Superman

A good book.

I grew up on the early 1960's (Silver Age) Superman comic books, left after most of the John Byrne reboot had been discarded and returned briefly for the Death of Superman and a few years following that storyline. I watched Smallville and went to each of the movies because, it was after all, Superman, but could never bring myself to continue spending so much money on the comics when I didn't care for the storylines or the characters.

Thus, most of the history, up until the late 90's when I stopped keeping up with the comic book versions because of too many updates to the origin and changes in character, was already very familiar to me. So I found particular enjoyment and interest in the portions that covered that period to present-day.

Weldon is obviously familiar with the character and has done an excellent job of bringing not only the history but the essence of Superman to his work. The only caveat I would offer is his tendency to use a $10 word when a $5 one would suffice. But this is to be expected when your background is NPR and I always appreciate the opportunity to expand my vocabulary.

If you have any love for the character or interest in his history, this book should be on your shelf.