Superman: Peace on Earth

By Paul Dini (W) and Alex Ross (A).
Cover price $9.95. Published by DC Comics, 1999.

Plot: Superman realizes that there are lots of hungry people in the world, so he decides to try to deliver a bit of food to everybody in the entire world. From what I can tell, he’s delivering either rice or just plain ol’ grain, which, y’know, to a famine victim is like a steak dinner with all the trimmings. Regardless, the plot is that he flies around the world and delivers this food to all sorts of different countries, runs into a few spots of trouble when warlords don’t take kindly to his efforts, and eventually realizes he needs to show people how to “fish” rather than provide “fish for a day.” Yes, this entire story hinges on a simple cliche, and I’d be a downright jerk-off not to feel all warm and sentimental after reading it. Right? Well, I am a jerk-off, and I don’t feel that way.

The Good: I have really enjoyed everything that Paul Dini has done on “Batman: The Animated Series” and his recent run on “Detective Comics.” That’s the nicest thing I can say about this.

The Bad: Pretty much everything else. Superman plays Santa Claus. And, as much as so many people enjoy his work, I really can’t stand Alex Ross. Let me insert a minor caveat. The only poster in my apartment that’s hanging up is a collage, painted by Alex Ross of the entire DCU, promoting the Crisis on Infinite Earths. And, no, the ladies don’t mind it. One time, a girl I brought home from the bars asked me to name as many characters as I could, and my response was, “Whaddya think I am, some kinda f-in nerd?” Jokes aside, though, he cannot capture motion in the least, and everything he paints has a static, boring feel to it. As for the writing? It’s over dramatic, self-important nonsense, and I felt insulted while reading it. A common complaint of Superman’s character is that he’s boring. This is the perfect example.

The Grade: F. It may have only cost ten bucks, but, seriously, there are so many things you could spend ten bucks on other than this. Please, please, please, don’t spend money on this. A good friend of mine lent me his copy, otherwise I’d be so inclined to give this an F-. Completely and utterly without worth.