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Superman: Red Son - Mark Millar

Writer: Mark Millar
Designers: Dave Johnson & Killian Plunkett
Publisher: DC Comics
Pages: 160
Price: $ 17.99

strange visitor from another world. Able to alter the course of rivers, twisted steel with bare hands and, as a hero of the workers, is fighting endless for Stalin, socialism and the worldwide expansion of the Warsaw Pact. In this amazing version of a familiar story, a Kryptonian rocket crashes to Earth with a baby on board who will one day be the most powerful on the planet. But the ship does not land in America. The child does not grow in Smallville, Kansas, but in a collective farm in Soviet Union! Mark Millar, writer of The Authority and Wanted delivers a very personal interpretation of the myth of Superman.

Whether at Marvel (the series of What if?) Or in DC (Elseworlds), the world of comics has long fed stories reinventing the reality of his heroes, imagining what their destiny would have been if at some point in their lives they had made different decisions. It is in this tradition that fits Superman: Red Son by transposing the son of Krypton in the USSR Communist Stalin, which was not an easy undertaking contrary to what one might think. Indeed, the United States, Superman is an icon. It is part of American popular culture and see it fly the hammer and sickle was something sacrilegious.

Superman: Red Son is a comic book into three parts that takes place over six decades. The story begins in the early 50's when Stalin showed the world the existence of Superman. It is a symbol of the power of the USSR and an ambassador of communism. At first, Superman is not interested in politics. He wants only the happiness of mankind. But Stalin's death, he will take responsibility. Sure Communism is the solution to lasting peace in the world, Superman will continually convince other countries to join him in his fight for a utopian society. But as the proverb says, hell is paved with good intentions. Utopia and Superman soon to turn into dystopia. As a Big Brother, Superman control with an iron fist the Communist world and does not hesitate to re-educate the dissidents. Only Lex Luthor, the smartest man in the world, manages to stand against him.

This story is downright fun to read. Mark Millar (Wanted, Kick-ass, Ultimate X-Men), manages to deliver a story that will appeal to both regulars and newcomers the DC universe. Besides Superman, you meet many famous people. Some have an important role as Wonder Woman, Batman as a leader of Russian resistance, Lex Luthor President of the United States or Green Lantern. Others do a brief stint as Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) and Barry Allen (Flash) in the Daily Globe reporter Jimmy Olsen in the CIA, and even Bizarro Superman Kryto the dog (you'll find ?). Although the story is fairly conventional, Mark Millar tries to go beyond the super heroic and addresses topics which have a glance to Orwell and 1984. It quite refreshing for a comic, especially featuring Superman, although we must recognize that Millar does not fit deep in the criticism of the totalitarian system.

Graphically, it is superb. I love the work done by Johnson and Plunkett. At first, when Stalin was in power, both artists were inspired by drawings of Soviet propaganda. The dominant colors are dark to bring out shades of red. And then gradually as Superman sets his utopian society, colors are bright and flashy to show the world is saying " perfect "but too slick and sterile.

short, Superman Red Son is a comic that I really like. It's a different view of this super hero that we all know. Darker, more tormented, more adult, this comic is likely to appeal to both genre fans and newcomers or those who do not like Superman for his own side sir. It is well written, beautifully drawn. And nothing to spoil the ending is quite clever. Mark Millar was one time proposed to Warner (which owns DC Comics) an idea of the film adaptation of Superman in three films. The project has unfortunately not been successful and it a shame given the vision that Mark Millar's character.

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