It's Superman!: A Novel (Paperback)

Praise for Tom De Haven’s It’s Superman!

“Delightful…It’s Superman! fills in the early years of its hero with energy and imagination…De Haven’s cartoon world will entertain readers for a long time to come.”
-- The New York Times Book Review

“De Haven lets it all unfold with melodramatic relish, reviving the pulp noir of vintage comic books and Saturday morning serials… With cheeky aplomb, luscious period details, and a generous affection for his characters, De Haven accomplishes his own kind of superhuman feat -- he leaps above cliches in a single bound and fashions a stylish, rollicking good yarn from the legend of the Man of Steel.” — The Boston Globe 

“It's Superman! is textured with authentic faces, places, and attitudes.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Sometimes even icons have to grow up.” — The Onion

“Funny, poignant and exciting… my favorite book of the year.” — Rocky Mountain News

“A smashing read that offers a comic book's stripped-down, telegraphic storytelling quality as well as a novel's more sustained narrative momentum… an impressive achievement, indeed.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch

“It's Superman!... and it's terrific.” — Palm Beach Post

“A must for all superman fans.” — The Philadelphia Weekly News

“De Haven's novel shows that, nearly 70 years after his creation, the Man of Steel still has plenty to offer.” — Booklist

“It's Superman! is not the first Superman prose novel . . .but it's the first great one, transforming Superman -- icon of comics, film, animation, and television -- into a literary icon as well.” — Montreal Gazette

“Great fun… [De Haven] presents the man of steel as a sullen Depression-era teen, a bad WII-era reporter and as ambivalent about his super powers throughout, all with a kind of knowing that reflects a deep immersion in pulp.” — Publishers Weekly

“De Haven does a fantastic job of capturing the iconic feel of the Golden Age Superman while still leaving a human, complex Clark Kent the reader can hold on to. Check it out. You'll believe a man can fly.” — The Backwards City Review

“…Easily one of 2005's top discoveries…exciting enough to merit its title's exclamation point.” — Bookgasm

“A joy to read.” — Comic World News

“While the book is about Superman, De Haven's skill actually makes it about everyone of us… Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luther, New York City and America are constantly having to meet the demands of the world around them. De Haven has made them all seem perfectly human. We could be anyone of them. In some cases, we are.” — The Scoop

“What fun! In the heart of winter, a cracking good, fast-reading beach book and more. More than just a story of humor and action, It's Superman is a tender, bittersweet tale of a young man who wants to do good, but is not quite sure how, and who is tormented by not being able to help everyone who needs him.” — Utah Daily Herald

“This is one of the best novels I’ve read all year. The plot (a braid of a few intertwined storylines) moves like a locomotive; you can almost smell the movie popcorn and feel the salt on your fingers as you turn the pages. If the Superman story had never existed before, this would be it.” -- Manchester New Hampshire Hippo

“[An] imaginative, hugely entertaining account of Clark Kent’s formative years. . . Later this year, Bryan Singer . . . unveils the movie “Superman Returns.” Its stiffest competition, however, won’t be from the big screen. It will be from the boundless realm of the imagination, where really cool reads like It’s Superman! fly.” — Virginian-Pilot

Coming of age in rural 1930s America with X-ray vision, the power to stop bullets, and the ability to fly isn’t exactly every boy’s story. So just how did Clark Kent, a shy farmer’s son, grow up to be the Man of Steel? Follow young Clark’s whirlwind journey from Kansas to New York City’s Daily Planet–by way Hollywood. This ace reporter is not the only person leading a double life in a teeming metropolis, just the only one able to leap tall buildings in a single bound–a skill that comes in handy when battling powerful criminal masterminds like scheming Lex Luthor and fascist robots. But can Clark’s Midwestern charm save the day and win the heart of stunning, seen-it-all newspaperwoman Lois Lane? Or is it a job for Superman? Look deep into the soul of a pop-culture legend brilliantly reimagined in this novel, which is as inventive and thrilling as it is touching and wise.