Best products from r/superman

I really enjoyed the Kingdom Come graphic novel as well as Superman: Peace On Earth. Although Peace on Earth is a Christmas story it is still really well done, and anything done by Alex Ross is worth picking up. Both show Superman pitted against his greatest enemy: the darker aspects of human nature.

Superman: Red Son is an interesting twist on the Superman story line, where Superman is raised in Russia instead of on the Kent farm.

The Superman: Man of Steel volume set by John Byrne is a nice introduction, but I personally feel it is really short and lacking in a lot of detail.

The Death of Superman is quite good too, and I would highly recommend picking it up; the final pages are really hard for me to get through, but that might just be me.

Superman: Secret Identity isn't technically about Superman, since it takes place on Earth-prime (a world where superheroes exist only in comics, kind of like our world), but I love how this graphic novel portrays humanity...

I hope that helps. If I can think of any more graphic novels I'll be sure to list them in an edit. Good choice on Birthright though, you won't be disappointed.

Also, I know you had mentioned that you wanted to steer away from the new 52 for now, but they are going to be coming out with volume sets here soon, so if you wanted to you could start off with Action Comics Volume 1. This way you could experience Superman as he becomes the greatest hero the world has ever known.

That is really awesome! I had sort of a similar goal when Man of Steel came out. I'm not into cosplay or anything, but it was my fitness goal to have Cavill's back muscles. I searched for "Man of Steel workout" online (there are a ton of different workouts that claim to be the one Cavill used), and used this one. It's pretty exhausting, and I saw results in months, but it's too intensive to be sustainable long-term. I wouldn't recommend going that route, knowing what I know now. It's better to just have your own fitness goals and work towards them at a steady pace, and be patient. Nowadays, I just go with my own workout using this book, that shows you different lifts for different muscle groups, and I eat better. Good luck man, it's a long, challenging road, but it's worth it.

And while I'm here, here's an interesting bit of weightlifting history: Superman was based on Zishe Breitbart, a Jewish strongman who used to perform feats like breaking chains. He toured the US under the name "Superman of the Ages" and Joe Shuster, the original Superman artist, was a bodybuilder who looked up to him.

In addition to the ones suggested by others. The following are origin stories and each are pretty good in their own right.

• Secret Identity - Brilliant story about a real life guy named Clark Kent who is sick of the comparison.
  
• Man of Steel Byrne remake - This is the Superman I grew up with. Super relatable. Limited power set.
  
• Birthright - Mark Waid's stab at updating and combining the origins of the silver age & byrne reboot.
  
• Earth One vol 1 and 2 Cool other universe story. Shane Davis is fantastic.
  
• Secret Origin Geoff Johns's attempt at a soft reboot a few years after Waid's Birthright.
  
  The following are pretty good at diving into what makes the character great
  
  
• Kingdom Come - This is an awesome Mark Waid Elseworlds / What If kinda story that has a lot of different themes going on in it. Alex Ross at his best.
  
• Search for Krypronite - This gives a good example of the dynamic between Supes and Bats and Shane Davis's art is amazing.
  
• 'Til Death Do Us Part - Story's a little cheesy and the art is an acquired taste but this shows a nice peek into the Lois / Clark relationship
  
• Critical Condition - The first half of this book is awesome as Batman helps a sickly Superman find a missing Lois. Beautiful characterization. The second half is kinda lame.
  
  

Red Son is fantastic, but if you are not too familiar with Superman then you may not appreciate it as much. All Star is great too as a standalone, alternate story.

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But it all depends on what kind of stories you like. If you like origin stories, then get Byrne's Man of Steel, Waid's Birthright, Johns's Secret Origins and Loeb's For All Seasons.

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If you are familiar with Superman in general, then you may want to get into the alternate versions like Red Son, Earth One, Secret Identity, Last Son of Earth (an interesting twist on Last Son of Krypton), The Nail, Superman - Batman Generations (I think there were 2 or 3 series of this), Kingdom Come.

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If you want stories contained in continuity then Time And Time Again, Superman: Exile, Death of Superman, Reign of the Supermen, Return of Superman. These are all great reads

Not much, really. I do best when I'm given questions.

You might enjoy this book, though!

If I recall correctly, it talks about stuff like the Flash having to eat truckloads (literally tons and tons) of food to manage the energy he puts out, and that if he was going close to the speed of light and started trying to slow down on the east coast, he'd leave skid marks and/or a trench all the way to the pacific and beyond. (Probably getting that wrong,.)

I'd recommend Superman: A Celebration of 75 Years. It has stories from his very first appearance in Action Comics #1 in 1938 all the way up through the start of the New 52 in 2011. Sounds like this might be the kind of thing he's looking for.

Edit: For future reference, if he's interested in other characters, there are "Celebration of 75 Years" books for Batman, Joker, and Lois Lane, also.

Last Days of Krypton and Enemies and Allies by Kevin J Anderson were good. And It's Superman by Tom De Hevan was awesome.

There's a great book, the Physics of Superheros, The Physics of Superheroes https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592402429/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_KqvLwbR00FCWX, that actually does go into how some of that could happen. It turns out, the force needed to generate the kind of jumping altitude it takes for a 220 pound man to clear a 1930s skyscraper is only around 5000 pounds. I've been working on getting my numbers up to that poundage.

Some standalones:

• Action Comics #775 ("What's so funny about truth, justice, and the American way?")
  
• Kingdom Come
  
• Red Son
  
• Secret Identity
  
• Trinity
  
• Superman For All Seasons

I also have these novels, but haven't had a the chance to read them yet.

Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero by Larry Tye

It's Superman! by Tom De Haven

The shield is clearly photoshopped in*. I assume yours looked more real. :)

*original picture here...

https://www.amazon.com/Figura-Fashionz-Quilted-Lambskin-Leather/dp/B073SPJBS7

I second the Secret Identity thing and raise you Max Landis' Death & Return of Superman skit, his Regarding Clark video, and (If you have time which you probably don't but trust me it's worth it) his idea for a reboot of Death & Return of Superman he pitched to DC 2 years ago. I wouldn't say I was 100% on the Superman's-a-dick-bandwagon before seeing/reading these but I never really cared about him, much less thought of him as the most underrated comic book character today.
(P.S., when Landis shits on stuff you like, he's doing it for comedic effect. Honestly, he's probably more of a geek about it than you)

There was a 75 anniversary book that came out a few years ago, that was a collection of some of the most popular comics.

Time and Time Again

Whom Gods Destroy I don't know that this one was ever released as a trade but I always thought it was a rather bizarre and interesting story.

I usually get my comics by the volume, rather than the individual comics. That comic was only 5 books long, so it was compiled into one volume. Here's the volume of that series.

Edit: Oh hey, it's on the sidebar.