I don't often read DC comics and even less frequently Superman but this is a famous tale and it was in the library and I fancied a change.

The main two parter by Alan Moore really is quite a special story. Designed to bring a close to the silver age Superman before rebooting everything after Crisis on Infinite Earths, Moore found a way to wrap everything up with a touching, bittersweet and surprisingly emotional tale for the ages.

So we have Superman near the end of the era, a resurgence of his old foes and a realisation that all might not end well. It's familiar and well told, perfectly paced and uses the supporting cast perfectly. The scene of Supes crying is impressive and the quiet narration by Lois, touching. Even more impressive, it has quite a satisfying ending. Undeniably a classic even for casual fans and great clean pencils by Curt Swan.

As an aside, I have to (childishly) admit to giggling at the scene where the other heroes are trying to break in and help. The text and characters are divided into 'friends, rivals and lovers' with a few characters at each stage delineating who is who. It appears not only is Wonder Woman a 'lover' but also so to are Batman and Robin. Ha ha.

This volume also collects the Swamp Thing / Superman crossover which was ok and the highly entertaining, 'Man who has everything story'. In this we get an amusing Jason Todd/Robin who is seemingly brand new at the hero lark and some wonderfully camp interplay between Bats, Robin and Diana. There's a lot of unintentional humour here and it's a fun story. Batman seems truly useless here.

So, a really great two parter and some fun. Great writing, great period art. Worth it for any comic fan.