The Beginning
Superman: Birthright
The second most recent retelling of Superman's origins (The most recent, Superman: Secret Origin, just started last month), Mark Waid and Francis Lenil Yu's 2003 twelve-part revamp updated the Man of Steel for the 21st Century, bringing back many concepts and ideas lost from the comics since the mid-80s (Amongst them, Lex Luthor as childhood friend - Something that Smallville had brought back into the public consciousness) and giving us a more pro-active and easier to relate to Kal-El. Overlooked on its original release, and quickly removed from continuity by 2005's Infinite Crisis, this is still one of the best versions of the character's earliest days.

The Ending(s)
Superman: Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow
The classic "End of Superman" story, Alan Moore and Curt Swan's farewell to the character revisits characters from his past in a way that's part celebration and part "What were they thinking?" The recently-released "deluxe hardcover" edition also contains Moore's other classic Superman story, "For The Man Who Has Everything."

JLA: DC One Million
Technically not a Superman story, but anyone who's read Grant Morrison's tale of the return of "Superman Prime" in the 853rd Century - and the multi-time-period, part-intergalactic-assassination-attempt, part-genocide-attempt it spawns - knows that Clark Kent could've asked for no greater 60th birthday present, especially with the happy ending Morrison provides at the end.

The Future
Superman And The Legion Of Super-Heroes
As well as rebooting the Superman spin-off Legion of Super-Heroes, Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's 2008 storyline also looks at the legacy of the character, jumping ahead 1000 years to a world where Superman's mythology has been twisted into something more bigoted and exclusive, all as an excuse to show what Superman really stands for. You'll cheer when the tables turn towards the end.

The What Ifs
Superman: Red Son
What if the all-American hero landed in Russia? Mark Millar, Dave Johnson and Killian Plunkett's 2003 series takes the alternate history route all the way to the far future, and brings in Batman, Wonder Woman, JFK and Stalin for the ride.

Superman: Secret Identity
A more real-world take on the Superman idea, Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen's touching 2004 story takes the ideas behind the character for a metatextual, science fiction spin, showing a Clark Kent who lives in "the real world," but develops super powers nonetheless.

The Time Capsules
The Superman Chronicles Vol. 1
The earliest appearances of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's hero, reprinted in the order in which they appeared, it's a wonderful (and relatively cheap) look back at the origins of one of the 20th century's most iconic creations.

Showcase Presents: Superman Family Vol. 2
Mid-50s insanity collecting issues of the spin-off series Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen and Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane, showing the weird and wonderful science fiction fables that the character had started to populate after his first flush of success.

Superman: The Death And Return Of Superman Omnibus
Not just the highlight of Superman's 1990s, but one of the sales highlights of comics of the decade in general, the story of Superman's "death" and subsequent return may not be the most compelling story the character has ever appeared in - and may fall apart once he has to come back - but it's definitely one of the most read.

The Ones To Own If You Can Only Own One (Okay, Two)
All-Star Superman Vols. 1 & 2
Starting with a one-page recap of the character's roots and speeding (like a bullet, in fact) through a series of challenges and stories highlighting what the character means to his friends, family and even his fans, Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly's two-volume meditation on Superman is exciting, surprisingly gentle and filled with affection, and possibly the greatest Superman series published to date. Everything you need to know about Superman is in here, and maybe a little more, too.

The Gotham Group has picked up the movie rights to Craig Yoe's wonderful Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman's Co-Creator Joe Shuster, which reveals Shuster's work on the controversial BDSM underground comic series The Nights of Terror from the 1950s, during a time where he had become estranged from Superman's publisher DC Comics. The comics - which feature lookalikes of Superman, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor in various scenes of S&M play - were named as an inspiration behind a crime spree of the era that involved murder, torture and humiliation of victims.

The Gotham Group is currently trying to find writers for the project; no date for release has been announced.

Gotham to reveal Shuster's 'Secret' [Variety]

The book in question is called Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster, and it's part of ComicArts, the new graphic novel imprint from publisher Harry N. Abrams. Centering around Superman co-creator Shuster's relatively unknown 1950s sideline at illustrator for S&M magazine Nights of Horror, the heavily-illustrated book is sure to make you think twice about what Superman does when he's not saving the world.
Charles Kochman, Executive Editor of the imprint, explains:

They are undoubtedly the work of Joe Shuster, but nobody connected the dots at the time to say this looks like Superman, or Lois Lane, or Jimmy Olsen, or Lex Luthor... The material was banned by the U.S. Supreme Court, and although the publisher and the printer both went to jail, nobody came after Shuster because somehow they never made the connection to Superman or to Shuster as the artist... Also involved were a group of neo-Nazi thugs called the Brooklyn Thrill Killers, who whipped innocent women and set fire to vagrants and murdered them. These kids were interviewed by [anti-comics crusader Dr. Frederic] Wertham when 'Nights of Horror' magazines were cited as inspiration for their crimes. The whole story and the art are revealed here by Craig Yoe for the first time. This is going be an amazing book. If you like Lois Lane, wait until you see someone who appears to be her whipping a man who looks very much like Clark Kent!

The book, featuring racy illustrations sure to illuminate at least one person's internal fan-fiction, is released in April. To add even more surreality to the whole exercise, it comes complete with an introduction from Stan Lee.

Images from Secret-Identity.net, the preview site for the book.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19402">Editor Kochman Talks Abrams' ComicArts Imprint [ComicBookResources]

In their latest guide on how to find love online (but only with their expert help, of course), the site lists the 5 types of photos that eHarmonizers definitely shouldn't put up on their profiles. Some of them are obvious - Does anyone really need to be told not to put up a photo of you and your ex with the ex's face cut out in creepy stalker-esque fashion? - but towards the end of the list, there's this particular entry:

Photo #4: You’re Dressed as a Superhero

We get that some people really like to dress up in costumes even when it isn’t Halloween. There are many social events and social circles where this is accepted and encouraged, and more power to people who find their niche in the world. However, while your friends may understand your penchant for dressing like the original Superman at Comic-Con, most people perusing your profile won’t.

Hey! Who wouldn't find someone dressed like Kal-L a turn-on? Wait, that is, I mean... Are eHarmony telling you to hide your geek away? They (lie and) say no:

We aren’t suggesting that you make an effort to—excuse the pun—disguise who you are. In fact, any person who’s worth your time will delight in your quirkiness. But when you’re putting yourself out there, it’s best to save the fun photos for later on down the road.

Translation: "It's okay for you to be a nerd. Just keep it a secret until much, much later, okay?"

Flickr image by Rentahamster.

5 Photos that Make you Look Undateable [eHarmony] (Via)