Sam Quixote's Reviews > Superman: Peace on Earth

It’s Christmas-time in Metropolis and as Superman helps a young runaway find food and shelter, he’s reminded of a quote by Charles Dickens describing the Christmas season: “When want is keenly felt and abundance rejoices.” Superman decides that through a massive single act of charity he will hopefully inspire others to help the less fortunate this Christmas and - however briefly - make the world a better place.

To call this book a comic is to give you the wrong impression of it. Yes it’s a collection of words and images but it isn’t presented like a traditional comic - there are no panels or word balloons. There are captions of text amid Alex Ross’ photo-realistic art but it reads more like a graphic poem. Superman speaks directly to the reader the entire time and we are treated to a visual spectacle that only Alex Ross can provide. I love Paul Dini’s writing but the true star of this book is Ross and every page of this book is eye-catching, gorgeous, and breathtaking.

This book is a beautiful tribute to an amazing character. It’s unabashedly guileless and sentimental, in the best possible ways, celebrating everything about Superman that we love about him. Superman spends the book delivering food and aid to war torn and poverty stricken areas around the world and encounters desperation, hate, and violence as much as gratefulness and joy but in all instances endures it with his quiet compassion. Any writer wanting to write Superman should take their cue from Dini and Ross who say it simply through this book: “It’s easy - he’s the good guy.” And that is abundantly clear as he helps everyone he can in the story. That’s why we love Superman. He does the superhero thing of beating up baddies but there’s a beating heart behind it all that puts him over the top.

But the book also seeks to remind us of our humanity. As much as we draw inspiration from Superman, he draws inspiration from humanity, and the reason he keeps going in the face of pessimism and failure? Hope. And the potential good of each moment. This book wants to remind every reader of the heroic acts of kindness we all have within us, and to act on it instead of passively ignoring that impulse.

Ross and Dini dedicate this book simply “For Superman himself, who inspires us all” and it is a fine sentiment to echo. This is Golden Age Superman but it’s also the real Superman, the character who inspires us to be better people by being that strange paradox: an alien who represents the best of humanity. “Peace on Earth” is a warm hug from a timeless character, reminding readers in a cynical world why it’s important to care and keep going - all the time, not just at Christmas.

Clark Kent ends the book beautifully: “Patiently and gently, I share with others the way to scatter the seeds a few at a time, evenly between the rows so that each one will have enough space. I tell them not every seed will make it - but all of them deserve the chance to grow.”