Supreme: The Return

Supreme (collected editions) #2

by Alan Moore, Chris Sprouse, Rick Veitch (Illustrator)

Alan Moore follows his Eisner-Award-winning Supreme: The Story of the Year script with Supreme: The Return, presented here in its entirety for the first time. Alan Moore's sense of irony and sense of humor combine to make a super hero comic like none you've ever seen. Collects Moore's final ten issues.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Science Fiction

258 pages, Paperback

Published April 3, 2003

About the author

Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.

Reviews

[Stewart Tame · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Moore’s magical run on Supreme continues, introducing more classic Superman tropes--Nightwing and Flamebird, anyone?--as well as building on his own mythology for the series--the nature of Supremium, and a return to the Supremacy. The volume culminates in a loving tribute to Jack Kirby.

As someone who grew up reading comics during the 70's and 80's, I read countless reprints from the Silver Age, as well as a fair number from the Golden Age. Moore’s Supreme pays tribute to those glory days, with enough of a modern (well, 90's anyway) gloss to help the more outlandish elements go down easy. There's some humor at the expense of the Clintons that hasn't aged well, but, overall, this book is every bit as good as Supreme: The Story of the Year. Highly recommended!

[Alex E · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second time around with Alan Moore's Supreme series, the story takes on a more "present day" attitude, with new things happening and things happening because of the result of the last volume.

I really enjoyed this second volume of Supreme as I felt it was more streamlined. In the previous volume, part of my gripe was the constant flashing back to the golden age stories of Supreme. Which, look - I get it, its the purpose of the book. But the constant break in the pacing made it a bit of a tedious read for me as well as the fact that that golden age style just really isn't my thing.

In this one, we get a few flashbacks as well, but mostly its stories set in the present. Supreme dealing with his personal life, Darius Dax discovering the reality of Dax World (or whatever its called) and much more, the book felt fresh and exciting as well as mythical. Speaking of mythical, easily my favorite thing about the book is the tribute to Jack Kirby. There's an issue where Supreme finds himself in the... imagination(?) of Kirby, and its such a fun romp through the various characters, lands, and legends that the King came up with. You can really feel the reverence for Kirby in the book and when it's penned by another legend of the medium, it struck the perfect tone of respect from one master to another.

One thing that is unfortunate is that the series ends on a major cliffhanger, and I was very much disappointed by that, as it seems that the crescendo for the Dax World vs Supreme World was coming up next. Not sure why the story has never been finished (by Alan Moore I mean), but its quite jarring to end on the note it ends on.

Overall, this was a fun look at how Alan Moore takes on the mythology of Supreme aka Superman, and his origins. His story allows the character of Superman to shine and highlights not only the importance of the character, but the fun that comes along with it. If you are into old school superman, or golden age comics, this one is for you.

[Harold Ogle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first "Supreme" book years ago, and was delighted to find that there was a sequel. This is a fun series of riffs on golden and silver age superhero comics, with particular parody of Superman/Superboy/Legion of Super Heroes. It's also a lampoon of how long-standing comics characters get revised, re-revised, and re-imagined over the decades, from "reboots" and "what ifs" and various other authorial fiat actions. Like often happens with the second story in a trilogy, the book apparently is a set-up for the third story. We find that the evil arch nemesis Dax has ended up in an alternative dimension populated by all the versions of himself that have been killed, forgotten, revised, or otherwise written out of the Supreme stories over the decades. He begins to plan how to draw upon the combined malevolent power of his alternative selves so as to get his final revenge.

This funny conceit is carried out in the illustrations, as every few pages the characters either time travel, dimension travel, or engage in flashbacks that set them in the art and dialogue styles of golden age or silver age comics. There are also nods to the twisted, overly psychological stories of the 80s. While Dax is discovering his alternative dimension, Supreme and his female sidekick discover similar alternative dimensions, and she sees that many of her alternates are long-standing love interests of Supreme's.

The book is a cute combination of nostalgia and parody.

[Pablo Bueno · Rating 3 out of 5]

La verdad es que me cuesta encontrar a Moore aquí O.o

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved these comics when they were originally published, but God almighty, what a bad reprint collection! All the comics look muddy, like they were transposed to this paperback through some kind of vague smeary filter.

[Jim Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as tightly woven as the initial arc, but still highly amusing and imaginative.

[Printable Tire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection lacks an interesting overarching story line like the previous one had, and sometimes Alan Moore's writing isn't very Alan Moore-ey and more like an amazing anonymous writer who's just winging it, but Rick Veitch's artwork (when it appears) is still amazing and as far as "sequels" go this is pretty top-grade stuff.

Among the weird and wacky issues are these storylines:

"19th Dinmensional Breakdown" - Supreme meets Omniman, who's really Sprite Supreme, a Mr. Mxzyptlk-type wreaking merry mischief.

"The Ballad of Judy Jordan" - Supreme bring his old girlfriend back to life in an android body, and she goes to live off with one of his robot lookalikes on a distant planet.

"Silence at Gettsuburg" - Because of some shenanigans in time, the South have now one the war, and now blacks are second-rate citizens and everybody has sideburns.

"The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side"- Shadow Supreme, Korgo the Space Tyrant, Tellevillain and some other dudes escape from the Hell of Mirrors. Optillux turns several hundred fans at a Bon Jovi concert into light.

"Through a Glass Darkly" - Continuation of the last story. Korgo punches out Bill Clinton to become President, but can't stand Hillary.

"A World of His Own" - Darius Dax wakes up on a planet full of various incarnations of Darius Dax, a parallel world to the one Supreme went to full of Supremes. Looks sort of like Biff's future in Back to the Future II. Includes a line that made me laugh: "Just ignore 40's Nazi Mad Scientist Dax and Grim 80's Tittering Transvestite Serial Killer Dax!"

"The Three Worlds of Diana Dane" - Supreme goes on a date through a light world, a Kirbeyesque future, and Supreme-world. "'Mr. Supreme' sounds so formal. Just call me Supreme."

"And Every Dog Has Its Day!" - Radar the Dog Supreme sires hundreds of super-pups who soon wreak havoc. "'To think my own dog is a... a swinger!" Also includes a nifty "League of Infinity" story.

"Suddenly the Supremium Man" - This is the one story that was a bit of a disappointment. It uses some of the same time-paradox stuff that was fun in the last collection, but here it's treading the same territory, and unlike in the previous collection, the "retro" comic here really only works in context to the rest of the story, and would be unintelligible and disappointing as a stand alone story.

"New Jack City" - A lovable homage to Jack Kirby. "Ah! I Understand. You are an Outsider. I thought you looked unusual! The Eyebrows... the lack of Shadow on the Chin. You do not have the Regent's Mark upon you!"

I read somewhere that there were supposed to be one (or two) more issues of Supreme, but various Liefeld/Image/Moore stupidities kept that from happening. It's a shame, because the Darius Dax storyline just fizzles out and there are clear hints in the last issue that a further episode would involve a war between the Dax and Supreme worlds, which would've been awesome.

A good comic writer isn't anything without good art, but here Moore uses the crappy art to his gain: shitty 90's art is but one incarnation of Supreme, and Moore is pretty genius in seeing it as such, as a style that wouldn't last, and incorporating it into the story. Of course, if the retro Veitch art wasn't there I probably wouldn't have picked this up in the first place, but I'm glad I did. I'm going to miss this series and all its elaborate situations and characters.

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reprints Supreme (2) #53-56 and Supreme: The Return #1-6 (October 1997-June 2000). Supreme’s life continues to change as his past and future enemies continue to haunt him. With return of villains like Szazs and adventures with the League of Infinity, Supreme finds his day full including his new love in Diana Dane. With Darius Dax finding his own revisions world, he’s out to get revenge on Supreme.

Written by Alan Moore, Supreme: The Return continues where Supreme: The Story of the Year ends. Supreme was published by Awesome Entertainment, and relaunched as Supreme: The Return. When Awesome Entertainment collapsed, Moore’s Supreme comic also ended. Checker Book Publishing collected the issues but as of now, Supreme is out of print but can be found online.

Supreme continues to explore the “idea” of comics in this volume. While the last volume of Supreme basically chronicled Supreme’s origin and return to power, this volume lacks the direction of the first story.

Supreme: The Return does have its moments and each issue is still quite good…just not up to the first collection’s level. There are fun stories (like the South winning the war and what the League of Infinity has to do to stop it), to both the revised versions of Diana Dane and Darius Dax. The last issue of the series is an homage to Jack Kirby’s run on Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen. It is all fun, but just feels like stories instead of something bigger…plus, stories of the Supreme villain “The End” aren’t ever told. The abrupt end to Awesome Entertainment was the ultimate End (and it could be argued that the series cancellation fits in perfectly with Moore’s story).

The art for the series also continues to be strong. Moore taxes his artists a lot by forcing lots of different genre drawing. The artists have to know how to make a comic in the late ’90s and early ’00s look like a comic from the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, etc., and mimic other classic artists. He has a big “team” to do it, so it does work. Alex Ross also once again provides additional Supreme sketches for the collection.

While Supreme: Story of the Year was an interesting and great, concise look at the evolution of comics, Supreme: The Return wanders. The series is hurt by the fact that Moore never really got a chance to finish it. His final story was eventually presented with help from Erik Larsen who picked up the story as Supreme #63…Larsen’s Supreme ran to Supreme #68.

[John Kirk · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some good bits in this book, but it's not as clever as it thinks it is. The time loops don't make sense, and I think that's lazy writing rather than my closed mind. The meta-fiction never really goes anywhere, and it has the same problems as Superfolks.

When Diana is talking to her counterparts inside the Supremacy, they talk about "what the people want", implying that they are aware of their status as fictional characters, but surely that should have a much bigger impact on "new" Diana's life? If she now knows that she's being "watched" (by comics readers), I'd expect her to be concerned about the loss of privacy. Alternately, if they don't know that they're fictional, why do they think that the periodic revisions have anything to do with popularity?

I liked the chapter about the dogs, but the tribute to Jack Kirby just bored me. I know that some people seem to worship the ground he walked on, but I'm not one of them.

The biggest problem is that the overall story is incomplete. That's not the book's fault: the final 2 issues were never printed, because the publishing company collapsed. So, the end of this book feels unsatisfying. In April 2012, Supreme #63 came out, and that apparently finishes the story, but I haven't read it yet.

[Doyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, the woes of comic book publishing. Rob Liefeld's Awesome Comics went belly up with only 2 issues of this story left to be published. As is, this collection tells an incomplete story. Moore had written the pen-ultimate issue (#63), which was eventually published in 2012 with art by Erik Larsen, however the script for the final issue was never written.

Larsen went on to complete Supreme his way, over 10 or so more issues. I was not a fan.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Alan Moore Supreme was close to a tour de force. It was like an extended Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow with self-aware humor and internally consistent humor and some additional excitement.

This book kind of meanders a little. There's a point where a focused author would be clear in explaining a paradox to the reader. But there's a resigned sense of "You get this twist. You've already seen it" that's noticeable. (This is re: Meteor Master.)

However, where the book hits its satire hard, it's still entertaining.

[Ted Child · Rating 4 out of 5]

The intended conclusion to this story was never made but even with that against it this is a very enjoyable graphic novel. There is a lot going on as far a metafictional revision of a not-very-good 90's Superhero, especially with regards to continuity. I think this is the least political of Moore's book I have read but still very enjoyable. I think I actually might like this more then Top Ten or Tom Strong.

[Afa]

Penamat yang baik dari Moore, hanya kerana pelukis utamanya kekal! Penulisan digarap dengan twist yang menarik, parodi komik-komik Amerika di mana-mana, berjaya membuat saya tersenyum. Perubahan stroke berkurangan dan flashback isu-isu lama juga berkurangan (hasil kritikan pembaca, no thanks to you) menjadikan pembacaan agak tenang berbanding volume 1. Sayang sekali sukar mendapat koleksi segini dalam bentuk fizikal.

[Dr. T Loves Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Alan Moore's work,and this is a fun piece where he's enjoying taking apart the Superman mythos and playing around with it. Each episode of Supreme tackles a different element of the weirdness of Superman's background and really highlights it. For people who know their comic book history, this is a delightful, reference-filled romp.

[Will McClintock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kinda bummed out I don’t have any new Alan Moore Supreme stories to read. These were some of my favorite comics to read in the last few months. I love how Supreme is a love letter to the silver and golden age of comics while also being super original in its own right. These comics are simply amazing and it’s a shame that people haven’t read these. Up there with Watchmen and V for Vendetta in my humble opinion. Awesome way to end out a weekend. Alan Moore just keeps on proving to me why he’s one of my favorite creatives and I love the stories he produces. Quality stuff. Can’t recommend enough of Supreme

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little sad when I reached the end, and realized that there wasn't anymore to read. That Moore's weird little run on Supreme ended with most things resolved but with a few loose threads.
But looking back over the series, I suppose that's the point?
Moore takes a neglected character and turns himself into a celebration of the strange and the surreal side of superhero comics. But also creating a story that will never truly end, even if it ends.
There's a melancholy at reaching my end of the story, but also something joyful that the story will carry on.

[Brian Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of Alan Moore's delightful off brand Superman stories, it's full of very human and clever versions of the iconic, larger than life hero. If you are at all a fan of silver age comics, this is a treat.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conclusion of Alan Moore's run on Supreme. I really enjoyed this story arc. Particularly the first part, called Story of the Year.

[Javier Campos · Rating 5 out of 5]

El homenaje a Jack Kirby me hizo llorar y luego cuando dejó el libro inconcluso peor.

[Jipi Perreault · Rating 4 out of 5]

Criminaly underrated and unfortunatly traped in legal right management.

[Zoidberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty choppy. Moores first run on supreme was much better, but this one continues to introduce more silver ave Superman tributes. Really fun for those familiar with silver age Superman

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published 1997-2000. More of Moore's metafictive and playful fun with Rob Leifeld's Superman knockoff. It's fun and clever stuff, offering some nice riffs on the changing landscape of comics over the decades, and the fact that it's so light-hearted is probably a bonus, given that Moore's increasingly serious incursions into metafictive self-reflexivity have become progressively more boring.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated "post-modern" Superman parody. A couple of stories are mildly amusing, but dreadful on the whole. It's all too dated and you can tell it's written by a Brit that doesn't understand America or American comic books all that well. Moore's written some great comic books, but this just isn't his best. He comes off as being insincere and disrespectful to the subject, Superman, of the parody.

[Hamish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much just more of what we got in the first volume. It's still fun, but at times it still feels like all the references and in-jokes don't really have much purpose other than making you feel smart for catching them all. But it's also a lot of fun, and there's a joyousness you don't get in a lot of Moore's work. The art (aside from the Veitch-drawn flashbacks) is pretty dire though.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 5 out of 5]

La primera vez que lo leí... Me pareció excelente. Ahora que conseguí los 5 tomos de la edición de Recerca voy a ver si lo releo relativamente pronto y veo si subo la versión partida en cinco, que parece que tiene un par de extras que no incluyeron en este tomo.

[Jesse Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Moore takes all the silver age comic stories that we loved as a kid and updated them for the 90's. A great collection of stories!

[Cory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant continuation and kudos to the Jack Kirby references.

[Scot Eaton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as Supreme: The Story of the Year. I wouldn't recommend this book. Stop with the first volume.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading.

[Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

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