The creator of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski, gives us his take on a Superman tale. After a great catastrophe Superman goes into deep reflection. Some would say it's depression and/or denial, especially Batman. Regardless, Superman decides to walk the USA reacting to the moment and helping people with small problems. There are some challenging moments in here that ask some thought provoking questions such as: if a superhero can't be everywhere what good are they to those hurt? How can a supe...

It looks like I'm in the minority again but I thought it was really powerful.. Superman doubting his power and his purpose.. a different take on the Man of Steel.

How do you have Superman, the most powerful being on Earth, deal with the issues of the everyman and make it interesting? Other writers have tried with varying degrees of success: John Byrne, Grant Morrison, etc. Now, J. Michael Straczynski wants to give it a whirl. It seems that Superman has lost touch with the issues of the common man after the mega-galactic New Krypton storyline, so he decides to take a walk across America, kind of like that old TV show Highway to Heaven but on steroids.A wor...

After New Krypton exploded, Superman comes back to Earth with his tail tucked between his legs. He lost people's faith in him when he abandoned Earth for New Krypton. Now he decides to walk across the U.S. like Forrest Gump in order to reconnect. There are some decent moments but most of it feels hokey and dated. G. Willow Wilson steps in to handle two "interludes" and they aren't much better. Lois Lane is feeling inadequate as she thinks she's been reduced to Superman's girl Friday. It's the co...

I was really looking forward to reading this book from this acclaimed author, but instead of taking one of the greatest characters ever made and making him more incredible, he had Superman wander around the country feeling sorry for himself. A total waste of time.

In this volume JMS has some good characterization and really manages to catch the working-class feel of the original Superman. But from there it goes badly wrong, with the result being saccharine, cliched, and entirely forgettable stories. The two issues by Wilson are actually much better than JMS' work, though still at best slightly above average.

In Action Comics #1, one of the first villains Superman took on was a wife-beater. The early Superman Golden Age stories introduced us to a guy who was concerned about real people and their very real problems. In one early adventure, he helped a down on his luck boxer come back. In another, he took the place of a man who was being pushed around constantly to help him a chance at success and happiness. In one unforgettable story, Superman helped a little boy at an orphanage ran by an abusive head...

I'm torn. I usually like Straczynski's writing, the premise sounded good, and the cover looked interesting. So I really wanted to love it.There were moments in Grounded that were pretty cool, but in the end I felt unsatisfied.Why, you ask? Because after a while, the plot and Superman's actions seemed to mirror another much loved character. Run, Forest! Run!As the title implies, Superman basically grounds himself, and decides to, er, walk across America. It was supposed to be a way for Forest th...

It's been a LONG time since I've read a Superman comic, and this happened to be sitting next to Ms. Marvel when I went to pick it up at the library, so I checked it out. It was . . . interesting. It had the typical JMS positives and negatives. Some parts were great, and some parts were soooo not. Actually, the last time I read a Superman comic was the wedding issue, what, back in 1997? I think that might have been the last time I read a DC comic as well . . . nope. A friend gave me some Batman c...

Horrible. It read like a highschool kid was writing a Superman story about the importance of staying in school, not doing drugs, and not bullying. No style. No finesse. Terrible artwork (the absolute worst version of a Louis Lane I have ever seen). Nothing significant happens in this volume that relates to the universe it is set in, so you won't miss anything if you skip over it. Cliche after cliche after cliche. I think this goes down as one of the worst comics I have ever read.You know why Sup...

Superman Meets AmericaIn the aftermath of the 100 Minute War, Superman fears he is losing touch with real America. Confronted by the wife of a normal man who died because Superman was busy doing something else, he decides to try find a new purpose and dedicated himself to protecting his fellow Americans.Straczynski's story is simple, but addresses how Superman has to redefine himself in the wake of the earth shattering and devastating losses he has experienced. And therein lies its power.

I really enjoyed the first half of this. Superman basically decides to walk across America in order to get a better understanding first hand of the problems facing regular Americans. He tackles some drugs in a neighborhood and more eye-opening, a suicide attempt. This approach really represented JMS' typical "grounding" of superheroes. He always has a way to write them as if they were real, in today's world, and have characters talk, and react, and ask questions like real people would. I quite e...

While Superman Grounded had an interesting premese, it is not a new idea. You can trace the walkabout all the way back to Australia 20,000 or more years ago. Unfortunately this story reads more like a segment from the movie Forrest Gump. The story feels shoehorned into an alread set story line. The actually walk about only lasts a little while before like all Superman stories a good idea drifts into stupid.I do admit to enjoying all the questions people were asking Superman - Red K? Mr M? Magic?...

In preparation for the end of the world in 2012, last September, DC Comics relaunched their entire line of monthly comics. This marked the official end of the Post Crisis DC Universe and the beginning of the New 52. One thing lost in the shuffle was the controversial and widely panned final run of Superman, begun by J. Michael Straczynskyi. In Grounded, JMS looked to bring the character, quite literally, back to Earth. Rather than spending the final 12-issue arc of his career dealing with world

[Superman in contemplation, ©DC Comics]The story about the weight and responsibility that comes with being a superhero.[Jonathan Kent, ©DC Comics] "Anything that stays in the same soil too long withers and eventually dies.I think people are the same way. If we stay too long in the same soil, we start to dry up inside.Soon, there's nothing left but the shell, and after a while, even that goes.If we do the same things, in the same way over and over, in time, we fall asleep in our lives.Until som...

THIS WAS SO GOOD!It starts with the destruction of New Krypton and Superman deciding he will go around USA and help the common man and obviously politics and paparazzi and well the nightmare it brings but what I love is the thing he does, helping a boy and preventing domestic abuse, stopping drug peddlers and there is some great story where Batman (Dick Grayson) comes in. Media coverage and all and discovering shape-shifting aliens and I love the way he resolves that issue and man its awesome se...

This is the Superman story I’ve been waiting for.After enduring the New Krypton saga (which certainly had its moments), I was left with a crushing understanding: none of the stories present were really about Superman. They were stories with Superman in them, sure, but essentially they were stories about everyone else and their struggles, and whilst Superman had to face down and endure his own struggles, the stories seemed to revolve around the poor guy getting punched in the head far too much (a...

Superman's desire to connect to humanity is a double-edged sword. It is his strength and potentially his weakness. This volume touches upon that duality as he seeks to "get his head on straight" after the events of New Krypton and War of the Supermen. The cross country walk reminds him of the crucial balance needed between persuasion and action, diplomacy and fighting.

I enjoyed this Superman book quite a bit, mainly because most of the Superman books I've read in the last year or so have been so over-the-top or otherworldly, you seem to forget that Superman was raised as Clark Kent, a Midwestern kid with 'wholesome values'. This seems to make Superman a 'Man of the People' who starts just walking across the US, running into daily life and regular people with average non-super problems. I felt way more interest in this Superman than the one who fights super-al...

Totally enjoyed this. After the whole New Krypton sagas, Superman pulls a Forest Gump and go on a walkabout as he attempts to reconnect with his blue-collar superhero roots. In a comic/superhero era when the average reader relates more to the Wolverine/Punisher/Dark Knight Batman type of character more than the old school Superman/Captain America characters, JMS did a wonderful job in creating an emotional connection between the reader and Superman. It's too bad Grant Morrison is going to destro...