Amazing! This was my favorite annual this year, I think, by far. I just love the Superman Family and you really nailed it.
I am not good at writing Superman. I
want to be, because I really do love the character, but I don’t think I have ever written a good Superman story on the site, before now(?). And really… Superman is just a back drop in this story, and not a real character. I think that helped.
Digging into the characters, making sure their status quo was established, making sure you understood who they were, that’s what was important to me here. But I worry… because this is like a thesis statement on who the character is, and what the property should do. Grounded and familiar in the human moments, vast and hopeful in the superhuman. Larger than life characters who are also quite relatable in their own intimate way.
From the little moments that captured Clark's relationship with the cosmos (the spatium avem)…
This comes from a place of adoring
All-Star Superman and also Garth Ennis’ interpretation of the character in
Hitman and
JLA/Hitman from a few years back.
I’ve posted it before, but there’s a sequence of Superman flying across the globe in the final issue of the latter mini, and it’s so sublime, and I think I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.
The spatium avem scene is an homage to the baby Sun Eater sequence in the former, and I truly believe that the world of Superman is so vast, wonderful and weird, that you get to have moments like that in his day-to-day that really show how blessed the character is in his own way, to be able to step between both worlds, both human and superhuman.
…to his adoptive parents (the windmill) this issue was beautiful.
is in canon for the most part in the DC2, and Jon and Martha Kent were such pivotal characters there, and to me growing up—as a kid, I loved
Lois & Clark, and the John Byrne-influenced portrayal of the characters there was great).
The main thematic thread, tonally, was that I wanted poignancy in all things, and so as long as I could mainline that emotion I was happy. To be fair, I’m really happy with this story, and I’m glad it landed.
My biggest fear is that I tripped up over myself trying to get to the reveal, so I knew I had to get an editor on board, and Susan was kind enough to take some time out from her actual literary career to help an old friend out. She helped me trim some typical excess, and I think that my intention with the piece was highlighted even more because of it. Thanks, Susie!
I was thrilled to see Kara, Lex, Perry, and Lois all get their time to shine.
Who are these characters? Who are they to me? How do I think they should be presented? Going back to my thesis statement comment above, I very much wanted this to be an encapsulation of what I would do on a series, and I think that if I had more wherewithal, and was actually able to write a god damn Superman book, I could have stretched this story into a miniseries, or an opening salvo on an ongoing.
The first Superman issues I ever picked up were back issues from the 90s, so you had that almost weekly run of stories that featured all of the above prominently, and that vast cast of characters was something I think really bolstered my enjoyment of the stories. You cared for these folks, even though they didn’t wear capes. If I could capture just an iota of that feeling, then I’m happy.
You handled the "big reveal" with a deft hand, sidestepping the issue of whether or not Lois was in the dark. It makes sense, given her skill, but Clark's honesty and apology also felt sensible and needed. The dialogue was careful and moving. I definitely love Lois and Clark as a couple, it's just one of those storybook romances that clicks and feels real, so it's pleasure to read your take on it and get to dig into their head a little. And then what a bombshell to drop at the end! (I hope she says yes.)
I mentioned in the comments for
Action Comics Annual that their relationship was something I always enjoyed, but “The Lie” of Clark not being up front with his secret identity was something I was uncomfortable with. One of the better things
Man of Steel did as a movie was bypass that entirely, and have Lois be the one to uncover the mystery, and the development of Clark come after that.
I’m really interested in the concept of identity when it comes to the World’s Finest, and I think I might eventually look at Diana through that prism, but right now I think I’ve done my thesis on Clark and Bruce.
Both are characters that aren’t their public projections in either public identity, but in different ways. I don’t agree with the school of thought that Bruce Wayne died in the alley along with his parents and that he was only the unformed Batman from that point forward, until that bat broke through his window in the library… but I do believe that Bruce was badly damaged by the event, and he’s developed coping mechanisms.
Who he is when he’s the Batman and who he is when he’s the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne are not true representations of who he actually is, just as Superman isn’t Clark Kent isn’t Kal-El isn’t Clark Kent. I love that. So many dimensions. Exploring who they are when their masks slips (and there are multiple masks) is what I love about the characters.
I started talking about Batman again, didn’t I? Anyway, you’ll get Lois’ answer to the big question posed to her in
Justice League #78… and I’m happy to announce that Superman is rejoining the team he helped found from that point forward. The mechanics of that are something I’m exploring as I write the issue.
Very interesting framing given that Lex (and that one did feel a little more out of left field-- read the room, Lex!) had tried his own hand at an immodest proposal earlier the same day! I hope to see more Adventure Comics soon!
Lex Luthor likes to be challenged, and I think Lois is the ultimate challenge to him, romantically. There are allusions to a past there, and it’s something I want to explore down the line, namely that they worked together, back in the day. It’s kind of inspired by the elevator pitch for the proposed
Metropolis TV show that might appear one day… Lois and Lex teaming up in a pre-Superman Metropolis to solve weird science crimes.
Now, I extrapolated that to be Lois and Lex as this combative twosome who get thrust into
Fringe-esque scenarios, and then I went a little mad for a while, and of course that’s now something I want to look at in the DC2.
It also builds on conversations I’ve had with David about the arrival of Superman in Metropolis, which has been canonised in our continuity, but never told properly… namely, Captain Marvel passing the torch to Superman and the whys and wherefores of that.
I think I’ve mentioned that will be the final story I tell on the site if I’m the one to write it, so it may or may not see the light of day!
Also, I think Lex Luthor is an utter bastard, and in trying to get my thesis statement on him down, I needed two characters to push back against each other, and this interaction allowed for that to happen in a great way.
The cover is sublime. I love the "pop art" style, especially the shading. It really feels like it hints at and then, on second look after you've read the annual, contains the whole story. Awesome!
Roy delivered the concept I requested from him massively, and I love it. For me, there was only ever one choice for the cover to probably the biggest Superman-related story you could ever present, and that was Roy. He had a great run as writer / artist on the book, and his covers are seminal DC2 Superman.
If I ever get round to writing
Adventure Comics, I’ll be sure to invite him onboard, even though we’ve got our hands full over on
Justice League.
Ooph, nothing about
Adventure Comics says that the stories have to be Superman-related and set in the present day… maybe I’ll get to my
Metropolis-style stories sooner rather than later…
