#433 - Superman: Red and Blue

Normality appears to have returned to life now that 2022 has gotten through its first week.

For me, after the almost blitzkrieg-like comic reading that I did last week, this one felt a lot more relaxed in comparison as I went about getting into my more long term groove of one 'me' comic and one review comic.

However, when it came to the 'me' comic, it was simply a case of finishing what I had started just as last week was coming to an end.

What I finished, of course, was Superman: Red and Blue which I had started before last week had even finished (just about). What I read was the Hardcover edition which was released (and I subsequently purchased) just after Christmas and contained six bumper size, 46 page issues by a immense host of creators as they told small, anthology-esque stories about the Man of Steel and his many adventures and interactions with those he saves, as depicted (well, most of them anyway) in his primary colours of red and blue.

Now, I think that it is fair to confess that, when it comes to DC characters, Superman is my guy!! While most people will argue that the dark, brooding Batman is the best character around (I'd argue that. In fact, I think I have), for me Superman is the character I prefer and will always place as my number 1 because the world is a dark, foreboding places far too often for my liking (especially these days). As such, while Superman may seem to many as too plain or too hokey, for me he is simply too optimistic, too unyielding, too ... good that while he has many relatable struggles, he puts them aside to be the best and inspire us to be better, be brighter in this drab little world.

Here's the thing: Superman: Red and Blue really seemed to encapsulate that idea perfectly. When I first learned that this series was announced (I think it was a tweet by Rich Douek), I was immediately intrigued because A. I do enjoy anthologies and B. the image the title entered into my head was that it would be a series of stories told entirely in those two colours.

Well, intrigued is a word which doesn't do this series justice because every single one of these stories is so incredible!! I absolutely loved this trade, it felt that it picked up the vibe of the character perfectly and told compelling tales of the Man of Steel's abilities and enjoyable stories about Big Blue's various relationships. However, what I loved most about Superman Red and Blue was just how superbly inspiring it was. From the first story to the last, every one of them seemed to show the character's innate goodness, certainly giving me the renewed belief that maybe the world isn't as bad as it always seemed.

Meanwhile, the artwork ... what can I say about the art other than it is 'chef's kiss' beautiful. Every artistic team on every story in every issue of this series brought an A-game and then some to deliver page after of Super beauty.

In fact, I can say that the book wasn't perfect and that there were art styles and stories which I didn't particularly like or weren't my thing but, at the end of the day, they were still so tremendous that I can easily admit that those 'bad' stories were simply a case of subjective preference. Beyond that, I can still see what I didn't enjoy for the great quality it was.

For me, Superman Red and Blue was phenomenal is every sense of the word! While it makes me a little sad that I didn't pick up the individual issues as they were released and find my love for this comic as it came out, I'm nevertheless so glad that I didn't wait to pick up the hardcover when it came out. The thought that I might have waited even longer, depriving myself of time where I didn't read these stories, is something I dare not even consider.

Fortunately, that's not a thought I have to dwell on because now it can go pride of place on my shelf to read again (and again) in future.

And that has been my read for the week. It may not seem like much but every page of it was more than worthy of the time I committed.

Meanwhile, one of my reviews I wrote last week went up on the Pipedream comics site earlier this week as my thoughts on Damsel from D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S. #2-3 & Bete Noir #2-3 were aired. As I said (both in the review and on my post from last week), both of these series really improved on the first issues which I read, although Damsel pulled it off better than Bete Noir if I'm totally honest. regardless of which is better, both ended issue 3 in a position where I truly cannot wait for more issues to be available.

Sadly, I've not had much chance to work on my own 'other' writing projects. I won't lie, I did manage to put my lunch towards an older script I had, where I spent For that hour re-designing the basic plot as well as working on the layout. Next will be making a start on the new script but that may have to wait until next week (if I can make the time).

Now, before I finish up I've got to mention something I had forgotten to do a couple of weeks back. The Best of List for 2021 was released by Pipedream Comics (of which I assist in putting together). Posted in five parts; 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11 and 10-1, I had to bring it up because this was by far the best list we've put together in the over seven (maybe eight) years that I've been reviewing for the site. In fact, I'm not going to delve too much into it because it's one of those lists you have to see for yourselves. However, it contains such a varied assortment of tremendous comics (and, to be honest, we could have easily added 2, 3 times as many. That's how difficult it was to whittle down to) that I can't help but be proud of what Alex, Mike, Lydia and myself put together. Therefore, I thought I'd just mention it.

So, now onto next week. I've got some review comics already planned and I'm already an issue into Avengers Arena as my personal book as I read this. I just have to hope that next week will be a little more free than this one.