Superman: True Brit - Softcover

John Cleese is one of the original members of the Monty Python team, has written and appeared in numerous movies (including A Fish Called Wanda), and created and starred in Fawlty Towers (which can still be seen on TV today). Kim 'Howard' Johnson also wrote Life Before and After Monty Python. John Byrne's comics career spans over thirty years. He is responsible for classic runs Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four and Superman, among many others.

Superman stands for truth, justice, and the American way, but what if the space capsule that brought him to Earth had landed in rural England? That's the premise of this graphic novel coauthored by Monty Python's John Cleese. Adopted by a stereotypically proper farm couple, the Clarks, young Colin is raised to suppress his powers to avoid drawing attention and causing embarrassment. After university, he heads to London to write for a trash tabloid run by a Murdock-like magnate and develop a crush on Page-Three-Girl-turned-reporter Louisa Layne. To honor his parents' desire for anonymity, he adopts the guise of, as a TV commentator puts it, "a man in a cape and rather garish tights." As one might expect from its Python pedigree, the story is seldom subtle in spoofing Britishisms, from National Health Service waiting lists to cricket. Onetime Superman illustrator John Byrne's art keeps the character recognizable. Less outlandish than Cleese's better-known work, this tongue-in-cheek take on superhero conventions should please comics and Python fans alike. Gordon Flagg
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