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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2017 15:25:26 GMT -5
In 1996 Rob Liefeld asked Alan Moore to write Supreme (& later Youngblood). Drawing on Silver Age Superman as his inspiration he wrote one of the best Superman stories that did not star Superman. It all started in Supreme #41:
Cover by Jerry Ordway. Based on cover of Superman #1. This review will feature the 12 issue story arc titled "The Story of the Year". |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2017 17:07:57 GMT -5
Pencils by Joe Bennett and Keith Giffen, inks by Norm Rapmund and Al Gordon.
Supreme returns from space only to find earth flickering in & out of existence. He lands & is confronted by multiple versions of himself including a Supreme mouse called Squeak. They take Supreme to another dimension that has the Supremacy. It is a citadel dedicated to Supreme. There the multiple Supremes tell their origins. The first Supreme is Ethan Crane. Born in 1920 to Jack & Joanne Crane in Littlehaven, USA. At 10 yrs old he found a belt buckle made of a white metal in the woods. When he touched it he became Supreme. He became a reporter at the Daily Record in Omega City. He disappeared in 1941 until the next "Revision" happened in 1945. This Supreme was from the planet Supron which exploded. He went into limbo in 1968 with many of his people from Supron.
As more Supremes arrived in limbo after undergoing Revision they built the citadel The Supremacy to live in. Before the flickering subsides all the other Supremes fly past him before he returns to his newly revised earth. They warn him about Supremium. They tell him about his arch enemy Darius Dax. His girlfriends Diana Dane & Judy Jordan. His friends Billy Friday & Lucas Tate. He then steps thru the Golden Gate & arrives on his newly revised earth as...
Ethan Crane. Artist on Omniman for Dazzle Comics. He meets Diana & Lucas. He leaves the Dazzle Comics office to go his apt in Omegapolis. He passes a newsstand that has a Youngblood headline on the front. He lives in Apt 5A at 202 West Park St. In his apt he discovers a secret closet with his costumes & a picture of him & his parents in Littlehaven...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2017 17:26:50 GMT -5
Wow what a dense read. Moore packs a lot into one issue. He explains the existence of the Supreme that appeared in #1-40. He then sets up a new status quo that parallels Superman's world. He explains how all the different versions of Superman could exist since 1938. He uses terms that are so comic book terminology. Revision. The Flickering. The Supremacy. He also brings in analogs of Superman's supporting cast. I love the names he uses to parallel Superman. Littlehaven replaces Smallville. Perry White becomes Lucas Tate. Lois is Diana.
Bennett supplies most of the art. His art tells the story well. He mimics different styles to show what era each Supreme is from. Giffen supplies flashback art.
At the time I read this DC & Marvel were replacing their icons with "grittier" versions. This was a breath of fresh air showing the old school concepts could still be used. I eagerly awaited every issue of Moore's Supreme & even bought his Youngblood revamp with Steve Skroce. I was enjoying Moore's version of Liefeld's Image characters which would become an all new Awesome Comics Universe with Glory & Fighting American before it all ended a few years later.
I was looking for new titles at this time. I was only reading a few DC & Marvel titles. Valiant Comics had become Acclaim Comics. I tried some of them. Some I liked. I decided it was time to try some Image comics. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2017 13:10:13 GMT -5
 Art & cover by Joe Bennett and Norm Rapmund. Flashback art by Rick Veitch. Ethan continues to undergo "revision" & more memories return to him. He returns to Littlehaven. In the woods he stands beside a crater & remembers when he was 5 years old... His parents Joe & Joanne Crane own the general store. Ethan & his dog Radar are playing in the woods. They come upon this crater with a white glowing meteorite at the bottom. Ethan goes in to explore the rock & becomes unconscious. Radar pulls him out. His parents find both of them unconscious with all their hair turned snow white. They consult Prof Wells who obtains the meteorite. He names it Supremium. Ethan & Radar return to normal. Over the next few weeks the Cranes discover both Ethan & Radar have developed incredible powers. A summary of his time in Littlehaven follows. His adventures as Kid Supreme. His friendship with Judy Jordan. His enemy Darius Dax. His parents adopting a girl - Sally. Supreme building his Citadel Supreme. His job at radio KZAM with Judy. In the present he meets an elderly Judy outside his parents store (which is now a Dunkin Donuts). She is the curator of the Kid Supreme Museum. He introduces himself as Ethan Crane Jr. the son of the Ethan Crane she knew. In the museum more memories return... Of his time with the heroes of the 25th century named the League of Infinity. Back in the present he meets Judy's grand daughter Hilda. He visits his parents graves & also comes across Darius Dax's grave. Judy mentions that she heard Supreme had returned after a long absence in space. Ethan mentions that he has met Supreme once or twice. He then returns to Omegapolis & still feels some memories are missing despite the great day he had. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2017 13:18:22 GMT -5
Another dense read. In some ways it feels like Moore is "cheating" by just retelling details of Superboy's life & using different names. Krypto becomes Radar. The Legion becomes the League of Infinity. But as we go on we see Moore is using the flashbacks to set up a brilliant story that pays respect to the Silver Age Superman. With each issue I think it gets better. I hope you stick around to see the payoff over these 12 issues.
IMO Moore showed Silver Age concepts were still valid. He also showed how to write a 12 part story where each part was a complete story by itself. When read all at once it just enhanced the story experience. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2017 18:44:49 GMT -5
Interior art from #41:  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2017 14:05:53 GMT -5
 Stephen Platt cover. Art by Joe Bennett and Norm Rapmund. Flashback art by Rick Veitch. Page one art is by Dan Jurgens. It feature the death of Omniman by Billy Friday & Ethan Crane. Then we see Billy, Ethan & Diana discussing their work on Dazzle Comics before Ethan goes home & changes into Supreme. He then goes to the Citadel Supreme to help with his missing memories. As he walks thru the Citadel he recalls an old adventure... He brings Judy Jordan & Jonas Tate to the Citadel to do a report for radio KZAM. They find the Citadel already open! However his partners in his old team the Allied Supermen of America (ASA) were playing a trick on him. Back in the present malfunctioning robot doubles of Supreme, Radar, Judy & his parents attack him. He either destroys them or shuts off their power. This is a heartbreaking moment for Ethan. The last page shows Hilda "feeling" something about Supreme & Judy reading a book that has a note from Darius Dax saying "Keep me in your thoughts forever. Thanks for everything". |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2017 14:20:47 GMT -5
The cover by Platt felt out of sync with this new direction. Moore establishes the Citadel Supreme as hidden in clouds that hover above Omegapolis. He tells a flashback story that felt just like a Silver Age Superman tale. The ASA has Prof Night, Glory, Doc Rocket, Storybook Smith, Roy Roman, the Mermaster, Black Hand & others. The last page with Hilda & Judy was a little creepy.
Coming up. The return of Glory & the ASA. Supreme goes looking for Suprema & Radar.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2017 23:17:51 GMT -5
I took the plunge and fished out the back issues of "The Story of the Year".
I'm going to try and push some other books aside and get to them this weekend.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2017 20:07:28 GMT -5
Stephen Platt cover. Art by Richard Horie & Norm Rapmund. Flashbacks by Rick Veitch and Bill Wray.
While cleaning the Citadel Supreme contacts the ASA & Glory, Mighty Man, Doc Rocket & others arrive. They reminisce about their 1950's adventure that led to them disbanding. Other than Supreme, Glory & Prof Night the others retired. The flashbacks were a mix of styles of some of the weird stories that appeared in the 50's. They recall their WW II team simply called The Allies. Supreme remembers some of his bizarre 50's adventures. After the ASA members leave Supreme goes into a chamber in a protective suit to work with some Supremium! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2017 21:02:48 GMT -5
#44 & #45 were interesting but I felt this was a "low" point in the arc. I felt when Suprema & Radar reappear the story picks up again. Although I could see Moore trying to start & build a new universe for Liefeld's characters centered around Supreme.
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Post by ArizonaTeach on Mar 7, 2017 16:27:32 GMT -5
Ages...I mean AGES ago,. I put together a timeline of the Awesome Comics universe... Jess Nevins has a copy on his website still. A couple of ages later, I randomly found someone else claiming they wrote it and posting it...even keeping my one or two bad jokes. I felt I had "made it." Thanks for doing this. I'm going to pull them all out and read them. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 21:34:54 GMT -5
 Art by J. J. Bennett and Norm Rapmund. Flashback art by Rick Veitch. Cover by Stephen Platt. Supreme takes Billy Friday to the Citadel & gives him a tour. While there Supreme tells Billy about Supremium. In the past Supreme returns to Littlehaven from Omega City for his sister Sally's birthday. While there a glowing man (who the Cranes name the Meteor Menace) exposes Supreme to weird radiation which causes him to transform temporarily into bizarre shapes (like Red Kryptonite did to Superman). The Meteor Menace finds Prof Wells sample of Supremium & merges with it becoming a black hole & disappearing. Everything returns to normal except Sally's hair has turned white. While Supreme does some lab work he turns Billy over to one of his Supreme robots. However Billy exposes himself to Supremium & becomes Elaborate Lad. He expands into a tangled mass of arms & legs. Supreme uses a weapon to send Billy to Amalynth (think the Phantom Zone) until he returns to normal. Supreme explains what happened to Billy to the staff at Dazzle Comics. The last page has Ethan thinking about his sister Sally & how she became...Suprema. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 21:42:23 GMT -5
Moore "celebrates" Jimmy Olsen's weird transformations in his own book back in the 50's/60's. He has Billy Friday become a tangled mass of limbs by exposure to Ultra Violet Supremium radiation. He also parallels other things like the Phantom Zone. The weird effects Red K had on Superman. And he sets up Suprema as Supreme's version of Supergirl. Next issue Supreme goes looking for Suprema & Radar.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2017 8:59:33 GMT -5
 Art by J. Morrigan and Norm Rapmund. Flashback art by Rick Veitch and Jim Mooney. Cover by Stephen Platt. In the flashback we find out Sally Crane attends Glenvale High School. Troy Taylor is one of her friends. She did get Supreme powers from the exposure to radiation from last issue. She clashes with Satana who tricks Suprema & traps her. Satana then impersonates Suprema & goes around Glenvale destroying Suprema's reputation. Suprema escapes, confronts Satana & sets everything right. In the present Supreme discovers that while he was gone Suprema agreed to be the bride of Gorrl the Living Galaxy so he would spare our galaxy. Supreme goes into space & flies at hyper light speeds to outside our galaxy. There he finds Radar trapped frozen in suspended animation. He frees Radar who (thru his collar speakers) explains where Suprema is. Supreme & Radar go thru a black hole & find a planetoid. There they find Suprema who has been asleep for 30 yrs. The 3 of them escape back thru the black hole & are stopped by Gorrl! Supreme asks Gorrl why he needs human contact. Gorrl says he is alone & afraid to contact other living galaxies. Supreme discovers the signals Quasars give off are actually the "whale songs" of migrating living galaxies. Suprema encourages Gorrl to "contact" them & Gorrl agrees & leaves. Supreme, Suprema & Radar accelerate to hyper light speed to return to Earth. While they fly Supreme explains Littlehaven, Glenvale & her boyfriend Troy will all be 30 yrs older & different. When they near Earth Radar uses his collar radio to contact Omegapolis to let them know they are returning. The 3 of them return to find the city celebrating the return of Suprema. |
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