Superman. The story was published in two parts, in the final issues of the series Superman (Vol. 1) (#423) and Action Comics (#583), both published in September 1986. Written by Alan Moore, pencilled by long-time Superman artist Curt Swan, and inked by George Pérez (Superman) and Kurt Schaffenberger (Action), the tale incorporates the Mort Weisinger-era style but has a distinctly modern twist. The story was intended to close the book on the original character's history subsequent to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths and in preparation for the following The Man of Steel reboot by John Byrne, and was Swan's final major contribution to the series, though he would later occasionally return for special occasions.

From amazon:
An unforgettable hardcover collection of WATCHMEN writer Alan Moore's definitive Superman tales that is sure to appeal of readers of his BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE graphic novel. Moore teams with Curt Swan, the definitive Superman artist from the 1950's through the 1970's, to tell the final adventure of the Man of Steel featuring his last stand against Lex Luthor, Brainiac and his other foes in "WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW?". This volume also includes Moore's classic early collaboration with WATCHMEN illustrator Dave Gibbons, "FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING", in which Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman find Superman held captive by the villain Mongul in the Fortress of Solitude and dreaming of an idyllic life on Krypton courtesy of a wish-fulfilling parasitic plant known as the Black Mercy. Both tales are considered two of the top five all-time best Superman stories among fans.

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