Posted in Comics, SFW on 03/08/2010 12:09 pm by fanboi
The recent revelation that Gail Simone was leaving Wonder Woman has been followed by today’s announcement that J. Michael Straczynski (Rising Stars) will be taking over writing chores for 2 of DC’s biggest stars as of their July issues. He had a lot to say about Clark and Diana…
Wonder Woman is a strong, mythic, powerful character who for some time now has been kind of drowning under the weight of her own mythos, so I’m looking forward to paring away some of the layers of debris and undergrowth that have piled up around her in order to get to the core of the character. We’re going to be looking more closely at how Wonder Woman appears, and functions, and her role in the DCU… and what we have planned will, we hope, come across as dynamic and powerful as she deserves to be.
Similarly, we plan to bring Superman back to his roots, to really explore who he is…how he sees us, and how we see him, in a much more personal way than we’ve seen in a while. This is part of a larger effort that will have national ramifications, but I can’t say much more about it than that for now. Keep an eye on TheSource for more information when the time is right…but for now, let’s just say that Superman may be a lot closer in proximity to you, the reader, than you ever guessed.
J. Michael Straczynski couldn’t be more excited that DC is using this June’s monumental anniversary issues of these two titles to kick off his run. I’m not sure how much contribution he’ll be making to those issues, but his run begins in earnest with 701 and 601. To say he’s a lifelong Superman fan who is realizing a childhood dream with this gig is an understatement. He grew up a poor kid from Jersey who looked to Superman as the icon of inspiration and strength, even carrying the S symbol like a personal talisman.
You also might know Straczynski from his recent work on Thor, The Twelve, Fantastic Four, Supreme Power, and Midnight Nation (last 2 both with recent Superman artist Gary Frank). I’m not sure how excited I am about this. It REALLY sounds like he’s more interested in doing Superman and Wonder Woman might get the short end of the stick. Lets hope not.
Artists for his run have yet to be announced, but I’m hoping the fact that Straczynski has teamed with Gary Frank TWICE before makes him a likely candidate for regular Superman artist.
Watching now! So Lois is back from the future… but who is this bitch in black after her? Oh Oh she has heat vision! A brunette Andromeda a.k.a. Laurel Gand? can’t be Laurel Kent – she only has invulnerability. Hmm neither – she’s one of Zod’s.
COOL! Clark wears the S Shield! I saw preview photos but still a cool moment. Though I preferred the moment from the first issue of Geoff Johns Superman: Secret Origin – his mother making the costume and him being embarrassed to wear it was priceless. They should REALLY let him loose on Smallville for more than just the one episode (JSA!!!!) that he is penning this season. Or better yet a new movie OR TRILOGY! But I digress and the commercial is almost over…
Does Chloe not know her cousin Lois at ALL??? She fell for the old “I need a sedative” bit?
Ok who else is considering kneeling before Zod? Tess might take a shot at it if he gets past her “obstinate” side.
Brian Austin Green is part of the cast now? Metropolis’ kissing bandit? What’s that about? Hmm John Corben? a.k.a. Metallo!!!
The clocktower set is shaping up nicely.
They are following Smallville with America’s Top Model? I hope that isn’t a choice for the season. Is something else premiering soon? If not no worries – then I can turn to Medium!
What I don’t get is why did Lois come back from 1 YEAR in the future, shouldn’t it have taken her to the Legion’s era?
Oliver Queen ULTIMATE FIGHTER!
here is a recap of last season for those who missed some of it…
Due out 9.29.09 is Superman Batman Public Enemies…
A desperate solution for a troubled country: Lex Luthor for President with the Justice League in the service of the government. Only Batman and Superman stand against the new regime – and their disloyalty proves to be exactly what Luthor intended. Using their outcast status to instigate a scandal against Superman, Luthor finally tastes a victory in his vendetta against The Man of Steel.
From Executive Producer Bruce Timm and voiced by the cast from both hit Batman and Superman animated TV series including Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly and Clancy Brown, this DC Universe Original Animated Movie of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness’s popular graphic novel seethes with political intrigue and action-packed battles between heroes all believing they’re on the right side of the law.
If Geoff John’s retelling of Superman’s “Secret Origin” starting at his boyhood in Smallville and running through his early days in Metropolis is only 1/10th as good as what he did for Green Lantern’s Secret Origin, it will be one of the better titles out this fall.
The moment we’ve all been waiting for is close at hand. The superstar team of writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank reunite to present the modern origin of the Man of Steel, and it all starts with a gigantic 48-page first issue.
We know Geoff Johns likes Smallville (he’s working on a new episode for this season), so it’s no surprise that he threw in a nod to the early episode when Clark saved Lana from a tornado by instinctively flying. I’m sure this will be a wonderful melding of various previous versions and some exciting original ideas meant to spice up a familiar story.
“Secret Origin” is a DC term. It’s a classic one that I think should be back and carefully and selectively done. If there’s a “Creeper: Secret Origin” next month, the title’s just been wasted. It’s more than the term though – Year One is great, but it’s only Year One. Just by the nature of the title, it doesn’t encompass everything. [Green Lantern: Secret Origin] is from the time Hal [Jordan] is 10 years old until the time he really accepted his role as a Green Lantern. I think a “Secret Origin” can allow for a lot more ground to be covered.
We haven’t seen a modern day retelling of Clark’s first adventure as Superboy with the Legion of Super-Heroes, or the day Superman met Jimmy Olsen or the origins of Superman’s long time enemies like the Parasite and Metallo. More importantly, Clark Kent himself will be explored in his earlier years in a way I don’t think he’s ever been explored before… [U]nlike previous Superman origin stories, this will be told almost entirely from Clark’s eyes. We won’t be spending an issue on Krypton. We’ll be opening on one of Clark’s earliest memories as a kid and moving forward from there. This is his story of self-discovery and the world’s story of meeting Superman.
Issue #1 starts out with Clark’s earliest memories in Smallville. #2 details his first meeting with teens from the future – the Legion of Super Heroes. #3 takes him to Metropolis and the Daily Planet. #4 looks to be about the creation of his Fortress of Solitude and discovery of his true origins. #5 introduces recurring foes – Brainiac, Lex Luthor and The Parasite (I think – hard to tell without his telltale purple). The cover to the final issue, #6 is less clear – Looks like possibly Bizarro.
The Dead-Titan-on-Live-Titan violence escalates this fall! Black LanternHawk has his talons set for the female Hawk and Dove! Meanwhile, Red Star faces a frightful family reunion with Black Lanterns Pantha and Wildebeest, and Donna Troy faces her worst possible nightmare (AND ISN’T IT ADORABLE)! Plus, Black Lantern Terra simultaneously terrorizes and turns on Beast Boy!
The dead rise across the DC Universe, bringing terror and darkness with them. What are the Black Lanterns? What do they want? Will Earth’s greatest heroes survive long enough to find out – or will they join the Black Lantern Corps?
Although I’m not quite ancient enough to remember first hand when the weakness to a Power Ring was wood. I have read enough Alan Scott back stories to have heard of it. It would be a nice nod to B-movies if all it takes is a wooden stake, but I’m thinking it’s hard to kill what is already dead.
It may take the combined strength of all the other colors of the spectrum to defeat the Black Lanterns if they get anyone who ever died in the DCU.
There have been a lot of spoilerific events going on in comics lately so I thought I would start up a new feature covering major news from recent titles. If you are the sort of person who desn’t want to know what is happening before you read something, then do not click on the images below until you read all your comics.
Lots of stuff happening! I will add some comments going over my thoughts on some of there events and what they may mean for their respective titles… So please speak up and add your own and make it a conversation!
Posted in Comics, Preview on 12/31/2008 01:40 pm by fanboi
“New Krypton” part 9! Violence breaks out on Earth as the Kryptonians, enraged by humanity’s treatment of them and their newly passed anti-Kryptonian laws, strike back! Imagine 100,000 people, each with the powers of Superman but lacking his humanity – and they’re angry!
Posted in Comics, Preview on 12/14/2008 01:23 pm by fanboi
From the sounds of the solicit for March’s SUPERMAN #686 and Action Comics #875 its sounds like there is still a lot to come in the New Krypton saga. But from the covers and solicits for these 2 issues we now know a few things… After New Krypton, Earth finds itself without its greatest protector, but Metropolis has some new or reintroduced heoes. It had already been revealed that Nightwing and Flamebird (who from her Action #872 reaction to Nightwing’s hovering may not be a Kryptonian? – see image below) would be featured in Action – so that wasn’t a big reveal. Nor is the Guardian as the head of Metropolis’ Science Police… BUT Mon-el outside the Phantom Zone as a protector of Metropolis! That’s new. Should we call him Valor?
Superman: World of Krypton #1
Following the events of the “New Krypton” crossover, the Man of Steel has had to embrace his past to ensure humanity’s future. And while a devastating armed conflict with Earth may have been averted, keeping the peace will be Superman’s greatest challenge yet.
Hot new writer Andrew Kreisberg (BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL) and fan-favorite artist Pete Woods (ACTION COMICS, SUPERMAN: UP, UP AND AWAY!) lead Superman through a world of interstellar treachery and deadly machinations where the lives of two races hang in the balance!
I happened across the animated comic book movie parodies of privatenukem on youtube today – lucky you! Funny stuff. Included are a heroic parody of Clerks (Captain America and Daredevil are working the mini-mart and The Silver Surfer and Galactus are Jay and Silent Bob) and new endings for Superman 1 (not the recent one – classic oldschool Christopher Reeve) and Spiderman 3. Check out his YouTube page for more hysterics.
Posted in Comics, Creators on 11/28/2008 02:17 pm by fanboi
DC Universe Executive Editor Dan Didio revealed on Wednesday that Geoff Johns and Gary Frank will leave Action Comics to bring us a six-issue miniseries re-telling how Clark Kent became Superman. Since the Infinite Crisis, hints have been dropped about subtle alterations to the history of the Man of Steel.
After reading Geoff Johns retooled secret origin of Hal Jordan in the issues leading into the Blackest Night event he has planned, I eagerly await what he has planned for Kal-el and his supporting casts in Smallville and Metropolis. Will we see Chloe? I kinda hope not. In Green Lantern, Johns took a well known origin and history and managed to add many elements, make it fresh and modern yet didn’t destroy anything that came before. It takes an amazing talent to make something old new again without pissing off the diehard oldschool fanbase – but he did it with style. I can’t wait to see what this team will do to the big blue boy scout.
Superman: Secret Origin will feature new looks at the origin of not only Superman, but some of his greatest allies, enemies and supporting cast and it will tie into everything Gary and I have done so far on Action Comics as well as setting the stage for the future.
It goes from Clark’s teenage years, through his first adventure with the Legion of Super-Heroes and into his arrival and introduction to Metropolis as Superman. We’ve included the first four covers with the interview and you can see a pretty big part of Clark Kent’s history is being reintroduced as well – namely, Superboy. But with a bit of a twist.
This isn’t Smallville or Superman: The Movie or Superman: The Silver Age, this is Superman: Secret Origin by me and Gary. It’s a different look at the beginnings of the characters and mythos of Superman that will set the stage for the monthly Superman comics. And this does not signify the end of my involvement with the Superman Family.
With the single exception of his death at Doomsday’s hands, followed by the emergence of Kon-el, the Eradicator, Steel and the Cyborg Superman, I hadn’t really cared about Superman or his stories since the John Bryne revamp in the 80’s.
Geoff Johns’ words combined with Gary Frank’s images have gotten me so interested in Superman again that it’s one of my most eagerly anticipated purchases. I can’t wait to read this and see what they have in mind to follow it!
Newsarama talked to DC Universe Executive Editor Dan DiDio to ask a number of reader questions about what’s been happening in the Superman titles and more. Some highlights…
The new stars of Action will be the new team of Nightwing and Flamebird. Flamebird is a character we’ve seen, but this is the first time we’re seeing her in costume. Nightwing is a character that we’ve known in the DCU for a little while, but he’s new to the Nightwing costume as well
A new series called Superman: New Krypton is coming from the creative team of writer, Andrew Kreisberg and artist, Pete Woods.
Geoff Johns and Gary Frank will be doing Superman: Secret Origin, the “definitive origin of Superman,” incorporating past and present changes that “we’ve seen or suggested since Infinite Crisis”.
Plus titbits about Batman, All Star Wonder Woman, Owl-Man and the Outsiders, Trinity and Final Crisis and Adventure Comics #1.
Posted in Comics, Preview on 11/24/2008 03:35 pm by fanboi
Following closely on the stirring events of SUPERGIRL #35, “New Krypton” part 6 sees the unrest between the Kryptonians and humankind rapidly spin out of control. Superman knows it’s only a matter of time before widespread violence breaks out between the two cultures. But deep in the heart of the U.S. military, a deadly new Squad K is being organized. Its mission: clean up the “Kryptonian problem” before it gets out of hand!
Posted in Comics, Preview on 11/08/2008 09:24 pm by fanboi
KINGDOM COME co-creator Alex Ross revisits the Superman of Earth-22 in the upcoming JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman.
Spinning out of the “One World, Under Gog” storyline, the Kingdom Come Superman’s struggle with his place in the world brings a final conflict between the Supermen of Earths 1 and 22! Feeling the weight of his own world’s loss on his shoulders, the transplanted Superman searches for answers to the mystery of his life’s seemingly cursed existence and encounters “old acquaintances” on the way. This is the first fully written and illustrated adventure by KINGDOM COME co-creator Alex Ross, building to the storyline’s conclusion in JUSTICE OF SOCIETY OF AMERICA #22!
New Krypton” Part 2! Picking up directly from SUPERMAN: NEW KRYPTON SPECIAL #1, 100,000 Kryptonians have descended on Earth. But their introduction to the world follows a bumpy road, and humans and Kryptonians alike are wary of one another.
Meanwhile, Clark must say goodbye to a long-standing member of his supporting cast while the threat behind Atlas makes his next move against the Man of Steel!
Superman’s Dad, Jonathan Kent died of heart failure Wednesday in the pages of Action Comics #870, 69 years after he was introduced. Jonathan died shortly after saving Martha, his beloved wife from a missile fired at their home after Superman defeated Brainiac. Death may be no stranger to the world of Comic Books, but it is also far from the final end it is in reality. Counting various media (he also died of a heart attack in the 1987 Superman movie and the Smallville TV series), this is actually at least 3rd heart attack death of Pa Kent. He has died before in the comics too, only to be resurrected as the entire reality of the DCU was rewritten in the 80’s Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Martha and Jonathan Kent were first introduced in June 1939’s Superman #1, published approximately 1 year after Superman’s debut in Action Comics #1. They were a major part of the Superboy stories that followed the tales of the original Boy of Steel as he learned how to be the hero he was born to be.
This is not even the first time Pa Kent has died in a DC comic book. In the original telling of the Superman mythos, both Ma and Pa Kent contracted a rare tropical disease from handling a pirates treasure, both dieing before Clark left Smallville for college in Metropolis. The Kents returned to DC continuity in Man of Steel, a 6 issue retelling of Superman’s origin by writer/author John Byrne that explained Superman’s post-crisis continuity.
It was the humanity taught by his loving adopted parents that shaped a powerful force into a paragon of goodness. Without Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman would NOT be the Big Blue Boy Scout we’ve all come to know and love.
Farewell Jonathan, for a fictional character, you were an inspiration in my youth, a shining example of the America of yesteryear and a wonderful parent. You will be sorely missed.
Comic book resurrections aside, barring another future reality reboot or an epic journey into the afterlife, Superman will most likely remain fatherless for the foreseeable future.
In other news that same issue also sees the return of the bottle city of Kandor, sans bottle. After defeating Brainiac, Superman first rushed Metropolis back into place and then took Kandor to near his fortress of solitude before its containment field failed. I look forward to the aftermath of 100,000 new Kryptonians.
At the very least we’ll see what Kryptonians were were NOT raised by kindly elderly Kansas farmers turn out like.
When I first came to your planet and demanded your homes, property and very lives, I didn’t know you were already doing so, willingly, with your own government. I can win no tribute from a bankrupted nation populated by feeble flag-waving plebians. In 2008 I shall restore your dignity and make you servants worthy of my rule. This new government shall become a tool of my oppression. Instead of hidden agendas and waffling policies, I offer you direct candor and brutal certainty. I only ask for your tribute, your lives, and your vote.
– General Zod
Your Future President and Eternal Ruler
Posted in Comics, History on 09/01/2008 11:45 pm by fanboi
Superman was not born on Krypton, but in a small nondescript house in Cleveland Ohio. Inspired by Brad Meltzer, the Siegel and Shuster Society is working with OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld to hold a Superman memorabilia auction with the benefits earmarked to restore and preserve the home where a teenaged Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster cooked up the Man of Steel in 1932. Its a nice gesture, I hope they have luck with it. I wish I could afford to bid on the Jason Palmer piece.
Here is some artwork that will be up for bid during the month of September. Auction items include artwork, rare t-shirts, a spot on the cover of the Brian Michael Bendis comic – Powers, tickets to the Colbert Report and a walk-on role on Heroes. Check the complete list of items up for auction.
Meltzer’s involvement ALMOST makes me want to take back the harsh things I said about Meltzer’s creation Dr. Impossible getting Action Figure immortalization when far more deserving characters are ignored. ALMOST.
Posted in Comics, Preview on 08/14/2008 10:17 am by fanboi
DC Comics gave Newsarama the scoop on the new Alex Ross covers to Superman #681, Action Comics #871 and Supergirl #35 that combine into the lovely image below. The issues are parts 2-4 of the 9 part saga introducing 100,000 Kryptonians to Earth and vice-versa. The event begins in October with the one-shot Superman: New Krypton Special and will spill over into all Superman family titles.
The man the middle under Krypto in black and gold looks like a likely Nightwing candidate and the costume on the blond woman to his upper left has a distinct Flamebird flavor to it. The women in red and blue to the right of Supergirl seems reminiscent of the old continuity Kristin Wells Superwoman from the future. It’s nice to see the old school characters re-imagined.
I also noticed the guy to the left of Superman in robes similar to the ones shown on the -els in John Byrne’s Man of Steel. But other than that I have no further guesses. Anyone else spot someone familiar in any way shape or form?
Creators have revealed a few things. it’s going to get messy. These are not Kryptonians raised by Ma and Pa kent in rural Kansas. These are full blooded Kryptonians fresh from a Brainiac bottle. There are General Zod’s soldiers who were in Kandor when it was taken. I can’t imagine that this will remain the status quo forever. Earth isn’t big enough for the humans who live here and that many Superpeople.
Posted in Comics, Preview on 08/12/2008 11:00 am by fanboi
Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Gary Frank and Jon Sibal. The “Brainiac” arc continues to set the stage for the SUPERMAN event of 2008…
Against everyone’s advice, Superman has journeyed to the deepest reaches of space to initiate contact with an alien being he thought he knew: Brainiac. But after learning about the truth behind Brainiac’s existence and his plans for Earth, Superman may regret his decision.
