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The Krypton Companion
Posted 26 September 2006
Writer: Michael Eury (Editor)
Publisher: Twomorrows
5.00 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Adam White
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Although it may make me sound like some kind of lobbyist for Twomorrows, I cannot praise their new Krypton
Companion highly enough — The Krypton Companion is the most thorough, detailed study on the Superman mythos that I
have ever seen.
Editor Michael Eury has put together a lovingly crafted tribute to Superman and
his creators, a collage of the Man of
Steel through the ages. Eury left no stone unturned,
putting together information on a massive list of Superman creators so large it would take this whole review to list them
all. Eury conducts interviews with Neal Adams, Murphy Anderson, Nick Cardy, Gerry Conway, Steve Gerber, Keith Giffen, Jim
Mooney, and a long list of other contributors to the Superman saga over the years. Every creator offers insights into
various aspects of their time with the character and what they contributed to the ongoing story.
Eury focuses on all the elements of Superman and Krypton, covering everything from
Kryptonite to the Super-Pets (!) and
filling your brain with more information than you can
safely absorb in one sitting. Broken down into eras between the years 1958 through 1986, Eury offers timelines, model
sheets, and a cornucopia of artwork, much of it available nowhere else. Eury even uncovers and prints a plot by Jerry
Siegel himself involving an imaginary story entitled “The Death of Clark Kent” — where else are you going
to find all this great stuff?
Whether discussing the changes in Superman over time or the influences and tributes referencing other works from pulps to
novels to film, Eury and his cadre of creators tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Superman as well as some
wonderful things you would never even thought of to ask. Eury covers it all, down to Clark Kent’s cameos in Marvel
comic books over the years (there’s more than you might realize).
Again, I can’t help but get excited over pretty much everything Twomorrows
publishes because they do such a
thorough and
professional job each and every time. Eury and Twomorrows have outdone themselves with The Krypton Companion and made
a must-own book for everyone with even a passing interest in Superman or comic book history. So go find yourself a copy
today, because before you know it they’ll have another great book out you’ll want to delve into immediately (like
the upcoming books on Mike Wieringo and Kevin Maguire, to name but two).
So hop to it, and here’s a few more preview pages to whet your appetite...
—CCdC—
Cover image used with permission of the publisher.
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