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superfam · 1 year

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THE SUPERMAN STARTER READING LIST

SO – you want to read Superman comics, but you’re intimidated by the near-century of history this character has. Or, you’ve read a few comics with him, but you want to go back to the basics to understand his character and the mythology surrounding him. There are so many continuities, origin stories, and standalones – where do you start? Well…

[Image ID: a cropped edit of the Superman ‘78 #3 variant cover by Lee Weeks, showing Lois Lane sitting on the letters of the Daily Planet globe, and Clark flying above her in his Superman costume, reaching out to take her hand. Hand-written next to them is: "THE SUPERMAN STARTER READING LIST", and hand-written in the bottom right corner is: "by MYTHIC / superfam.tumblr.com". End ID.]

This list isn’t intended to be a full, comprehensive guide to Superman’s decades of history, but a curated taster of Clark Kent in the comics medium. It aims to show you a variety of interpretations from different authors of different contexts, but with the broad goal of helping newcomers understand the heart of the character. Not every comic is able to sum up all aspects of Superman, and some could be argued to miss certain points, but each one has been selected for this list for the goal of conveying the history and breadth of his interpretations.

It’s intended to be accessible to both long-dedicated comics fans and people who are new to the DC universe, or even the medium as a whole. As such, new fans are welcome to enjoy each story as a standalone interpretation.

Please understand that this list is built from my own experience with the character, and I don’t claim it to be better or worse than any other – it’s just one way to approach his history. Essentially, I’m attempting to create the sort of list I wish I had access to when first reading Superman comics. I highly encourage the reader to form their own interpretations of each work.

With all that out of the way, please enjoy!

[Image ID: An edit of Gary Frank's artwork from Superman: Secret Origin. A slightly battered Clark in his Superman outfit embraces Jimmy with his right arm and Lois with his left. All three are smiling. The background, which depicts a disaster scene and a defeated Lex Luthor chained to a building, is covered in a translucent blue overlay. Hand-written next to Clark is: "ORIGINS". End ID.]

SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN #1-6 (2009-2010) Geoff Johns & Gary Frank

Just a couple years before the 2011 reboot of the DC Universe, a new definitive origin story was created for a Superman post-Infinite Crisis (a major event which had changed the status quo of the multiverse).

Secret Origin is only six issues long, and a great, efficient introduction to Clark Kent and Superman. It focuses on telling Clark’s origins from his own perspective, as a hero but also simply as a person. It also does a good job of setting up important supporting characters including Lois, Jimmy, Perry, and Lex.

SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT #1-12 (2003-2004) Mark Waid, Leinil Francis Yu & Gerry Alanguilan

Though replaced by Secret Origin only a few years later, Birthright was written as the definitive origin story to overwrite Byrne’s 1986 reboot of the character. It was intended to bring Superman into the new century, and be more consistent with his modern interpretations. It is also influenced by the popularity of the TV series Smallville.

Birthright is longer and covers aspects of the Superman mythos in further depth, including dynamics between Clark, Lex, and the city of Metropolis, kryptonite, and Krypton in general. Due to its extended length, it also covers more on Clark’s relationship with his powers and heritage.

I highly recommend reading both modern preboot origins to experience different interpretations with different influences and intentions, even only a few years apart.

[Image ID: An edit of Tim Sale's artwork from Superman: For All Seasons. On the right, Clark lies on his bed, looking to the left with a wistful expression and with a hand on his dog curled up next to him. The background, which is his cluttered bedroom in Smallville, is overlaid with translucent grey. Hand-written to the left of Clark is: "INTROSPECTION". End ID.]

SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN #1-3 (2019) Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru

This standalone story is set in 1946, and primarily draws upon the Golden and Silver Ages as inspiration. It’s an adaptation of an episode of The Adventures of Superman radio series, “The Clan of the Fiery Cross”, which famously dealt a major hit to the KKK’s operations in America by influencing public perceptions.

The story follows Clark as well as siblings Roberta and Tommy, two Chinese-American kids who have recently moved to the Metropolis suburbs, as they uncover and fight a local chapter of the KKK. The story explores themes of immigrant identity and self-acceptance in Clark and the kids’ narratives – it presents important concepts from Superman’s history, straight from the heart of his character, in a really effective way.

SUPERMAN: FOR ALL SEASONS #1-4 (1998) Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale

This miniseries has four issues, each corresponding to a season and narrated by an important person in Clark’s life (in order: Jonathan ‘Pa’ Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Lana Lang). Tim Sale’s beautifully detailed and expressive art captures the complex emotions drawn out by having your life touched by Clark Kent, which works really well with the personal, confessional style of the narration. It’s a very intimate work.

It’s a great insight into both the triumphs and very personal struggles of Clark through the inner voices of some of the most important people in his life, and captures what makes his character work really well.

FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING (SUPERMAN (1939) ANNUAL #11) (1985) Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

This is a single-issue annual from right before the DC universe was rebooted, and (unsurprisingly for Moore) explores some philosophical and ideological questions regarding the Man of Steel. On his ‘birthday’, Superman falls prey to an alien organism called The Black Mercy, which feeds on its victims while keeping them complacent with vivid hallucinations of their greatest desires. Clark hallucinates a still-living Krypton, which he is a part of – but perhaps not everything is perfect.

SUPERMAN: BRAINIAC (ACTION COMICS #866-870) (2008) Geoff Johns & Gary Frank

Before retelling Superman’s beginnings in Secret Origin, Johns and Frank collaborated on this story arc which massively changes the status quo, partially by reintroducing a variety of pre-Crisis concepts including the original Brainiac and the bottled city Kandor. If you liked Secret Origin, you’ll probably like this one.

As this is our first story arc rather than self-contained story, it has more references to the ongoing continuity but is still easy enough to understand without that context. This story also prominently features Kara Zor-El as Supergirl and expands on some cosmic lore and Krypton in general.

SUPERMAN: UP IN THE SKY #1-6 (2019-2020) Tom King & Andy Kubert

This is an accessible, self-contained exploration of the extent of Superman’s moral fibre, following Clark as he attempts to save a single girl who was abducted from Earth and taken into space. It’s quite abstract at points with the questions it asks about themes of compassion and commitment, which I think is conveyed particularly well in the panelling and artwork.

[Image ID: An edit of Frank Quitely's artwork from All Star Superman. Clark in his Superman outfit is flying with his arms outstretched. The top half of his face is cut off. The background is an abstract depiction of the heart of the sun, and has been overlaid with a translucent orange. Handwritten beneath Clark is: "INTERPRETING AND RE-INTERPRETING". End ID.]

THE K-METAL FROM KRYPTON (drafted 1940, restored 2004-2011) Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster Studio

The K-Metal from Krypton is an unpublished and unfinished comic from 1940, written by Superman creator Jerry Siegel, and drafted by the studio of the other Superman creator, Joe Shuster. After being lost for decades, the story has slowly been recovered and restored by Superman fans.

Though this one is much more unconventional than the other items on the list, I think it’s extremely important to Superman’s history and generally understanding him as a character. It comes from a time when creative control of their character was being taken from Siegel and Shuster, and though it is unknown why this story was unpublished, that’s a major point of context to keep in mind.

This draft sets up the predecessor to kryptonite in the Superman comics – “K-Metal” – and also contains a scene where Clark reveals his identity to Lois, and they agree to be partners in helping others. This is a major departure from the status quo of Clark keeping his secret from Lois as she tries to uncover it, which would continue for the rest of the Golden and Silver Ages.

The restoration effort can be read online: http://theages.superman.nu/k-metal/splash.php

THE MAN OF STEEL #1-6 (1986) John Byrne & Dick Giordano

This limited series is the immediate post-Crisis origin story and reinvention of Superman. It wasn’t put in the Origins section because I think from a modern perspective it shouldn’t be an introduction to Clark, but rather something you read to understand the history of his character.

It originated major changes in the Superman mythology, some of which have become instilled in it (such as Lex Luthor and Lois Lane’s modern characterisations), and others which have been forgotten or discarded.

One major thing is the great effort this origin made to make Clark American over being Kryptonian… Byrne has expressed great distaste of portrayals of Superman which emphasise his immigrant identity, and that should be kept in mind while critically reading this work.

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #1-12 (2005-2008) Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely

Arguably the most critically acclaimed Superman comic, this has been saved for late in the list as I believe it’s enhanced with more context of and experience with Clark. This is a series which explores the nature of storytelling and legacy, which was created with the aim of creating a timeless Superman story.

When Superman learns he will soon die, what does he reflect on? What does he change? This is heavily inspired by, and is a love letter to, Silver Age Superman.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? (SUPERMAN #423 & ACTION COMICS #583) (1986) Alan Moore, Curt Swan & George Pérez

Written in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths, this is another story about Superman ‘dying’, and is essentially a great mediation on and send-off to the Silver Age incarnation of the character. It refers to itself as an “imaginary” story, and can be seen as one concrete ending for this version of Clark Kent and the rest of the Superman characters, in a medium with few.

It can be found in a collection with For the Man Who Has Everything.

SUPERMAN: RED AND BLUE #1-6 (2021) Various

To finish off our starter reading list, let’s move from Superman’s end to his future. This is an anthology of short stories from various authors and artists, exploring a spread of visions of the Man of Tomorrow.

I think it’s an appropriate end for this starter exploration of Clark Kent’s many interpretations! As with all anthologies, it has its ups and downs in quality, but as a whole I truly believe it captures the heart of this character.

Thank you for reading all this way. I really hope this reading list helps you delve into the character of Superman and inspires you to read further beyond what I’ve suggested here.

Most of all, I hope it helps at least some people grow to love Clark Kent as much as I have.

A PDF version of this reading list is available here.

#it is finally here #my stupid 1600 word reading list #if you requested suggestions then this is your fault lmao #i put all my love of clark into this #i hope its useful #and feel free to send asks with any questions i will be happy to expand #took a long time to edit my ramblings down to this stage lmao #original #reading list #supers #kal #my writing #clark kent #superman #dc #dc reading list #superman reading list #the superman starter reading list

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matchalattegreen · 6 days

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solangelo is the best/most important riordanverse ship

how do I know?

did rick write and entire stand alone book about leo and calypso? frank and hazel? piper and shel?

NOPE

but he did write the sun and the star

thank you for coming to my ted talk

#solangelo #will solace #nico di angelo #the sun and the star #riordanverse #kal rambles

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ace7librarian · 2 months

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The father

The son

The holy spirit

#the divorce trio #curtwen #willoway #hatchetfield #the witch in the web #miss Holloway #wilbur cross #starkid #tin can bros #spies are forever #agent curt mega #owen carvour #pulp musicals #kal pulp musicals #sia pulp musicals #the traveller #ghosts of antikythera #rambling in librarian

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zomaxi · 3 months

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the cello fits Vincent so well when i think about it. It parallels him in a way i don’t think i can quite fully convey outside my mind but ill try anyway

it’s deep resonant tone, the way it can sound charming and smooth one minute to sweet and tentative the next, then abrasive and downright intimidating seconds after. it’s so in tune with him. Generally it’s one of the string instruments i adore most because of its versatility, you can convey so many emotions through it because the instrument has the widest and most versatile range of any with 4 octaves.

And i feel like that is an amazing foil for Vincent’s character, that deep tone filled with so many shifts and layers that will skew your emotions this way and that is so akin to a person who maintains a stationary level of perceived impassiveness with so much complexity intertwined within motives and emotions hidden underneath. Both carry a sense of never ending surprise because you genuinely don’t know what you’re going to get next, which leads to such a fun viewing experience

#kals musical ramblings #i performed in an orchestra last night and couldn’t atop staring at the cellos #cooking up a guitar analysis for rody next #teehee :3 #dead plate #dead plate vincent #deadplate #deadplate game #vincent charbonneau #studio investigrave #vince dead plate #dead plate game

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puppetmaster13u · 7 months

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You know what idea I just had while on like 3 hours of sleep?

Polycule between Bruce, Clark, Harvey (& Two-Face) and Lois. Can you imagine the utter chaos? Lois suddenly has an extra bit of attention when she marches straight into a crime-den because here comes Two-Face following her because he finds her hilarious.

Both Lois and Clark are suddenly so much more trouble for the people breaking laws because Harvey is a lawyer, he knows all these laws and can tell them exactly which ones are being broken and where to look.

The batkids finally have reporter people around who aren't rude or in their face and don't bat an eye at their shenenigans! Bruce has partners that know about his vigilantism and doesn't try to convince him to stop- though definitely gets him to take care of himself.

Both Harvey and Two-Face have people who don't care about their scarring or that they're two people in the same body. And look they don't approve of Two-Face's growing criminal empire, but he treats his goons good for the most part, and as long as lines aren't crossed then it's fine, they guess. But he's sleeping on the couch if he robs another bank.

Also can you imagine the hilarity of people trying to wrap their minds around this and coming to the conclusion that not only are the three of them dating, they're also dating Superman and Batman, and obviously Bruce and Two-Face are their sugar daddies. Obviously.

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someoneiwasnt · 1 year

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not single, not taken, but a secret third thing (polyamorous)

#kal rambles #polyamory #polyamorous pride #shitpost #secret third thing #polyam #what do i tag this to get people to actually see it-#love making original posts once every few months and not knowing what to do with them anyway #i think i'm funny so if this flops i'll be sad /lh #hoping no one else has made this joke before

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random-babels · 9 months

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Ok so I’m rather new to Arknights as a whole so I’m not read up on everything but everything I have read leaves me with so many questions and feelings about pre amnesia doc and babel in general. Mostly cause Vigilo took a sledgehammer to my brain.

Cause here’s the thing, we hear often about how old doc was this like cold blooded hardened killer. But in every scene we’ve seen of babel they aren’t being cruel or cold blooded.

We see them being the only one to advocate mercy for the sarkaz who tried to kill them. Theresa and Kal’tsit argue for killing them, and like that gets to me. We hear about Doctor being the Theresa’s cruel tactician and yet we see them asking her to spare someone and her not doing that.

We see them (if briefly) talking with Scout and Ace in what can only be seen as a friend doing so, with doc personally getting invested in their bet. When scout comes to them after the failed mission asking that the team member not be punished and he is instead the doctor chooses to punish no one.

We seen them being concerned about Theresa’s health and sleep patterns, even though they weren’t doing the same for themselves at the time.

Not to mention Amiya who clearly views Doc as their parent. And we have her remembering the old doc teaching her how to survive in hard places, and thinks fondly of their time together before babel.

And it’s not that I doubt old Doctor was more calculating and cold on the battlefield it’s just that everything we see paints a picture at least to me of someone who cared deeply about the people around them. But also someone who couldn’t show it the same way others did (flat affect doc canon?), who had been worn down but was still trying. Even when they knew Theresa and Babel were on the back foot and then losing. And yes this sounds a lot like Kal’tsit but I also think that’s intentional because these two are supposed to mirror each other. And just augh this game gives me so many fucking brain worms.

Anyway this has been why I think doc wasn’t as heartless as many think. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

#arknights #doctor arknights #kal’tsit #kal'tsit arknights #amiya #amiya arknights #Yes I'm starting off this blog with my insane ramblings don't fucking at me #also if you think of kal doc and theresa as gay together it makes it even worse! it's amazing.

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kaleidescopic · 8 months

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do you think ocean was worrying about how she had to get home soon because there was school tomorrow as she boarded the cyclone? do you think constance was super excited about finally going on her favorite ride after looking forward to it the whole day and the choir just went along with it because she wanted to so bad? do you think mischa was reaching out for his phone that was falling out of his pocket as he fell to his death in one final desperate attempt to contact talia? do you think ricky wished he could scream more than he ever had before as he watched the girl sitting next to him's head fly off? do you think in his final moments noel was worrying about his mom and how she would have no one left if he died? do you think ocean was the first one to notice how something was wrong with the track and could only listen as her choirmate's screams of joy became screams of fear? do you think about how hard mr and mrs blackwood probably cried when they found out their baby girl was dead? do you think that was mischas first time on a roller coaster? do you think about how ricky died the youngest of them all, having turned 17 only 3 months earlier? do you think constance was gripping the hem of her skirt, like she does in the show, as the cart was flying off the tracks out of pure adrenaline? do you think penny had brought ezra with her and he was on the ground, watching the ride his sister was on break and kill everyone in it? do you think he was desperately trying to tell the medics that the unidentified body was his sister and they brushed him off because of his age? do you think constance was laughing as she fell to her death, more focused on the beautiful sunset and memories than she was on her imminent doom? do you think about how because of the canadian school schedule, that was literally only their second week of senior year? do you think constances baby brother was scared when his big sister just stopped coming home one day? do you think about how mischa's final text to talia was probably a good night text and she slept through the love of her life's death, only to see no new messages from him when she woke up and "rest in peace" comments all over his social medias? do you think ocean was stressing about a quiz they had at school the next day in the moments before the cart derailed? do you think rickys cats felt his absence after he died and just knew something bad had happened to him? do you think, as he bled out, mischa was smiling because he would finally get to be with his mom?

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kalcifers-blog · 10 days

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Jacksepticeye, who's about to change the trajectory of my life forever:

"lmao wouldn't it be cool if I made it look like I got possessed and kms for a Halloween video that'll be fun I think"

#I need this man to know that i have genuinely not been the same since October 31st 2016 and its his fault /pos #jacksepticeye #antisepticeye #jse #jacksepticeye egos #jse egos #kalcifers blog #kal rambles #fun Kal lore but that was the first Halloween i ever celebrated as well so yeah its just a little bit meaningful to me personally

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kaliido-s · 7 months

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I like Arctic and Kestrel in the sense of “these guys suck and their lives suck and they feel bad about their lives sucking while also not doing anything to improve it” and if I see any content that paints them in a sympathetic light I will throw up and die

#awful people and i never want them to change #they suck and its fun to watch them suck #im a tiny bit more lenient to arctic but sympathetic kestrel makes me die on the spot #arctic wof #kestrel wof #wof #wingsoffire #kal thoughts #kal wof rambles #icewing #skywing

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taming-bats · 5 months

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wait....

Does anyone else know about the destruction of Krypton? Does Clark ever tell? Is it discovered? Does he even know?

Does he hold the greiveing of an entire planet on his shoulders? As Well as the need to keep this planet safe and together and a home to him? Ohhhh my god. Ohhh my god

Does he keep it like a secret? A whole planet, nestled close to his heart so no one else can look at it, no one else can question it or taint it. Kal-El of Krypton. He is of Krypton as much as Krypton is his. His. An entire civilization living on with one man. God damn. Traditions he'll never know, a culture he never got to grow up with. Ohh my god

#Superheros are good actually #Sorry I'm sure this is common knowledge but I'm New Here and his backstop is truly hitting me #Like in My Adventures with Superman #He doesn't even know where he's From Yet. He doesn't know the tragedy that has already carved his path #Oh my god #I gotta lay down #Him keeping the Earth safe bc he can Do Something this time so by God will he Do Something #Bfbshaaaaaaaaaaa #I LOVE HIM #Clark Kent #Superman #my adventures with superman #Krypton #Don't take these as actual questions more like poetic ramblings #kal el #So many DC characters having their identity stripped from them before they can even realse the tragedy of it all #Before they even know what their identity is #Wow #Third eye opening tonight

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ace7librarian · 4 months

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I swear to the lords, there's something here.

#joey richter #jeff blim #kim whalen #curt mega #curtwen #holloweane #ghosts of antikythera #willoway #howard goodman #john mcnamara #miss holloway #duke keane #wilbur cross #agent curt mega #owen carvour #Sia pulp musicals #kal pulp musicals #starkid #rambling in librarian

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newvegascowboy · 6 months

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One thing I did appreciate about the season (series?) Finale was that it touches on s1 Izzy's motivations and behavior really, really well.

His speech to Ricky is really enlightening. While I do believe there is some measure of ego in Izzy, his priority has always been the ship and the crew. He's not a pirate because he wants to rob and steal; he's not even a pirate because he wants to hurt people, necessarily. He's a pirate because being a pirate and being part of a crew is connection and community.

His pushback against Stede Stede s1 is partially jealousy, yes. Izzy is afraid that Stede is going to take his family; very possibly one of the few people Izzy relies on and trusts - but the other reason he disliked Stede so much in s1 is because Stede was putting the crew in danger with his own incompetence. The crew themselves were a liability to the ship and each other and I think that stressed Izzy the fuck out. At his core, he did not want them to die. He says it directly in s2 when Stede asks for help and Izzy very bluntly (although not unkindly) calls out Stede for not knowing anything. His faith is in hierarchy, because Izzy trusts Ed, and wants to execute Ed's orders. Izzy himself believes himself competent and canny, and knows how to keep a crew alive because he was the one who trained Ed.

He asks for the Kraken because the Kraken is familiar. He doesn't know how to navigate Ed's emotional self, and it scares him. Stede did, and Izzy felt threatened, so he reacted with hurt feelings trying to reassert control over a situation that felt uncontrollable.

His methods werent great, but given the environment he had worked in for 20+ years, I can understand why he's so harsh. He believes in the bond forged between crewmates; Calico Jack calls him a sentimental bastard in s1, and s2 highlights this really well. S1 Izzy isn't nice by any stretch of the imagination, but I think he is the way he is because he cares immensely. He's just buttoned up under decades of piracy and cruelty and the persona he believes he needs in order to assert authority. By the time of his deathbed confession, he's realized not only what he took from Ed, but what he'd been denying himself all along.

Tl;dr, s1 Izzy was cruel but he was never malicious. His journey parallels Ed's.

#not fallout #kal talks #ofmd #ofmd spoilers #izzy hands #if this is long and rambly im sorry #im just thinking about him so much

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