Superman: The City of Tomorrow Vol. 1 (Superman

Superman: The City of Tomorrow #1

by Joe Kelly, Jeph Loeb, Mark Millar

A new millennium brings a new era for the Man of Steel, thanks to some of the biggest names in comics! The Son of Mongul debuts! Superman fights his Kryptonian ancestor! Etrigan poses as Santa Claus! Obsession returns-or is it "Mrs. Superman"? If that's not enough, Metropolis gets a major upgrade thanks to Brainiac 13, looking to bring the city into the 64th century! Collects SUPERMAN #151-154, SUPERMAN: Y2K #1, SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #95-98, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #573-576 and ACTION COMICS #760-763.

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

450 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 17, 2019

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a big deal at the time, when all these new creative teams took over the Superman books. I found the stories a bit boring for the most part reading them now. They do lay a lot of groundwork for the big stories to come like Our Worlds at War with Imperiex's first appearance here. It all ends with Metropolis being upgraded to the City of Tomorrow by Braniac 13.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bloated selection of Superman stories that vary in quality. Big Blue is fairly well depicted for the most part, as are supporting characters, but it lacks charm and flow when it comes to overall execution. The first half has no real narrative structure, whilst the second relays an event that sees Brainiac infiltrate Metropolis, which, quite frankly, is a chore to get through. Despite the big names attached, it simply doesn't work as a collection and should be skipped by those who aren't already heavily invested in the character.

actual rating 2.5 stars

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love superman but these are just standard stories that none really link. Joe Kelly's probably the strongest of the bunch simply because he has a fun Clark Kent. I also liked some of Loeb storylines even if the characters lacked...something. Morrison's Superman is pretty terrible. Overall, not horrible but kind of boring. A 2.5 out of 5.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

It’s easy to imagine Superman’s life without ever really following him around. With his powers, there’s nothing more you can do than imagine him flying around the city saving kittens from tall trees and beating bad guys whenever they forget the beating they’re doomed to receive. Under his superhero persona, however, lies a man like any other, working a decent job and trying to juggle serious life issues, like what Christmas gift he should get for his beloved wife. Unfortunately, his daily life is far messier, from engaging alien threats to elucidating the devilish plans of an evil billionaire mastermind. This era of the Man of Steel gets rotated between the hands of countless renowned creators looking to shape the future of this iconic hero and collects Action Comics #760-763, Adventures of Superman #573-576, Superman #151-154, Superman: The Man of Steel #95-98, and Superman: Y2K.

What is Superman: The City of Tomorrow (Vol. 1) about? The story follows Clark Kent in his everyday life as a news reporter and his daily battles to maintain peace in Metropolis as Superman. Throughout his trials and tribulations as the Man of Steel, he is also accompanied by his love Lois Lane and his archnemesis Lex Luthor as they both secretly engaged in a deal that will put Superman in trouble. Meanwhile, Metropolis is on the brink of an unexpected cataclysm as Imperiex makes his debut as the embodiment of entropy. However, trouble is never far away with Lex Luthor’s plans simmering just around the corner and Superman will need all the help he can get to save Metropolis.

Incredibly accessible, this volume collects an era of writing of the Man of Steel that focuses on giving readers a glimpse into the life of Clark Kent, juggling both of his identities and seamlessly reflecting on his place in the world. Whether it’s an episode that draws him back to his Kryptonian roots, forcing him to acknowledge his past or embrace his American ways, or a showdown with villains who are up to no good, the stories presented here all establish the hero’s strengths and weaknesses while also teasing a larger event through an overarching narrative. In fact, many writers get the chance to write Superman but they always steer the story towards an impending threat teased by the Son of Mongul or Lex Luthor himself. Otherwise, the volume collects countless entertaining mini-stories, from the arrival of silly villains or the mystery of a “Mrs. Superman”, without ever looking to astonish readers through stellar story-telling.

The same can also be said about the artwork. There is no particular consistency in it throughout this volume, especially with the countless artists that are part of each creative team here. The only element that can be noted is an overwhelming abundance of colour that gives Metropolis and all of Superman’s supernatural and alien threats more life and energy than one could imagine. Otherwise, there are dramatic differences in character designs, especially notable in Superman’s build and facial expressions, sometimes really leaving a sour aftertaste for certain short story arcs. The much more chaotic nature of his everyday life also assures for an explosive experience but is often quickly deadened by the extreme verbosity of certain writers. While the story does sometimes seem to shape up into something potentially exciting, there’s always something keeping you from really engaging with what’s going on.

Superman: The City of Tomorrow (Vol .1) is an entertaining portrayal of the inner connectedness of Clark Kent, Superman, and Metropolis as an imminent threat is teased and introduced.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mediocre. That pretty much sums up the Superman tales in this collection. Superman: The City of Tomorrow vol. 1 covers the Supes stories being published at the end of the 20th century as we move into the 2000s. We are ten years away from the Didio prime era. This book contains a whos who among comic book writers which include Jeph Loeb, Joe Kelly and Mark Millar. They are assisted with art by Ed McGuinness, Doug Mahnke, Phil Jimenez, Stuart Immonen. So one would ask why are these stories a chore to get through? In 1999 I was entering college and my comic book reading days had come to a halt. This is not to say that I still didn't love superheroes after all I was still watching them on the small screen with shows like Batman the Animated Series, Superman the Animated Series, Justice League, X-men , Spiderman, and so much more. I missed a whole era of the DC universe as it moved towards the Infinite Crisis. Going back to read these stories is fun but I found that DC comics seemed to be spinning its wheels concerning Superman. The problem may lie in that there were too many Superman titles to follow in the early 2000s. You had Superman, Adventures of Superman, Action Comics, Superman: the Man of Steel and this doesn't include the mini series that included the character. There was not a particular through line to latch on here narratively. I'm sure the editors did there best to organize the issues in this collection but unfortunately this book is a bit chaotic. It just felt like there were too many cooks in the kitchen. You start out with the Mongul & Imperiex storyline then you leave that and we are focusing on Brainiac or than a villain of the week type of deal. This made the story feel jarring although there is some great action in some issues. My personal favorite story was the Joe Kelly Etrigan Christmas story. That story really capture the idea of what Superman is all about. There is some amazing pencils and color work here to enjoy but all in all this volume was a bit Meh to me.

[OmniBen · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 2.75/5
Yet more middling content that neither destroys nor grows my potential love for this character. Hampered by a seemingly endless revolving door of writers and artists (some very much better than others) to the point where each issue, regardless of whether its a continuing story or not, feels completely disparate and disjointed from what came before. This is far too inconsistent a collection of stories to ever get the heart pumping in any meaningful way.
The smaller moments between Clarke and Lois, as well as the more down to earth superhero moments or subterfuge with Lex make up the best of this book. Whilst the generic AF battles with various interchangeable 'big bad's' and other occasionally goofy shenanigans are what will likely prevent Superman from ever being a go to character for me. Mixed at best. 2.75/5


OmniBen.

[Gerry Sacco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly above average. Has a lot of mixed issues so the story and art quality varies. But overall, enjoyable.

[Deryk Rumbold · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is supposed to feel like a buildup to its Y2K mini event where Brainiac is the big bad but it is super disjointed and never really that good leading up to it and the final conflict is kind of a slow deflation of events. There is a Kryptonian centered issue that I enjoyed but outside of that not much here for me personally.

[Darik · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the time a welcome breath of fresh air from the stuffy, soap-opera-esq Dan Jurgens era of the Superman books (which had more than run its course BEFORE they tried to goose sales with gimmicks like the Electric-Blue Superman), the Jeph Loeb/Joe Kelly era-- here collected up to their big, status-quo revising "Y2K" storyline-- has not aged entirely gracefully.

For one thing, half of the collection's authors are less-than-stellar-- whether its because Jeph Loeb's failings as a writer have become far more obvious over the years ("Big spectacle! Guest stars! Who cares if it makes sense, as long as it's fun?"), or because Mark Schultz was just not a very good writer to begin with. Secondly, there's a lot of dated, "edgy" content here (mostly from former Deadpool scribe Joe Kelly, of course), such as casual sexism, racism, homophobia, ableism... the usual suspects. Third, there's a whole lot of try-hard "coolness" on display as well, in particular with the curt and snarky approach to writing Lex Luthor; characters brag about all the badass stuff they can do to establish how dangerous they are, rather than letting their actions speak for themselves. And finally, the base characterization for most of the supporting cast is inconsistent from issue to issue (and occasionally, they'll have Superman cracking a joke that seems TOTALLY out of character for him).

But for all the things that have aged like warm milk, there are some details that they got right. For one thing, these are the first Superman books that really embraced the new relationship between Lois and Clark: emphasizing their more intimate married behavior, developing their domestic lives together, and exploring their insecurities and fears about married life (the issue exploring Lois's jealous thoughts about Wonder Woman, and the fact that Clark just doesn't see her that way, being the obvious standout here). These books also strongly emphasize Clark Kent's humanity as Superman's defining attribute; we got much more of a sense of Clark as a person, from his farm-boy upbringing to his journalistic leanings and the basic optimism about people that underlies his heroism.

Also, I'm just gonna throw it out there: while it's not my favorite way of depicting the character, the far more stylized art style used for Superman-- culminating in the anime-flavored work of Ed McGuinness, which turned the Man of Steel into a preposterous mountain of rippling muscles-- was a welcome jolt of creativity that shook the character out of a visual rut that he'd been stuck in since John Byrne left the books. The book is full of bright, poppy images that draw the reader right in, even if the scripts they play out are little more than hollow trifles.

This isn't my favorite run on the character, but it was a welcome change of pace at the time it was released, and it made Superman fun again after years of dull stories and creative stagnation. It's the J.J. Abrams Star Trek of Superman comics: a colorful bauble that skirts by on charm and style alone.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years and years ago, I had a complete run of Superman comics from 1986 up through June 2000 (8 or 9 months into the Loeb/Kelly tenure). After 14 years of Superman comics, I was dissatisfied with the Loeb/Kelly creative direction and quit the books. When I saw this collection, I got to wondering - Were the books REALLY that bad? Was I just turned off by the change of creative voices, maybe a bit complacent in my acceptance of the previous creatives? So I borrowed this book from the library, and ... well, it's not as bad I remember, but it's not particularly good either. I think quitting the books was justified.

I'll say this: Loeb's issues are somewhat better than I recall. His "Lois Lane" voice doesn't work for me. At all. I mean, I hate his Lois Lane voice and his attempts to make her "flawed" and add some hackneyed tension to the Super-marriage. But his plots are solid (except that absurd confrontation with the Imperiex probe) and he's blessed with some very good artists. The high point of this run of Superman was clearly (I thought it then, I believe it now) Mark Schultz and Doug Manhke's Superman: The Man of Steel issues. Schultz's hard scifi angle and his use of John Henry and Natasha Irons gives the book a clear identity apart from the others, and he writes sharp plots and strong characters. And Manhke's born to draw Superman. The Immonen/Millar team delivers lifeless if tolerable chapters, with a mixed bag of artists attached (although it was a real treat to again see Stuart drawing Superman!). Those Joe Kelly issues though - poor artwork, and scripts that try so transparently to be hip and funny, but just don't work. I'll admit - humor is highly subjective and I'm sure many others feel differently, but this is my review.

In short, Schultz/Manhke are amazing. Loeb/etc. are okay. Immonen/Millar/etc. are bland, and Kelly/etc. are tiresome. And that's not a good enough hit-to-miss ratio to justify my dollars.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This massive collection moved Superman into the next century and not just because it chronicled that specific moment. Superman was stale and lagging far behind his counterparts at Marvel and many books at DC. The book is far from perfect but even though its over 20 years old, it felt modern in a way that Superman hadn't for years. New creative teams breathe life into the books. I really enjoyed the many times Lois narrated. She and her deal/interactions with Lex Luthor were fantastic. The Brainiac chapters here were very solid but possibly overlong. The Eradicator and "haunted" Krypton portions were much less enjoyable. Lex is still a top notch antagonist and he's done incredibly well here. The art was also a considerable upgrade. The likes of Ed McGuinness, German Garcia, Doug Manhke, and more added so much to the book. Overall, a very solid read and the best Superman monthlies offered in decades.

[Langston Lardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid Superman read. This book covers 1999 Superman leading into the year 2000 so it was interesting and really enjoyable to read the stories set on New Year’s Eve and all the talk about Y2K, it feels unique. We see the age of technology start to spring up in the stories, with computers, new camera, etc. Of course we get the classic Superman stories, the heart, humor, kindness, action, red trunks, all the classic stuff. We get to see the classic Superman vs Luthor feud, we get some lesser known Superman villains and of course the more well known ones. While I don’t think you’ll find any life changing stories here I do think you’ll find some good old fashioned Superman stories, and sometimes that’s all that is needed. While the final story can be a bit all over the place and a little too CG at times, the book as a whole is still a fun read.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Daily Planet is back in business thanks to a secret deal between Lois and Luthor, only for opening day to be interrupted by the arrival of Mongul's son, eager to train Superman for a coming threat - all while the Fortress rebuilds itself, and an alien virus makes its way to Metropolis just in time for Y2K. Kelly, Loeb, Millar, Schultz and Immonen bring Superman fans an electrifying series of feats, a zeitgeist of the century's turning grandly illuminated by its wonderful illustrations and endearing struggles of both the man and the legend. Will Superman be prepared for what is coming to Earth, or will the new age bring only ruin?

[Andrew]

Lots of fun characterization of Lex Luthor and Lois Lane, but oddly I felt like Superman himself didn't have as much to do in these issues (aside from a great subplot where he trains with Mongul to fight an incoming threat). Obviously a Superman book should make Superman's voice and/or character a compelling part of the story. Also, unlike most modern collections, this feels much more like an anthology than a single story. Recommended mostly if you really like Superman, but even then there are stronger entries.

[Arianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a mixed bag which starts out as mediocre comic with too much relationship drama and quickly turns into so-bad-it's-good material. Some highlights are the random return of Superman Blue and Brainiac 13 being made with CGI. Like, the rest of the comic is drawn normally and then you just have these awful 3D illustrations that you're supposed to take seriously. I also love baby Lena Luthor being possessed by Brainiac.

[Ming · Rating 1 out of 5]

Printing everything in order of release leads to a very confusing first half, as each of the included titles tells its own story. So it's like reading 20 pages of three different books one by one. The second half is more coherent. However, none of it is particularly memorable lol, and in fact can be pretty dull.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea what to expect diving into this volumes, which collects issues of Superman, Action Comics, and more from about 25 years ago, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I was an avid reader of the Superbooks for much of the 90s and this shows me that I maybe stopped too soon. Will definitely read the next collection.

[kaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

“But, growing up, Clark was just a kid, like anyone, without all those ‘ powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men.’ Just a kid. With all that kid stuff running around inside of him. Wanting so much to be a man. And be a good man as well…”

“ and before you can say Keanu Reeves… I’m free and clear!”

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this what happened instead of Superman 2000 by Morrison, Waid, Millar and Peyer. I wonder if we'd have been better off with that.

To be fair, there is A LOT of fun here. While nothing is overtly spectacular and memorable. Its also refreshingly not decompressed. Actual one off stories! Varied talent!

[Derek Moreland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars of pure, uncut nostalgia. This is my favorite era of Superman, because these are the comics I read when I was discovering the character. I wish I could be more objective while reading them, but its impossible.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of really great stuff in here, and when it hits it hits just right. However, it gets boggled down with a lot of filler stories that are so so, with some real gem of single issues sprinkled in between.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mindbogglingly boring.

[Zachary King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard for me to remain objective about this because this WAS my Superman growing up. Mends a gap in my collection and includes the wonderful “Y2K” crossover in all its dated goodness.

[Devowasright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hhhhoooolllyyyy cow! That got wild!

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of it was amazing but the last act was a slog to get through.

[Yonatan · Rating 5 out of 5]

first time reading these comics since they came out in 99-00. they are just as good as I remember them being.

[Gary Fortuin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some mediocre stories here but the last part about the new millennium, brainiac, and to what extent Lex Luthor will go to retain power is fantastic.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clark Kent was made in Smallville, but Superman was made in Metropolis.

Superman fights to protect Metropolis from various of his enemies, but when Braniac attacks the city on the eve of the Millennium, it is Lex who loses everything when the artificial intelligence takes over his daughter, Lena.

This is as much a book about Clark Kent and Lois Lane as it is about Superman and his struggle to evaluate his identity and regain the trust of his fellow citizens. Well written and vibrantly coloured, this collection of stories helps the reader develop their understanding of the Man of Steel.

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of Superman stories from the dawn of the Millenium. It was a fairly strong start for the new creative teams and I had a lot of fun reading these stories. Looking forward to reading the next volume.