Superman & Batman: Generations Omnibus

If you’ve read this when it originally came out, then this volume is a high quality collection of tales you already enjoy. The first set of stories from Generation 1, jumps decades from 1939 and contains breezy, light adventures featuring Batman and Superman working together, and getting along. Along the way, we see their families grow and develop and experience some tragedies that hit our heroes hard. There’s an annoyingly unexplained mystery about who Batman’s wife is, which is unnecessarily distracting, but otherwise the stories provide a light and satisfying peek into a universe in which the characters are assumed to have lived from the years of their debuts to modern times.The rest of the stories include peeks into the wider DCU, so moves the focus beyond Batman and Superman, and at this point, the book only becomes more entertaining. In fact, it’s fair to say Generations only improves as it continues. If Generations 1 is fun and entertaining, Generations 2 cranks up the fun, nostalgia and intrigue, by several notches, and by Generations 3, we are in a full blown epic tale that feels like it combines the excitement of July 4 with the wonder of Christmas. The book ends with stories that are even more fun and entertaining than the ones with which it began, and that’s saying a lot.There are a lot of robots in these stories, and if you look too closely, some of the plots frankly become repetitive. What makes these reoccurring motifs bearable though, is the way the stories posit the development of these characters lives over the years. They provide an interesting view of how the lives of “classic” Batman and Superman might have turned out, if they had been allowed to change within the confines of the books at the time. By the time we get to Generations 3, we see how those legacies impact the entirety of the DCU, and the series feels like a love letter to a type of comics storytelling that was at its purest.Byrne does the majority of the work here, handling everything except the coloring and editing of course, but pretty much puts the book together by himself, which is impressive. The pencils lack the disciplined, controlled line of his earlier work, especially at his peak in the 80s when it was very polished, but remain distinctive and are a model of clarity in storytelling. Byrne is one of the most gifted pencillers in comics, and is arguably one of the best, if not the best, comic penciller ever, qua comic penciller. Of course, there are better, more talented artists. Others who came after him pushed the boundaries of the medium far more than he did. But as a comic book penciller, required to put out exciting pages with panel after panel of dialog and exposition on a monthly basis, without confusing the reader, few artists in comics can beat Byrne for sheer clarity, dynamism, and variety. His pages are always remarkably clear and efficient in storytelling. His drafting style is clean and attractive. He moves through various historical eras with an admirable command - his 1940s evoke the comic equivalent mood of the era - for example, and as a penciller, he is incredibly fast, knocking out the equivalent of two months work of pages in the time most artists take to produce a single book. His pages are a joy to read.If DC Comics weren’t always run my muppets, they would have hired Byrne to do a running series about this DC universe of characters years ago. Alternatively, a series based on the DCU as it existed in the 70s or even the 80s, as written and drawn by Byrne, would have been a certifiable hit, but alas, DC comics isn’t known for its shrewdness or common sense. They’ve still to collect Paul Levitz’s entire legion run in an omnibus or two, but will do things like put out collections about obscure characters like the Blackhawks. As I said, not the brightest bulbs in the room. At least here, the quality of the book itself is excellent. The binding is glued but high quality, and the pages are crisp and white and the perfect size to showcase the art.And at least, DC was smart enough to realize that this series by Byrne had huge potential when he came to them with it, and thank goodness that they did. We’re all the better for it. Buy and enjoy old fashioned comic storytelling at its best.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I’m glad it was collected in one volume.

I am a dropdead superman fan and I love John Byrnes original re-imagination of superman’s origin. I also love classic worlds finest stories were superman and Batman were friends, not necessarily what it feels like today when their enemies almost all the time. And there’s some thing about John Burns generation story as it follows the path as if they had been created in the 1930s and 40s where their history would lead that is very creative, very honest and I like that he adds the feel or the comic era. Like the 1990s. And that’s more brutal and violent versus the golden age 60 and early 70 that are silly and campy to the more modern age area which is trying to balance all of it out. All 3 min series are collected in this AWESOME trade. The first 2 are four parters while the last is a very TRIPPY TIME TRAVEL story told in 12 parts. The first is a tale of superman & Batman with there family’s that spans 4 decades while the sequel deals with filling the gaps on the history of other heroes in the GENERATION world. The last is a time crisis which cleverly touches upon every Classic time era of the DC universe , FROM KAMANDI AND OMAC TO THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES. It’s a pretty clever collection for any major classic fan and new fans because you really don’t have to read anything to enjoy it because it sticks to its own universe. The only thing that might drive people nuts is the hidden mystery of Batman’s wife. I highly recommend this collection because it reads so much better together as one volume and its a sweet wonderful little adventure into what comic books can be, which is a great story from beginning to end and the love of characters that we all enjoy.

Great book Fast delivery

I think this Omnibus has to be one of my new favorite collection pieces. The pages are nice and glossy presenting John Byrne's gorgeous art in all it's glory. It's also positively massive as you may expect, I'm still reading through! If you're a fan of Byrne, Elseworlds, or even just DC in general this is a very nice addition

To be fair I'll start by saying I do love this book. I've re-read the first 2 volumes several times. If you told me John was encouraged to do a 3rd volume by editorial and he was running low on ideas I'd believe you. Anyway I bought this so I could loan it to friends and they've only had positive things to say since. More than anything I think this shows that stories that actually show the passage of time are much more compelling than ones that just kick the can down the street. When the consequences of the conflict are persistent it makes the book harder to put down.

In its original release, GENERATIONS delighted me -- a brilliant story, mixed with subtle jokes about the industry, continuity, it worked on so many levels. But then, GEN2, which filled in the gaps in even more inventive ways. Together, these two books brought me back again and again. What a delight to finally collect GEN3 in a single collection -- it's been too long, DC. GEN3 delivers in a different way than 1 or 2, but is great fun to read... and THINK ABOUT! This is Byrne at his finest, beautiful art and clever storytelling! I highly recommend.

John Byrne has always been an artist and writer who can deliver the goods! I have these stories in the original format and now, with this collection, I don't have to disturb them from their mylar protection. If you have not read this series, do yourselves a favor for JB was at the height of his abilities when he told the tale. Two of my favorite characters in a story of what might be, an imaginary story, but aren't they all? Enjoy.