Killing Me Slowly

This is the kind of Superman story I want to read more often. Hell, this the kind of comic I want to read more often. Rather than focusing on gratuitous action, gore, angst, or fanservice, Superman for All Seasons set out to tell a very quiet, thoughtful, heartfelt story, and it succeeded.

I love that this book made me care, about everyone, even characters I didnt know much about or have much use for. By the end of the first chapter, I cared about Clark, the Kents, Lana Lang, Lois Lane, even Smallville - both its inhabitants and the town itself. There's just so much heart, here.

The story is told in four issues that chronicle the first year of Clark Kent's life as Superman. Each correspond to a different season, narrated by a different character (Pa Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Lana Lang), and each issue gives us a little more insight, into both the narrating character, and Superman himself.

I appreciated the Smallville chapters (Spring and Winter) most, myself. They bookend the book well in terms of theme and development. I loved seeing Clark Kent when he's not being Superman, when he's just a guy coping with self-doubt, trying to find his place, showing the uncertainty that Superman can't, to the people who matter most to him. The comfort that he finds in his parents, his best friends, even his dog, go a long way in making Superman a flawed, but still admirable character, as opposed to a bland ideal.

This is definitely a book for people who want to know Superman as more than just an action figure, or a grimgritty angsty loner. No pre-existing comic book knowledge required; this book is self-contained, and will tell you all you ever need to know about Superman.