Superman: Escape from Bizarro World

Geoff Johns présente Superman #2

by Geoff Johns, Eric Powell (Illustrator), Richard Donner

Bizarro, the twisted, imperfect duplicate of Superman, has taken Pa Kent to Bizarro World -- and only Superman has a chance of rescuing him!

On this cubic world, populated by Bizarro versions of the Justice League of America, Lois Lane and more, Superman must stop Bizarro's tormented, Frankenstein-like rampage long enough to get away -- but will Bizarro versions of Doomsday and other evildoers prove to be too much for Superman? This volume also includes several classic tales of Bizarro that served as inspiration for modern stories of that doomed world.

Collects ACTION COMICS #855-857, SUPERMAN #140, DC COMICS PRESENTS #71 and MAN OF STEEL #5

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

160 pages, Hardcover

First published June 3, 2008

About the author

Geoff Johns originally hails from Detroit, Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in Media Arts and Film. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s in search of work within the film industry. Through perseverance, Geoff ended up as the assistant to Richard Donner, working on Conspiracy Theory and Lethal Weapon 4. During that time, he also began his comics career writing Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and JSA (co-written with David S. Goyer) for DC Comics. He worked with Richard Donner for four years, leaving the company to pursue writing full-time.

His first comics assignments led to a critically acclaimed five-year run on the The Flash. Since then, he has quickly become one of the most popular and prolific comics writers today, working on such titles including a highly successful re-imagining of Green Lantern, Action Comics (co-written with Richard Donner), Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, Infinite Crisis and the experimental breakout hit series 52 for DC with Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid. Geoff received the Wizard Fan Award for Breakout Talent of 2002 and Writer of the Year for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 as well as the CBG Writer of the Year 2003 thru 2005, 2007 and CBG Best Comic Book Series for JSA 2001 thru 2005. Geoff also developed BLADE: THE SERIES with David S. Goyer, as well as penned the acclaimed “Legion” episode of SMALLVILLE. He also served as staff writer for the fourth season of ROBOT CHICKEN.

Geoff recently became a New York Times Bestselling author with the graphic novel Superman: Brainiac with art by Gary Frank.

Reviews

[Donovan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me am disappointed. Three issues of nonsense so irrelevant, inconsistent, and pointless that they fail to be even remotely silly or entertaining. Followed by three issues of padding—other Bizarro tales not written by Johns. Great artwork by Eric Powell can’t save this utter futility.

[Artemy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story is almost exactly the same as the one about Bizarro from All-Star Superman. I liked Morrison's take better, as Johns's stuff felt overlong and a bit too shallow, not to mention that Supes himself here was kind of an ass — definitely not a highlight of his Action Comics run, even despite Eric Powell's brilliant artwork. If you want better Bizarro stories, check out All-Star and overlooked but excellent Bizarro.

P.S. It really baffles me that the collected version of this volume only has three issues of Johns's comics and is padded by three more issues from 60's-80's, while Action comics #864 and #865 by Johns were never reprinted ANYWHERE. Why not put them here, DC?

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Bizarro stories are silly, the only thing that saves them is if you smiled and enjoyed the silliness that you read. You most definitely do in this book.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bizarro has been rejected by the inhabitants of his own Bizarro World. So he seeks some fatherly wisdom from the closest thing he has to a father—Jonathan Kent. Superman travels to Bizarro World to rescue his kidnapped dad and...

And that's pretty much the extent of the plot. No real twists or Just a few chuckle-worthy moments for those of us who enjoy Bizarro's shtick (waves hand). The main story is a quick read, at only three issues. Plus the majority of Bizarro's backwards-speak is scrapped, so readers don't waste any time trying to decipher world bubbles. That is, until you reach the classic Bizarro tales that are tacked on at the end. Is it just me, or are comics from the 60's a chore to get through?

However Johns does give us something interesting to chew on. It appears that this version of Bizarro has been trying to better his world by stopping disasters and thwarting crime. Of course on Bizarro World the citizens want these terrible things to happen, and so they turn against their hero. Only when they witness Bizarro defeat Superman in a somewhat staged battle do they embrace him once again. As Superman flies away with Pa Kent in hand, Bizarro actually uses the word "goodbye" in the proper context. Is Bizarro changing? Is he actually getting smarter? It's nothing groundbreaking, just a neat little detail in an otherwise straightforward story.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest Geoff Johns just writes like the first half of the book and the others are stories about Bizarro from various years of DC publication, it looked fine but I wasn't that Interested in reading them, they seemed good and fun and of the times. But this story was epic, focusing on Clark's father being taken somewhere by Bizarro and so to rescue him Superman goes to this Bizarro world called Htrae and as he lands here he sees everything is twisted here and Bizarro gets new power to make some zombie clones of himself of other people he knows and thus begins Superman's quest to find his father, battle these people, battle multiple versions of Bizarro who have strange powers and even fight a new version of doomsday and by the end helps Bizarro and get him accepted by his people as their #1 hero. Its a really good and funny and bizarre and weird and sarcastic story but at the same time also tragic if you look at Bizarro from that POV. Its not the greatest story but is a quick fun read and shows why Clark is the best and always there to help people and his relationship with his father and why he is superman because of the values and teachings he learnt from him and the art was decent. Overall a good and short read!

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too often I find Superman tales either too serious or just boring. He's not my favorite superhero simply because he's too all-powerful and hard to take down - hence no suspense.
However, the more light-hearted Superman stories from the past featuring Mr Mzytyplx (I know it's spelled wrong, but I think you know who I mean) and Bizarro are often amusing and entertaining. Pair up a great superhero comics writer like Geoff Johns and an imaginative and quirky illustrator like Eric Powell -- and you have magic.
Johns (with an assist from movie producer Richard Donner) spins a good tale where Pa Kent is abducted to the Bizarro planet and Superman needs to rescue him. I love the cartoony take on standard Superman images from Powell's pencils, and the caricature-like facial expressions he places on the Man of Steel are classic and unlike anything I've seen before.
Pairing the original story up with reprints of some classic Bizarro tales from Superman's earlier days makes this an above-average trade paperback, and a cool introduction to a funny character in the Superman canon.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book with more than just the most current story, Escape From Bizarre World. It has a Robust historical perspective on the Superman/Bizarro relationship. The thing that stands out most, for me, is how out of place the 1986 reintroduction of Bizarro seems now. It has all the elements of forced overthinking of characters. The shame filled need to make them more logical so that they are relevant for reintroduction to a new audience stands out like hot pink leg warmers in today's athletic clubs.

This book did leave me wondering why this character has been ostracized from adaptation on the big screen. Seeing Bizarro on the movie screen would be a nice alternative to continually seeing Superman deal with Lex Luthor or General Zod.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bizarro is this odd Frankenstein-type clone of Superman who says and means the opposite of everything he says so instead of "Hello" he says "Goodbye" and when he sets out to "destroy the world" he really means to "Save it" and so on. It can get a bit annoying.

I've never really seen Bizarro as such a great character but Geoff Johns joins Richard Donner to script an ok 75 page story where Bizarro kidnaps Jonathan Kent and takes him to Bizarro world and its up to Superman to save him. The excellent Eric Powell draws it and it's his brilliant art that makes the story distinctive. If you're a reader of his "Goon" series (and if not, why not?) you'll know he's good at drawing undead-type creatures which works here as most of the BIzarros look like zombies.

"Escape from Bizarro World" dusts off an old (and strangely to some, beloved) character and gives him another airing. Frankly, I'm not one of BIzarro's fans, the character and everything about him always seemed like a drunken joke and a one note character that's gone on way longer than it should have. But then Bizarro fans might like this (or to use Bizarro speak, they am hate it so much). Also included are several past issues from the 70s and 80s where Bizarro popped up in Superman's world.

[Bryan Fischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why this book has such mixed reviews as it is split into 2 very different sections.
The actual story itself is a short 3 issue Bizarro World tale. I quite enjoyed the art style but the story was middle of the road, although I do love how Johns writes Bizarro’s dialogue.
Then there are 5 Bizarro back issues included from 1960-1986 which are accompanied by short descriptions and thoughts from Johns. Although I don’t love the older style of comics, I enjoyed many moments throughout the issues.
I actually really like this concept and would like more of this. A new short Villain/character/concept arc, with the writers (or artists) influences included as back ups. I got a further appreciation of the character and got to see his evolution over the years.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superman: Escape from Bizarro World

Bizarro - the imperfect, backwards, clone of Superman - has kidnapped Jonathan Kent and taken him to Bizarro World. Superman is warned by the Jor-El matrix at the Fortress of Solitude that travelling to a world with a blue sun may give him unexpected and uncontrollable power, but Clark must save his father at any cost.

Lovely artwork and a good exploration of a father/son relationship make this a unique story, which is supplemented by some classic Bizarro tales from Superman's past.

[Kent Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bizarro can be a difficult character to enjoy. It takes some effort to stick with his 'backwards' speak. But the main feature in this book does a good job of keeping it a little easier to decipher. And I like how they kept Bizarro as the 'not actually evil, just confused' version. Like Superman mentions in the story, he truly thinks he IS Superman so he's trying to do good. It's just the Bizarro kind of good. The reprints are fun too.

[Benjamin Pritchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story just frustrating reading Bizarro 😅

[Samdenney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bizarro will never be my favourite scenario for comics. For me, it too often strays onto the wrong side of the "stupid/awesome" line. Most of the stories I've read have been semi-impenetrable bores, culminating in the huge disappointment of the 2-issue Superman/Batman story that was part of the Blackest Night event. I'm a big fan of the book, but even that couldn't bring Bizarro to life for me.

It felt like the same thing was happening as I read the main story from this collection. I just couldn't warm to the story for the first couple of issues. But, by the third, Geoff Johns et al were really grabbing my attention. Things transformed from stupid to awesome right around the time the Fat Flash turned up, and I finally started to enjoy the Bizarro universe. I guess I hadn't read any stories that made it seem fun until that point.

I loved how Pa Kent brought out the best in Superman. While the story starts as a daft comic about opposite-world, there are some great moments of tenderness between father and son. You begin to realise that a lot of Superman's humanity is down to his human parents. The childhood scenes sprinkled throughout are very well done; touching, believable, sweet and funny.

Things get more epic towards the end of the tale, and watching Superman play the villain (because on Bizarro world that's what he has to do to be the good guy) works really well.

The rest of the book is padded out with older reprints, a kind of whirlwind tour of "Bizarro Through the Years." I love the way the Bizarros are drawn in The Son of Bizarro, but can't say anything good about the story. It's a typical piece of 60s comic book fluff with a weirdly unsentimental tone.

The Mark of Bizarro is an 80s tale. 20 years on from the previous example, the writing gets slightly better and the art gets slightly worse.

Finally, The Mirror, Crack'd is, as Johns writes in the preface, a "Frankenstein-like" take on Bizarro. There's no backwards dialogue, no square planet, just a tragic figure in a tragic tale that really grips. Bizarro as monster works remarkably well, with echoes of Frankenstein and King Kong in the redemptive final showdown.

After reading this collection, I wouldn't go so far as to call myself converted to Bizarro's charms, but I certainly enjoyed them. I'm convinced that, in the right circumstances, there are more great stories to be told in this odd corner of the DCU.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

After coming across Bizarro and the Bizarro World in a different Superman graphic novel I recently read, I couldn't resist picking this one up when it came through at the library. I've become rather fascinated by this character. Geoff Johns--in one of his introductions to the older comics compiled after "Escape from Bizarro World"--described Bizarro as comic relief, an antihero, and a tragic figure. There is no way I could explain him any better. Depending on the story, he can slip into any one of those roles. How cool is that one character can fill so many archetypes? My favorite story was definitely the title comic, written by Johns. Not only did he do an excellent job telling a Bizarro story--with just the right amount of comic opposite-ness and relatable outsider-ness--but he also brilliantly captured the relationship between Clark and Jonathan Kent. Those flashbacks were easily my favorite moments. I've written in other reviews about how I love familial themes, and this story definitely had those, but not at the expense of solid action and good old-fashioned comic book storytelling. The older comics afterward were also a nice touch. I enjoyed seeing Bizarro's roots, as well as the different ways he had been used in stories before. In short: Me am not impressed with Bizzaro!

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four stories featuring Bizarro, the imperfect duplicate of Superman who creates Bizarro World where everything is required to be the opposite of Earth.
In the title story, Bizarro kidnaps Jonathan Kent and takes him to Bizarro world, forcing Superman to attempt a rescue from the topsy turvy cube-shaped planet. Then we get to meet Bizarro's perfectly normal son, Bizarro Superbaby, before getting a story in which Bizarro Amazo travels to Earth to grant powers to ordinary humans. Finally, we get the post-Crisis reimagining of Bizarro as a Frankenstein('s Monster)-esque creation at the hands of Lex Luthor.

Bizarro is a goofy joke character that somehow has stood the test of time and here it's made clear that the reason the character is still around is that, despite his silly nature, there's something of a melancholy loneliness to the character. This undertone of tragedy is what makes the otherwise stupid character somewhat engaging and John and Donner focus in on that in their story here.

Each of the ensuing stories continues the themes that Bizarro isn't a villain, he's just different and that's this book's strong point.
Obviously this book's weak point is that Bizarro is a goofy joke character and his Bizarro-speak rapidly becomes grating.

This book isn't great but, honestly, it was much better than I was expecting.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been enjoying some of Geoff John’s Superman run and this one looks like it started off the whole thing. This collection has the first 3 issues of Geoff John’s Action Comics run, and then three classic appearances of Bizarro from different eras.

The Geoff Johns story is good, but not as good as the stuff that came after; the Legion story and the Brainiac story. In this, Bizarro flies to Earth to steal Pa Kent because he had no father and wanted that father figure in his life. So Superman has to fly to Bizarro World to save him. I keep thinking I love Bizarro, but most of his stories I tend to get tried of the schtick before the issue is over. This was the same. I liked it, and Eric Powell’s art is cool, but I grew tired of the Bizarro shenanigans by the end of the third issue.

The classic stories are good too. All in different eras, there’s one from the 50s, one from the 70s, and one from the 80s. I’m surprised his first appearance isn’t included now that I think about it.

If you like Bizarro this is a pretty good collection.

[Nate]

The last of Johns’ Superman books I’m reading, this one co-written with Richard Donner like Last Son. It’s probably the weakest arc of his run though I still enjoyed it. Yes, there’s lots of Bizarro speech, but it’s not always backwards and the story has several touching moments. These moments are mainly between Superman and Pa Kent - whose abduction by Bizarro sets the story in motion - but also with Bizarro himself. Then there’s the great part when Pa punches Bizarro Doomsday and says, “That’s for killing my son in the first place.” I like Eric Powell’s art, too. It suits the darker look of Bizarro World.

DC made the decision to pad this volume out with three Bizarro-related reprints. None of them are bad (John Byrne’s Man of Steel issue being the best), but with only three issues of the main story, this book is not very satisfying from a publishing standpoint.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised by this comic in a way I wasn't expecting. Bizarro is one of those Superman villains that I actually find kind of dull because of how gimmicky he is. But the story here manages not only to make him compelling but also sympathetic. The writing for Superman and Pa Kent is also really really good.
It's a comic as driven by the grotesque as it is by pathos, as horrifying as it is funny (I laughed out loud multiple times). Its a delicate balance and the credit goes to Eric Powell for striking that balance. This is honestly one of those comics where the illustrator is doing as much work to tell the story as the writers are.
Simply, phenomenal.

[David Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johns, as is so often the case, plays the repentant tyrant god who somehow wants to both trash all the toys and leave them in mint condition in the box.

Donner, Powell and your old pal Bizarro conspire to help him work out these conflicting impulses in a way that is more charming than you might expect here.

If you could use Bizarro speak to suggest mixed emotions here I would do it, but suspect that the creators of this comic got there first.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of Bizarro but this was decent, harmless, silver-age type of story that showed where Clark gets his humanity from. Johns does a really good job humanizing non-humans. Eric Powell's art is a really good match for this type of story and not the norm for a Superman story. There were also 3 Bizarro tales from the past collected here showcasing that Bizarro stories haven't changed much. Overall, a solid Bizarro story.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Christ, I hate Bizarro. A few very nice scenes with Clark and his pa, and Powell's art is terrific (there's a great background gag of a Bizarro about to hang itself toward the end of the arc), but I freaking hate Bizarro and Bizarro-speak. The story was thin and incredibly hard to plow through given how annoying the dialogue is.

The back-up stories were massive, massive chores to get through.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

It’s hard to tell a Bizarro tale because it has to star bizarre and end bizarre and be full of nothing but bizarre. Geoff Johns and Richard Donner do an incredible job here. I’m not sure I’m the biggest fan of Eric Powell’s artwork in this but overall this is a good read. At moments it feels to progress slowly, but the ending few pages makes it well worth it.

[Luke Griffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A stylish and quirky Superman story with standout artwork from Eric Powell. The art perfectly captures the strange logic of Bizarro World and is easily the highlight. While the concept is fun, Bizarro himself doesn’t do much for me, which holds the story back. Worth a look for the visuals, but not essential.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric Powell art don’t hurt. Still, this was a fun reflection on Pa Kent and his relationship to his son. Given that I am reading all this stuff as a lead up to rewatching Man of Steel, it is great to see Johns succeed here in what I feel was the film’s greatest failure (of many).

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cool idea. But the art isn’t great and it kinda drags for a bit. The Bizarro trope is taken a little too far. Geoff Johns kinda makes it work. It’s the weakest story in his entire Superman run.

[Rhiannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very silly but it was fun! I enjoyed escape from Bizarroworld and the Mirror Crack’d but didn’t really care for the middle story about the son of Bizarro. I can definitely see the influence with the last story in particular with how Ultraman was approached in the new film.

[Alek Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

It read like fan fiction. And reading bizarro language made my head hurt.

[Kevin Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me hate Bizarro stories.

[Mark Magee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the relationship between Pa Kent and Superman.

[Joe Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story 3.5ish. Art is great 4.5