DC has released a deluxe hardcover of this really great book. When the Elseworlds books were hot this was one of the truly great ones.

Imagine a baby Kal-El landing in Siberia on a collective farm instead of in Kansas. 12 hours difference lined him up to crash in a entirely different environment. Instead of growing up to be the greatest American hero is is a hero to the people of the USSR during the cold war. Stalin puts him to work and eventually he starts to venture out into the world.

I love the look of the world as it would have been with the Soviets leading the way instead of the US. I wouldn’t want to live there, but it was really interesting to see Mark Miller’s take on things as they might have been. Superman still has his own code, which is a righteous one, but it is colored by the communist view. He wants to make the world a paradise, which any rational person knows just won’t work.

Superman isn’t with out foes. Lex Luthor is a mad scientist working for the US government. Luthor is truly what he is meant to be here, a genius who is a little mad and just wants to stop the aliens.
There is a soviet Batman out to get revenge on the Soviet government, Wonder Woman is from a paradise Island that makes a treaty with Russia. And Green Lantern is given the ring by the Government of the US who find Abin Sur’s ship.

The artwork here is really great. Reminiscent of Cold War era posters in Russia the look is sparse and while in color, seems strangely monotone portraying Russia as a not so happy place. The US is done in full color bright and sunshiny, almost overly so to show the contrast.

This is a great book and this new edition is something everyone should have.
Buy Superman: Red Son (Deluxe Edition)