The Death and Return of Superman: Omnibus

Superman (1987) #73-82

by Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Jerry Ordway

For the first time, the historic story of the death and return of Superman is collected in one massive, 784-page hardcover volume featuring an all-new cover by pivotal creator Dan Jurgens, timed to coincide with the 15th anniversary of the event! THE DEATH AND RETURN OF SUPERMAN OMNIBUS includes the best-selling trade paperbacks THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN and THE RETURN OF SUPERMAN, as well as portions of WORLD WITHOUT A SUPERMAN, plus 40 pages of bonus extras including promotional material and product spotlights.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superman, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

784 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, and Booster Gold. Jurgens had a lengthy run on the Superman comic books including The Adventures of Superman, Superman vol. 2 and Action Comics. At Marvel, Jurgens worked on series such as Captain America, The Sensational Spider-Man and was the writer on Thor for six years. He also had a brief run as writer and artist on Solar for Valiant Comics in 1995.

Reviews

[paper0r0ss0 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una super delusione. Fumettone moscio senza nessuna originalita' o colpo di scena degno di questo nome. Deprimente oltre ogni limite e non per l'ovvia reazione alla dipartita del decano dei supereroi ma per la noia senza fine.

[Javier Muñoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta reseña contiene spoilers

Megatochal que incluye todo el material asociado a la etapa de la muerte de superman y los posteriores funeral por un amigo y el reinado de los superhombres...

Durante años me he resistido a leer esta etapa por varias razones... la principal de las cuales es que para mi representa las peores características asociadas al cómic norteamericano de superhéroes. Esta etapa fue una jugada de DC para revitalizar unas colecciones que andaban muy mal en ventas, sin grandes ideas, sin cambio de equipos creativos por otros mejores, simplemente matar a superman en una pelea de puñetazos que dura ¿4, 5 números? y, después del preceptivo funeral, plantear una serie de sucesores para al final quitárselos todos de en medio y recuperar al auténtico y genuino superman... en el transcurso de todo esto pasaron siete u ocho meses de muy buenas ventas, unos 30 números repartidos entre tres colecciones, terminamos viendo como en un concurso de popularidad un superman con gafas de sol, otro con chupa de cuero, otro con armadura y martillo, otro ciborg, otro con el pelo largo, el pecholobo al descubierto y disparando dos metralletas... y en el proceso se consiguió que nadie más se volviera a creer la muerte de un superheroe.

Pero el caso es que he encontrado cosas positivas en esta etapa, aún con la epica al 11, el combate contra doomsday y el reinado de los superhombres me han parecido bastante entretenidos, la destrucción de coast city fue un hito muy importante en la continuidad DC postcrisis y esta etapa ha aportado un supervillano que luego ha dado mucho juego.

En cuanto al dibujo tiene sus momentos, pero la lacra que suponen los números de Bogdanove es muy difícil de compensar.

[Marco Antonio di Forelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pesar de que la calidad de la historia no es la gran cosa, sobre todo a partir de la segunda mitad, y que la trama de los posibles Supermanes sustitutos podría haberse manejado mejor, tengo que reconocerle a este tomo el ser el único que me ha hecho llorar por el fallecimiento de un personaje.

[Andrew Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this comic when I was back in high school. I appreciated the comic back then, and I've come to appreciate many of the same and some different elements of the story now. This comic did a really good job showing the heart, character, and morals of Superman, which is oftentimes lost and overlooked in modern comics (and society in general). I admit that I teared up a few times during the aftermath of Superman's death. The cohesive plot at the end was also interesting (with some minor drawbacks).
There were a lot of parts that I really liked about this story arc, but there were also some elements of the comic aren't as good as the others (like the Jonathan Kent hallucinations or the villain still wanting revenge against Superman even though he was already dead). The comic was also not very well organized; I lost count of how many comics "revealed" that there were now 4 supermen running around Metropolis.
Overall, this is a good comic and worth the read.

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

la yo de hace un par de años que se reía de la sola idea de superman por parecerle un panoli (por influencia de todas las películas que se empeñan a representarle así) se reiría también de mí por los lagrimones que he soltado con esto 😚✌️

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not going to stand here and say this is perfect or even one of supermans best stories but its definitely my favourite.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jamás leí esta edición y admito que en una relectura actual muy probablemente bajaría mínimo una estrella. Pero la nostalgia es la nostalgia, y hasta que no retome el libro como el adulto amargo que soy hoy, en mis recuerdos sigue siendo una historietaza, sobre todo por el período correspondiente al Reinado de los Supermanes (que, si no me equivoco, está incluido en su totalidad acá).

[Andre Piucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Eu gostaria muito que a violência não fosse necessária mas, às vezes, ela é o preço a se pagar por um bem maior."

[Bryan Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peak. One of the best comic stories I’ve read yet

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

First I want to comment on the quality of the book. It sucks. The pages are similar to newspaper and the binding is so weak it crack and broke apart half way through the book. If that's not bad enough all the covers were separated from the actual issues. The covers are located at the end of the book, thumbnail sized. When I looked this book up on Amazon for the price it was listed as $138. Back in 2007 I paid way less for this book, hardcover, thank God. (Yes, shame on me for taking over 10 years to finally read it cover to cover.) If you spend that much know that the quality doesn't make it worth over a hundred dollars. Ridiculous! Especially when you remove the covers and print them so tiny!! Are you kidding me?! Ok. Rant aside. This wasn't their best story line. At times the story seemed tedious and inconsistent. It's obvious they were trying to stretch it out as many issues as possible to make money. I hate what they did with the Matrix/ Supergirl character- a young women who can't make her own choices and blindly obeys a man who comes across as abusive. It drove me nutty how disloyal Lois was too. Clark is assumed dead after a month and it's perfectly alright for her character to be dating and kissing another guy? Where's the mourning period? I feel the writers had a low opinion on women if you ask me... It just wasn't the story for me. But if you have to get this book, please find it cheaper than $138. It's just not right for it to cost that much.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

My big gripe: They cut out ALMOST ALL of the Funeral storyline. The Lois mourning and Pa losing his mind parts remain, but otherwise, the the "Funeral For a Friend" storyline appears to be only 3-4 parts long (despite a cover gallery for all nine chapters). You see the immediate aftermath, Guardian et al. trying to resuscitate Superman, and the funeral, and then it skims just the Lois/Pa stuff and goes directly to Pa's heart attack.

Amazingly, the story still reads very well despite the cuts. Not perfectly, but well.

Otherwise, it's a well-done book, and the story holds up very well. The fight is long, yeah, but it's a huge fight. It should be long, to see how much it really takes to bring Superman down. The Reign saga has great twists and the characters are all very well developed. It was great to read Karl Kesel writing Superboy again.

[Adrián · Rating 4 out of 5]

La muerte de Superman fue un momento único. El gran héroe de Estados Unidos muere frente a un monstruo diseñado para ello, Doomsday. Tras ello queda la gran pregunta, ¿ahora qué?

Un funeral y la conmoción del Universo DC no fueron suficientes para la gran pregunta ¿cuándo volverá? Algún día, pero quedaba esperar. Y no podía volver de cualquier manera. De hecho, llegan nada más y nada menos que cuatro seres todo poderosos para hacerse con su puesto. ¿Lo es alguno? El Reino de los Superhombres queda para ver qué es lo que convierte a Superman en un héroe más allá de sus poderes. Una historia épica, de momentos de gran emoción y que sirvió para que el personaje volviese a relanzarse con fuerza.

[Sotofunkdamental · Rating 4 out of 5]

En 1992 DC realizó una jugada de marketing de la que todos los medios de comunicación hablarían: la muerte de Superman. Estos números recogen una etapa imprescindible del personaje, con su muerte en una batalla con Doomsday, seguido del reinado de los superhombres y la posterior resurrección y vuelta de Superman.

[Jacob Provenzano · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most epic things I’ve ever read in my entire life.
An Altman-esque mosaic of people dealing with a gaping hole left in their lives. So many different plots intertwining and converging. So many characters coming in and out of play, people wanting to do good, wanting to do bad, trying to survive.

Huge in every sense of the word.

[Alec Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what all Superman comics should be like. An enormous, character driven epic with loads of side stories and a complicated plot.

[John Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

Best thing I can say about it is… I bet it sold a lot of comics.

[mayleh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Nossa incrível, muito importante na história do superman, chorei muito, fiquei bastante cansada de quão longo foi isso.

[Richie Cheese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clark they truly could never make me hate you

[Nestor Navarro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Para ser un hecho tan importante y central del comic, la história deja mucho que desear. Y los superheroes que eligieron para que aparezcan de cuarta. No entiendo como no se pudieron esforzar mas.

[Jeane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Blast from my past, I haven't read these comics since I was in 5th grade, what 1992? wow! I totally remember all the different Supermen being introduced, and the whole "Who's the real Superman" tag lines! Re-reading all this now almost 20 years later was quite the experience for me. Some much of it I can't believe I still remember! Of course it just goes to show that you may only remember the good cause I don't remember a lot of the boring drama stuff.

Here's the thing, I hate drama in comic books or novelizations of comic book characters. I know that sounds totally crash and emotionless, but I read novels for drama all the time. I read comic books to escape that drama; and okay fine, a little drama dappled here and there is great, because it usually humanizes a character that is well not human. I would say the first half of this HUGE graphic novel (took me over a month to read it all, of course bit by bit everyday, still, I think it was 500+ pages) was awesome, I was totally hooked by the fight with Doomsday, I loved every page turning panel of it. Then Superman died, (not ruining anything here, it's in the title) and the comic started a slow walk down the hill. First an issue of Lois Lane walking around aimlessly, then, Jimmy sitting down thinking for a whole other issue, then whatever the boring issue where there was a dream sequence with Clark's dad. boring boring boring. I know I am a cold crass bitch, but blah!!! Boring! then the new supermen came into the picture and I thought oh ok, here we go! but even that, after then basically introduced them all was mediocre. By now I just wanted it to end, besides it was already way overdue at the library, so I pushed through and just nothing was as good as the first half of the novel...so oh well, there were some good parts here and there and I especially loved Steel. The out come was that the death of Superman was way better then the return, and I still don't know ultimately what happens to Doomsday, guess I'll look it up.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comics in the 90s get a bum rep. Sure, I may be slightly bias because this was the era of my youth and I grew up reading stories like Reign of the Supermen in between dips in the pool and riding my bike. I acquired this massive omnibus which tells the tale of the death and return of DC's most prolific hero a few years ago when it was released, but didn't decide to buckle down and re-read it until the recent Man of Steel film came out. I'm happy to report that the stories of my childhood are not tarnished and withered with age (well, some, but not this one). Collected as one, giant story, I really grew to appreciate what Dan Jurgens and the rest of the Super team did with the last son of Krypton during this arc. It is a multilayered, important story that shows the worth of a superhero to his community. Yes, much of the dialogue would be considered dated by today's superior standards (mainly anytime Superboy talks), but the plot is always moving forward, leaving the dated verbiage less impactful. The opening section with Doomsday is still chilling and leaves this reader hoping that a live-action film in the future will attempt to tackle one of Superman's most ferocious enemies. The middle portion of the story sees the effect that Kal-El's death takes on his friends and family (and is probably the weakest). Finally, we move into the aforementioned Reign storyline, which still serves as my favorite. It introduced us to a number of current DC mainstays, including Superboy, Steel and the ominous Cyborg Superman, Hank Henshaw. Overall, it's obvious that these stories will not stand the test of time in the same way the more modern, in-your-face yarns that have followed it will, but they are important stepping stones that led the way to what we currently have in place: the Golden Era of comic book storytelling.

[Salvatore Pulvirenti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non so se sono io o se è colpa sua. Il giudizio va a stento a prendere tre stelline.
Cominciamo dal fatto che l'edizione è sontuosa, un cartonato di 745 pagine per un fumetto (ok, una raccolta di fumetti) non è cosa che si trova tutti in giorni.
Ci sono anche dei gadget e questo certo impreziosisce il tutto.
Naturale quindi che l'aspettativa sia alta sulla qualità generale dell'opera.

Arrivati alla fine però nascono tante domande. E' tutto chiaro? Ci sono "buchi" nella narrazione? Tutto ha un senso?
E la risposta purtroppo è no.
Tante spiegazioni vengono fuori attraverso flashback e questo spiazza (negativamente) il lettore, secondo me. Gli impedisce di fare quel giochino scopro/non scopro della trama che alla fine costituisce il sale della lettura. Molte spiegazioni sono impossibili da ricavare senza tali flashback. Flashback tra l'altro resi molto male. Raccontati, piuttosto che interpretati.
I cattivi sono ridicoli, hanno pochissimo spessore e anche le botte di egoismo e di prepotenza si basano sull'argilla.
No, molto deludente per l'aspetto narrativo.
I disegni, buona (non ottima) qualità, in pieno stile DC.
Ma la cosa che davvero butta nello sconforto è il lettering...dove lo hanno fatto? In Spagna?
E il peggio deve ancora venire. Al di là di parole sbagliate e sillabe a capo mal divise nei fumetti, la cosa si reitera anche nell'introduzione e nei commenti finali.

Per concludere, una storia poco sopra la norma, con colpi di scena banali o inspiegabili o banalizzati e una cattivissima versione italiana.
Come uccidere definitivamente Superman....

Molto utili i commenti di apertura e chiusura perchè spiegano il contesto in cui la (le) saga (saghe) sono state costruite dalla DC e anche questo in buona parte contribuisce a giustificare qualcosa in più e quindi a risollevare la valutazione finale.

[Mbobish · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all, this series was very well-written. The notorious "Death Issue" was particularly good, using large, powerful images to express Superman's struggle with Doomsday in a way that relentless exposition could not. The inclusion of the four Supermen was also a novel twist, although their portrayals were a bit uneven (the Superboy character was particularly irritating). The Deus Ex Machina return of the real Superman was a little too convenient for me, but hey, any return-from-the-grave storyline is going to be somewhat unrealistic, right?

My only problem with this series is the same that many people had: DC Comics decided to destroy their most beloved character to spike sales. I do understand their perspective (outlined in great detail in the Introduction and Afterword of this collection): their business is making money, and this death storyline succeeded in that regard. However, Superman to me (and to many other people) was an iconic character who symbolized much more than a typical comic storyline. To see his death used as a marketing ploy tarnished this image to me.

I definitely recommend this book to comic fans. It's worth a read, even if it ends up changing your perspective on this character a bit.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an inconsistent and meandering book, but glad I finally dove in after 20 years of putting it off. The first part is exciting, just seeing Doomsday go through a few issues of destruction leading up to Superman's death. However, no where in the 900ish pages do we learn anything about Doomsday or his motives. But we have whole issues devoted to Pa Kent's dreams, and Lois and Jimmy being sad and then more sad. I did find it interesting to see how the four "new" Supermen came to be and that whole arc was engaging. It did go on an issue or two too long (not an accident, I'm sure sales were insane) but added some excitement to a long spell of dry Superman stories previous to the book.

And yes, the book screams mid-nineties in design, lettering, art and everything else. In fact, I love Supe's Dennis Miller haircut at the end.

[Eduardo Martínez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Resumiendo muy mucho, que malos fueron los 90 para según que cosas (ese Superman con pelo largo que no hay por donde cogerlo). Para lo que tendría que haber sido un acontecimiento histórico, DC hizo un alarde total de mediocridad en todos los sentidos. Dibujantes mediocres y guiones mediocres. Y ojo, que no digo que sean unos cómics aburridos, que para pasar el rato sirven, pero nada más allá. En fin, totalmente olvidable.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brings me back to my initial comic obsession, but the Death and Return of Superman really meant a lot to me, a time ago.

After 10 years or so, this still holds up, basically. The Death and Return is overwrought with melodrama at times, but still manages to convey the importance of the event.

This is a fitting end and rebirth for Superman.

[Philip Marcil · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!!!
Je suis un grand fan de Superman mais pour une raison que j'ignore je n'avais encore jamais lu The Death of Superman. Toute l'equipe derriere Superman ont fait un travail collossale pour redonner un boost a cette franchise. Si vous etes un fan de Superman et que vous n,avez jamais lu The death and return of Superman.. go allez-y!

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most of my friends, I considered this a publicity stunt at the time, but I have to say that's a bit unfair. There really is a lot of story here. It gets bogged down in places, and seems dated occasionally, but it really does function well on a lot of levels, has a nice sense of mystery, and resolves nicely.

[Hainsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some how I remember the MoS being down longer and Steel and Superboy carrying the mantle a little longer. Hard to say a 900 page comic book compilation feels rushed. And yet... Still - I didn't hate my return to the early 90s. Still hate the mullet though.

[Alejandra Cosío · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leí la historieta, los gráficos son espectaculares, pero la historia... Hay 3 diálogos que me hicieron todo el contexto y son el fondo, los demás me dejo mucho que desear. Quizá es que me acostumbré a encontrar fondo en todo como en V for Vendetta o Watchmen, este es más de entretenimiento