Comic Info
Comic Name: Supreme (Volume 1)/Supreme: The New Adventures/Supreme (Volume 2)
Publisher: Checker Book Publishing/Image/Maximum Press/Awesome Entertainment
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Joe Bennett/Mark Pajarillo/Chris Sprouse/Richard Horie/J.J. Bennett/J. Morrigan/Rick Veitch/Keith Giffen/Dan Jurgens
# of Issues: 12
Release Date: 2002
Supreme (1) #41
Reprints Supreme (1) #41-42, Supreme: The New Adventures #43-48, and Supreme (2) #49-52 (August 1996-September 1997). Supreme is returning to Earth…only to find that Earth isn’t how he remembers it. Supreme learns that he’s the latest in a long line of Supremes and that he’s going to be “the Supreme” as he faces the latest revision. Now, Supreme is headed back to Earth and uncovering his past again…for the first time. His origin, his sister Suprema, and his faithful dog Radar are all returning with Supreme…along with some of his old enemies.
Written by Alan Moore, Supreme: The Story of the Year is the Alan Moore relaunch of the Supreme character which first appeared in Youngblood (1) #3 (October 1992) as part of Image’s original universe. The comic’s publisher changed from Image to Maximum Press to Awesome Entertainment through the course of this run and the collection was published by Checker Book Publishing. Moore’s writing won an Eisner Award for the series and was widely praised.
Alan Moore can do little wrong in my book, and Supreme really shows how he could turn one of the most generic characters into one of the most interesting characters. By combining aspects of the Superman mythology, Supreme became a great comic with one issue.
Alan Moore brings a real world feel to the Superman rip-off. His retro style of storytelling combined with a modern character really took off in the mid-’90s and lead to other comics having more of a Golden/Silver Age throwback feel. Not long after Supreme it felt like Krypto returned to Superman and more respect for the foundations in which the modern comics were built upon.
Supreme (1) #42
Half the fun of this series is the flashback stories. Moore nails classic comic book storytelling which still being creative with it. From fast friendships (and adoptions) to mistaken battles and adventures into the future, Moore’s flashbacks are perfect recreations of the old comics.
The collection is loaded with great art. Moore’s writing allows for a lot of fun for the artists handling the flashbacks. The modern events are good, but the style of the flashbacks really add to the story…and Moore smartly wraps them back into the modern comic. In addition, Alex Ross has provided some great art for the comic.
Supreme: The Story of the Year is one of my favorite Alan Moore titles and currently it is no longer in print which is a shame. It isn’t V for Vendetta or Watchmen, but it also doesn’t feel like either of those titles. Supreme felt original at the time it was written and now even almost (gasp) twenty years later, it still feels really fresh. Supreme: The Story of the Year is followed by Supreme: The Return.
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