Graphic Novel of the Week for July 13: Superman: Kryptonite

July 17, 2009 | Alan H. | Comments (128)

First, a confession–I haven't read Superman: Kryptonite yet.  It's proven too popular for me to get my hands on a library copy (and I hope some of the readers are Word Out! members who can give more insight into this particular story than I can!).

I have, however, read a LOT of other Superman comics in my time, and I'll read Superman: Kryptonite when my turn in the holds list comes up, the Amazon reviews make me very eager!

So I declare this a general thread about Superman and give you my reasons Superman is great:

  1. Superman is an immigrant: He's not just from another country, he's from another planet entirely, but he's earth's greatest hero.  I think a lot of people can relate to this!  Articles like this one from the Times of India are quite common in discussing Superman's appeal as an immigrant symbol.  When I was in university, one of my professors did several lectures on Superman as an immigrant story (she really liked Superman too).
  2. Superman struggles to find out who he is:  Everyone can relate to this, but I think teenagers especially understand Superman's dilemma.  Is he the Man of Steel, or Mild-Mannered Clark Kent?  Many Superman stories deal with this issue of Superman's divided self.  My favourite is Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?  It's a bit old, but still a great story.
  3. Superman is faster than a speeding bullet: That is very fast and should be respected.

I have many more reasons why Superman is great, but I'd be interested to hear some of yours (or maybe you prefer Batman).  And if you've actually been able to get a copy of Superman: Kryptonite, how was it? (don't give too many spoilers, I haven't read it yet!)

Alan H. is a mild-mannered web librarian.  His secret identity is unknown.

Comments

128 thoughts on “Graphic Novel of the Week for July 13: Superman: Kryptonite

  1. i like superman too, but like you i find it hard to get in a library because of how many holds it has. However, i like the other superheroes from Marvel comics like Spiderman, Ironman, and the Green Lantern. I also like the teen titans though i am not sure whether they are part of the marvel group or not.

    Reply
  2. i like superman too, but like you i find it hard to get in a library because of how many holds it has. However, i like the other superheroes from Marvel comics like Spiderman, Ironman, and the Green Lantern. I also like the teen titans though i am not sure whether they are part of the marvel group or not.

    Reply
  3. I am a huge Superman fan and collect the comic books! I have yet to read this one though. I would love to read more reviews about it.

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  4. I am a huge Superman fan and collect the comic books! I have yet to read this one though. I would love to read more reviews about it.

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  5. What i love about the superman series is that the comic kind of realtes to peoples lives.Clark kent has a struggle between his life of keep his secret indentiy a from theworld and his love ones. But what is intersting about this book is that superman has actually found his weakness. Ibelive this book could have done more on extendeding the oral dialouge in the book all in all i give this book a 6 /10

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  6. What i love about the superman series is that the comic kind of realtes to peoples lives.Clark kent has a struggle between his life of keep his secret indentiy a from theworld and his love ones. But what is intersting about this book is that superman has actually found his weakness. Ibelive this book could have done more on extendeding the oral dialouge in the book all in all i give this book a 6 /10

    Reply
  7. I love superman! This should be interesting to read. I watched all the old movies and even the television series, Smallville! I’ll try and put a hold on it, thanks for the suggestion!

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  8. I love superman! This should be interesting to read. I watched all the old movies and even the television series, Smallville! I’ll try and put a hold on it, thanks for the suggestion!

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  9. can’t wait to read it. looking forward to it. cause it sounds exciting. i love advanture. look superman’s back.:P

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  10. can’t wait to read it. looking forward to it. cause it sounds exciting. i love advanture. look superman’s back.:P

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  11. Even though I’m not a big fan of comic books or Superman this seems likes an interesting graphic novel. I’m going to give it a try!

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  12. Even though I’m not a big fan of comic books or Superman this seems likes an interesting graphic novel. I’m going to give it a try!

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  13. I’d like to read this graphic novel very much since SUperman is quite popular among younger kids and I would like to see for myself the interesitng things in this novel by reading this book.

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  14. I’d like to read this graphic novel very much since SUperman is quite popular among younger kids and I would like to see for myself the interesitng things in this novel by reading this book.

    Reply
  15. It was interesing how SUperman got to know he’s a “Kryptonian” and saw his real paren’ts there. Superman always thinks (in tough situations) that he’s going to die since he had not discovered the thign that could hurt or possibly kill him. But I think oneday he;s going to find that thing but survive and emerge as a even bigger hero in the Metropolis. Also, I thin it’s wierd how ” Bridgewater” says he cannot survive without his companion (who i later found out was Superman) at the beginning becasue i didn’t think the mysterious green rock’s being was that dependable on his companion.

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  16. It was interesing how SUperman got to know he’s a “Kryptonian” and saw his real paren’ts there. Superman always thinks (in tough situations) that he’s going to die since he had not discovered the thign that could hurt or possibly kill him. But I think oneday he;s going to find that thing but survive and emerge as a even bigger hero in the Metropolis. Also, I thin it’s wierd how ” Bridgewater” says he cannot survive without his companion (who i later found out was Superman) at the beginning becasue i didn’t think the mysterious green rock’s being was that dependable on his companion.

    Reply
  17. I don’t usually read comics, but I’ve heard a lot about Superman. I want to try to read all different types of reading material there is such as comics, zines, classics, auto/biographies, etc.-stuff I usually wouldn’t read. After all, that’s why I joined the book club – to bring variety to my reading!

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  18. I don’t usually read comics, but I’ve heard a lot about Superman. I want to try to read all different types of reading material there is such as comics, zines, classics, auto/biographies, etc.-stuff I usually wouldn’t read. After all, that’s why I joined the book club – to bring variety to my reading!

    Reply
  19. I love superman… i love graphic novels all the time. I don’t know if the graphic novels going to be boring so I don’t read it. but because it is on word out then I LOVE IT… haha

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  20. I love superman… i love graphic novels all the time. I don’t know if the graphic novels going to be boring so I don’t read it. but because it is on word out then I LOVE IT… haha

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  21. I like superman graphic novels than anime. I love to read and get into the book. I love also Archie Comics. It hope I get to see more in the library so I can’take out more

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  22. I like superman graphic novels than anime. I love to read and get into the book. I love also Archie Comics. It hope I get to see more in the library so I can’take out more

    Reply
  23. Superman huh? Well, since I always/only read books and magazines, I think I’m gonna read this comic for a change.

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  24. Superman huh? Well, since I always/only read books and magazines, I think I’m gonna read this comic for a change.

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  25. ahahaha lol kryptonite reminds me of this poem called kryptonite tht we had to analyze for an english unit test in gr 9 and my goodness, it was HARD to analyze it! i did sooo bad on it and a lot of other ppl did bad too….but anyways,
    im not such a superman fan but i think i’ve put this book on hold a few days ago, so im definitely gonna read it as soon as i get it! sounds like fun
    and btw Alan, when i put a hold on this book,surprisingly there were only 2 holds on it and there are abt 40 copies i think…..so u can prlly get a copy easily but then i didn’t get mine’s yet i think the problem is that most of the copies have went missing…. 🙁

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  26. ahahaha lol kryptonite reminds me of this poem called kryptonite tht we had to analyze for an english unit test in gr 9 and my goodness, it was HARD to analyze it! i did sooo bad on it and a lot of other ppl did bad too….but anyways,
    im not such a superman fan but i think i’ve put this book on hold a few days ago, so im definitely gonna read it as soon as i get it! sounds like fun
    and btw Alan, when i put a hold on this book,surprisingly there were only 2 holds on it and there are abt 40 copies i think…..so u can prlly get a copy easily but then i didn’t get mine’s yet i think the problem is that most of the copies have went missing…. 🙁

    Reply
  27. I’ve actually only read a comic book once in my life, but i definately know about superman. so i think this should be a good read either way

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  28. I’ve actually only read a comic book once in my life, but i definately know about superman. so i think this should be a good read either way

    Reply
  29. Dear Twilight Series Lovers, I’m totally with you guys, and The Host is other book by Stephine Meyer. I signed it out, and I hope it’s a great book! And I can’t wait ’til Midnight Sun comes out!

    Reply
  30. Dear Twilight Series Lovers, I’m totally with you guys, and The Host is other book by Stephine Meyer. I signed it out, and I hope it’s a great book! And I can’t wait ’til Midnight Sun comes out!

    Reply
  31. Same i’m a way huger fan of manga than graphic novels. but i still think there are some graphic novels out there that are pretty cool

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  32. Same i’m a way huger fan of manga than graphic novels. but i still think there are some graphic novels out there that are pretty cool

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  33. But superman is a whole diffirent story on himself. all this stuff that i know of so far has been pretty interesting so i’ll probaly check this one out too

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  34. But superman is a whole diffirent story on himself. all this stuff that i know of so far has been pretty interesting so i’ll probaly check this one out too

    Reply
  35. The only type of book i havn’t had the chance and most likely becuase i don’t really find them attractive are comic books. they jsut seem to olden day for me

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  36. The only type of book i havn’t had the chance and most likely becuase i don’t really find them attractive are comic books. they jsut seem to olden day for me

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  37. Ya same here. superman has always been known but never really “oh ahh it’s Superman” but now it’s a little bit more “Oooh”

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  38. Ya same here. superman has always been known but never really “oh ahh it’s Superman” but now it’s a little bit more “Oooh”

    Reply

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