Morrison's "All Star Superman" is a futuristic look at an old-school, reflective but also melancholy Man of Steel

Like a man all too aware of his own mortality, which for the first time in his lifetime is now questionable, Superman in All Star Superman is unlike the typical Man of Steel his fans may otherwise know.  For one, his days on Earth are numbered, as a result of being exposed to sun's solar radiation, an effect that is deteriorating his physical make-up and thus killing him slowly each passing day.  This is a secret that only Superman and Dr. Quintum, the scientist working on an experiment very close to the sun, are privy to (not even Louis Lane, his main squeeze, is aware of his terminal illness).

Grant Morrison's writing and Frank Quitely's artwork combine to create a hybrid Superman that feels instantly modern and old fashioned.  Morrison infuses the story with plenty of contemporary language, including heroes (a few different Supermen from different ages and epochs, who find themselves in our hero's Kansas setting and period due to a time-travelling jump) and anti-heroes alike (Samson, Atlas and the Bizarro & Zibarro Supermen).  He also explores Clark Kent's confession to his colleague, Louis, that he is Superman after all (something she's suspected all along).  The time they spend together at Superman's Fortress of Solitude is moving and romantic, and it evokes countless possibilities of "what ifs", making us wonder just what might've been had these two been this open with one another from the get-go.  Not sure about you, but a Super-version of Louis Lane, flying around with the Man of Steel, while fighting giant evil lizard dinosaurs in her tight wonder-woman like costume, is certainly a sight for sore eyes.

The best thing about All Star Superman is that it's an entertaining and satisfying work for comic book lovers who aren't necessarily die-hard fans of the Man of Steel universe.  It offers us a more melancholy Superman than usual, in addition to the super-villain Lex Luthor, who is awaiting execution on death row, but not before trying to foil Metropolis' peace and order in a soon-to-be Superman-less world.   Quitely's artwork is sharp and rich, a perfect throwback to some of the best illustrations in all of Superman comics to date.  In the end, when an already dying Superman sacrifices himself sooner in order to ignite the sun and save it from being extinguished, we are, for the first time, left without the greatest hero from Krypton that the DC Universe has created.  But thankfully there is still the genius of Dr. Quintum, a scientist who seemingly could have the recipe that'll enable him to clone another Man of Steel.  We can only hope.
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