Stand back, I'm going to gush. For foreign readers, "to gush" means I'm going to use superlatives about Supreme: The Return.

First, younger comics readers must prepare themselves for a shock. There was a time, the 1950s and '60s, in which comic books were fun. That doesn't mean they were better than today's fare, it means they were different. Supreme is of that time. So am I.

Let's get the art critique out of the way. Because of multiple artists, the visual quality of Supreme varies but is more than sufficient throughout and often excellent. In addition, flashback sequences in which old art styles are imitated are a hoot and a half. For foreign readers, "hoot and a half" means they add to the fun.

Next, plot. There is too much of it to review here because Supreme is packed with plot and imagination and epic spectacle. It may shock some younger readers that "in the day" entire stories were told in eight pages!!! This reprint that emulates those stories is 252 pages. WOW!!

So, what is Supreme about? It's about the rich and wonderfully creative world of Superma-- I mean, Supreme, a superhero who can do almost anything, and does it a lot. It's about an older, simpler style of comics that concentrated on entertaining story and art. It's about supermen and superwomen and superdogs and their super adventures, and supervillains and supercivilizations and a thing long forgotten called the "Sense of Wonder." For younger readers, a "Sense of Wonder" means saying "WOW!!!" after reading a title.

And it means fun, fun, fun until your daddy takes this title away.

This collection reprints the final 10 issues of the series published in 1996-'97. Supreme earns the highest accolades for readers who love the '50s-'60s, and very high recommendation for anyone reading comics for fun.

- Rambles
written by Michael Vance
published 10 October 2003