Superman Through the Ages! Forum

I have not read it, but the art and premise looks cool.  Can anyone "review" it? I don't care about spoilers... what's it about?  As far as I can tell, it takes place on a unified post-Crisis type Earth, but in "real" time of when the characters appeared  in the comics?

Please use the search button:

http://superman.nu/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1619&highlight=frontier

Well, thanks for the link... but it doesn't really TELL me anything other than what a great thing it is/was

Thats the best revue you can ask for so U can discover on your own

Huh?  I don't see anything ABOUT the story... pretty much just that the writer/artist did a good job.

I also don't have $75.00 to spend on it (according to the DC Comics website) so I was wondering about it.  What's the premise... what's it about?  I have no idea and can't tell anything from the thread that's referenced (I read it a few times to see if I missed something, but maybe I am missing something???

The story follows the activities of the founding Silver Age JLA members and assorted sci-fi heroes (Challengers of the Unknown, et al) in the time period after the Second World War when, under a sort of anti-superhero McCarthyism, superhero activity is severely limited.  The new 1950s heroes eventually unite with Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman to battle a world-wide menace, setting the stage for their first "actual" appearance in Showcase.

The series attempts to give a more nuanced version of the Silver Age heroes' origins and motivations without diverging too much from the established continuity of those original adventures, all the while striving to capture something of the optimistic mood of the late-50s, early-60s (comics and politics), especially in terms of the art style.  An intriguing effort that is pleasantly nostalgic and rewards knowledgable fans, full of very nice cartooning and colour, with some clunky bits plot- and dialogue-wise.  I didn't spend my life waiting for something like this, nor do I think it necessary as an "Elseworlds meets Retcon" revisionist backstory, but it isn't as offensive, boring, or ugly as 99% of most modern superehero comics.

Thanks Telle... I appreciate it!

It also came out as 2 softbound trade paperbacks and can be had relatively cheaply at e-bay

I guess you could say it's a "unified Post-Crisis type Earth" in the sense that everybody...JSA and JLA alike...all live on one world. But it'd probably be more accurate to call it an "Elseworlds" in the sense that it doesn't follow pre- or post-Crisis continuity.  Batman and Superman, for instance, appear to have been active since the Golden Age while Hal Jordan and Barry Allen are just coming on the scene.  So maybe you could look it as a What If scenario.  What if, after Showcase #4, DC had pursued a "unified continuity" approach rather than the multiple Earths gag?  Well, except that Batman is still running around in 1956 with his original costume from 1939, and no Robin...

I'd say it's closest in spirit to James Robinson and Paul Smith's "Golden Age" miniseries from a few years back (and in fact Darwyn Cooke has said it's an inspiration).  That series doesn't quite "fit," either, but it's an outstanding read.

Whatever.  The point of New Frontier is not how it fits into continuity (it doesn't).  The point is to examine the nature of heroism in a specific period of American history.  And taken in that light, it's a fantastic read.  Cooke does a terrific job of making characters like Hal Jordan and Ace Morgan REAL...to the point where, when the emphasis shifts to super-heroics more than the flesh-and-blood mortal heroics earlier in the story, I was actually kind of disappointed (!).

The real genius of the story, though, is the way it takes an old series a lot of fans may have forgotten and makes it the nexus of a millenia-spanning threat to the entire DCU.  And no, I'm not gonna spoil it.  Suffice to say if you've been reading comics since the 60s or 70s, there's lots of little payoffs throughout.

The 75-dollar "Absolute" edition is, I'm betting, worth it.  But you could go cheap like I did and buy the two TPBs for pretty durn cheap at a spot like TalesOfWonder.com

Oh, and aside from a couple cool scenes, Superman doesn't do much of anything.  But it's not really his story.

Next up from Cooke, the Batman and Spirit one-shot followed by the Spirit monthly.  I am so there.

Hey, I'll see you there then! I've been looking forward to this.

Seriously, davidelliott, read New Frontier if you like old-school, proper cartooning and intelligent, frequently witty, writing. Cooke comes up with several interesting takes on DC characters, especially Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern. Personally, I found the ending a bit disappointing: it's your average Huge-Menace-That-Will-Eradicate-Life-As-We-Know-It-But-They-All-Take-It-On-Because-They-Are-Inspired-By-Superman's-Heroism thing, but the buildup is great.

Darwyn Cooke is now writing Superman's new series called:

SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL

with artist Tim Sale.

see here:

http://dccomics.com/comics/?cm=6238

http://dccomics.com/comics/?cm=6416

I found a copy of volume one through my local library's loaning network.  That way you can read through it before deciding whether or not to buy it.

:s:

It sounds awesome... I will HAVE to look for it!

Thanks everyone!

Tales of Wonder has it for $52.49, which is only 13 bucks more than list price for the two TPBs.

Meanwhile, the DC site provides a nice wallpaper for your PC using the Absolute edition's cover art:

http://www.dccomics.com/downloads/#desktop_patterns

I loved the ending with Lois, though!  But yeah, think of it like most JLA stories, where Superman didn't always save the day at the end.