Review- SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL VOL. 8

SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL VOL. 8 (DC, First Printing, 2014; Softcover)

Collects Action Comics #598-600, Adventures of Superman #439, 440, and Superman #16-18 (cover dates March- June, 1988)

Writers: John Byrne, Paul Kupperberg, and Jerry Ordway

Artists: John Byrne, Jerry Ordway, George Perez, Mike Mignola, Ross Andru, Dick Giordano, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson, Kurt Schaffenberger, Ty Templeton, Karl Kesel, John Beatty, Keith Williams, and Dennis Janke

John Byrne's Superman reboot of the mid-80s continues in this eighth book in the line. I've enjoyed all of these books and wouldn't bat an eye on the inevitable double dip when they repackage this stuff in an Omnibus line. It's that good.

Superman #17 was incredible. I loved his battle with the Banshee, and the whole story had a Marvel feel to it thanks to John Byrne. His defection to DC was a big deal at the time, but back in the '80s I was a company man forbidden to cross the picket line to DC. More fool me.

Action Comics #600 is the highlight of this book. It would be pretty hard to read this issue and not crack a smile. Byrne draws everything except for Wonder Woman, whom George Perez was drawing at the time and draws here. We get a “comic jam” style team-up similar to the All-Star Comics Justice Society stories of the 1940s. Add in Darkseid and you have a can't miss comic clocking in at a whopping 80 pages.

This is a fantastic read. There is a ninth book in this line but I passed on it in anticipation of the inevitable Omnibus line. DC discovered the double dip repackaging game late but are making up for lost time. It wouldn't surprise me to see it announced within the year.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Linework and Color restoration: The color palette is faithful for the most part, although some of the blends are off (as in too much here, not enough there) and some of the blends were done with a lazy, airbrushed gradient style. This method drives me nuts on material which was done with flat coloring because it sticks out like a sore thumb and looks inauthentic.

The linework is often obliterated, with Action Comics #599 being the worst looking issue in the book. It has what I call “the Sharpie effect”, where a restoration artist tried to fix the problem by doubling the lines. The black linework looks far too heavy while all of the fine detail is gone.

Scan of original comic book.

Restoration from this book. 

My overall take is that this is a serviceable job. Since this is DC, they will never bother remastering or doing any touch ups if this material is repurposed in other collections. This is it, folks.

Paper stock: The pros: The paper looks and feels like authentic pulp comic book paper. Cons: The paper looks and feels like authentic pulp comic book paper. I have many DC collections which utilized this chintzy paper stock and they begin yellowing like real comic book paper. Even though this Mando stock doesn't have as much acid as true pulp paper it is still susceptible to aging processes.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.