Still, there’s a very good chance you’ve never read a Superman comic before, and with 80 years of comics to choose from, you might not know where to even begin. Fortunately, there are plenty of complete, classic Superman tales available at your local comic shop, bookstore or online retailer that are perfect for fans new to the world of Superman comics or comic books in general. You just need to know what to look for. Here are five acclaimed Superman comics, all available as graphic novels that you can easily find online, that are ideal for readers new to his world.

Written by Mark Waid

Art by Leinil Francis Yu and Gerry Alanguilan

Superman: Birthright is a perfect first dive into the world of the Man of Steel, particularly for anyone looking for a newer, fairly modern take on the character. As the title suggests, this story is Mark Waid’s take on the very famous story of a Kryptonian ship crash landing on Earth and opening to reveal a little baby who will save the world. As such, you really don’t even need to know who Superman is or what he stands for to understand everything that takes place over the course of the book’s 100+ pages.

Birthright marries arguably the most famous origin story of all time with some tremendous action scenes beautifully rendered by series artists Leinil Francis Yu and Gerry Alanguilan. If you want to see Superman take on foes in battles worthy of the big screen, while narratively evolving his tenuous sense of self, then this is absolutely the story that you want to start with. The plot itself doesn’t stray too far from the classic source material, but it is a very fun presentation of it and it really, really moves.





Written by Mark Millar

Art by Dave Johnson and Kilian Plunkett Looking for something totally different? Superman: Red Son is a alt-universe Superman story set in Russia. It’s got a very simple premise: What if Superman landed in the Soviet Union rather than in the American heartland when he crash landed on Earth? Red Son is a period piece squared away in the 1950s during the height of upheaval for the Soviet Union. (Fun fact: the title is a play on Krypton’s red sun, Rao, that does not give Kryptonians superpowers the way that Earth’s yellow sun, Sol, does.) Under the auspices of Communism, Superman still learns to value the little person, but as a worker toiling away for the greater good, even as he is guided by his handlers into acting against those same people’s best interests. The internal struggle that this evokes in him in Red Son makes for some dynamic reading. Written by Mark Millar, the creator of Kingsman and Kick-Ass and writer of Marvel’s Civil War comic series, Red Son dreams up a very clever way to bring this universe’s versions of Superman and Lois Lane together in a beautiful moment that suggests these two characters will always be inextricably drawn together, no matter which countries they may find themselves in…and that they’re better for it.

Red Son is a self-contained, one-and-done story that explores who Superman is and what he stands for through a much different lens. If you’re someone who thinks Superman comics are boring, you may want to check out Red Son.



