ALL-STAR SUPERMAN Issue 7 Pg 16

I got to ask Frank Quitely recently if he and Grant were aware that they were crystallizing Superman in his final form as 2D Jesus in All-Star Superman. I find it so fascinating that 1000s of creators worked on both Batman and Superman sculpting them and working them into what I’d argue are their final forms …Batman in DKR by Miller being the most grounded man of grounded men, untrusting of everything, prepared to take down his friends if need be …hopeless in a bleak world. Literally operating in the dark. Completely material existence as Bruce Wayne. Completely mortal. Versus All-Star Superman, the very symbol of hope, powered by the light, coming from above, living as a normal man, and not leaving this earth until even the man who schemed to kill him was saved. I think the Ass-Man trade cover says it all VS issue 2 of DKR (in additional images). It’s like all of those creative minds over 70+ years were funneled out of two Frank’s pencils to bookend one another. How do we instinctively and sometimes unconsciously sculpt this stuff together? How do we know when Batman is acting like he’s supposed to? How Superman acts like he’s supposed to! We definitely do, all separately and together…and that’s wild to me.

I’m calling DKR and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN the book ends of the characters, as I feel a lot of people’s favorite versions of them are these two, and if not, your favorite version exist somewhere in between them.

Acquired at the first OAX convention (had a blast!). When it comes to comic art collecting I’ll keep betting on ASS-MAN by my art hero.