Unbagging DC W.I.P. All Star Superman
#1
| Release: | Jul 09, 2025 |
Creators
| Writer | Grant Morrison |
| Artist | Frank Quitely |
| Cover Artist | Frank Quitely |
Doomed planet. Desperate scientists. Last hope. Kindly couple.
As of this writing the new Superman movie is hitting theaters, and I…will not be seated in any of those theaters.
I may try to get to it sometime next week, but I’m honestly not that keen on going to the movies. I lost pretty much all desire to go back in 2020 when I found that I really didn’t miss going. That was confirmed when I finally did go again in late 2021 and everything about it was just such a hassle.
Still, while the movie may or may not tempt me back into the theater, I did think that its release date made for a decent excuse to write a post about a recent acquisition, especially given that the story that it’s the first part of did actually get me to leave my house last weekend for the second Comic Book Club hosted by Comic Book Couples Counseling.
And, of course, the choice of discussion material was prompted by the upcoming release of the movie, particularly given that All-Star Superman is the choice many creators make when asked what Superman story they’d recommend to people who don’t already read Superman comics.
The spirited discussion at the Comic Book Club covered all twelve issues, but this post is focused only on the first issue, and more specifically, this somewhat odd new edition of it, the first in what is meant to be a series of Work-In-Progress (W.I.P.) editions of classic DC comics that are oversized and serve to showcase the art of a single issue.
While the concept is similar to an Artist’s Edition, the W.I.P, books are slimmer, as they focus on one issue, are not hardbound, and as a result are much more affordable.
The concept is similar, but the experience is not, which we’ll get into later.
Of course, along with the facsimiles and even new Treasury Editions – like the one seen above this comic and Savage Sword of Conan – this isn’t DC’s first foray into big comics.
As for the story in this big comic, All-Star Superman is Grant Morrison’s – incredibly successful – attempt at creating an iconic take on the Man of Steel, one that pays a lot of tribute to the Silver Age but incorporates decades’ worth of ideas from the vast Superman mythos contributed by all of the creators whose work had preceded Morrison’s.
Thus, this story is set outside what was the main continuity at the time, granting Morrison the freedom to stray from the status quo.
Naturally, the only thing there was to do with such freedom was to kill him.
Of course, that had been done before, but the approach Morrison takes differs considerably, as it’s not a quick noble death as the result of an epic battle, but a slow, almost mundane death that proceeds over the course of twelve issues, leaving space for reflection, introspection, regret, romance, hope, tragedy, and triumph.
But that all starts here, in this first issue, which finds Superman flying into space to rescue a ship on a mission to the sun that is in danger. Said danger is the result of sabotage by Lex Luthor, all of which was a ploy to finally do what he’s spent so much time failing to do: kill Superman.
Though the sun is the source of Superman’s amazing powers, in the course of his rescue mission, the Last Son of Krypton, like Icarus, flies too close, and while it has the effect of greatly amplifying his powers and granting him new abilities, the power is ultimately too much for his cells to contain.
Superman decides to keep the news under wraps.
For his part, even if the rest of the world is unaware, Luthor knows that he’s won and happily turns himself in, ready to face justice for his many crimes.
Though he’s not prepared to share the news of his imminent demise with the world, knowing that he doesn’t have much time left does inspire Superman to finally do something that realizes he’d put off for far too long.
What follows from there, as noted above, is an examination of mortality, grief, connections, and who Superman is and what he represents and how we all have it within us to be Superman.
After all, if we really wanted to, we could save the world.
But that’s all getting ahead of things, as we’re only looking at this first issue, and in particular, we’re looking at this W.I.P. edition of the first issue.
And the focus of this edition is very much on Frank Quitely’s art, presenting it to us – sort of – as it would have appeared on his drawing table before the application of color, though with the inclusion of the lettering so that we can also read it.
My understanding is that the inking of the work didn’t really involve much inking, but rather Jamie Grant simply darkened the already clean and crisp pencil lines in the course of digitally coloring it.
That said, I’ve seen images of some of the original art, and this very much is not that, nor is it comparable to what you’d see in a proper Artist’s Edition, as we don’t see any of the blue lines or notes in the margins or the physical paste-ups.
Really what we’re seeing is the separate line art layer from a digital file.
Which is fine, as it does give Quitely’s work a chance to shine on its own, but it’s just a shame that we don’t get those same extra looks at the actual work-in-progress we would get in a proper AE.
But on the topic of Quitely’s art, while it very much is for me, it’s not for everyone, and there’s not much in mainstream comic art that you can compare it to, and there aren’t really any artistic “relatives” that I can point to.
I do see hints – mostly in terms of Superman’s sheer size – of Wayne Boring, and perhaps some notes of Curt Swan in the fine details.
But that’s part of what makes Quitely’s art such a perfect fit for this story, as it provides an iconic vision in a way that contrasts to the writing. Whereas with the plot and the characterization you can see obvious influences from throughout the different eras of Superman stories, with the art the influences are less obvious and almost impossible to identify.
Grant Morrison wears their influences on their sleeve, but Quitely’s influences are more closely guarded.
But as with the writing, the overall effect of the art is, to use a term that feels overused but has to be applied to this work, iconic.
One of my favorite aspects of Quitely’s work is the way he presents Clark as a full-on galoot.
His awkwardness is practically a character in its own right and is presented with an incredible dynamism that somehow evokes Kirby without looking even a little bit like Kirby.
It also brings to mind the frenetic work of Sergio Aragonés, with Clark’s bumbling often taking place in the metaphorical margins.
In any case, if you haven’t, read All-Star Superman. There’s a reason so many creators recommend it.
And there are plenty of versions that collect the full story. I actually have it in a couple of different formats myself beyond this one.
As it is the “Summer of Superman,” it made sense for DC to launch the W.I.P. line with this particular issue, and while I do wish we got some more Artist’s Edition-style extras – and hope we will in the future – it’s an auspicious start for the line and I’m eager to see what comes next.
Born and raised in the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Jon Maki developed an enduring love for comics at an early age.
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