IT CAME FROM THE QUARTER BIN: SUPREME #1

[MattBrady]

<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/quarterbin/Supreme1.jpg" align="right"><i>by Ryan McLelland</i>

<b>Supreme #1</b>
Image Comics
November 1992

Writer/Inker by Rob Liefeld
Pencils by: Brian Murray

Ah <b>Supreme</b>! I remember buying this when it first hit stores because I do believe I was handing Rob Liefeld over his entire house payment in these days. I chalk this up to being in high school, having a well paying job, and thinking that not only was Youngblood the coolest thing out there but all the ancillary books were as well. So I bought <b>Supreme #1</b> back then not getting why it clearly stated ‘Volume 2’ on the cover. Matter of fact, I still don’t. I remember Liefeld saying something to the effect of Supreme’s (untold) adventures on Earth were the first volume which isn’t so crazy you remember that <i>Star Wars</i> suddenly became <i>Star Wars Episode 4 – A New Hope</i>. But back to <b>Supreme</b>…

There’s Earth and suddenly there is …SUPREME! Image’s ‘Superman’ has come home and those at NASA are tracking this thing not knowing what is going on. So the powers-that-be send up YOUNGBLOOD! There’s Badrock and Diehard and, um, weird fire guy, black dude, and bad yellow armor guy. They all tell this guy to stop and he responds back, “I am SUPREME!” Hell yeah you are! This big ass guy with a cape has come home and Youngblood doesn’t know him from Tuesday. Except Bad Yellow Armor Guy who doesn’t think that he is Supreme so he does the smart thing and attacks him. Yeah because that makes perfect sense. Supreme doesn’t think so either. He just looks down at where BYAG attacked him, doesn’t say a word, and pounds the guy to Uranus.

This gets Youngblood mad. Of course their guy attacked Supreme first but now that you him BYAG you bring the thunder! That lasts…two pages. Supreme mops the floor with them and Youngblood finally backs down, saying they would now like to escort him back to Earth. Once back all the government types can do is give him a checkup to make sure that Supreme is really Supreme. Why the battery of tests? Seems that Supreme has been gone for fifty years and they don’t really believe that the guy standing in front of them is Earth’s original hero. However he is and thusly everyone stands around going “OOOOOOOOOOOOH!”

Youngblood offers him membership and he flips them a look and then just walks out on them! He just flies away! BURN! However there is one guy, evil Mr. Gate with his white hair and evil cigarette smoking, who thinks that Supreme would be a great new addition to his team Heavy Mettle. And something tells me that he won’t take no for an answer!!!

So Supreme has arrived and it would only be a few issues before Stephen Platt did some covers and many moons until Alan Moore came aboard and turned Supreme into the must-read book of the nineties. Here Supreme has little words to say to us lowly Earthlings and, because of this, it’s one of the better written early Liefeld books. That’s not to say that it isn’t supremely cheesy but this is the quarter bin where cheesy is good! So do yourself a favor and pick up an issue of Supreme should you find it there in a bin for one nice shiny quarter.

[Dave_Garcia]

I admit, those Supreme stories where he went crazy and killed the whole Bloodstrike team were something of a guilty pleasure of mine.

I stopped reading comics not long after the Image craze, but I did buy the Checker reprints of the Moore run and quite liked them.

But nothing quite captured the giddiness I felt as a 13 (or so) year old reading a Superman analogue going crazy and gutting a whole team.

[Robot H Brian]

I wouldn't call Alan Moore's Supreme "…the must-read book of the nineties…", but it did kick ass. I don't regret not being aware of the character or book before Moore took over.

[eltopo]

was alan moore's supreme really good ?

[AnthonyL]

Depends on who you ask.

A lot of people say it was Moore's attempt to do Superman...just, you know, not at DC. Silver age stuff combined with modern themes and a drastic change in the character explained by one of the (IMO) original plot twists that I can remember at the time.

There are two camps, though. A lot of readers got used to the violent "rip your head off and ask questions later" Supreme. When Moore came along, that pretty much ended in favor of, well, a different take on the characters to the point where the only thing that Moore's supreme had in commone with the previous Supreme was the name and look, pretty much.

So, some say they prefered the violent Supreme because it gave them the character that they wished Superman could be, and others think Moore's version was superior because he offered so many twists and filled in the character by giving him a history, explaining away continuity (in again, one of the more original plot twists out there, IMO), etc.

When you boil it down, do you prefer an action movie or an art movie? It's all about what type of stuff you like reading.

Anthony L

[Hoffmeister]

was alan moore's supreme really good ?
Yes. And not only was it good, but it was told in a neat way; all the "minor" stories spread out through the issues - even the most insignificant back-ground details - tie up at the end and delivers a great finale. Get both tpbs. They're great.

[Lot 49]

Alan Moore's Supreme is one of my Top 3 mainstream comics of the 1990's...

All-Star Superman is a close facsimile...

[BanMan]

Depends on who you ask.

A lot of people say it was Moore's attempt to do Superman...just, you know, not at DC. Silver age stuff combined with modern themes and a drastic change in the character explained by one of the (IMO) original plot twists that I can remember at the time.

There are two camps, though. A lot of readers got used to the violent "rip your head off and ask questions later" Supreme. When Moore came along, that pretty much ended in favor of, well, a different take on the characters to the point where the only thing that Moore's supreme had in commone with the previous Supreme was the name and look, pretty much.

So, some say they prefered the violent Supreme because it gave them the character that they wished Superman could be, and others think Moore's version was superior because he offered so many twists and filled in the character by giving him a history, explaining away continuity (in again, one of the more original plot twists out there, IMO), etc.

When you boil it down, do you prefer an action movie or an art movie? It's all about what type of stuff you like reading.

Anthony L

I liked that Supreme's arch-nemesis was so inadvertently responsible for creating him.

[HankPym]

Of course their guy attacked Supreme first but now that you him BYAG you bring the thunder!Um, what? I've tried to parse this sentence and just can't do it. Mind you, I have no idea, what BYAG is an acronym for, so that might have something to do with it.

Edit: Oh right, Big Yellow Armor Guy. That...doesn't help much.

[DuncanHines]

Is anybody ever going to reprint Alan Moore's Supreme run in a way that isn't completely crappy looking? Those Checker reprints from a few years back looked ass (for lack of a better word). While we're on Alan Moore... When is somebody gonna get the hell on the ball and reprint 1963 (complete with all the fake ads and letters colunmns...)?!?!?!

[Mostly_Human]

Alan Moore's Supreme was nealry perfect.
When I loan my friends the trade, I tell them that it's "The Greatest Superman Stories Never Told."

[MarsHottento]

I loved Moore's Supreme! Rick Veitch's Silver Age style art, the character analogs... just AWESOME ;) . It was basically Alan Moore writing a love letter to DC circa the 60's and the timing couldn't have been better. By this point, the grim 'n' gritty teeth gnashing, claw poppin', decapitating, angst ridden style hero was BURNED OUT, but you wouldn't know it from looking at the comic racks! I had stopped buying new books for about six years because, as an adult, it was just embarrassing to be seen with some of that stuff. So, was 'Supreme' by Moore great? If you were old enough to catch the Silver Age, and missed the goofy wonder of that era, then definitely! If your Supreme was the guy in blood soaked tights I used to see prior - then hell no, in a fit of betrayal you probably went home and punched a hole in the wall!

RAAAAAHHH!!! :mad:

(Duncan: Yeah, the trades were cheap, fast, and WAY TOO PRICEY, but DAMN that's good readin'. RE: 1963. Well, Moore didn't finish it, isn't going to apparently, and that also means we miss out on Alex 'Repo Man' Cox's issue that was solicited :( )

[sythspawn]

I'm guessing "weird fire guy" is Photon, "black dude" is Sentinel, and "Bad Yellow Armor Guy" was probably Combat.

[ThatGuamGuy]

While we're on Alan Moore... When is somebody gonna get the hell on the ball and reprint 1963 (complete with all the fake ads and letters colunmns...)?!?!?!

Well...

- It's unfinished
- It's generally regarded -- right or wrong -- as one of the worst things Moore ever did, especially as far as original Moore creations go
- When they reprinted the 'League' books, they did not reprint the fake ads. And the Checker 'Supreme' reprints were missing entire stories.

So, in my opinion, you should gather the change from out of your couch cushions and just buy the six issues, since that's what you seem to want, and you could not possibly spend more than $5 for all 6 no matter how hard you tried.

As for me, I have to track down the 'Supreme' issues again. I sold them off when the trade was announced, but then the trade sucked so much that I just can't buy it.

[AnthonyL]

Yes. And not only was it good, but it was told in a neat way; all the "minor" stories spread out through the issues - even the most insignificant back-ground details - tie up at the end and delivers a great finale. Get both tpbs. They're great.

Are you talking about the Checker trades that came out a few years ago? I heard they were of awful quality, so I passed.

I have all of the Supreme comics, but would like to get trades for my bookshelf.

Anthony L

[nonamesleft]

Sorry, but the worst thing that Alan Moore has written is a Spawn limited series called "Bloodbath" or "Bloodfeud" or some other title that has 90s Image written all over it. 1963 was basically Moore's take on the early Marvel Universe and when looked at in that context it can be seen as a precursor of sorts to his run on Supreme. Although it was never finished, I still think it deserves a collected edition.

[AnthonyL]

Why did it never finish? Sounds interesting.

One thing I never checked out was the Violator/Badrock thing. Didn't Moore do that as well? I thought I saw some people saying that THAT was the most awful thing Moore did.

Anthony L

[shadowchaser]

i loved the original supreme back int ehday, with him killing everyone...but i didn't moore's take at all

[Hokeyboy]

Supreme before Alan Moore = incoherent garbage

Supreme with Alan Moore = superhero comicbook perfection

Supreme after Alan Moore = PROFIT!

[gypsynuke]

Someone should proof-read these articles before they're posted. That was pretty bad.
Supreme was classic Liefeld. It didn't make much sense, but he put a lot of work into it. I think early Image works well as a guilty pleasure. Maybe it's only because I grew up with it but, as bad as most of it is, I kind of like it.

[Spiderguy34]

I liked early Supreme....the later issues not so much!

(I was a sucker for Image back in the day!)

[Neal Holman]

Man, I was definitely that guy too, buying anything with Liefield's name on it. Youngblood? Sure. Brigade? Oh yes. Blood Strike? Why the eff not? So of course I bought a few issues of Supreme as well. Maybe it was the fact that "blood" wasn't in the title, but I just didn't really follow it. Never even picked up the Alan Moore stuff.

... now who wants to write the article detailing the events of the "Blood Feud" crossover between Brigade and Blood Strike... and I think maybe even Youngblood? Hmmm???

C'mon, there's guns, hot chicks, guns, and Project: Born Again, it practically writes itself.

[mikeyg]

I liked moores supreme, but I much prefer the original character. Might not have been as "well" written, but it was a lot more interesting and fun to read when he just killed everyone, he was a different character then superman, a different take on the character, moore pretty much was just a writing any old superman story. Some of the continuity twists and stuff he did were pretty cool though.

[Fenrir]

My favorite Supreme issues are still the ones where he tangles with Thor. After reading Marvel's Thor for so many years, it was nice to see Image's take on him.

[Bathawk]

anyone remeber Supreme vs. gladiator one-shot? IMage's Superman vs, Marvel's?

classic

[michaelj]

man i loved the original supreme series, i honestly didnt like the moore issues, but i liked the series, and stuck around, but the moore issues had absolutely nothing that would hook me other then supreme himself.

i loved the fact that this guy was a near godlike character, he knew it, he enjoyed it, and he made sure that you knew it as well.

this was what i liked about liefeld, the character was written great, after supreme lost his powers and had to battle for the right to wield thors hammer he gave his reason for needing it, because he needed the power to conquer earth. damn that was cool. supreme was almost like dr. doom in those aspects, he knew he was big and bad and better then you and who else should have that job other then him. biran murry's art was what topped it off, platt was good, but i loved murry's work. this series was great.

[eltopo]

Yes. And not only was it good, but it was told in a neat way; all the "minor" stories spread out through the issues - even the most insignificant back-ground details - tie up at the end and delivers a great finale. Get both tpbs. They're great.
I'm going to check that out

[MarsHottento]

man i loved the original supreme series, i honestly didnt like the moore issues, but i liked the series, and stuck around, but the moore issues had absolutely nothing that would hook me other then supreme himself.

i loved the fact that this guy was a near godlike character, he knew it, he enjoyed it, and he made sure that you knew it as well.

this was what i liked about liefeld, the character was written great, after supreme lost his powers and had to battle for the right to wield thors hammer he gave his reason for needing it, because he needed the power to conquer earth. damn that was cool. supreme was almost like dr. doom in those aspects, he knew he was big and bad and better then you and who else should have that job other then him. biran murry's art was what topped it off, platt was good, but i loved murry's work. this series was great.

Well, it seems pretty clear that the guys who like Supreme prior to Alan Moore like him because he 'kills everybody' and is , basically (judging by how you folks descibe him), a super fascist.

The people who like Alan Moore's run prefer a bit of humor and nostalgia.

Man, what a bunch of P*ssies we are, huh?! :rolleyes:

[Radiophonic]

I still have Supreme ashcans and postcards signed by Brian (who actually wrote far, far more than Liefeld and essentially created the character) from my early comic days at the Motor City con. Ah to be young again. That reminds me, I think I'll dig up my Hellshock, Darker Image and Cyber Force ashcans as well.

[Dana P.]

Alan Moore's Supreme was nealry perfect.

I completely agree.

When I loan my friends the trade, I tell them that it's "The Greatest Superman Stories Never Told."

That's EXACTLY what I've been saying for years. Alan Moore's Supreme stories are "The Greatest Superman Stories Never Told."

[raven1979]

So I bought Supreme #1 back then not getting why it clearly stated ‘Volume 2’ on the cover. Matter of fact, I still don’t. I remember Liefeld saying something to the effect of Supreme’s (untold) adventures on Earth were the first volume which isn’t so crazy you remember that Star Wars suddenly became Star Wars Episode 4 – A New Hope. But back to Supreme…

Ha, Marvel used the same idea for their Superman aka the Sentry except even more gimmick by lying how it was a original Stan Lee creation from back in the 60s to create buzz.

So I just hope you dont whine just cause is Image and will give Marvel the free pass.

[stratovarius]

I'm guessing "weird fire guy" is Photon, "black dude" is Sentinel, and "Bad Yellow Armor Guy" was probably Combat.

Shouldn't the black dude be Chapel? I

[Alextron]

That's right, it said Volume 2 on it!

Yeah, I have a copy of Supereme #1. It got sold off during a bad point in my life and I had so many comics. But I found it somewhere and have it again. Amazing how things appreciate in value.:rolleyes:

[DuncanHines]

Why did it never finish? Sounds interesting.

One thing I never checked out was the Violator/Badrock thing. Didn't Moore do that as well? I thought I saw some people saying that THAT was the most awful thing Moore did.

Anthony L

They were supposed to do an Annual with Jim Lee drawing it where the "1963" Image characters meet the 1993 image characters... But, those six issues stand on their own quite well. I remember as a 12-13 year old kid wondering why that was the best thing I was reading from Image at the time, not knowing anything about Alan Moore (or Affable Al, as he was credited in most of the 1963 books) I already have the issues, but a Trade Paperback printed on the same paper stock DC used to print the Jack Kirby Fourth World Omnibus would be truly awesome. Or, better still, they could print a 1963 TPB in the same manner that Gemstone Did TPBs of the EC reprints; the pages that were covers were glossy, the pages that were pages were on that acid-free type paper DC used for the JKFW Omnibus... I need a job in TPB/reprint packaging...
AND, hey, They could still do that 1963 Annual, but it may not be until 2013. It could be printed as the "50th Anniversary" of 1963!! And THE official LATEST (that'd be most delayed, not most recent, friends) Image comic ever!

[ZampDiSata]

Huh? Why're you saying the Checker paperbacks suck? I have them both and it never occured to me something might be wrong with them. '
In fact, they're better than most TPB's because they are bound; the pages are double size and 'sown' in. Unlike regular TPB's where the book is in fact a stack of pages glued together with a cover. They are much more fragile and in time they will fall apart. Even most hardcovers are made this way, the only difference being the cover.
Anyway, before i start raging against the lack of quality in most TPB's, the Checker TPB"s are a very good deal. The average price per issue is $ 2.36 (26.95 The Story of the Year + 24.95 The Return = 51.9 / 22 issues) and the books themselves can be read and re-read intensively without falling apart. You can open the book, lay it face down, then sit on it for hours and it will not fall apart. It might crease or something, but it won't fall apart. I know, because i fell asleep on it and when i woke up, it only had some creased pages. No, i didn't fall asleep because the book was boring; i was completely wasted and fell asleep before i even read one line of text. I kept staring at a panel until i fell asleep.
This also happened when i was reading The Life and Times of Uncle Scrooge, but that didn't have a happy ending. When i woke up, i found the book had fallen apart. So now i have a stack of pages that once was a paperback.

[DuncanHines]

Huh? Why're you saying the Checker paperbacks suck? I have them both and it never occured to me something might be wrong with them. '
In fact, they're better than most TPB's because they are bound; the pages are double size and 'sown' in. Unlike regular TPB's where the book is in fact a stack of pages glued together with a cover. They are much more fragile and in time they will fall apart. Even most hardcovers are made this way, the only difference being the cover.
Anyway, before i start raging against the lack of quality in most TPB's, the Checker TPB"s are a very good deal. The average price per issue is $ 2.36 (26.95 The Story of the Year + 24.95 The Return = 51.9 / 22 issues) and the books themselves can be read and re-read intensively without falling apart. You can open the book, lay it face down, then sit on it for hours and it will not fall apart. It might crease or something, but it won't fall apart. I know, because i fell asleep on it and when i woke up, it only had some creased pages. No, i didn't fall asleep because the book was boring; i was completely wasted and fell asleep before i even read one line of text. I kept staring at a panel until i fell asleep.
This also happened when i was reading The Life and Times of Uncle Scrooge, but that didn't have a happy ending. When i woke up, i found the book had fallen apart. So now i have a stack of pages that once was a paperback.


Nah man, you're getting me wrong. The stories are good. The book itself is well put together. It's that the image quality is all crappy looking. It looks like they didn't use the original film, but instead used low resolution scans of the printed issues or something...

[MarsHottento]

Nah man, you're getting me wrong. The stories are good. The book itself is well put together. It's that the image quality is all crappy looking. It looks like they didn't use the original film, but instead used low resolution scans of the printed issues or something...

Yes, this is what I'm getting at as well. The image conversion is ABYSMAL! Compare the comics to the TPB and see for yourself. That's why I felt it was overpriced (and probably why they went all out on the binding - they knew what was up!!).

[hhbx]

Have to admit, the early Supreme stories were kind of a guilty pleasure for all the over the top violence. It made little sense, but I was young. :P
Don't get me wrong, Alan Moore's work on Supreme is a damn masterpiece that ended way to early. But damn if for whatever reason that it made no sense other then trying to figure out how Supreme can beat the shits out of someone. I remember an issue (think it was during Extreme Sacifice) where Crypt snapped Supreme over his knee Bane style that had Supreme's ribs popping out of his body and blood was flying everywhere, and I think he died and got better, can't really remember because it always seems that way. But he somehow later flew through a portal, sporting black hair, and flew in, punched Satan and flew off again. No clue what the hell it was about and I feel stupid in typing it now, but there was something about that...that...aw hell. I'll just shut up now. :P

[superhornet3]

was alan moore's supreme really good ?

It is a must read but theres a lot of annoying flashbacks every few pages.

I think original Supreme was unique. Alan Moore's was just a retelling of superman stories he read as a kid except hes a far superior writer to the old stuff.

[michaelj]

I still have Supreme ashcans and postcards signed by Brian (who actually wrote far, far more than Liefeld and essentially created the character) from my early comic days at the Motor City con. Ah to be young again. That reminds me, I think I'll dig up my Hellshock, Darker Image and Cyber Force ashcans as well.


damn small world, i used to live right down from the dearborn civic center where they used to hold the motor city comic cons. and was there when brian murry was handing out and signing the cards. i loved that. i had been to a few that were there before they moved to novi. i still remember going to the dearborn civic center when image was first started, they had a seperate room set up and you had to have a coupon or ticket to get in and have things signed. that was a long long time ago.

to be young again indeed

[Arnout]

Are you talking about the Checker trades that came out a few years ago? I heard they were of awful quality, so I passed.

I have all of the Supreme comics, but would like to get trades for my bookshelf.

Anthony L

How many issues was the entire Moore Run? Was it 12 in the original Image numbering followed by the 6 issues of The Return, or were there any more? I'm kinda considering looking around for these, skipping on the trades & probably saving lots of money.
Thanks!

[Sambo253]

Well...


- It's generally regarded -- right or wrong -- as one of the worst things Moore ever did, especially as far as original Moore creations go



I've seriously never heard this said. I don't think I've ever read/heard one person say it was the worst thing Moore's done, let alone 'generally regarded.' I could just be out of the loop though.

[Arnout]

I've seriously never heard this said. I don't think I've ever read/heard one person say it was the worst thing Moore's done, let alone 'generally regarded.' I could just be out of the loop though.

I'd even go so far as saying 1963 is a sort of thematic precursor to LOEG. Not because it was left unfinished & used all the tropes & clichés of the age it was homaging, that it was regarded as anything but another fine Moore work. I also read this before the name Alan Moore meant anything to me. I didn't think twice about its underlying ideas & context, merely ravenously gobbling up any sort of comic I could find. It has been a good long while since I did read it, but I also remember having a piqued interest in the flow of the story and the subtle interconnectedness of the titles.
I must say, I've always been introduced to the 'big names' by some of their more obscure (& often unfinished) works. Big Numbers, MiracleMan, 1963, Rogan Gosh, Kid Eternity, True Faith & Demon ...

off on a tangent

[Not From Around]

I'm guessing "weird fire guy" is Photon, "black dude" is Sentinel, and "Bad Yellow Armor Guy" was probably Combat.

From my limited experience reading early Image titles, I recall that one could read a whole issue of an Image book and come away not knowing who all the costumed characters who appeared in the issue were. The "writing" was that unhelpful.

I never saw this, but I remember seeing Supreme in several issues of another early Image book that I tried out. Don't recall the title. Supreme seemed like a character with a pretty nasty attitude.

[Not From Around]

All I've ever heard about the Alan Moore Supreme is that in one story his Krypto the Superdog analog got in a mating mood and led to a plague of superpups flying all over the place.

[DexterMyles]

Moore's SUPREME is probably my second favorite of his works, but the maddening thing about it is that everything was building up to this big conclusion which just never came out. I think there were two more issues left in his run.

So, if someone at DC or Image is reading this, please buy the rights to the character, get Chris Sprouse to draw the last two and just get them out to the public. Actually, as long as I'm having a pipe dream, have Sprouse re-draw everything not by him or Veitch. :)

Also, for my money, DEATHBLOW: BYBLOWS was the worst thing Alan Moore ever did, with the two Violator miniseries a step above (although at least those worked as dumb fun). And 1963, while not the best thing Moore's ever written, is still a damn fine read. Even if, like SUPREME, it's laying unfinished in legal limbo.

[DexterMyles]

All I've ever heard about the Alan Moore Supreme is that in one story his Krypto the Superdog analog got in a mating mood and led to a plague of superpups flying all over the place.

Great issue.

Supreme: "I just hope your three-hundred-and-seventy-eight dog sex spree was worth it"

Radar: "It was the most blissful twelve and a half seconds I've ever known."

[AnthonyL]

How many issues was the entire Moore Run? Was it 12 in the original Image numbering followed by the 6 issues of The Return, or were there any more? I'm kinda considering looking around for these, skipping on the trades & probably saving lots of money.
Thanks!

I think it was more like 16 issues (one of the issues was split into two parts #52). #41-56 I believe (from Image to Awesome).

Then the Return. I'd pick up Judgement Day as well.

You might have a harder time finding these Individually than you think, they still command a pretty high dollar amount in many instances. Even vendors like Milehigh usually don't have them for any less than 5 bucks a piece (but then again, I believe Milehigh charges too much anyway...)

Anthony L

[sythspawn]

Shouldn't the black dude be Chapel? I

It very well could have been. I was too lazy to look for that particular issue (if I even still have it) and Sentinel was the first Youngblood "black dude" that came to mind.

[matlockheed]

Never read the original Supreme but I don't think I really understood Superman before reading Moore's take on it. I think that makes it worthwhile if reading a book about an homage to a character helps me understand a character better than just reading about the original character himself.

Of course I can understand why some people might not like reading Moore's Supreme. Between the wordiness of the style of the older books that it mimicked and the convoluted stories that it parodied, you had some rough reading sometimes.

[Grievous]

I liked that Supreme's arch-nemesis was so inadvertently responsible for creating him.

Tell me more.

You have me interested now.

I will probably buy it anyways now.

[DexterMyles]

Never read the original Supreme but I don't think I really understood Superman before reading Moore's take on it. I think that makes it worthwhile if reading a book about an homage to a character helps me understand a character better than just reading about the original character himself.

Same here. I never really liked Superman growing up. Well, I thought I didn't. Turns out I just didn't like what he had been turned into. The character itself was still alright, but it took Moore to remind people what was great about him in the first place.

[tyopot]

just the past week i was in a store that had a big comic sale. man it was nice sifting through the bargain bins. and guess what? 80% of what what in those bins were books put out by liefeld and image.

supreme, dooms IV, brigade, youngblood, new men, prophet. wow. my eyes hurt looking at those comic books and seeing artists clone liefeld's art style. don't get me wrong, i really liked liefeld's work waay back when he was still with marvel, you could really feel the energy of his art back then.

but when he did books for image, a lot of them were really awful, hiring artists to ape his art style just seemed lame. well,like they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. but........