Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Our Worlds at War Vol. 2 by Jeph Loeb Superman Our Worlds at War TPB (2002 DC) comic books. Volume 1 - 1st printing. Collects Superman (1987-2011 2nd Series) #171-172, Adventures of Superman (1987-2006) #593-594, Superman: The Man of (1991-2003) #115-116, (1938-2011 DC) #780-781, (1996-2003 3rd Series) #59, and JLA: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1. Written by Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey, Mark Schultz, Joe Kelly, and Peter David. Art by Ed McGuinness, Mike Wieringo, Doug Mahnke, Kano, Ron Garney, and Leonard Kirk. Cover by McGuinness and Cam Smith. The epic crossover event is collected in two volumes! Volume One finds in its first strike, as Superman and the mightiest heroes of the DC Universe are overwhelmed, and the planet is ravaged with fire and destruction. With the fate of the world at stake, the Man of Steel is left no choice but to forge uncertain alliances with President Luthor, , , and other dubious allies. Softcover, 264 pages, full color. Cover price $19.95. Volume 1 - 2nd and later printings. Collects Superman (1987-2011 2nd Series) #171-172, Adventures of Superman (1987-2006) #593-594, Superman: The Man of Steel (1991-2003) #115-116, Action Comics (1938-2011 DC) #780-781, Supergirl (1996-2003 3rd Series) #59, and JLA: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1. Written by Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey, Mark Schultz, Joe Kelly, and Peter David. Art by Ed McGuinness, Mike Wieringo, Doug Mahnke, Kano, Ron Garney, and Leonard Kirk. Cover by McGuinness and Cam Smith. The epic crossover event is collected in two volumes! Volume One finds Imperiex in its first strike, as Superman and the mightiest heroes of the DC Universe are overwhelmed, and the planet is ravaged with fire and destruction. With the fate of the world at stake, the Man of Steel is left no choice but to forge uncertain alliances with President Luthor, Darkseid, Mongul, and other dubious allies. Softcover, 264 pages, full color. Cover price $19.95. Volume 2 - 1st printing. Collects Superman (1987-2011 2nd Series) #173, Adventures of Superman (1987-2006) #595, Superman: The Man of Steel (1991-2003) #117, Action Comics (1938-2011 DC) #782, (1987-2006 2nd Series) #172-173, (1998- 2003) #36, Impulse (1995-2002) #77, (1994-2002 3rd Series) #91, and World's Finest: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1. Written by JEPH LOEB, JOE KELLY, PHIL JIMENEZ, JOE CASEY, MARK SCHULTZ, PETER DAVID, and TODD DEZAGO. Art by PHIL JIMENEZ, ED MCGUINNESS, TODD NAUCK, MIKE WIERINGO, CARLO BARBIERI, PASCUAL FERRY, DOUG MAHNKE, KANO, MARK BUCKINGHAM, BILL SIENKIEWICZ, YVEL GUICHET, and DUNCAN ROULEAU. Cover by WIERINGO and JAIME MENDOZA. Volume Two shows the war going badly for Superman and his allies. Already the casualties are mounting, with some of DC's greatest heroes having fallen or gone missing in battle. As the heroes of the world attempt to turn the tide to their favor, 13 secretly enters the war seeking to harness the power of Imperiex to use for his own ends. Softcover, 264 pages, full color. Cover price $19.95. Volume 2 - 2nd and later printings. Collects Superman (1987-2011 2nd Series) #173, Adventures of Superman (1987-2006) #595, Superman: The Man of Steel (1991-2003) #117, Action Comics (1938-2011 DC) #782, Wonder Woman (1987-2006 2nd Series) #172-173, Young Justice (1998-2003) #36, Impulse (1995-2002) #77, Superboy (1994-2002 3rd Series) #91, and World's Finest: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1. Written by JEPH LOEB, JOE KELLY, PHIL JIMENEZ, JOE CASEY, MARK SCHULTZ, PETER DAVID, and TODD DEZAGO. Art by PHIL JIMENEZ, ED MCGUINNESS, TODD NAUCK, MIKE WIERINGO, CARLO BARBIERI, PASCUAL FERRY, DOUG MAHNKE, KANO, MARK BUCKINGHAM, BILL SIENKIEWICZ, YVEL GUICHET, and DUNCAN ROULEAU. Cover by WIERINGO and JAIME MENDOZA. Volume Two shows the war going badly for Superman and his allies. Already the casualties are mounting, with some of DC's greatest heroes having fallen or gone missing in battle. As the heroes of the world attempt to turn the tide to their favor, Brainiac 13 secretly enters the war seeking to harness the power of Imperiex to use for his own ends. Softcover, 264 pages, full color. Cover price $19.95. Customer Testimonials Our customers have some nice things to say about us: Customer Testimonials Mailing List Join our Mailing List for news and sales. We’ve been selling comics since 1961 (our first sale: Fantastic Four #1 at $0.25, see one of our first ads) and on the web since 1996. Copyright © 1996 - 2021 Lone Star Comics Inc. Character images copyright © their respective owners. Superman vol. 2. Superman was an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero of the same name. The second volume of the previous ongoing Superman title, the series was published from cover dates January 1987 to April 2006, and ran for 228 issues (226 monthly issues and two issues published outside the concurrent numbering). This series was launched after John Byrne revamped the Superman character in 1986 in The Man of Steel limited series, introducing the post- Crisis on Infinite Earths version of the Superman character. After that limited series, Action Comics returned to publication and Superman vol. 2, #1 was published. [1] The original Superman series (volume 1) became The Adventures of Superman starting with issue #424. [2] Superman vol. 2 continued publishing until April 2006 at which point DC restored The Adventures of Superman to its original title and canceled the second Superman series. Contents. Publication history. Superman's more somber costume to mourn the loss of life in the Imperiex War. Cover to Superman vol. 2 #178 (March 2002) by Ed McGuinness. Because the DC Universe was revamped after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths , the previous continuity before that series (colloquially referred to as "pre- Crisis ") was voided. Previously established characters were given the opportunity to be reintroduced in new ways. Reintroductions of classic villains were part of the new Superman series' first year, featuring the first post- Crisis appearances of characters such as [3] and Mister Mxyzptlk [4] and the introduction of Supergirl. [5] The historic engagement of and [6] [7] was one of the major events in the book's run. Writer/artist Dan Jurgens created a supporting hero named Agent Liberty [8] in issue #60 (Oct. 1991). The series participated in such crossover storylines as "Panic in the Sky". [9] The hallmark of the run was the storyline "The Death of Superman". The actual death issue was published in this series' 75th issue, [10] [11] and would be a major media and pop culture event with the issue going on to sell over 3 million copies. [12] [13] [14] As the main series featuring the flagship character of the DC Universe, the series crossed over with a number of different line-wide crossover stories including Zero Hour: Crisis in Time , [15] The Final Night , [16] and Infinite Crisis . [17] Superman received a new costume and new superpowers in issue #123 (May 1997). [18] In 1999, Superman , along with the other three titles, were revamped with Jeph Loeb replacing longtime writer Dan Jurgens. During Loeb's run on the series he introduced audiences to Imperiex, [19] introduced a created by the [20] in the "Emperor Joker" storyline, [21] and also helped with a controversial storyline in which Superman's arch nemesis, supervillain , became the President of the United States. [22] Loeb's run on the series included the crossover event Our Worlds at War , [23] which saw the destruction of Topeka, Kansas, [24] serious damage to Clark Kent's nearby hometown of , and Superman adopting a costume of more somber colors to mourn the heavy loss of life during the event. [25] Loeb's run ended with issue #183 (August 2002). In 2004-2005, artist Jim Lee, who had recently concluded the : Hush storyline with Loeb, provided the artwork for a Superman story by writer Brian Azzarello. [26] The story, Superman: For Tomorrow , ran for twelve issues [27] [28] and was collected in an Absolute Edition hardcover in May 2009. [29] With the publication of issue #226 (May 2006), the series was canceled as part of the company-wide Infinite Crisis event. The Adventures of Superman was returned to its original title, Superman , with issue #650 the following month. [30] In November 2011, a third volume of Superman was launched with issue #1 as part of The New 52 company-wide reboot. Annuals. From 1987 to 2000, twelve annual issues of the series were published. The first annual featured a post- Crisis retelling of the first story. [31] Beginning with the second annual, the stories tied into the crossovers or themes that were running through DC's annuals that year. These were: SUPERMAN VOL. 2 #172. Synopsis: Superman surveys the destruction in Topeka, Kansas, where the first Imperiex probe has landed, and finds just one survivor, a small boy who he hands over to the arriving emergency services. The Imperiex probe stirs, and Superman goes into battle with it, believing it to be Imperiex itself. In the process of the fight, he ruptures its amour, causing all the energy within to leak out in a destructive burst. Superman emerges from the blast zone, watched by Supergirl and a member of the emergency services, and heads towards Smallville. When he arrives on his parents' farm, he finds it empty, no sign of life anywhere - he fears his parents died in the blast. Supergirl tries to comfort him, reminding him that the Kents weren't necessarily there when the blast hit. As Superman ponders what his parents mean to him, he receives an emergency signal from the - the JLA need him. SUPERMAN VOL. 2 #173. Synopsis: Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern demand to be told how to end the conflict with Imperiex. According to the president's scientific and military advisors, now that his ship has been destroyed and his probes largely crippled, Imperiex himself is making his way to Earth to end what his probes began. The only chance Earth has is for Imperiex's armour to be cracked open and the energy that he is composed of to be returned to the galaxies it came from by way of a boom tube. And the only way for this to happen is for Superman to gain an extra boost to his power by 'absorbing' Strange Visitor. Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Frank Rock and the Blackhawks head into space to join the forces of the alien alliance. Out in space as they prepare to act, Superman tells Strange Visitor that he'd like to train her further, but to his surprise, she says that won't be possible, she won't be coming back from this, discharging her self into Superman's body. As she does so, the voice of Kismet, a powerful feminine persona speaks, saying it inhabited the dying body of Sharon Vance, who then became Strange Visitor. Superman is now the ultimate matter-energy combination. While his varied allies distract the behemoth, Superman flies directly at his chest, piercing the armour and releasing a massive amount of energy. This energy is then absorbed by Warworld which finally reveals its existence to the world. Brainiac-13, at the helm of Warworld, activates a device in Lexcorp towers which fires an immense burst of energy at Apokolips. Darkseid, of course, thinks that Earth has fired on him, and will retaliate in kind. The alliance is over. Superman: Our Worlds at War Omnibus. by Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey (Author), Joe Kelly (Author), Mark Schultz (Author) Other authors: Marlo Alquiza (Illustrator), Carlo Barberi (Illustrator), Mark Buckingham (Illustrator), Keith Champagne (Illustrator), Peter David (Contributor) — 25 more , Todd Dezago (Illustrator), Wayne Faucher (Illustrator), Pascual Ferry (Illustrator), Ron Garney (Illustrator), Yvel Guichet (Illustrator), Phil Jimenez (Contributor), Phl Jimenez (Illustrator), Kano (Illustrator), Leonard Kirk (Illustrator), Andy Lanning (Illustrator), Doug Mahnke (Illustrator), Jose Marzan Jr. (Illustrator), Ed McGuinness (Illustrator), Mark Morales (Illustrator), Todd Nauck (Illustrator), Tom Nguyen (Illustrator), Robin Riggs (Illustrator), Duncan Rouleau (Illustrator), Bill Sienkiewicz (Illustrator), Cam Smith (Illustrator), Lary Stucker (Illustrator), Dexter Vines (Illustrator), Juan Vlasco (Illustrator), Mike Wieringo (Illustrator), Walden Wong (Illustrator) Series: Superman. Recently added by FadeToBlackBolt, chirugby, Darkanime3, Book_Lover3240, Sparhawk2k, PepperSven, COLLINSdesignlibrary, Stevil2001, l.eric.bench. Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Access a version of the below that includes illustrations on my blog in three parts here, here, and here. I am pretty sure this was the most giant Super titles crossover of them all. The crossover ran through 37 different issues across three months! The trade collects just 20 of those issues (I guess ones deemed essential), but is still almost 500 pages long. Our Worlds at War had a different subtitle each month, the first of which is "Prelude to War!" It's not an entirely satisfying read, mostly because it's a lot of foreshadowing. First Superman goes into space to see if Pluto is back and ends up fighting the Fatal Five (from the Legion of Super- Heroes ) and is warned something is coming; then he goes to a deserted military base and fights and a new and is warned something is coming; then the inhabitants of Metropolis are abducted into space and Superman fights Darkseid and is warned something is coming; then goes to Germany and fights and is warned something is coming. Okay, I get it! But the hints are all so vague that I found them hard to put together into anything coherent as a reader. Plus it seems like Superman keeps punching people instead of actually trying to get explanations, and thus undermining his own purpose. Part of the issue is, I think, that I'd only been reading Adventures of Superman for four issues prior to this. This story draws on a lot , and is clearly a climax for a number of long-running storylines. But that just gives me a lot of questions: what did happen to Pluto? Who is the woman Brainiac? Is there some kind of connection between Mongal and longtime Superman foe Mongul? Why is General Zod a guy from the Middle East? How do all the myriad different villains here relate to each other? I felt like I should look some of this up in my copy of the Essential Superman Encyclopedia , but I was worried I'd read spoilers for the later parts of the storyline. There were two issues in the first third I wanted to comment on specifically. First, I thought the Man of Steel installment was the weakest component of Return to Krypton , so I was pleasantly surprised when its contribution here turned out to be the best part of Prelude to War! In "Metropolitan Rapture" (#115), all of the citizens of Metropolis wake up to find themselves in some kind of internment facility. Superman must try to investigate things without giving away who he is; Lois must try to organize everyone. It's a neat premise that stands on its own as a story. When Superman figures out what's going on-- a cabal of people including Adam Strange abducted everyone so that futuristic Metropolis's technology could be used in the coming war-- the answer actually makes sense, and thus the foreshadowing works. Plus, Adam Strange is 1) someone known to me, 2) not a villain, and 3) actually somewhat explains himself. A great example of how to do a single issue that still manages to inform a bigger story. The other is the one issue here that's not actually part of the core Super titles: "Down And Out In Kansas" ( Supergirl #59). I should say that near the end of Prelude to War! things actually start to happen instead of just being foreshadowed. At the end of Action #780, while Superman is fighting General Zod, a beam of energy hits Kansas, causing massive devastation. "Down And Out" follows Supergirl, who happened to be travelling through Kansas at the time, in the aftereffects of the blast, along with a friend of hers whose name I don't think is ever even mentioned but is clearly meant to be a loveable amoral jerk. (Also, judging by his over-the-top dialogue, English.) It's weird because between Supergirl having a concussion and the jerk's hijinks, it seems like writer Peter David is going for. comedy? In a story showing the ground-level devastation of a cosmic war? Of course it has its dark elements, but the result is a bizarre tonal mishmash that undermines what I imagine was the intended effect of closing out Prelude to War! with it. Imperiex arrives in the solar system in force in the middle third, appropriately called "All-Out War!" Honestly, I found many aspects of the story confusing at first-- with a high focus on action, Superman vaults from escapade to escapade and there's not a lot of time spent explaining what's actually going on. Big events seem to happen off-page. Possibly they happen in tie-in comics not collected here, but still. (At one point, there's an alien armada coming to Earth's defense; at another, it's been destroyed.) There's an issue of Wonder Woman (#172) collected here in addition to the Superman-focused titles, and I'm not really sure why from a storytelling standpoint, as it doesn't seem to add much to Superman's story (it expands on events from JLA: Our Worlds at War #1 and Action Comics #781 from Wonder Woman's perspective). but I was so thankful it was included, because it contains a bunch of exposition clearly designed to bring Wonder Woman readers up to speed. However, this is all exposition that was never provided to readers of the actual Superman issues of Our Worlds at War ! Finally, someone explains who Imperiex is, how he works, what his goals are, and how his weapons function. I'll come to the actual story later, but by God I was so grateful for this much-need dump of information the characters already know because no one had ever told me ! The stories here chronicle increasing desperation on the part of Earth in general and Superman in particular as Imperiex advances. Lots of big fights and big losses and big deaths: Lois's dad and and John Henry Irons and Wonder Woman's mother all die, Atlantis is destroyed. Some are more about what happens than how or why , and those I struggled to engage with. Jeph Loeb usually uses character narration to keep things grounded, but both of his issues in this span populate their narration boxes with famous speeches that counterpoint the action: the Gettysburg Address in Superman #172 and FDR's Pearl Harbor speech in JLA:Our Worlds at War . It's not really interesting enough to have a noteworthy positive effect. The best issues take you into Superman's head during all of this action. Joe Casey's Adventures of Superman story (#594) teams Superman up with Doomsday for a battle in space. It's called "The Doomsday Protocol," but I would argue that the "Doomsday protocol" of the title isn't Luthor's decision to release Doomsday and use him as a weapon to defend Earth, but Superman's decision to essentially become Doomsday in his mentality: " he has cut loose. Subsequently, the probes have offered little resistance. He can't help but think. if only he'd come to this conclusion on Earth, how many more might have been saved. Is this how men like Luthor can walk between the raindrops. By cultivating their inherent ruthlessness. their lack of conscience. " I like how it's done, too-- a third person narration that's next to the imagery, not in it, giving it all a timeless feel, like you've lost track of time just as much as Superman has in the fight, pondering the difficult questions while the battle goes on automatically. It's well done and character driven, and I can also envision how it's going to contribute to Superman's legendary renunciation of violence whenever I get to that part of the run. I also liked Action Comics #781, where we continue to see Superman's emotional self-isolation; an increasingly desperate Lois keeps reaching out to him, but he literally cannot hear her even though he can hear everything else, because he cannot afford to let himself hear her, otherwise he will break. At the end of the issue, he has this cold, heart-breaking moment with her. They're in public, so they can't acknowledge that they're married as he tries to say he's sorry for the death of her father. But then he turns to Luthor and says, "Tell me what to do, Mister President. Whatever it takes to win this. I'm yours. " Wow. Heck of a way to end the chapter! Which is why it's kind of a bummer that Wonder Woman #172 comes next. If it had to be included, I think it would have been better placed earlier, before Action #781. As it is, the Wonder Woman issue feels like a backtrack, but moved earlier, I think the chronology of Superman's actions would be more straightforward, and we'd have a better sense of what he's actually doing in Action . The first issue of the next chapter, Casualties of War! , picks up with Superman working for Luthor, so it seems like it should go right after the cliffhanger. Anyway, the issue itself is fine, and Phil Jimenez's art is great, but it's really a Wonder Woman story, clearly tying up some big emotional threads from that series that the reader has to struggle to catch up on if they haven't been reading it already. On the whole, "All-Out War!" was okay, and better than the first chunk of Our Worlds at War because of the parts more focused on Superman himself. I was hopeful the story would continue to develop that approach going forward. It was also interesting to note that this set of issues are dated September 2001 and this story is all about how you respond to an existential violent threat without compromising your ideals, including an American president who is willing to put values aside for security. But the on-sale date was July 2001, and of course it would have all been plotted and written much earlier than that. Something was in the ether, I guess. Unfortunately these themes were all basically dropped for the last part, "Casualties of War!" , which kind of thuds to a close. In theory, things should be winding up, but instead, the story piles on unnecessary and seemingly un-thought out twists and complications that it has no time to explore the repercussions of. At first, things get off to a good start. "The Red Badge of Courage" ( Superman #173) kind of picks up from the end of All-Out War! , with Superman now voluntarily working for President Luthor (though at the end of All-Out War! he seemed very resigned and submissive, whereas here he's all confrontational), and still awkward around Lois. Superman leads a space expedition to destroy Imperiex with some American soldiers and Strange Visitor (back for the first time since Adventures of Superman #592), and this has some decent moments, though I thought it was a little cruel for the erstwhile Sergeant Rock to lecture Strange Visitor the way she did. She clearly did not ask for any of this, of course she doesn't know how it works! At the end of this issue, though, things begin to spiral out of control. Imperiex is destroyed, but Warworld (from all the way back in the first issue of this storyline) reappears and absorbs Imperiex's power. Brainiac 13 somehow fires on Apokolips using LexCorp Towers (though the art here in confusing; when I first read the issue I though Warworld was firing on LexCorp Towers and on Apokolips), and Darkseid declares war on Earth, ending the alliance. I'm not sure why Darkseid is so dumb in this moment. Superman goes to Apokolips to stop Darkseid, but is somehow surprised to learn Warworld is at fault even though we all saw it happen. Darkseid's son (?) Grayven says he's taking over Apokolips, but it's the worst conceived coup ever because Darkseid just shoots him with his eye-beams and throws him into a boom tube. Like, what did he think Darkseid would do? Then things accelerate even more. The last two Super titles issues here, Superman: The Man of Steel #117 and Action Comics #782, are more exposition than story, piling explanation upon explanation about who Brainiac 13 is, what his plan is, what Imperiex (not actually dead) is up to, how they are going to be defeated, and how they are actually going to be defeated when that doesn't work. So much stuff happens in these two issues that it mostly has to be explained in narration boxes, and loses all of its potential impact. Maxima breaks the alliance (why?), Steel comes back to life, Wonder Woman volunteers to throw Paradise Island at Warworld, has some kind of computer powers, the Amazons worship Darkseid to revitalize his depleted powers, the heroes decide to send Warworld back in time to jumpstart the Big Bang(!), and more. It's all a bit too much, and a bit too messy to be enjoyable. A lot of things set up in the first third never really came into fruition. Like, why did the population of Metropolis have to be evacuated into space? As always, there are a few issues of other titles sprinkled in here. Three star Young Justice and its members ( Young Justice #36, Impulse #77, and Superboy #91). They were running medical aid missions during the space battle when they got sidetracked and crash-landed on Apokolips; the three issues follow their attempts to stay alive on the most inhopsitable planet in the universe. These are both fun and dark at the same time; I was surprised how much I liked them. I've never read any Young Justice before, but it's a group of well-meaning but often-at-odds characters trying to do their best, but often doing their worst, so of course I enjoyed them. The Superboy issue was particularly good (showing what's beneath his 1990s "attitude" as he writes a letter home from the war), but they're all good. The issues do feel pretty irrelevant to the big story, though, so I'm not sure why they're in here. I also wish the issue showing how they actually escaped Apokolips ( Young Justice #37, I think) had been included, since as it is, their story just kind of stops, aside from a one-page appearance in the "Finale" epilogue. There's also an issue of Wonder Woman again, "Amazons! Attack!"* (#173), which makes sense as some pretty dramatic things in Wonder Woman's life happen. It's oddly placed, though (I would have moved it to after Action #782), and doesn't really answer the big question I had after reading Man of Steel #117: why would Wonder Woman make such a dramatic choice as to destroy her homeland so easily? On the other hand, the mental powers of Aqualad (I think that's who this "Garth" fellow is) prove key to the final battle. but were never mentioned before it. It might have been nice to throw in whatever the relevant issue of the relevant title was beforehand. The story is technically over before its final issue. "Finale" ( World's Finest: Our Worlds at War #1) is an epilogue, showing various bits of fall-out: mourning for Aquaman (I forgot he died, actually), a ceremony for Wonder Woman's mother, Mongal (!) taking over Warworld, Strange Visitor's husband being mad, and so on. It's fine. Jeph Loeb's schtick of running famous speeches over the action of this series has lost its impact, though. Overall, I feel like this series didn't live up to its potential. Too much spectacle, not enough humanity. The first third threw too many ideas out; the middle one had some great character hooks that never got followed up on because the last third got overtaken by the Big Action of the story. * Note the two exclamation marks, which most indexers on the Internet seem to have missed. "Amazons Attack!" is something else entirely.