Originally published in 1978, this pocket-sized paperback graphic novel was intended as a primer for folks to use before going to see the Superman movie directed by Richard Donner. As much as I love the Christopher Reeve Superman and the pre-Crisis Man of Steel, I forgot how much of a bummer the 1970s Superman had become.
Prior to the movie, both sets of parents to Superman were dead, he was no longer working as a reporter for the Daily Planet, and years of exposure to Kryptonite had started to rob him of not only his powers but his memories as well. In a modern world, the Man of Tomorrow was just too much and DC decided to knock him down a peg or two- and it sucked; the only bright spot being Jack Kirby's brief run on Jimmy Olsen during this period.
Thankfully, despite giving Superman the ability to go back in time and to give people super-amnesia through his powerful kissing prowess, the Donner films returned the Man of Steel back to some semblance of the Superman I feel in love with through reading my dad's old comics. Oddly enough, the New-52 Superman is more exciting than the 70s comics version. This isn't the Man of Steel- more like the Man of Aluminum Foil!
This was an okay read but it's not Untold Story of the Dark Knight (the Batman companion piece to this book.) Usually, I muddle through and put even a poor Superman book into my collection for permanent keeping. Not this time! The Superman Story is going right back where I found it- the used bookstore in Greensboro.
Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.
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