| Squadron Supreme TPB | 
 enlarge | Author: Mark Gruenwald
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Category: Book
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £11.37
You Save: £8.62 (43%)
New (22) Used (7) from £9.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 519346
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.6
ISBN: 078510576X
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9780785105763
ASIN: 078510576X
Publication Date: October 19, 2005
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New. Shipped from UK Mainland. Delivery is usually 2 - 3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Fallible humans with superpowers try to change the world. March 11, 2001
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This collection of a limited series produced in 1985-6 has a split personality. Open it at random and you see the art style and 4-colour printing typical of the period - but the story is something entirely different. In most comics it's perfectly clear who the good guys and bad guys are, and the story consists of fight scenes linked by brief flashes of soul-searching and character development. Here, the world's premier superteam decide to use their powers to really change the world for the better, but at the expense of individual freedoms. Each time they do so, the next decision becomes easier to make. One of their members quits in protest and seeks to stop them, bringing together a group of supervillains to stop the heroes for moral reasons. "Right" and "wrong" become increasingly blurred. The Squadron's aim is noble, but it's being implemented by human beings. Cracks appear early on, and there's a mounting sense that it's all going to go horribly wrong. It does. There are few fight scenes - the focus is on the decisions characters make. People get ill and fall in love, characters die, and using superpowers can have serious consequences. In the end, the most important things can't be fixed by super-speed or atomic vision. The core members of the team clearly *are* the Justice League of America, duplicating the powers and even origin stories of Superman, Wonder Woman, et al. There's no attempt to hide this, and it doesn't matter - what's *done* with the characters is the important thing (allowing author Gruenwald to experiment with ideas that would wreck mainstream continuity), and plenty of original ones are introduced along the way. Downsides? The view of America as the only important place on the planet jarred in a couple of places. Aiming at a family audience may have tamed the presentation a little, leading to such memorable dialogue as, "You sons of fishes!" It's not a cheap book, but you are getting 12 issues of 'Squadron Supreme' plus a crossover issue of 'Captain America'. Overall, a gem of comics history, introducing ideas that are still being explored in books like 'The Authority' fifteen years later.
 It belongs with Dark Knight Returns and the Watchman May 15, 1999
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
When Mark Gruenwald passed away in 1996, the comic book industry lost one of it's most hard working writers. Mark loved writing comics and this series was one he was most proud of. It deals with how far superheroes can go to solve the world's problems and even if they have the best of intentions, it can still end with tragic results. That's what happens here. This was the first time that such ethical/moral issues were discussed in comic book writing. If you like Dark Knight returns and the Watchman, then read Squadron Supreme, it really makes you stop and think.
A Grand Comic Book Epic November 16, 1998
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This graphic novel reprints the amazing epic comics written by Mark Gruenwald. The 'Squadron Supreme' was a group of unknown heroes I've never heard of before this book. But it made the reading even more exciting by figuring out who everyone is, what they think, and how they get along with each other.The members of the 'Squadron Supreme' decide to create a utopia for mankind. This idea slowly divides the team against each other. At first they do good by getting food for the hungry and finding job opportunities for the out-of-work. However their deeds become more and more controversial, albeit well-meaning, such as banning guns and criminal reform via mind altering. The story progresses to a final deadly conflict. In the end you question to what limit your own morals extend. ... This is highly recommended for comic book fans. A must-read for those who enjoyed 'Marvels' and 'Kingdom Come'.
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