7.6/10Seven stories about a kid from Smallville who grew up to become a symbol of hope and peace.All seven stories are written by Max Landis but illustrated by different artist. They are all connected and in chronological order, showing us the life of Clark Kent, yet you can read any of them individually and it will still make sense and feel complete. Also a great element is that all the stories have a different vibe to them.P.s. Always great to see some Jae Lee art.

Max Landis is famous for writing shitty movies, producing mediocre TV shows and sexually assaulting women. But there's one thing I can't take away from him, and that's writing pretty good Superman comics. between him and Eddie Berganza, Superman was attracting a very unpleasant crowd in recent years, eh? Good thing they're both gone from DC now.Anyway, if you can look past the writer being a scumbag, American Alien is actually a really good Superman comic. It's not an origin story per se, more l...

"Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's -- Holy #$@&!"Without a doubt, reading the varying GR reviews (it seems to be a 'love it or hate it' tome) on Superman: American Alien was almost as entertaining as the book itself. I can see that some folks will think of it as trashing, or at least severely tweaking, the classic mythology of the 80 year-old (gasp!) character. I would counter with the opinion that they took the Man of Steel and filtered him through a Marvel lens. I ended up r...

3.5 StarsThis was certainly a breath of fresh air! Written by Max Landis, known more as a screen writer than comic writer, it offers multiple chapters within Clark Kent's life, giving the reader a peek into various formative points in his development.Each chapter is drawn by a different artist, and I have to say this is one of the most beautiful books I've read in awhile. My favorites were Dragotta, Jae Lee, Francis Manapul and Jock. Again, these were all instances of Clark's life where somethin...

Wonderful! Clark Kent as Clark Kent, for who he is! Seven stories by different illustrators - from the first one where a young Clark Kent learning to fly with his the help of his family, to the seventh one in which an adult Clark Kent finally realises his destiny and commits to being a saviour of the human race.

A criticism I’ve heard from some people who’ve read a Superman comic goes something like “He’s not interesting because I can’t relate to him - he’s too powerful, he’s too perfect, it’s too much. He’s a frikkin’ god!” American Alien is Max Landis’ attempt to humanise Superman and make him an approachable character to those readers. And it’s not a bad comic but it’s definitely flawed. From what I’ve seen of Landis’ work, his writing doesn’t have a shred of originality to it, which is ironic becaus...

Another very good cinematic retelling of Superman origin story with just one of the best Lex Luthor ever.I loved the first "Archie" style episode where young Clark learns to fly, the Clark "Bruce Wayne" one was hilarious, and the two one page stories about Mxyzptlk and the Parasite were 5 stars gems, but the young Clark in Smallville chapter was just too much "Man of Steel" grimdark style and Batman sounded like the "Collegehumour" one for me.

Well before I read this Superman tale I had no idea who Max Landis was. My bad. I will have to check out more of his work. As far as this particular work? I loved it. Yep.American Alien is a origin story. While origin stories of Superman abound, there are some that stand apart. This is one of them. American Alien is funny, strange, modern and a phenomenal look at Superman as the issues progress through his ages. I thought that was very well done. I enjoyed watching young Clark learning how to fl...

This is my new favorite Superman story.All the goddamn stars!When somebody says they don't like Superman - too overpowered, too unrelatable, too boring - I start spluttering and flapping my arms around like a crazy person.Butbutbutbut...NO! He's like totally down to earth, but really cool! Like, he's the best! He's just a Midwest farm boy at heart, except he's a total BADASS! Loves his mom (<--my personal favorite), good friend, smokin' hot boyfriend material, all-around swell guy...And he is! H...

American Alien retells the story of Superman’s origin (as far as his time on Planet Earth is concerned, at least) in seven chapters, each self-contained and illustrated by a different artist. I think the changing visual styles are supposed to vaguely mirror the protagonist’s progression through the various stages of his life, as they shift from cartoony to gritty to more sophisticated and iconic, and I generally enjoyed the varied ride. The surprisingly humane, often humorous, bouncy, slightly A...

Well that was disappointing. I'd heard great things but I really hated what this did to Supes' origin story. One of the worst Superman books I've read. Sad.

2.5 Stars This is the second '' Oh, you will loooooooove this '' Superman title that I didn't enjoy. Yeahhh... guess the hype got me and this was not what I was expecting.This is a new origin, modern an updated story, by Max Landis. Every issue focuses on a different age, on a different time in Clark's life. They're self-contained stories and every chapter has a different artist, so there is great artwork here.I could tell you about my complicated relationship with Max Landis. I usually hate t...

This is another origin retelling of Superman which yes had been done quite a few times before, but this one totally nails it! So if you love a good origin story you're totally in for a treat. The story is awesome, the issue where Clark is mistaken for Bruce on his yacht is just amazing and the volume itself is very funny, and doesn't take itself too seriously. It has some really sweet moments too, it's not high on drama or an overly technical plot. It focuses more on Clark becoming Superman and

This is probably one of the best that Superman has to offer when it comes to miniseries, and possibly in general. Sure, it's another origin story, but it's done in a way which feels unique. It's a book that's as much about growing up pains and discovery as it is a superhero piece packed with powers, supervillains and action; there are even a few DC cameos along the way. Each chapter represents a different time period in Clark's life, with a variety of artists brought onboard to give their own un...

This is from (apparent) wunderkind Max Landis and a host of artists depicting what are for Landis seven shaping stories from Superman's development. It's a kin of millennial origin story that focuses more on relationships than action. It has the feel of fan fiction in places, like what if Clark Kent were this party guy for awhile as he was growing up? What if people back home knew he could fly? The seven stories include 1) an early one on Clark learning to fly, with family help. I really liked t...

One Minute Video Review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy91b...Max Landis is someone I respect, but don't love all of his work. I also don't always agree with him on subjects. Saying that Superman: American Alien is the best Superman story I've ever read. What makes this 7 issued collection so great is they feel seperate yet all flow so well. We start with Clark as just a kid, then teenager, young adult, aspiring hero, and a true fucking badass by the end. Not badass in the sense he beats the...

A series of vignettes featuring Clark Kent in his life before he became Superman. The writing is fantastic. I found myself enraptured with each issue. Each issue has a different artist, all of which are great. The one thing I didn't really get were the one page stories in the back of each issue. They didn't really tie in to the rest of the book and seemed superfluous. This series is in its own continuity and not part of the new 52.

“THIS IS NOT A SUPERMAN COMIC”This is what it says on the back of this hardcover volume of Max Landis’s seven-issue love letter to the Man of Steel who actually doesn’t take centre stage, but really his mild-mannered alter ego Clark Kent. Since his inception in 1938, Superman has been reinterpreted over the decades as many writers and artists have given their own spin into Superman’s origin story and what does he mean in each time and place, from shining examples such as Mark Waid’s Birthright t...

Yay! I found a good superman story. Very good. Shame it finished so quickly.

This is one of the few Superman stories I loved so far, though arguably I'm not that much of a fan. It's ideal for someone who isn't versed in the Superman universe, though I expect that die-hard fans would enjoy it too.The period in his youth when Clark Kent started manifesting his powers was a discouraging one. His control over his powers was nonexistent, but it was that much more satisfying to finally learn to use them. His parents' love for him made him into what he would eventually become.