A Guide to Superman '86-'99 Comics Collections (Part 1)
A Guide to Superman ‘86-'99 Comics Collections (Part 1)
This was gonna be a short post to gush about the fact that DC just announced the “Sinbad Contract” storyline will be collected for the first time in 24 years right after I talked about it (clearly, someone at the company reads this blog) (do “Blackout” next!), but I got a little carried away. So, here’s a guide to all the Superman tradepaperback editions from this era that have come out so far:
Superman: The Man of Steel, vol. 1
Or just Superman: The Man of Steel. This one collects the full MoS miniseries by John Byrne, chronicling Superman’s origin, Superman’s first meetings with his most important friends and enemies, and, more importantly, the explanation of how Superman shaves.
Superman: The Man of Steel, vol. 2
Superman faces deranged villains like Metallo, Darkseid, and some crazy guy called Professor Hamilton. Contains the full storyline where Superman loses his memory and thinks he’s Darkseid’s son, then murders some space hobos. It's pretty cool.
Superman: The Man of Steel, vol. 3
Superman fights giant robot mummies, gets ditched in space by Hawkman, and single-handedly invades a country. Also includes the Bloodsport issue, otherwise known as “the only time Jimmy Olsen was ever useful”.
Superman: The Man of Steel, vol. 4
More assorted stories, but the main dish here is the four-part crossover with the Legion of Super-Heroes, in which Superman visits the Pocket Universe and gets into a fight with his own alternate-reality teenage self, plus said teenage self’s super-smart flying dog (Superboy and Krypto). Gritty stuff.
Superman: The Man of Steel, vol. 5
The one with the Superman/Big Barda porn tape. Also, Gangbuster’s debut and the Joker and other stuff. But mainly the porn tape. May be sold out in most comic book stores.
Superman: The Man of Steel, vol. 6
All three 1987 Superman Annuals: the one with Superman and Batman versus a sexy vampire, the one with the giant ape, and the one with Hfuhruhurr the brain-stealer. Also, Superman fights Booster Gold and dates a mermaid.
Superman: The Man of Steel, vol. 7
All of the Superman tie-ins with DC’s Millennium crossover event, in which supporting cast members in every superhero’s book turned out to be alien robot sleeper agents. In Superman’s case, it was the entire town of Smallville. Also, Gangbuster gets crippled for life, irreparably, forever.
The only one of the “World of…” miniseries that’s been collected, but also the only one that’s worth a damn. The tale of Superman’s ancestors, and how they ruined everything. It's awesome, seriously. Art by Mike Mignola!
Superman: The Man of Steel, vol. 8
This one includes the historic, super-sized Action Comics #600, in which Superman makes out with Wonder Woman, gets horribly sick (this is unrelated to the previous part), and goes “back to Krypton” for the cure. Batman is in it for like two pages, yet still merits a cover appearance.
Superman: The Man of Steel, vol. 9
The last of the Man of Steel reprint volumes so far, so there are some gaps in the issues starting from here. This collects the end of John Byrne's run, including the full "Supergirl Saga", in which Superman must make a tough decision that will torment his conscience. I'm sure he'll get over it soon enough, though.
Superman doesn't get over his crisis of conscience and instead exiles himself to outer space, becomes a gladiator, and grows a sweet beard. Man, that beard was great. Featuring Mongul, Draaga, and the return of Helferfer the brain stealer. Also, Superman finds a thing called the Eradicator and brings it to Earth, a decision that will surely never backfire.
Superman: Eradication!
Superman’s decision to bring a thing called Eradicator to Earth backfires epically as he is brainwashed into becoming the cold, dickish Krypton Man. This is the climax to the loooong storyline that started with the "Supergirl Saga". (This one is out of print, but you can find a used copy pretty easily.)
Superman: Dark Knight Over Metropolis
Superman and Batman learn to get along for the first time ever, as they investigate the case of the stolen kryptonite ring. Gangbuster is in it, no longer crippled for life forever. Also includes the sexy vampire annual again, in case you wanted two copies of that. I can see why you might.
The just-announced collection I mentioned up there. Besides the “Sinbad Contract” storyline, this also contains the entire Action Comics Weekly Superman serial by Roger Stern and Curt Swan, which is pretty good news for Superman completionists because until now, the only ways to read it were 1) buying 42 non-Superman comics just for the two-page inserts, or 2) shady online means.
Superman/Batman: World’s Finest
GET THIS WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR
(I gushed about this miniseries here.)
Superman: Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite
The thing we’re covering now! Superman loses his powers to Mr. Mxyzptlk’s red kryptonite, and then… uh, don’t look too closely at the cover because there’s a pretty big spoiler there. Also out of print but easy to find.
That’s it so far. I’ll continue when we’ve accumulated enough storylines to justify it, so in like ten years.