With stories by Bryan Singer, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, Superman Returns: The Prequels was a 4-part comic book miniseries when the movie came out ("bridging the gap between Superman and Superman Returns") and it's now available as a trade paperback. It's collecting together "Krypton to Earth", "Ma Kent", "Lois Lane" and "Lex Luthor".

The Ma Kent issue is both a flashback to the past (like young Clark Kent finding out he's an alien! A great look at the hidden rocket ship!) and a story taking place during Superman's 5 year absence. There's this nice scene with Martha buying 4 sheets of Peruvian stamps for the "fake Clark Kent postcards from all over the world" she needs to send to his co-workers! "Greetings from Peru" indeed.

The Lois chapter is just as touching. The world is in a frenzy. Lois: "I've lost count how many times I needed him..." and later: "In a flash I went from Lois Lane, gal reporter, to Lois Lane, Superman expert. Everybody wanted to hear what I had to say. There was one enormous problem, though. I had no answers to give them. Even as the days kept passing, I held out hope. I mean, he never disappointed me before, right?"

This is followed by Richard White introducing himself to her.

A tv report: "Where were you when he disappeared? It has been five years since Superman was last seen, and in what has become a generational touchstone..."



( 'He's not coming back to you, Lois. He's...' )

Newsarama did a wonderful interview with the editor Ivan Cohen about the comic book.

It's hard to choose just one quote here!

"The mothers in the Superman story sometimes get short shrift, but Lara and Martha both get their due in the miniseries. We reference Clark's departure from Smallville in here - Karl Kerschl and colorist Jason Wright really went to town on making this a thing of beauty - but we also explore her influence on Clark before Jonathan Kent's death. Marc Andreyko really adds some new facets to Clark's adolescent personality, and also gives us a sense of how this really unusual woman has come to terms with the absence of her son."

This comic is also available on Amazon. :)