I met Kurt Busiek at Emerald City Comic Con 2010. With me were copies of Avengers #1, Superman #650 and #654, all of which he autographed. I had already fallen in love with both of the aforementioned runs, and had also read his modern classic Marvels (which admittedly was more for the Alex Ross art than the story).

On his table were also autographed copies of Astro City #1 which were being sold for $1 (I miss those days!), so I picked one up as I’d heard a lot about it by that point. I was about to become enamored with that beautiful book as well, and in particular the story of the Superman-analogue, Samaritan, even though I didn’t know it yet.

But that’s another story for another day.

I’ve written extensively on how much I’m a fan of Busiek’s and his Superman run in particular, of which I just finished a reread. Although it was plagued by choppy release dates from books concurrent to it and a few unnecessary DC crossovers, it’s still highly enjoyable and one of the all time greats on the character by one writer. I was ecstatic when DC Comics announced that his run was finally going to be collected in its entirety in two hardcover volumes for the first time, in addition to prior work on the character as well.

Although I would have much rather preferred an omnibus edition of the whole thing, or at least 2-3 oversized deluxe editions, I will take what I can get, nevertheless. If fans want DC to print more of something, we have to support with our wallets to let them know, and that’s what I did. The first volume was released this month, and collected the first half of his run from the mid-2000s (also known as the “One Year Later” run), his seminal Secret Identity, and a smattering of other issues Kurt had written prior.

The book is gorgeously put together with beautiful art and sewn binding, which makes for a sturdy brick of goodness in your hands that can be read comfortably. The design is similar to last year’s “Camelot Falls” deluxe edition, so if you decide to put them next to one another on your shelf, it will look pretty cool. There aren’t too many extras but what is in there is amazing, with Pacheco sketches and several series outlines I’d never seen before. Seeing the genesis of stories and how things got off the ground is fascinating and highly enjoyable if you’re a fan of the work.

My only hang up, as I mentioned above, is that the book isn’t oversized or collected in its entirety, but hey, I can live with this. I love creator-focused books as celebrations of someone’s talent, and of comics in general. When it’s applied to Superman, I am a happy camper. Let’s get more of it, DC!!

Pick the book up for yourselves if you’re curious about what I’m talking about, there’s a lot here to enjoy. Or better yet, just support Superman material coming out!

Hope you enjoy pictures of my autographs as well! Both issues are included in this collection. Also, the link below is a review of the book that I thought was great, if anyone’s interested.