All-Star Superman

All-Star Superman is a twelve-issue American comic book series featuring Superman that was published by DC Comics. The series ran from November 2005 to October 2008. The series was written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Frank Quitely, and digitally inked by Jamie Grant. The series revolves around Superman, who is dying due to overexposure to the Sun, as he accomplishes many heroic feats (The Twelve Labors of Superman) and attempts to make peace with the world before his imminent death. The origin of the series started with Morrison's desire to tell a "timeless" Superman story that wasn't an origin story or followed a classic narrative. Morrison originally planned a revamp of the Superman character, titled "Superman Now", but after the approach was declined, decided they wouldn't write anything related to Superman until DC Vice President Dan DiDio contacted them. Some of the ideas planned for "Superman Now" were subsequently reused for All-Star Superman. The series was the second to be launched in 2005 under DC's All-Star imprint, the first being All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder. These series were attempts by DC to allow major comics creators a chance to tell stories showcasing these characters without being restricted by DC Universe continuity. All-Star Superman received critical acclaim for its emotional story, characterization, writing, and artwork. Publication history Grant Morrison's approach to writing this series was to make the reading as universal as possible. They stated that they were not interested in "re-doing origin stories or unpacking classic narratives" but instead wanted to do "a total update, rehaul and refit". However, rather than just creating a "fresh and relevant" update for new readers, Morrison wanted to write a "collection of 'timeless' Superman issues". The origins of this lie in a revamp of Superman, Superman Now, which began when Morrison and editor Dan Raspler were unsuccessfully brainstorming ideas for a new take on the character outside the San Diego Comic Con, when they had a "shamanic" encounter with a man dressed as Superman which helped spark the creative process and inspired the cover to the first issue. Morrison states in an interview: