Supreme #1

  • Title: Supreme #1
  • Comic Vine: link
  • Writer: Rob Liefeld
  • Artist: Brian Murray

Supreme #1

Supreme Saturday takes us back to 1992 and the launch of Image Comics. I was never much of a fan of Youngblood or Savage Dragon, and while Spawn held some initial interest it eventually fell off of my reading list. However, there was one of the early Image titles that immediately caught my eye. Centered around the most powerful super-hero in the world returning after a 5o year absence, Supreme #1 introduces the heroes of the 90s with one from yesteryear. The first issue is mostly promise, some ultimately unfulfilled, with big questions left unanswered.

In how it is presented, the story focuses on the shock and reaction as the world sees an unknown UFO headed to Earth which is eventually revealed to be Supreme. Youngblood meet the hero in space and attempt, unsuccessfully, to slow him down. From there we get Earth scientists struggling to find a way to prove Supreme’s identity while others deliberate on how they might make his return work for them.

Created by Rob Liefeld around the idea of a more flawed Superman-type character, Supreme’s history is a bit slap dashed and would be reworked and reimaged more than once (most notably by Alan Moore in his Eisner-winning run). Originally conceived as a mini-series, the comic lasted for 43 issues (including a 0 issue) before jumping around to various publishers and eventually returning to Image more than 15 years later for a short final run. As to who Supreme is, where he has been, and what caused him to return after all this time, those are questions left unanswered.

[Image, $1.95]