Superman: Adventures of the Man of Steel

Superman Adventures

by Scott McCloud, Paul Dini, Rick Burchett (Illustrator)

A compilation of adventures features Superman's battles with Metallo, Brainiac, Livewire, and Lex Luthor.

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

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod) is an American cartoonist and theorist on comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium.

Reviews

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of really wonderful short comics. Inspired by the animated series. I feel like this does a similar thing that All-Star Superman did, really hone in on the key aspects of Superman. More geared for kids and with not a ton of seriousness outside of the characters.

I wanted to check this out because of Scott McCloud and Cartoonist Kayfabe did a video on issue 2. I actually wasn't prepared to read beyond issue 2. He does up to issue 13 and also a 2005 series called Superman Strength - I'll have to read that too.

Great artwork through out.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too often, I read comic omnibuses that contain wonderful artwork and fabulous action sequences...but excessive profanity and quite a few sexual references.

This one was not that way.

As clean as the show that inspired it, this collection of Superman comics was good, clean fun, featuring some of the iconic villains from the '90's cartoon, including Mxyzptlk. If you've already seen Superman: The Animated Series in its entirety, and want more of everyone's favorite Kryptonian, this is for you.

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun weekend read, much in the vein of the animated series which it was based off.

[Saimi Korhonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“And what a name – ‘Superman’! I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to say it without laughing.” – “I like it. Oh, it might be a little grand but I think it gives folks something to believe in."

This book collects short stories about the adventures of Superman, inspired by the classic animated series about Clark Kent, his heroics and his pals. There's battles with Livewire, Lex Luthor and Metallo, as well as fun moments of friendship between Clark, Lois and Jimmy.

It was so much fun reading Superman stories for the first time in a long while. Clark is my favorite (male) hero from the DC universe and this collection, once again, reminded me why. He is humble and he doesn't need people to thank him or even know who Superman, their protector is, and he sees humanity in such a beautiful way (even when people are #theworst). For example, I loved this speech of his to Jimmy about bravery and what it truly means to be brave: “Well… I’d hardly call Superman brave. When you’re as strong as Superman you don’t have to be brave. You want to see real courage, look at someone like Lois. She’s as vulnerable as you or me, but still she goes looking for trouble again and again.” Not only is this super cute (he is crushing on Lois so hard!!!) but it's also lovely because he clearly values human bravery and human resilience. It is not hard for him to be brave because he is nearly unkillable, but for someone like Lois to run head first into danger - it takes a looooot of guts. He is also just, simply, a sweet guy and such a beacon of hope. I love him!

I also love Lois Lane and even though she is never the center of these stories, I still felt like I immediately knew what she was like and vibed with her. I love her headstrong nature and her absolute devotion to her work, even when it is dangerous and difficult, and how unafraid she is to speak out, yell and, in general, be a nuisance. She is a hero in her own right, just as much as Clark: she is an honest, brave, fearless reporter, a chaser of truth and justice. Clark has his super speed and super strength, Lois has her pen. Her and Clark do not interact too much, but I already loved their dynamic – it's the classic, ever-delightful girl boss x himbo team-up. One of my favorite little moments from the book was this exchange between Livewire and Lois: “It seems to me our little community – the world community – has been dominated by men just a little too long.” – “So what else is new?”

The stories were, in terms of plot, not anything too groundbreaking. They usually followed the same standard structure: a strange threat emerges, Clark flies into fight it and often gets help from one of his allies and friends. Lex is often in the background pulling some strings, dreaming of world domination, as he does (that rascal). I think my favorite stories were the one with Brainiac and the one with Livewire. The Brainiac story deals a little bit with Clark's past and heritage, and his desire to preserve and remember Krypton as much as he can. Brainiac (who was there when Krypton fell) wants to steal this orb which houses all knowledge left of Krypton and Clark wants to keep it safe, but he ends up threatening to destroy it himself if Brainiac does not let Lois go and give up his violence: Lois's life is more important to Clark than memories of his home, because Lois - and everyone in Metropolis - are human beings, people who live and breathe - and thus take presedence over the dead thousands of light-years away, even if it hurts Clark. Brainiac is defeated and luckily Clark gets to keep the memories of his home. The Livewire story deals with Livewire's crusade to make the world female-centred and take back power from men who have ruled the world for so long. I like how this story, even though it does feature an unhinged ferocious feminist antagonist, does invite the reader to empathise with her and the experiences of women like the Daily Planet reporter Angela, who has had job opportunities denied to her because of her gender. Even though Livewire is (not a spoiler, I think) defeated, the reader is not guided to feel victorious. Even Clark looks a bit somber as if he knows that by making everything go back to normal, women are once again pushed aside.

I would definitely read more comic books like this, based on the animated series. I love the cartoonish art style and the over-exaggerated designs, and I have such a fondness for the formulaic nature of this kind of storytelling. The stories are fun, vibrant, colourful and full of action. I also want to, at some point, get my hands on the actual animated series as well!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superman from TAS might be my favorite Superman. They just did a darn-good job of writing both Supes and Clark while still telling action-packed stories that kept you on the edge of your seat--and even made you think from time to time. Pretty advanced for a kids' cartoon, and just plain AWESOME. I think I'd read these stories in prior collections, but I loved re-reading them again. (Plus... a Mxy story! What more could I want?)

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but average collection of stories inspired by the late 90's animated series. The finale has a sort of an unfortunate 9/11 parallel (there's a scene with a body falling from a crumbling skyscraper) with Supes initially taking on a squad of bomb-wielding terrorists in the city.

[Abdullrahman Ghaleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

good but iwant more exited stories like Die Hard,Harry POTTER and The Transporter

[Andrew Beet · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked the stories in this book a very enjoyable read and quick to read

[Alber.anwor]

superman

[Sanjana Doobay]

i think that you guys are really anzaming about all the adventures

[Markuanm]

read