Silas Kent, patriarch of the clan, brings his two sons, Nathaniel and Jebediah, to Lawrence, Kansas, where they set up a printing press and fight for the abolition of slavery. What follows is an intense and emotional journey of this family. History is not kind to them. In the process, they experience the Civil War and the raging chaos of the Wild West. Along the way, we meet historical figures like the violent abolitionist, John Brown, Wild Bill Hickok, George Armstrong Custer, Jesse James and the James Gang and dozens more figures who made history in this era.

The first eight chapters are illustrated by Tim Truman, no stranger to western comics, of several JONAH HEX series, also for DC Comics, and his own SCOUT, the story of a Native American warrior. The last four chapters cover the years after the Civil War, and the opportunity to change the pace is met by illustrator Tom Mandrake.

Writer Ostrander obviously did his research on this series. You'd think he was born to write westerns, having gone on to write other excellent western comics, such as Marvel's BLAZE OF GLORY.

Using rich full-color illustrations in folio format and a brief text, the authors take the character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster from his entry into human society as a baby through his political education as an adult. Upon discovering our planet's unfed multitudes, Superman plans to provide rations from America's overproduction of grain, but learns of the difficulties presented by regimes that come between the offer of food and their starving underclasses. He comes to the ultimate understanding that the best he can do is to teach those in need how to farm for themselves. In short, this slender story is a kind of expansive holiday card. The artwork and the pace of the narrative, however, are compelling, drawing readers through Superman's continuing realizations as he encounters new-and human-made-obstacles to his plan to feed the hungry. This volume will appeal to middle-grade readers for whom the ideas may be fresh and challenging. The size makes it a good candidate for booktalking.