Superman has been around since 1938, so if you're new to comics, figuring out where to start can feel impossible. Do you go chronological? Pick up whatever's on the shelf? Start with the movies and hope the comics line up?
Here are four Superman books that between them cover the character from every angle: his origin, his humanity, his mythic scale, and a wild "what if" that shows just how flexible the character can be.
Superman: Birthright
If you want the definitive modern origin story, start here. Mark Waid and Leinil Yu reworked how Clark becomes Superman, and one of the smartest additions is giving Clark real time as a journalist in Africa before he ever gets to Metropolis. It grounds his worldview in something more than "boy from Kansas gets powers."
This is also the book that explains the choices new readers usually take for granted, like why Clark becomes a journalist in the first place (he's chasing truth) and why hiding behind glasses and a slouch actually works. If you've only ever wondered "who is this guy and why does he do this," Birthright answers it in one collected volume.
Superman: For All Seasons
Where Birthright is about becoming Superman, For All Seasons is about being seen. Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale tell the story through four narrators across four seasons: Pa Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Lana Lang. It's less about plot and more about how the people around Clark experience him.
The book also spends real time in Smallville, which is a nice corrective for anyone who thinks of Superman as strictly a Metropolis character. And Sale's painterly, nostalgic art is a genuine visual departure from typical superhero art. If you care about art as much as story, this one's worth it for the pages alone.
All-Star Superman
Ask comic fans for the single best Superman story and this is the answer more often than not. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely built it around a simple, devastating premise: Superman is dying. Every issue becomes him quietly finishing his life's work, which gives even small, quiet moments real weight.
Structurally, it's twelve done-in-one issues, each built around its own idea, so you can point to a single issue and it'll make sense on its own. One caveat for new readers: this book moves fast and assumes you already know who Superman is. It's the best Superman story, but it's not necessarily the first one you should read.
Superman: Red Son
Last up is the wildcard. Mark Millar and Dave Johnson's Elseworlds premise is simple to explain and immediately interesting: what if Superman's rocket had landed in Soviet Ukraine instead of Kansas? Instead of growing up to defend the American way, he becomes the champion of communism.
It's a great showcase for how far Superman can flex as a character, and it's really asking a bigger question: what actually makes him good, the ideology he's raised in or something underneath it? One thing worth knowing going in: this isn't canon, and it's not a starting point for understanding "who Superman is." Read it after you know the standard version, and it'll land a lot harder.
Where to start
If you're brand new: Birthright first, then For All Seasons. Once you know the character: All-Star Superman. When you want to see him from a completely different angle: Red Son.
Four books, four completely different takes on the same character, and together they explain why Superman has lasted this long.