This was an okay Superman story. I think I had higher hopes b/c of all the hype, and I've enjoyed Bendis's run over at Marvel. If you're looking for a decent Superman story then it's a good read. It's not doing anything that hasn't been done before.

The Man of Steel by Brian Michael Bendis was interesting enough while I was reading but ultimately mostly forgettable and I skim read most of it. I do want to give this book another try when I'm not in a reading slump though.

Excellent take on the legendary icon. Love Bendis’ voice on Superman. I am looking forward to what comes next!

As a fan of Superman, I'm glad that I got to get this collection. It's definitely great to be able to read more from DC.

This writer is one of my favourites for any comic. Having associated with Superman is a double bonus for me.
I don't know why I still like Superman so much, as you would think I have read every possible story idea there is, however, once again, Brian M Bendis delivers another great read.

My feelings are really ambivalent when it comes to the first DC outing by Bendis. I was expecting more from it, but can't quite put my finger on what exactly "more" would be. The artwork was by far the best part of it. The plot was ok, and I'm going to give the next effort from him a try, hoping that he settles into his groove.

ARC from Netgalley.
DC welcomes Brian Michael Bendis to the fold, and he comes running full force out of the gate with a huge shake up for the Man of Steel!
Out the pages of Action Comics #1000, the majority of the Volume focuses on the battle with Rogol Zaar. Revealing his origins as an intergalactic assassin, Zaar was responsible for the destruction of the planet Krypton. When he arrives on Earth, seeking more Kryptonians, he lands at Superman's Fortress of Solitude, where he destroys Kelex and utterly obliterates the bottle city of Kandor. Taking the fight to Metropolis, Zaar tears into both Clark and Supergirl, having a huge fight (that is actually quite epic!) Taking it to space, then deep into the core of the Earth, then back to space, Zaar is eventually stopped by Supergirl, sending him off into the Phantom Zone.
Several other storylines are here and important for the long run:
- Lois no longer works for the Daily Planet. She has left her job there and accepted a 2 book deal.
- A mysterious woman named Robinson Goode has been hired to help fill the empty spot left by Lois. She seems to know much more than she lets on, and indicates that she'll be in charge of the Daily Planet soon.
- Jor'El makes his return here too. Coming to the Kent household, he wants to take Jon on a galactic exploration trip for a while, to show him a view of the universe that is wider than his view from Earth. Lois and Clark refuse profusely, but Jon wants to go, needing to find himself and gain confidence after being rejected by the Teen Titans. They allow him, but Lois goes with him, siting not only parental protection, but the topic for her second book.

A wonderful start for Bendis in DC. I hope he can make a huge splash for Superman.
Strong Recommend.

I wish to thank Netgalley and DC for the chance to read this graphic novel.

Superman/Clark Kent has problems. His wife and son are gone - headed off into space for Jon's health and education. Then Rogol Zaar arrives to finish his self-appointed task - destroy Kryptonians once and for all. And Superman changes his costume once more. And off course this volume just sets up the next volume.

Man of Steel is a good, respectful take on Superman; I give points to Brian Michael Bendis for picking up directly from recent Super-title events. Man of Steel is a smaller story, relatively, in that Superman's dilemma here is largely psychological, dealing with the sudden departure of his family just as Rogol Zaar arrives with secrets about Krypton's destruction. That's fine with me, a take on Superman as concerned with what he's feeling as who he can hit. I'm excited to see what Bendis does next.

Man of Steel is also a visual masterpiece. Jason Fabok was a star on Justice League and he succeeds here with tight, contained family drama. Ivan Reis seems quite at home, having drawn Superman for a while; Steve Rude brings a touch of weirdness to an Ambush Bug cameo (and Perry White's angst). Ryan Sook's depictions are appropriately moody in a Batman appearance; Kevin Maguire and Adam Hughes both do fine work broadly against type with the book's climactic fight scenes.

While I liked Bendis' take on Superman, how the arc/series was overall structured left me mixed - between the villain to Lois and Jon to an unfinished corporate espionage plot (or so it seemed to me).

I really liked this graphic novel the graphics were great and I felt the villain was equal to superman for once I do find the stories of his home life tend to drag but definitely worth a read

I was really hoping that this would be a Superman book that I'd actually enjoy. I'm generally not big on most things he's the protagonist of, but I've been pleasantly surprised every now and then. And with a writer like Bendis, whose work I've generally enjoyed in his work for Marvel, I thought that there was a better-than-normal chance of me digging this.
Unfortunately, what The Man of Steel ended up being was a messy, convoluted story that jumped around in time a lot and that had a lot of narrative threads that didn't really seem to fit together. It was surprisingly repetitive, too, which is something I rarely ever see in this format. I also felt like, in spite of trying to be the kind of story you can read with only a marginal amount of foreknowledge (at least, that's the vibe I generally got was being attempted here), there was a lot that my lack of deep Superman lore-knowledge left me feeling very disconnected. Finally, the art was extremely inconsistent, sometimes even from panel to panel, where one would look very good while the next characters would look like they were drawn by a totally different (and less talented) artist. I felt like DC must have run out of money to pay the artist they wanted so they got a bunch of half-finished pages that other artists tried (poorly) to fill in the gaps of. I might excuse that a little more from a different publisher, but when it's DC and it's a book featuring one of their two biggest flagship characters, being written by an industry pro? It just makes me feel as a reader that the editorial attitude was "eh, even if it's crap we'll sell a whole bunch of copies."

I guess this is a three star book. I was on the razor thin edge of just giving it a one star and being done with it, but, I won't. And, honestly, this is Superman, so who am I kidding. I've read all of Superman practically, so, I'll probably keep reading this series as well.

But, man oh man. This is Brian Michael Bendis' reboot of Superman, and it's just so... Lois is no longer at the Daily Planet, and Clark is not quite himself either.

Then, a big bad (rip off of Doomsday, who can speak) comes along who wants to wipe out both Superman and Supergirl (I'm still fuzzy on why). That's a big fight.

The Daily Planet is also in trouble (again, really, they just need a kickstarter with, like, pictures with Supes or whatever and they'd be golden for the rest of their days). There's a new reporter there, Robinson Goode, and she may just be up to no good.

And, honestly, the only character (a new one) that I thought really was good in this TPB was a new Metropolis Deputy Fire Cheif, Melody Moore. But, even with her, it's like, well, I'm pretty sure I know where her character is going (and I don't like it at all).

The ending was a little interesting, but, overall, while it was an okay story, it just didn't jump off the page at me.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to DC Entertainment.

Rogol Zaar is far from the best supervillain name I’ve ever heard, but he’s the latest nemesis to take on the Man of Steel in this volume of the same name. Rogol is a “legendary creature of war.” To prove he’s evil, he has one red eye and wears a skull for a belt buckle. Nicholas Cage will probably play him in the movie.

Anyway, Rogol has an anti-Kryptonian prejudice for reasons that aren’t quite clear, and Superman is one of the few Kryptonians who still has a beating heart. I guess Rogol is just another hater who doesn’t want to see aliens in the United States. He also seems to have pissed off the Guardians of the Universe, which is usually Hal Jordan’s job.

Perry White berates Clark Kent for forgetting how to write (Clark is apparently too mopey to concentrate on super prose), and a new reporter named Goode (as in up to no) has joined the Planet in Lois Lane’s absence. Robinson Goode is the new Anderson Cooper, except for being a black female print journalist. But those are subplots awaiting development. And there’s something to do with S.T.A.R. Lab corruption, to be continued.

Meanwhile, Superman takes on Toyman, who is hardly a villain worthy of Superman’s time, only to find himself living an apparent hallucination. That happens to me all the time, although Toyman isn’t usually involved.

Running through the volume is a decent backstory involving Jor-El (one of many DC characters who refuse to stay dead) and New Superkid, who doesn’t want to grow up to be a mass murderer. As ambitions go, not being a mass murderer is a one that to which more kids should aspire. So anyway, Jor-El takes Jon on a field trip and Lois gets a book deal out of it. All the moms who want to be Supermoms will gobble it up.

I don’t know why this volume has gotten so little love in early Amazon reviews. It didn’t blow me away, but I enjoyed most of it so I’m giving it four stars. Apart from the weirdness with Toyman and an ending that seems too easy given how formidable Rogol Zaar is meant to be, the story works on a couple of levels. It portrays the Man of Steel as the iconic hero that defines what it is to be a superhero. I liked the humor and the family drama. All good stuff. The quality of the prose, simple but honest, sealed the fourth star.

Like a lot of DC titles in recent years, the art was done by committee. Unlike a lot of DC titles in recent years, most of it is pretty good and some of it is really good. The art does nothing to diminish my rating.

Well, for something that is full of issue 1000 of this, issue 0 of that and issue 1 of the other you'd think to get something a bit more monumental, or enjoyable. It's alright, but this doesn't feel special. It certainly feels and acts like a reboot, with this change made to the mythos, and that bit a constant issue on these pages (and nobody in any of the multiverse dimensions will miss Superbrat), but was there that intangible special thing that made this stand out, that will keep in my mind until the next great comic comes along? No. Perhaps there will be a great untold Super-story in Bendis' output, but if he felt he had to get all these changes out the way first, he might have told us. This is just housekeeping, I hope.

'The Man of Steel' by Brian Michael Bendis and a pile of artists, is Mr. Bendis' big move to DC and a chance to tell a story of the big boy scout.

We meet Superman in this book as he is being pummeled by Rogol Zaar, an intergalactic type intent on wiping out all things Kryptonian. We then take a flashback to events leading up to this. Lois and Jon are not in the picture, but we don't know why...yet. Superman/Clark Kent won't talk about it. A series of fires breaks out in Metropolis and Superman brings in Batman to help figure things out. Then the Fortress of Solitude is destroyed and Superman and Supergirl vow revenge. They find the being who wiped out Krypton, but can they stop him?

The story isn't bad, and neither is the art. There is a cohesion between issues that I liked. I've seen other Superman shakeups and this one had a few big things in it. It will be interesting to see how events here change things.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Bendis brings his characteristic dialogue and twists to Superman and DC for the first time. I like the voice he gives Superman, strong and caring without treating him as a Boy Scout. My favorite scene was his interaction with Batman and the fire chief. The story though needed to be streamlined. A miniseries should stand on its own. There's the introduction of 2 new reporters. One, Robinson Goode, as having ulterior motives. The other, a replacement for Cat Grant as a gossip reporter. Neither have stories that go much of anywhere in this. Bendis should have waited to introduce them during the regular runs in Superman and Action Comics. I also found the way he drew out Lois and Jon's disappearance REALLY frustrating. It was just a couple of pages at the end of each issue where he tread the same ground over and over again until issue 5. Just get to the point. It was a cheap way to create false tension.

The book heats up once this new alien shows up. He's menacing and something of a zealot. Bendis elects to leave his motivations a mystery for now, but boy does he hate Kryptonians. There's a lot of artists on the book due to the weekly schedule. Most of them had similar styles and I didn't find it distracting at all, although a lot of my friends had issues with it. Regardless, it's Bendis so I'll be picking up the net arcs to see where this is headed.

The aspect of Superman which has been oft specifically contrasted in the aspect of control but more egregiously in certain ideas the aspect of absolute power within his identity. For many shapes and forms, he is considered a god albeit a benign one. The aspect that “Man Of Steel” [Brian Michael Bendis/DC/184pgs] poses, unlike “Superman II”, is not domination but annihilation from a being sworn to kill everything of Krypton because it believes that the Kryptonians are a blight on the Galaxy. What is interesting here is the integration of Jal-El, the father of Kal, in a portal when he comes to take Superman’s son [Jonathan] with Lois Lane to show him beyond the basic nature of man. It is much like The Traveler or Q in “Star Trek The Next Generation” summoning their wards or Wesley. The young are seduced by the idea of adventure and not necessarily the end game. The great thing about the art here (as well as the writing) is that you can see the hurt in Clark’s face as he is separated from his new family. All which he lost in the destruction of Krypton comes back cyclically and it can be seen on his face. And when the scourge reaches earth most of his friends including the Justice League can’t help him at all. It is all a matter of perspective. Supergirl finds him at one point buried in the moon of his own accord so the beast pursuing him does not attack Earth again. It may seem like a passive move but interestingly it rings true. Another sequence, which involves the destruction of the minimized city of Kandor which Supes was able to save from Krypton, shows Kal El breaking down in Supergirls arms. We also see his vulnerability when Lois is gone that he is attracted to a female fire chief with that same spark as Lois. There are also certain images like when Superman seems to be screaming in rage as he lifts the Kryptonian killer out of the atmosphere which is chilling. As time evolves, so must Superman and the story in this volume does just that.

B+

By Tim Wassberg

I had a blast reading Man of Steel. It raises new questions about what happened to Krypton, and who really had a role in its destruction. This new threat wants nothing more than to kill the last Kryptonians, and will take out anyone or anything that gets in their way. Kara and Clark need to find a way to stop them, but this proves to be harder than they expected it to be. When Rogol Zaar does something unforgivable, they realize to stop them they may have to make some hard decisions. If you are a fan of Superman than this is a graphic novel you will want to check out.

I’m a huge fan of Brian Michael Bendis, so at this point I’ll pretty much read anything he puts on the market. So obviously I was curious when I heard that he was going to be doing a Superman plot. Sure, I had hoped something like this would happen back when I learned that DC had managed to lure him away…but I hadn’t actually expected that small hope to come to anything!
Brian Michael Bendis is well known for his work on Spider-Man, New Avengers, Alias, and Daredevil. Most recently he’s been working on Scarlet, Cover, and Peal. Meanwhile there’s basically a whole army of artists who pitched in for this one; Ivan Reis, Evan Shaner, Ryan Sook, Kevin Maguire, Adam Hughes, and Jason Fabok.
I should probably state that Superman isn’t one of the series I loyally read – I’ve missed out of a plot of plots, and I can’t pretend that I’m a die-hard fan of his character. However, I do still find him interesting, and have enjoyed the few plots I’ve read. But you may want to take anything I have to say about this one with a grain of salt, between not being a Superman expert, and being a huge fan of Brian Michael Bendis.
The Man of Steel was a really fun and quick read. It was new and different, and nothing at all like what I expected. It took risks, and while not all of those risks may have paid off, I respect the attempt for what it was.
Superman is going through a lot in this book. He’s dealing with the normal problems of being a super hero, as well as the problems of the daily life of Clark Kent. More than that though, he’s dealing with something major going on, we just didn’t know what that was until the end. It was hinted at throughout the book, and admittedly the revelation was a little disappointing; especially compared to how beautifully they set up for that moment.
I loved Brian Michael Bendis’ use of repetition. There were a few lines (which I won’t mention here, for sake of spoilers) that kept getting repeating over and over, along with a few panels that kept popping up. This really built the growing tension – I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough to find out what was happening.
There were a few points where I honestly had to stop and look at the page again to be sure that I was interpreting everything correctly. That’s not to say that it was poorly done…I just wasn’t expecting those twists, and without them bluntly stated…well I guess I went into a bit of denial? I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
I think the biggest complaint for the volume would have to be the bit of retconning that was done for the sake of the plot. I’ll admit it’s interesting, but even I could tell that it was not originally intended to be that way. I’d be curious to see how dedicated fans of Superman felt about it.
Obviously Superman played a major role in this novel, but Supergirl has an important role as well, and there are cameos from multiple other superheroes. And of course you can safely assume you’ll be seeing the usual cast from the newspaper as well.
I think I’ll follow this plot through to its natural conclusion. I’m too curious not to, at this point. There’s still a lot I need to see and learn about what’s going on. I hope we see Supergirl again too – I feel like she’s become somewhat vital to the plot at hand.