The third collection of Superman stories from the '80s reprints SUPERMAN #4-6, ACTION #587-589, and ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #427-429, and features a new cover and introduction by artist Jerry Ordway!
Librarian 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.
A mixed bag of outdated tales, but I'm still enjoying a lot reading this Post-Crisis Superman reboot run from classic author and artist John Byrne, always a fan favourite of mine.
Loving Byrne's amazing artworks and his take on Kal-El/Clark Kent's character as last boyscout/gentleman standing, sadly I'm not digging much the Wolfman/Ordway issues and not sure about author's thrashing away Superboy's past adventures and reducing Lana Lang's role to just being a victim of unrequited love.
Byrne's Superman can feel a bit dated at times, especially with how quickly issues are brought up and then solved. His characterization of Lois Lane as a cold hard witch particularly grates on me. I'm sure her character will thaw out as time goes on, but right now I dread when she even appears in the book. I do like how Byrne portrays Clark as the last true gentleman and how people don't trust his or Superman's altruistic motives. That plays even more today as our society has become even more jaded. The team-ups with Hawkman and and Hawkwoman and then the Green Lanterns were certainly fun. It still amazes me that John Byrne was able to write and draw 2 Superman books a month. DC can't even keep the same artist on a book for more than 3 issues without a fill-in artist these days.
Another great foray into the Post-Crisis Universe with Superman being involved with several many characters in the DC Universe as well as having some of his own characters in nice adventures.
First in Bloodsport which was an interesting but also a bit sad foray into veterans. Further developments with Superman's world of Krypton and a good look into Cat Grant. Nice bit with the made up Middle Eastern nation of Qurac - modest mention of Iraq. A really good bit on Perry White's family. I have always heard that the Post-Crisis did give Perry White a more complicated view on his life.
All these characters belong to Superman mostly, but things kick into high gear as Jason Blood aka The Demon Etrigan involves him in a caper. Hawkman and Hawkwoman as well as an adventure with the Green Lanterns. Nice work with the DC Universe working their greatest hero with the rest of the DC Universe.
Nice stuff. Not as great as before but still very good.
I liked this collection even more than volume 2! The team ups with Hawkman and Hawkwoman, and especially the Green Lantern Corps in the final story are all great fun to read! Sure, it's dated, but it's a pre-911 era of good old comic book fun! The Man of Steel does even wrestle with a few "moral" issues but they are handled in a few panels whereas today they'd play out in a minimum of 4 issues.
Mission 2026: Binge reviewing all previous Reads, I was too slothful to review back when I read them
By Volume 3, Byrne’s Superman is no longer being introduced; he is being tested. This book feels like a sustained examination of consequences. Actions taken earlier now reverberate outward, complicating relationships and blurring moral certainties. Superman’s presence has altered the world, and Byrne insists on reckoning with that alteration.
What stood out was how often Superman is placed in situations where strength is irrelevant. Political tensions, public perception, and personal loyalties all resist brute force.
Byrne writes Superman as increasingly aware that power invites scrutiny, fear, and dependency. That awareness weighs on him.
The volume also deepens Clark Kent’s role as more than camouflage. Journalism becomes an ethical counterweight to heroism, a way of engaging the world without overpowering it.
That duality felt especially resonant: Superman doesn’t just save people; he tries to understand them.
This isn’t a flashy volume, but it is a thoughtful one.
Byrne’s greatest achievement here is making Superman feel embedded in a system he cannot simply punch his way out of.
Responsibility, not strength, becomes the real test.
As histórias feitas por John Byrne são sempre cheias de aventura e personagens bem construídos. Não é por acaso que ele faz tanto sucesso nos Estados Unidos e também aqui no Brasil. Neste encadernado acontece um encontro do Superman com um dos meus favoritos da DC Comics, o Demônio Etrigan. E também aparece uma das primeiras histórias do Superman que li (e que não entendi nada), que foi essa da capa com a múmia. E que depois desemboca no encontro do Super com a Mulher-Maravilha mais para frente. Mas uma coisa que comecei a notar nessas HQ dos encadernados da Saga do Superman foi que aquelas feitas por Byrne são mais divertidas do que as feitas pela dupla Wolfman/Ordway. Por outro lado, é dessas últimas que vêm todo um legado de personagens e situações que vão ser apresentadas futuramente com outros autores. E aí a importancia dessas tramas, mesmo que muitas vezes elas pareçam chatinhas, é legal ver personagens como Bibbo Bibbowski e Jerry White dando as caras pela primeira vez, como neste volume.
These three months were a low-point for the immediate post-Crisis Superman.
Bloodspot (SM #4). Byrne's return to the Luther plot after the Legends interruption has the possibility of being good, but Bloodsport is oh-so-90s (albeit a few years early) and then it turns into a heavy-handed Vietnam memorial [3/5].
Mind Games (Adventures #427). Though he slightly continues the Qaraci plot, for most of this issue Wolfman teases us with another mysterious organization (The Circle) with no resolution [3/5].
Personal Best (Adventures #428). Wolfman continues to fill out Superman's cast with Bibbo Bibbowski and Jerry White, who'd both have notable appearances over the next few years. The main plot feels very Golden Age, with Superman constantly threatening people for witnesses as he fights against the mob. Overall, it's an interesting take on post-Crisis Superman. Perhaps this is Wolfman's intent going forward? We'll see over the rest of the year [3+/5].
The Last Five Hundred (Superman #5-6). In many ways, this is a clever story, as it subverts horror expectations in the first issue then offers an intriguing science-fiction foundation in the second. But, the fact that it doesn't really link into the Superman mythology (except in a parallel idea of a dying world) and then how it descends into a fistfight undercuts that. Still, it's nice to see the new post-Crisis interactions between Lois & Clark [3+/5].
Old Ties (AoS #429). Wolfman's Superman continues to be delightful for its characterization. This piece about Clark and Cat really sells the new character. And even when we get a fight against another of the weird Circle folk, it's rooted in those characters. Also, you really got to dig this Golden-Age-level Superman, who's actually in danger [4+/5].
The Demon (Action #587). The funt ime-travel hijinks of this story make it better than most of the Action Comics. [3+/5]
Space Action (Action #588-589). Again, these Action Comics team-ups continue to be a low-point in the rebooted Superman comics. The Hawkman story (#588) might be interesting if we had more of the context, but it's a crossover with the Hawkman series without enough explanation to give us the full context, and worse it's barely in continuity anymore. The Green Lantern story (#589) that follows is a dull fight against a faceless enemy [2+/5].
I will try not to give any spoilers for this review, I think it best for a person to read and enjoy the book without knowing where things will lead you by the end of the book. I am a huge Superman fan so I have been getting my collection caught up with some things I have missed or lost over the years. So with that I start...
Anyways, what made this volume worth mentioning was the character growth for Superman. Clark has to wrestle throughout the stories contained herein with who he really is. Is he “Superman”? Or is he “Clark Kent” who just “puts on” Superman to help people? For that matter, how much can, or should, he allow his personal feelings as Clark Kent to influence what he does as Big Blue? Finally, he has to decide how much he should be proactive, and how much doing so is an abuse of power and hurts human free will. Above all things, he can't let good intentions turn him into a tyrant, and this fear that he may do so eventually is very real for him.
These are all heady issues to deal with that could have ruined the stories, yet John Byrne and the other writers on these titles make it work. What could have come across as overly angsty and annoying, instead came off as thoughtful moral development for Supes.
The other part that struck me as both irritating and pleasing was a story centered on the veterans affected by the Vietnam War. On the one hand, the constant refrain of that “useless war” being pushed on the reader, really, *really* irked me. Don't get me wrong. I hate war and I never want anyone to go there if at all possible. The categorization of Vietnam that way is what got to me. On the other hand, the story didn't seem to show much sympathy for those who were draft-dodgers and did praise the sacrifice of Vietnam vets. I'm a little uncertain what to think of it, to say the least.
The art wasn't bad, but it was a little bit underwhelming. You can tell it wasn't really given the attention to ensure quality, but it was good enough in communicating visually the story the writers wished to tell. I will say that it made me nostalgic, though, as the '80's hair and fashions are in full-force here. ;)
In many ways, this was a great comic that showcased some of the best of the 1980's era Superman stories, and a chronicle of personal growth in the life of the Man of Steel.
Voltamos aos anos 80 com o Superman. Começamos a edição com o encerramento da participação do Super na tal das Lendas; Superman, desmemoriado, toma banho junto com a Graciosa Grace para fomentar a revolução em Apokolips, mas tudo é um plano de Darkseid para controlar o Homem de Aço, até que o Órion e o Lightray aparecem e, no melhor estilo Chaves, dão umas porradas nele até a memória voltar e ele sair pra cima do Darkinho. O Byrne também vai apresentar o Bloodsport, o relógio sinalizados do Jimmy, o Etrigan - numa história com erros de impressão e que não parece fazer muito sentido - e uma múmia na América do Sul. Já o Wolfman traz algumas histórias com implicações políticas - o Super invadindo o Qurac - e outras mais íntimas - o sequestro de Jerry, filho rebelde do Perry White, apresentando um dos personagens que se tornará um dos grandes amigos do Kriptoniano, Bibbo e seu bar preferido, o Ás de Espadas. No geral, as histórias são bem divertidas com algum questionamento moral meio escondido, a única que eu não gostei foi a Etrigan porque, na minha edição, as páginas do desfecho da aventura vieram borradas e não entendi nada.
Superman is now established as Earth's greatest superhero, but he still struggles to balance his life as Clark Kent with his work of saving lives. Thankfully, he has many friends he can count on.
A nice collection of stories which establish post Crisis Superman's relationships with other members of the DC universe. Well plotted, with generally good inking and colouring, this volume is a great addition to any comics library.
Este tomo tiene un par de grandes historias (el de la momia y el de Rampage), pero sufre el lastre de algunos crossovers que no suman nada: Hawkman, Green Lantern y el intento de arreglar el quilombo de Superboy.
Superman, The Man of Steel: Vol. 3 is the third in the collection of post-Crisis on Infinite Earths comics about the Man of Tomorrow. Of course, the comics are not just limited to the comics in the actual Man of Steel title either. Unlike today, where each book about a hero has it's own story-line, at the time these comics came out, the titles for each hero all shared one story-line. For instance, a story might start in Action Comics and continue through Man of Steel.
Anyways, what made this volume worth mentioning was the character growth for Superman. Clark has to wrestle throughout the stories contained herein with who he really is. Is he “Superman”? Or is he “Clark Kent” who just “puts on” Superman to help people? For that matter, how much can, or should, he allow his personal feelings as Clark Kent to influence what he does as Big Blue? Finally, he has to decide how much he should be proactive, and how much doing so is an abuse of power and hurts human free will. Above all things, he can't let good intentions turn him into a tyrant, and this fear that he may do so eventually is very real for him.
These are all heady issues to deal with that could have ruined the stories, yet John Byrne and the other writers on these titles make it work. What could have come across as overly angsty and annoying, instead came off as thoughtful moral development for Supes.
The other part that struck me as both irritating and pleasing was a story centered on the veterans affected by the Vietnam War. On the one hand, the constant refrain of that “useless war” being pushed on the reader, really, really irked me. Don't get me wrong. I hate war and I never want anyone to go there if at all possible. The categorization of Vietnam that way is what got to me. On the other hand, the story didn't seem to show much sympathy for those who were draft-dodgers and did praise the sacrifice of Vietnam vets. I'm a little uncertain what to think of it, to say the least.
The art wasn't bad, but it was a little bit underwhelming. You can tell it wasn't really given the attention to ensure quality, but it was good enough in communicating visually the story the writers wished to tell. I will say that it made me nostalgic, though, as the '80's hair and fashions are in full-force here. ;)
In many ways, this was a great comic that showcased some of the best of the 1980's era Superman stories, and a chronicle of personal growth in the life of the Man of Steel.
John Byrne is always given a lot of credit for revitalizing the Superman universe in the '80s. After reading now the third volume of that task I can't imagine how bad the books were before him if this was considered so good. While I accept the time frame involved Byrne's writing is dreadful and is as with most of the DC Universe, wholly inconsistent. The corniness seems even higher than most other books in the time period. Now his art on the other hand is very good and looks ahead of its time. Reading these older books give you perspective n today's books but there isn't a good deal of actual good storytelling.
I loved Ordway's art. There have been others who occasionally came close since Ordway's run (Gary Frank comes to mind, he can't compete panel against panel), but I can't imagine anyone drawins Superman this well any time soon.
Mostly great except for the last two Action Comics issues featuring Hawkman, the Green Lanterns, and an alien race of giant worms - those were really hard to get through. The rest of the volume, however, is nothing but bangers.
Andá a saber en qué edición leí estas historias y en cuáles las releeré; pero es una etapa de Superman que siempre me gustó mucho, y esa tapa de él contra la Legión es una genialidad.
Fue muy interesante la colaboración con los hombres halcon porque no los conozco mucho, algún día me gustaría leer esa historia original de ellos y como traicionan o no a la tierra.
Me gustó mucho la colaboración con los linterna verde, algún día quiero leer los comics de ellos. Conocía a la famosa novia de Hal Jordan menor de edad jasjajsja no sé si acá ya es la novia, la verdad no me parece que el pj sea menor, si bien biologicamente como extraterrestre tiene 13 años, es como una humana adulta normal. Es lo contrario a lo que hacen los ponjas con las lolis. Igual no conozco todo el lore, pero en principio creo que está bien. Muy bueno el tono tan sci fi de los green lantern, me hizo acordar a los 4 fantasticos.
El comic sobre la guerra de Vietnam me sorprendió, no me imaginé que hablaran de algo así tan abiertamente en un comic de Superman, muy bueno.
La charla que tiene Superman con el viejo es de lo mejor que leí de Superman hasta ahora, cine puro, se deben haber inspirado en eso para la escena de la peli.
Muy bueno también el lore de la sociedad secreta de hombres gato.
I hate to say it but I think I'm losing steam with Byrne and Wolfman's Superman run. While this volume has its moments, for the most part the stories didn't grab me enough to stick in my head and didn't didn't introduce anything I'd like to see further explored.
The highlight the volume is definitely John Byrnes and Jerry Ordway's art. They both really are masters of their craft in terms of crafting consistently iconic imagery, clean composition, and dynamic art overall. Unfortunately, the lowlights include things like very of the time Bloodsport story, the consistently convoluted cat people storyline and lack of engaging character moments overall
Honestly I don't think there's anything particularly bad about this comic run, and I'll definitely give volume 4 a chance to see if anything hooks me, but overall nothing about the storylines here really grabbed me.
A really solid Superman read. Unlike the previous volumes, this one didn't stand out because it offered its own takes on certain story lines (Clark finding out he's from Krypton, Bizarro, etc.), or because it's stories influenced other Superman media (Superman being brainwashed into serving Darkseid). Instead, this volume just featured several action-packed, but still character and story-driven, Super-tales. Nothing stood out, particularly, but they were still all really well done and interesting, and they kept me turning the pages. Plus, this volume also had pretty awesome team-ups, including Etrigan, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and the Green Lanterns. All in all, a really solid read... but one that was more fun than groundbreaking. (But honestly... what's wrong with that?)
Great Superman book! The book starts off with some great issues that focus on elements of War and Terrorism, that are entertaining and gripping. Towards the end of each issue I really cared about what was happening. There is also a story featuring Etrigan, which was definitely more boring than the previous issues. The book ends with some good emotional based issues set on earth that I found gripping, but the collection finishes with less personal stories set in Space with Hawkman/Hawkwoman and Green Lantern, not quite as good but enjoyable enough. Overall, great set of stories and would recommend to a Superman fan!
Well that was better than Vol.2. Still a bit spotty though.
Enjoyed the thread through a lot of the issues of Clark struggling to balance his dual identities, and wondering if it's even possible to live as Clark while doing his duty as Superman.
Wasn't as fond of the Legion of Superheroes cross over, which was really just am convoluted mess to explain how the Legion survived Crisis. But it wasn't bad.
The final issue was a train wreck though. Not only was I shocked that the legendary Erik Larsen's pencils were awful, but somehow the lettering was atrocious? Seemed like everything was inked way too heavily so it was a cluttered mess.
This is super-hero comics done right. Lots of fun, some serious questions, and happy endings!! Although I've never been a huge Byrne fan, he's on the money in these stories. Lots of action, Superman doing super things, solid characterization, and really nice artwork.
A great collection of Superman stories. I had a couple of these issues in my collection but it’s fun to revisit them alongside the others and with more context from the previous volumes. Fun stories of the Man of Tomorrow.
2.5 stars. Good artwork and decent (if cheesy) stories about the Big Blue Boy Scout. The collection is somewhat hampered by not including connecting issues from DC's "Millennium" event, leaving out big portions of the story. A drop in overall quality from the first two collections.
Still holding up, though some of the weaknesses of Byrne's run on Superman are starting to make themselves known. Most egregious to me, is how 'soap opera' the writing of the interpersonal drama is getting.
Volume 3 of the collected 1986 Superman reboot. I still like the Byrne Action and Superman issues. Not a huge fan of the Wolfman/Ordway Advs of Superman issues.