All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, and Jamie Grant

Collects All-Star Superman #1-12

Very meh with some blehs.

Issued by DC Comics as a 12-issue run from 2005 to 2008, All-Star Superman centers on the idea of Superman suffering from overexposure to the Sun — the very celestial object that grants him his superpowers on Earth. Faced with the news of his inevitable death, Superman embarks on twelve labors as he prepares the world he calls home for his absence.

While All-Star Superman has received much acclaim, I found myself struggling to balance the mythologizing of his story with his personal journey. Although a lot of the artwork is quite stunning, most characters, including Superman and especially Lois, seem caught between a traditional, even classic, approach and a more modern yet softened style. The colors used varied from lovely to overly blended, perhaps due to an overexcitement with the digital tools of the time. Lastly, the storylines themselves also struggled, torn between the classic quaint-but-campy Superman and the emotional journey for which Morrison was aiming.

All in all, it's not a bad concept by any means, just not executed in a way that I found to rise above the noise.