I may be new to comics and graphic novels, but I know what I like. Superman Red Son was suggested to me by a friendly staff member at Forbidden Planet. I mentioned I had read a few reboots of Superman so I was told that I should read Red Son, as it’s a whole new take on the DC heroes’ tale. I wasn’t disappointed.
Imagine if the ship carrying baby Kal-El landed just twelve hours later, he wouldn’t have grown up as a Kansas farm boy. Superman Red Son is the tale of the last son of Krypton had he been raised in Russia. The opening setting is during the Cold War era, Stalin is in his last few years of life and Superman has just revealed himself to Moscow. As soon as the US get a wind of this panic ensues and they rush to North America’s greatest mind for help, Dr Lex Luthor…
The whole cast are present, Lois is married to Lex, Jimmy works for the CIA. As well as a few other DC characters, Wonder Women, Green Lantern and even a Russian Batman! Superman narrates through out, with the story broken down over three parts, each part jumping on a few years.
The art work is such a joy to look at, it feels like an animation at times. However, what really won me over with this story is the dynamic between Lex and Superman, with some of the best writing I’ve come across in a graphic novel so far. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but there is a great twist at the end.
All in all this is a great graphic novel, and I’d recommend anyone with the slightest interest in DC or Marvel to read this.
