Review: "Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali"

DC has reprinted the 1978 comic book "Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali," a tale that is exactly what it sounds like, and if it's not kooky-sounding enough already, the battle takes place in outer space as special guest referee Athena handles zebra duties and Jimmy Carter, Sonny Bono, Kurt Vonnegut and Andy Warhol sit ringside. It's silly fun, crafted beautifully. Whether the book is worth owning at $19.99 or $39.99 (depending on which edition you get) depends on how much of a comic book or boxing fanatic you are, or whether you simply can drop hints to family about the kind of thing you might want as a Christmas gift.

My review copy from DC arrived a bit late, so by now the re-release of this 72-page comic book is old news. To recap: The giant-sized comic was, according to DC, hard to reprint, although copyright laws due to all the celebrity cameos might have had more to do with it. Why anyone thought this was a good idea is difficult to imagine. But DC enlisted two of the finest comic book talents of the 70s -- Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, best known for their socially conscious work together on Green Arrow -- for the assignment, and the project profits a great deal from their involvement. Although the story has a message about the nature of humanity and war, the best thing about it is that... there's no other way to say it, really: It's Superman and Muhammad Ali. Fighting. In outer space. (With Adams providing the gorgeous artwork.)

Source: http://queensberry-rules.com/2010-articles/december/review-superman-vs-muhammad-ali.html

Junior Jones Gerrie Coetzee Michael Dokes Leon Spinks