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ARTICLE
Comic Book Review: All-Star Superman #6
by R.J. Carter Published: January 7, 2007
Publisher: DC Creative Team: · Grant Morrison · Frank Quitely Grade: A
Back in those halcyon days known affectionately as "The Silver Age", Superman and Batman had one thing in common. They were both orphans -- Superman twice over, since Ma and Pa Kent had both succumbed to the grim reaper.
No, the cover does not lie to this issue of All-Star Superman #6, "Funeral in Smallville". Jonathan Kent finally goes gently into that good night -- and to nothing more exotic than a simple heart attack. And where is Superman while this is happening?
Well, that would beg the question, "Which Superman?" Because there are a handful of them in this issue, in addition to Clark Kent (and Clark Kent and Clark Kent, if you want to get specific.) There is Kal Kent, the Superman of A.D. 853,500. There's the bandage-sporting Unknown Superman of A.D. 4500. And there's Klyzyzk Klzntplkz, the Superman of the 5th Dimension. They've all come to Smallville to hunt down a time-eating beast known as the Chronovore. Contact with it causes it to eat at your lifetime. And while it only eats three minutes of our superhero's time away... they were a critical three minutes.
Morrison and Quitely also play with the Pete Ross / Lana Lang subplot in a unique way, blending the Silver Age with the Modern Age. When Clark makes an excuse to leave the local diner to take on a job for Superman, the resulting exchange between Lana and Pete is more than telling:
Clark: This soda... I'd... ah... I'd forgotten how rich the food was back home... uhhh... Maybe I should excuse myself... Pete: Go ahead, Clark. We won't talk about you when you're gone. Lana: Why do you both have to act like I don't know who he is? Pete: Don't make me talk about this, Lana.
Maybe it's just a nod to the old suspicious Lana Lang from the days of Superboy, but this reviewer was of the opinion that this Lana was more than just taking a wild guess about Clark's other identity.
"...And I Can Do Anything." Tragedy strikes close to home as Superman realizes he cannot save his adopted father.
Morrison continues to deliver fantastic tales of DC's flagship character, approaching the equally fanciful homage tales of Alan Moore's Supreme run (itself a thinly veiled series of Silver Age Superman stories.) And Frank Quitely's artwork continues to have the organic look to it that has made it stand apart from his contemporaries. If anything, I wish that Morrison would fill in a bit more of the details of his stories, rather than having the readers to work out what is happening between panels. We see the Unknown Superman go battle the Chronovore, then a beat away we see him in his civilian garb standing next to Jonathan Kent seconds before the fatal cardiac arrest. Did he just look at his watch and zip over at super speed, realizing this was the historic moment? It's one thing to write a story that makes a reader think -- but it's quite another to write a story that leaves the reader going "Huh?"
Regardless, this issue is a tribute to all the richness of storytelling that exists (existed?) in the Superman universe. The future descendants and versions -- even Krypto himself! -- were all welcomed elements that serve to demonstrate why this particular Superman title remains a favorite among readers.
