"He made the only choice that ever truly matters. He chose life."

Commenting on his interpretation of Superman for Kingdom Come, artist Alex Ross notes:

"Superman's design was certainly the starting point of the entire series' look. If I wasn't as inspired by his design, the rest of the characters would have held no interest for me. Fortunately, DC allowed me to hark back to the classic Shuster-style broad body and bone structure with the wide head, short hair (a big request at the time) and a constant squint.

Superman ala Fleischer

"I was heavily influenced by the Fleischer cartoon features based on Joe Shuster's designs, with his old-fashioned 'S' logo on a black shield. This same look can be found in a few other places in the early comics themselves and always stood out to me as a dramatic way to go with the design. The stylistic change I brought to the letter is meant to show the passage of time. As it has changed since 1938, it could further transform into the simplest graphic possible.

"To get to the personal roots of the character, I wanted to illustrate the farmer's son, revisited in his later years, after he had removed himself from the super-hero business for a time. His gray temples extend into his beard and long hair, betraying a sense of his surrendering to his age. While I played up the carpenter role as well for its obvious symbolism, the bare-armed, workman look for Superman is one of his earliest, coming partly from the 1942 George Lowther novel and many pre-costume drawings by Shuster.

"It occured to me that it suited the character to experience as many of the humbling aspects of humanity as he could, and aging naturally would offset his more godlike attributes. My version of Superman was the most satisfying visual and emotional accomplishment of Kingdom Come to me, as he stands out as the most compelling figure I've ever illustrated."

The Novel by Elliot S! Maggin Elliot S! Maggin talks about Kingdom Come

"The story we began here isn't over, not by a long shot. If it's taught us anything, it's this: The future holds promise for us all." - Mark Waid

Except for the Fleischer Studios cell-picture and the Joe Shuster Superman panel, all artwork on this page is by Alex Ross. Kingdom Come is available at your local comic-book store and at our on-line bookshop. Superman TM & © 1997 DC Comics

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SUPERMAN IN HIS COMICS!
page one 1933-1986	page two 1986-2002	page three 2003-2011
external link: 1958-1966 reader's guide