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Superman: The Man of Steel (Collected Editions) #8
Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 8
Superman's 1980s adventures continue in this eighth collection of stories from writer/artist John Byrne and others. This latest volume includes the introduction of the super-hero tracking government agency known as Checkmate, as well as appearances by Wonder Woman, Batman's foe Man-Bat and others. Collects ACTION COMICS #598-600, SUPERMAN #16-18 and ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #439-440.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 7, 2014
12 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
John Byrne
2,954 books359 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 19, 2019
Superman teams up with Batman, Hawkman, and Hawkgirl while flirting at a romance with Wonder Woman. It's a shame it never went farther than that. I didn't realize John Byrne created Checkmate with Paul Kupperberg. They make an appearance here before graduating into their own book. I'm still not a fan of how Byrne writes Lois as a cold fish. Kudos to Byrne for making Maggie Sawyer an unapologetic lesbian with the confidence to stand up for herself. It may seem commonplace nowadays but that's quite progressive for the 80s.
May 14, 2015
A great look at the classic late 80's, early 90's Superman comics by the legendary John Byrne. These are the style of Superman stories, I read when I was a kid, and I completely enjoyed these classic stories. Featuring Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olson, and Lois Lane trying to start a relationship with someone besides Clark Kent/Superman. With guest appearances by Wonder Woman, Darkseid, Batman, Hawkman, and Hawkwoman, these stories are fun and a nostalgic look at one of the great characters from several decades ago.
January 18, 2019
Well, Superman and Wonder Woman's "first" attempt at romance didn't go exactly as I expected. Beautiful art aside, it was such a strange read. Checkmate is also introduced and they're pretty scary. This was another wacky read overall. The 80s Superman books were certainly bizarre. As a whole, the book has some spectacular art with some super strange plots.
December 1, 2013
Aside from a couple of story arcs, these 1980's Superman stories were absolutely fantastic. Well worth your time to see how Superman should be written.
November 2, 2020
Este tomo recopila las miniseries "World of Smallville" y "World of Metropolis", completando así la visión de Byrne de los lugares que representan a Superman, junto con "World of Krypton", anteriormente publicada. En el caso de la primera, contiene dos historias: una que nos cuenta sobre el primer marido de Martha Kent (intrascendente porque no pasa nada más que eso) y otra que intenta poner en continuidad a Lana Lang como agente Manhunter (entretenida pero se nota demasiado el esfuerzo de retrocontinuidad y se hace reiterativa).
La segunda miniserie contiene cuatro historias conclusivas y si bien son entretenidas, tampoco aportan mucho a los personajes, más allá de algunas anécdotas rápidamente olvidables.
En definitiva, un tomo que sirve para seguir recuperando al completo la etapa de Byrne, pero muy desparejo en contenido.
La segunda miniserie contiene cuatro historias conclusivas y si bien son entretenidas, tampoco aportan mucho a los personajes, más allá de algunas anécdotas rápidamente olvidables.
En definitiva, un tomo que sirve para seguir recuperando al completo la etapa de Byrne, pero muy desparejo en contenido.
September 26, 2023
John Byrne's Superman reboot of the mid-80s continues in this eighth book in the line. I've enjoyed all of these books.
Superman #17 was incredible. I loved his battle with the Banshee, and the whole story had a Marvel feel to it thanks to John Byrne. His defection to DC was a big deal at the time, but back in the '80s I was a company man forbidden to cross the picket line to DC. More fool me.
Action Comics #600 is the highlight of this book. It would be pretty hard to read this issue and not crack a smile. Byrne draws everything except for Wonder Woman, whom George Perez was drawing at the time and draws here. We get a “comic jam” style team-up similar to the All-Star Comics Justice Society stories of the 1940s. Add in Darkseid and you have a can't miss comic clocking in at a whopping 80 pages.
This is a fantastic read.
Superman #17 was incredible. I loved his battle with the Banshee, and the whole story had a Marvel feel to it thanks to John Byrne. His defection to DC was a big deal at the time, but back in the '80s I was a company man forbidden to cross the picket line to DC. More fool me.
Action Comics #600 is the highlight of this book. It would be pretty hard to read this issue and not crack a smile. Byrne draws everything except for Wonder Woman, whom George Perez was drawing at the time and draws here. We get a “comic jam” style team-up similar to the All-Star Comics Justice Society stories of the 1940s. Add in Darkseid and you have a can't miss comic clocking in at a whopping 80 pages.
This is a fantastic read.
September 9, 2025
Another good volume, but not one of the best. I like the art as I always have and the writing is quite good in certain parts.
I found the villain, Prankster, was a pretty goofy and pathetic enemy for Superman.
Over the next few issues, it does improve and the stories get more interesting. The Batman team up was decent, but not as strong as others I have seen. As much as I enjoyed seeing Superman and Wonder Woman together, the end result was a little underwhelming. I quite liked the issue involving Man-Bat but the following final story with Hawkman and Hawkwoman was a bit dry, and both had weak pencils.
Would however still recommend for the right price (this is the rarest book and hardest to find), and am now looking forward to the 9th and final volume!
I found the villain, Prankster, was a pretty goofy and pathetic enemy for Superman.
Over the next few issues, it does improve and the stories get more interesting. The Batman team up was decent, but not as strong as others I have seen. As much as I enjoyed seeing Superman and Wonder Woman together, the end result was a little underwhelming. I quite liked the issue involving Man-Bat but the following final story with Hawkman and Hawkwoman was a bit dry, and both had weak pencils.
Would however still recommend for the right price (this is the rarest book and hardest to find), and am now looking forward to the 9th and final volume!
June 1, 2021
**I've read WAAAAY more than I've had time to review, so... knee-jerk reactions!**
- Solid Superman stories with great character development--nothing less than I'd expect from John Byrne.
- A really cool read as a part of comic history--this featured the 50-year anniversary of Superman. Very interesting to compare and contrast, considering we've hit 80 years and 1,000 issues within the last few years.
- The final issue--where Superman experienced a Kryptonite-induced hallucination of what could have happened to Earth if all of Krypton had been able to migrate there--had some great themes about human (or alien) nature: Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
- Solid Superman stories with great character development--nothing less than I'd expect from John Byrne.
- A really cool read as a part of comic history--this featured the 50-year anniversary of Superman. Very interesting to compare and contrast, considering we've hit 80 years and 1,000 issues within the last few years.
- The final issue--where Superman experienced a Kryptonite-induced hallucination of what could have happened to Earth if all of Krypton had been able to migrate there--had some great themes about human (or alien) nature: Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
September 24, 2024
This is easily a must just for Superman's 50th Anniversary Celebration inside!!!
On top of that, there are great Wonder Woman and Batman moments!
Superman's supporting cast gets some real rough and ugly stories at the start here, but really fun and beautiful ones for them in the rest of this book!
This book is full of creative storytelling that only comics can do specially highlighted with one of DC's best villains of all time and also my personal favorite Batman "villain"!
The nuanced and progressive tone of several of the stories holds up immensely well and feel really new!
On top of that, there are great Wonder Woman and Batman moments!
Superman's supporting cast gets some real rough and ugly stories at the start here, but really fun and beautiful ones for them in the rest of this book!
This book is full of creative storytelling that only comics can do specially highlighted with one of DC's best villains of all time and also my personal favorite Batman "villain"!
The nuanced and progressive tone of several of the stories holds up immensely well and feel really new!
April 28, 2021
Gems include the debut of the post-Crisis Prankster, Superman turned into a robot, Superman & Metal Men v. Luthor, a hilarious jumbling of Irish & Scottish mythology, Supes & Bats deducing each other’s identity, Supes’s & WW’s first date gone awry, & ‘Return to Krypton’
March 10, 2022
A date with Wonder Woman, clashes with the Prankster and Silver Banshee, and a return to Krypton with the help of Hawkman and Hawkwoman. These stories and more fill this volume with super-greatness.
October 20, 2022
So Superman almost got sex? But then didn't. That must be frustrating.
Some really nice Mignola art in this edition.
Some really nice Mignola art in this edition.
October 15, 2023
The writing is pretty chunky by todays standards, but it was fun to revisit. It looked great, too.
January 8, 2019
Took long to read, felt long to read and filled me with more than a little disappointment.
1988 or as it was known for Superman fans as the big 50, fifty years since Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had put their epic superhero to print on Action Comics. So without a doubt, DC Comics was expecting to do something really big for Superman.
It begins with an international crisis that ends up having Superman being used. The Post-Crisis debut of Oswald Loomis/The Prankster. The return of the Metal Men, this time being used by Lex Luthor to destroy Superman. Silver Banshee returns. What appears to be the reincorporation of the character of Supergirl, but if I remember exactly this isn't the Supergirl I loved who died in the Crisis of Infinite Earths.
Added in here is a strange attempt by Lex Luthor to blackmail Maggie Sawyer, further developing the character. Plus a strange fifty-year kryptonite shockwave that is affecting Superman which not only brings him meeting with Man-Bat but the Thanagarian superheroes in Returning him to kryptonite irradiated Krypton where he suffers a fever-dream that becomes a horrible what-if. The what-if? What if Krypton's people had managed to join Kal-El and lived alongside humans for this past couple of years? It is a scary story that supposedly gives a meaning into how glad Superman should be to be raised as a human instead of a Kryptonian. While I value the perspective of assimilation into a more just society, nowadays one would think this is a rejection of immigration, legal or illegal. Well, Reagan and Bush Sr were President at the time, long before a certain popular businessman wanted to Make America Great Again. Nevertheless, a similar held belief.
Still, to assume that Superman rejects Krypton and embraces humanity is this long-held belief - bull#### belief I might add, that Superman should be more man that god. While the Krypton of the Post-Crisis was very stark, cold and emotionless, I feel that humanity can get a bit heady in its opinion of itself and prefer the promise and hope of Krypton in its Pre-Crisis. Jesus in his death and resurrection revealed his glory as well as the salvation of mankind. As Christ was both human and divine, I believe Superman can be both, human and super.
Oh and another reason for such a low rating. Wonder Woman. I love Wonder Woman and I love Superman. I never was a fan of actually having them together but ever since I read Kingdom Come I have been a big fan. Somebody at the time didn't think so, and despite having them together in imaginary, Elseworlds stories that didn't become a part of the main storyline, not to mention Superman's own strong attraction to her, both do not end up together.
Despite that lovely cover of them kissing together with a spaceship in the background - something that had nothing to do with the actual story, nothing came out of it. Well, nothing but awkwardness and a promise to be "Just Friends" and of course a weird story involving Greek Gods and the New Gods of Apocalypse.
I hate when comics tease these silly relationships on their covers that end up going nowhere. Not just DC Comics but also Marvel Comics. Two people are thrown together on the cover because it boosts sales but ends up going nowhere. BUT sometimes it does go somewhere and in 23 years, Super-Wonder fans who read this story and felt such disappointment... WILL HAVE THEIR REVENGE.
"You're Strong." - Man of Steel.
"I Know." - Amazing Amazon.
F.
1988 or as it was known for Superman fans as the big 50, fifty years since Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had put their epic superhero to print on Action Comics. So without a doubt, DC Comics was expecting to do something really big for Superman.
It begins with an international crisis that ends up having Superman being used. The Post-Crisis debut of Oswald Loomis/The Prankster. The return of the Metal Men, this time being used by Lex Luthor to destroy Superman. Silver Banshee returns. What appears to be the reincorporation of the character of Supergirl, but if I remember exactly this isn't the Supergirl I loved who died in the Crisis of Infinite Earths.
Added in here is a strange attempt by Lex Luthor to blackmail Maggie Sawyer, further developing the character. Plus a strange fifty-year kryptonite shockwave that is affecting Superman which not only brings him meeting with Man-Bat but the Thanagarian superheroes in Returning him to kryptonite irradiated Krypton where he suffers a fever-dream that becomes a horrible what-if. The what-if? What if Krypton's people had managed to join Kal-El and lived alongside humans for this past couple of years? It is a scary story that supposedly gives a meaning into how glad Superman should be to be raised as a human instead of a Kryptonian. While I value the perspective of assimilation into a more just society, nowadays one would think this is a rejection of immigration, legal or illegal. Well, Reagan and Bush Sr were President at the time, long before a certain popular businessman wanted to Make America Great Again. Nevertheless, a similar held belief.
Still, to assume that Superman rejects Krypton and embraces humanity is this long-held belief - bull#### belief I might add, that Superman should be more man that god. While the Krypton of the Post-Crisis was very stark, cold and emotionless, I feel that humanity can get a bit heady in its opinion of itself and prefer the promise and hope of Krypton in its Pre-Crisis. Jesus in his death and resurrection revealed his glory as well as the salvation of mankind. As Christ was both human and divine, I believe Superman can be both, human and super.
Oh and another reason for such a low rating. Wonder Woman. I love Wonder Woman and I love Superman. I never was a fan of actually having them together but ever since I read Kingdom Come I have been a big fan. Somebody at the time didn't think so, and despite having them together in imaginary, Elseworlds stories that didn't become a part of the main storyline, not to mention Superman's own strong attraction to her, both do not end up together.
Despite that lovely cover of them kissing together with a spaceship in the background - something that had nothing to do with the actual story, nothing came out of it. Well, nothing but awkwardness and a promise to be "Just Friends" and of course a weird story involving Greek Gods and the New Gods of Apocalypse.
I hate when comics tease these silly relationships on their covers that end up going nowhere. Not just DC Comics but also Marvel Comics. Two people are thrown together on the cover because it boosts sales but ends up going nowhere. BUT sometimes it does go somewhere and in 23 years, Super-Wonder fans who read this story and felt such disappointment... WILL HAVE THEIR REVENGE.
"You're Strong." - Man of Steel.
"I Know." - Amazing Amazon.
F.
November 18, 2025
Showcases a confident and entertaining stretch of Byrne's Superman run that blends big action with deeper character moments and key developments in Superman's post-Crisis mythos.
Superman faces challenges ranging from Lex Luthor's manipulations and the fallout of his duel with Bizarro, to a major confrontation with Braniac and a team-up with Wonder Woman.
The mix of personal stakes world-building, and classic superhero spectacle make this a rewarding and memorable chapter in Byrne's run.
Superman faces challenges ranging from Lex Luthor's manipulations and the fallout of his duel with Bizarro, to a major confrontation with Braniac and a team-up with Wonder Woman.
The mix of personal stakes world-building, and classic superhero spectacle make this a rewarding and memorable chapter in Byrne's run.
June 24, 2015
Rip-roaring good superhero comics.
March 27, 2016
Another great book about Superman. Again, this era of Superman totally makes a man realize how great he really is.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews