Superman: Red son by Mark Millar and Dave Johnson, Killian Plunkett, Andrew Robinson, & Walden Wong, ill. New York: DC Comics, 2003.

ISBN: 978-1-40120-191-3

Annotation: What if Superman didn't stand for truth, justice, and the American way? If his ship had landed in Russia, he might've ended up a propaganda tool for the Stallinist Revolution.

Age range: 6-8 grades

Media used by illustrator: pencil and ink, comic book style

Personal Rating: 4Q/4P

Curricular connections: ideal for a 20th century history class, high school level.

ateater/06-20-09

Millar, M.  (2004).  Superman: red son.  Johnson, D., Plunkett, K., Robinson, A. & Wong, W. (Illus.).  New York: DC Comics Inc. 1401201911.   5Q/5P.  Artwork is pen and ink. 

Imagine, Superman, a great American hero, falling out of the sky and landing, not in Smallville, Kansas but in a farm just outside the Ukraine during the Cold War.

Symbol:  This graphic novel uses symbolism in a few ways, the main way is through the use of color in the graphics.  Red is used to symbolize the Soviet Union as well as Communism or the Red Scare.  Many of the pages of the book are tinted with red to give this impression and Superman’s new costume is also red.  In contrast to this the colors red, white and blue are used throughout the book to represent the United States.   

* Grade: 10-12, Subject: American History, Cold War 

JWelch 5/6/08