I'm generally a pretty grim guy. My favorite hero is Batman. I love horror movies. I listen to underground hip hop. Most video games I play are absurdly violent.

But sometimes it's good to sit down and read a story that just makes you smile. Sometimes you smile because the story is just that good, but other times you smile because the hero makes you realize something about the world around you. Sometimes the hero on the page can rub off on you for a little while after you finish the book.

I'll openly admit I prefer Superman largely in Justice League books. He is an amazing anchor for such a disparate group of heroes and he always does what's 'right'. Now morals are largely subjective but Superman seems to have his finger on the pulse most of the time.

In one of my favorite arches, Public Enemies, Bruce and Kal have such a natural relationship in the dialogue and how they work off one another. It's hard to not like Superman when he tells Batman to buy a sense of humor, all while he has a kryptonite bullet in his chest.

Kingdom Come also struck me in regards to Superman. All in all it is a story of a broken Superman. One who has finally done what he said he would never do, which was give up, but in the end he is the one man holding all the broken pieces together. Speaking of hope in a world that had just forsaken all of it.

Superman is that hero I read when my real life becomes as grim as my interests. He lifts me up when I'm down because that is what his character embodies. Hope, justice, all that boy scout in blue stuff.

Finally, it was Allstar Superman that finally made me a real fan. I read that book at the behest of a good friend, a Superman fan through and through that I used to enjoy debating comics with. After reading that book I too was a Superfan and I have been one ever sense, going on a decade now.