And where does one buy them?

With so many issues and different universes etc I have no clue as to where to start.

Go to Forbidden Planet near Victoria Sq and ask one of the nice, and surprisingly normal looking sales assistants for help.

Yeah, those 'forbidden planet' shops are fantastic, when it comes to TV merchandise from the 80's - we had 1 of those shops around our way, but it sadly went bust.

if not - then just try ebay.

I'm going to assume you mean what comics to actually buy and not where to buy them.

I really sympathise with your position, there is so much out there it's really hard to know what to go for.

My personal favourite Superman comic, and one that you don't need to have read any other comics to delve into, is All Star Superman by Grant Morrison. It's 12 issues long and is available in trade paperbacks or attractive hardbacks. In my opinion, and that of many others, its the best Superman story ever written.

If you want to get into the current Superman comics, I'd advise maybe reading Superman: Secret Origin by Geoff Johns. it's not my favourite by any means, but it lets you know what the origin of Superman they are working from is.

Johns also co-wrote a great story called "Up, Up and Away" with Kurt Busiek, which should be available in trades. I'd recommend that too.

Paul Cornell - who wrote Doctor Who's "Family of Blood" story - has just written 12 issues of Action Comics starring Lex Luthor in his attempts to get ultimate power. Action Comics: Superman - The Black Rings is the name, highly recommended for an insight into Lex. It also leads directly into the most recent Superman storyline, so could be a good through-line into the current comics.

If you want any more recommendations, just PM me. The stuff up there will get you into the current comics, but if you're looking for more obscure stories and just the best stuff, I'd be happy to give my opinion.

I wouldn't bother. With the exception of the odd issue here and there, Superman comics haven't really been worth reading for the last 10-15 years. DC have managed to completely wreck almost every aspect of the character, and it's no coincidence that Superman comics rarely crack the top 50 anymore.

There have been some pretty good out-of-continuety one-shots, though. I thought it was very overrated, but All Star Superman was extremely popular, and I'd certainly admit that it's a masterpiece compared to the regular comics.

Superman for all Seasons is a great 4 issue mini-series, dealing with the early days of Superman's career.

Secret Identity is a Superman story that... kind of isn't really about Superman, but still manages to be one of the best Superman stories ever.

Those are all available in trades.

I'd also recommend the Death and Return of Superman. There's an omnibus collecting the entire series of Death of Superman, Would Without Superman, and Return of Superman, which can also be found in individual trades. Not quintessential Superman, but quite a thrilling read in many ways.

If you insist on trying some of the newer stories, I guess the first few storylines of the Superman & Batman title weren't too bad. The first one, Public Enemies, was a bit hit and miss. Supergirl was quite good, if you ignore the idiotic ending, and it was a relatively worthwhile title up to and including The Search for Kryptonite. These are also available in trades.

I know it's not really what you asked, but I'm just trying to keep you from making the mistake of diving into the garbage that passes for Superman comics these days.

I'd get The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told, not as good as the Batman one but some good stories in there.

My favourite compilation as a kid was the Hamlyn Superman Collection 1939-70, no longer in print but you can get it on ebay.

I think the best Superman stories are the last of the pre-Crisis ones that Alan Moore did. They are collected in:

Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow TPB

If you want to read the last ever story of the Superman of the silver-age, this is the one.

Of course, this is a purely subjective opinion, and doesn't actually contribute anything useful to a prospective new reader who might actually like the current Superman. Personally, I started reading them again about 18 months ago and have been quite enjoying them, but then what do I know...

I still have that! Great book!

It seems to be general consensus, based on the sales figures of Superman comics these days. With the exception of the odd over-hyped special here and there, the Superman solo titles have rarely cracked the top 50 on a regular basis for at least 10 years, and it's not hard to see why.

All Star Superman by Grant Morrison (Vols I and II)

John Byrne's Man of Steel is a good origin story.

It was indeed, though it's been pretty much invalidated by two subsequent retoolings.

This is part of the problem with DC history. It must get very confusing for DC's super heroes: changing their history and entire realities every few years. I've lost track of what they can remember from previous incarnations.

It is has had a negative effect on the status of Superman. Both golden-age, Earth 2 Superman and silver-age, Earth 1 Superman were the first super-hero; an inspiration to all who came after. Post Crisis, there had been loads of the golden-age heroes around since WWII before Kal-El arrived on Earth, Cheapens the legend I think.

It will be interesting to see what the bombshell post-Flashpoint is going to be. Superman id going to be one of the main characters affected. If the rumours are right.

I don't think the earth-One Superman was alwaysregarded as the first. Captain Comet had been active before him, for one (since Comet was always said to have been active since the fifties, and by the middle of the Silver Age, Superman was clearly too young for that to have been true of him).

Good point but I suppose it is how you look at it. In our real time Martian Manhunter was the first silver-age hero then the Flash. But Superman/boy were considered to have existed on Earth-1 before that in the DC universe. Superboy must have been active in the 50s.

Captain Comet and the other "Atomic-Age" heroes didn't seem to fit in the Earth-1 timeline too well.

Superman Secret Origin. It's the most recent update to his history in canon.

I first encountered Comet in the 70s Secret Society of Super Villains series, when he returned to Earth after supposedly spending years in space after leaving in the late 50's. I always rather liked him. He actually lived on the JLA sattelite for a time, though he was never seen in the JLA's own book. As for whether he was predated by Superboy, it's hard to say since Comet was specifically tied to the 1950s while Superboy/Superman had a sliding timescale which meant his adventures as Superboy were always about 15 years before the present day, so if it was 1965 then Superboy's adventures would have been occuring in 1950, but if it was 1980 then Superboy would have been around in 1965.

I started reading comics about 1966 and discovered the SF characters a little later. I thought The Atomic Knights, Adam Strange, Captain Comet et al were fascinating.

It was nice to see Jim Starlin resurrect some of these characters recently (even if he only has one plot) and the post-crisis take on them in Bludhaven.

Sorry we seem to have drifted from Superman.

Well for those without too much current investment in Superman, why not wait till September and then hop on to the rebooted Superman which will handily start at number 1. I think thats probably a good time to be hopping on and not having to worry too much then about knowing all the continuity thus far.

See link below for more details of the new series: