All-Star Superman #2 & 3

I mentioned earlier that I have pretty strong feelings about Grant Morrison. He gets full credit for getting me to start reading comics again, and The Invisibles is pretty much the comic that thoroughly hits pretty much all of my interests from age 14-28 (e.g., Robert Anton Wilson, Philip K. Dick, The Wicker Man, britpop, Terrence McKenna). I've read just about everything he's ever written (even the issues of Zoids), and really liked about 90% of it. I went to see him speak last year in Los Angeles, and most of the talk was taken up with discussing his upcoming take on Superman. Most of what he said has been covered elsewhere (I think there's a Newsarama interview out there somewhere), but it was certainly enough to get me interested in reading All-Staras soon as it came out.

The first issue met my expectations pretty nicely (though I still take issue with Superman letting the suicide bomber blow himself up, given GM's repeated insistence that the central characterization of Superman is that he never kills - which seems like not much of a distinction when it comes to superheroes). The following issues have been a little off, though, and I'm having a hard time putting a finger on what, exactly, is wrong with them.

I think a lot of it is the pervading sense of melancholy that's crept in with Supe's impending death. Maybe I misunderstood the concept of the series, but I had gotten the impression that the goal was to do something relatively fun and in the spirit of the Silver Age Superman stories (particularly the ones that were thinly veiled iterations of the writers' therapy sessions). Using Superman's fear of death as the main narrative element seems a little heavy; it seems to sort of take some of the fun away from all the goofy faux-Silver Age elements being chucked in.

Also, I'm not sure Morrison has the right grasp of repression and seething rage to handle the Silver Age Lois/Clark dynamic. The central argument in #2 boils down to:

"You win. I am exactly as you have always claimed."

"I don't believe you. This is another one of your traps."

That's not really an argument that usually arises in a fun, dating relationship. That's an argument that comes up after 20 years of marriage, full of resentment, bitterness, and spite, when both sides really hate each other, but can't quite give up and admit failure now that they've invested so much time in the relationship. It's not really a dynamic Morrison seems to be good at capturing. Much as I like his work, interpersonal romantic relationships aren't his strong suit - he can handle lust/first love and regret/loss pretty well, but once you get into Tennessee Williams territory, he seems a little over his head.

All of which isn't to say I'm going to stop buying the title - it's just not as fantastic as I was hoping.