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#546026 2005-07-18 2:01 PM
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Superman: A New Tomorrow
Matt Brady - newsarama.com


    DC last program of Saturday’s SDCC was there Superman: Superman: A New Tomorrow panel. Diehard fans of Superman braved con fatigue for an hour-long program with Superman writers Jeph Loeb, Greg Rucka, and Mark Verheiden, editor Eddie Berganza, and Supergirl artist Ian Churchill.

    The panel began with each writer in attendance talking about the current Superman-Wonder Woman story arc “Sacrifice”. Rucka said the status quo of OMACs in the DCU changes as a result of the story. “If we put the vehicle in gear in Countdown, ‘Sacrifice’ puts it in 4th gear,” he said.

    He realized it was cliché to say so, but said the storyline “changes everything”.

    ”This storyline will absolutely, radically change the relationships of characters in the DCU,” he said.

    - Verheiden talked about upcoming storylines in Superman. He said that issue #220 is a Superboy story that deals with the issues raised in Teen Titans (re: the small matter of his attempted murder of them).

    That issue also sees the return of John Henry Irons and the Eradicator.

    - Issue #221 is a lighter issue than the Superman books have seen in a while and features a “classic” Bizarro.

    - Loeb said the first issue of the upcoming new Supergirl series features Power Girl and the JSA. Issue #2 has Superboy and the Teen Titans. Issue #3 shows Supergirl’s connections with the Outsiders.

    Loeb said the end of that issue will “mend” the Internet. “Because from what I’ve heard it’s been broken in half,” he said, adding his tweak to the go-to joke of the weekend.

    - The panel then got opened up to Q&A. The first question was when will readers see the “effects” of the Brian Azzarello/Jim Lee Superman story arc, set one year ahead of the other titles. Berganza downplayed that, saying all the Superman books are now caught up to the same timeline.
    - Rucka said he’s been teasing about who shot Lois in Adventures of Superman, adding he will address it soon.

    The answer has been planned since the start of this run and is all connected, and in its own way, the shooting of Lois serves as a precursor to “Sacrifice”.

    - Verheiden said he has an upcoming story exploring the Lois/Superman relationship that also touches on her shooting. The storyline also addresses what would Superman do to make sure that never happened again. The writer sees Lois as Superman’s connection to Earth, and when they have troubles, Superman has trouble being Superman.

    - On the subject of Krypto, Loeb said the current Krypto is not your grandfather’s Krypto, a version that had thought balloons and could understand verbal commands.

    ”This Krypto is a dog with Superman’s powers and what I wanted to show is you DON’T-GIVE-SUPERMAN’S-POWERS-TO-A-DOG.

    ”If you don’t you get a cat-barbequing monster that bites anything when he gets angry,” he said, adding that despite the dog’s utter hatred of Kara, that Superman can’t get rid of him because it’s his childhood pet.

    Loeb said he’s having fun with Krypto, and then joked he’ll be teaming with Wolverine and then joining the New Avengers (meaning, he'd be seen by more people than ever before because of Wolverine and New Avengers popularity).

    - Asked about the villain Ruin, Rucka said his storyline isn’t over, explaining that he has a pathology, and it’s that he’s nuts, and went into a little more detail of his insanity.
    Listening, Loeb interjected, “Greg, you got issues”, to which Rucka jokingly shot back, “Of course I do. Why do you write? Because you’re well adjusted”?

    - Rucka said Mr. Mxyztplk was due to come back in AoS #642, but ultimately didn’t because of the “Sacrifice” story.

    Rucka added it worked out well because in his previous appearances he warned of the “big thing that is coming", and the "big thing that is coming", and the "big thing that is coming”. And finally in #642 where he should have appeared again, there was a “big thing” - the “Sacrifice” crossover.

    Mxyztplk will probably come back in #646 and that will be an end to that storyline.

    - Asked since Lex Luthor knew Clark was Superman but had his memory scrubbed, would he start to remember that as that seems to be the current DCU trend, Loeb said Lex and his role n the DCU Universe is important, and that he’ll be resolving the Lex story and other stories that play out of it in Superman/Batman.

    Loeb added they need to resolve what’s happening with Luthor and have it mesh, because last time he was seen he was wearing his big green suit armor at the end of “Public Enemies”, but now he’s back in his business suit in Villains United and Loeb said everyone needs to find out why.

    - In terms of the number of projects, Superman’s profile will be raised come next year with the release of Superman Returns, putting him on par with Batman at the moment.

    - Asked how the comic books will deal with plot elements from the movie and Smallville, Berganza said there would be no immediate changes, but some elements have been brought back, like Smallville’s friendship between Clark and Lex, which was touched on in Birthright.

    - Asked about the possibility of an “all-ages” Superman book, Berganza said they try to make all of the Superman titles accessible for all-ages, putting emphasis on Superman/Batman.

    - A fan asked about Lex Luthor and whether the public will just forget what an “a-hole, bastard” he was, and let him go back into public life or office, saying that seemed unrealistic, Loeb said he has a really easy answer to this one, saying “Do you know who’s in the Oval Office at the moment?”

    Rucka then responded, “The better question is, do you think Karl Rove is going to be fired?”

    Loeb clarified, “No matter what your political leanings are or what you think of those comments, there has always been crooks in politics and there has always been people who know these people are crooks, but still say they are swell guys and keep them in office term after term. “

    Wrapping it up and bringing it back to Superman, Rucka said Luthor is part of the Superman equation and so he will be back.

    - Finally, asked if there was a chance at a Jimmy Olsen/Supergirl romance, Loeb said there is romance in the air but he wasn’t going to say between whom.

    - The panel ended with Loeb answering the question if there was any actress he pictured in his head as Supergirl. He said at the beginning not really, but lately he has seen the movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and an actress by the name of Blake Lively is currently Supergirl in Loeb’s head.

    Start your Google searching… now!


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Good move, Rucka and Loeb. Keep alienating approximately fifty percent of the potential fan base with political comments.

Beyond that, however, it just seem to me like more of the same. Every five or so years since Byrne took over, they announced that "everything" will change with Superman but nothing really does, beyond some cosmetic changes and yet another Supergirl.

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DC recently registered a trademark for "KRYPTO THE SUPERDOG" in Australia.

Weird shit to waste money on.


Pimping my site, again.

http://www.worldcomicbookreview.com

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They have a Krypto cartoon on the Cartoon Network here in the US. Maybe that's why.

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there's a cartoon network show "krypto the superdog." its geared for 4-9 year olds.

http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/krypto/index.html


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Ah. Bingo.


Pimping my site, again.

http://www.worldcomicbookreview.com

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Quote:

Rob Kamphausen said:The panel ended with Loeb answering the question if there was any actress he pictured in his head as Supergirl. He said at the beginning not really, but lately he has seen the movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and an actress by the name of Blake Lively is currently Supergirl in Loeb’s head.

Start your Google searching… now!




http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0515116/

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Quote:

Rob Kamphausen said:
”This Krypto is a dog with Superman’s powers and what I wanted to show is you DON’T-GIVE-SUPERMAN’S-POWERS-TO-A-DOG.




We already knew that. We didn't need your jackassery to prove it.

Quote:

but some elements have been brought back, like Smallville’s friendship between Clark and Lex, which was touched on in Birthright.




In other words: "Let's gay up Superman even more."

Quote:

- Asked about the possibility of an “all-ages” Superman book, Berganza said they try to make all of the Superman titles accessible for all-ages




Does this guy not even read the books they're putting out?


whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules.
It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness.
This is true both in politics and on the internet."

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Hey, did you guys know that there's a Krypto cartoon?

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Quote:

thedoctor said:
Quote:

Rob Kamphausen said:
”This Krypto is a dog with Superman’s powers and what I wanted to show is you DON’T-GIVE-SUPERMAN’S-POWERS-TO-A-DOG.




We already knew that. We didn't need your jackassery to prove it.




Moore did it much better in Supreme, anyway.

Quote:


Quote:

- Asked about the possibility of an “all-ages” Superman book, Berganza said they try to make all of the Superman titles accessible for all-ages




Does this guy not even read the books they're putting out?




Why would he read the books? He's just the editor. Not like he needs to know what's actually happening in them.

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Quote:

the G-man said:
Good move, Rucka and Loeb. Keep alienating approximately fifty percent of the potential fan base with political comments.




come on. It was a valid statement. With the alegations against Bush/Rove by various people and the accusations against Clinton (Vince Foster) and every other president its valid to say Lex could get his crimes spun.

Quote:

Beyond that, however, it just seem to me like more of the same. Every five or so years since Byrne took over, they announced that "everything" will change with Superman but nothing really does, beyond some cosmetic changes and yet another Supergirl.



true. so true.
at least the current teams are better than Casey/Kelly/Seagle


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Quote:

Grimm said:
Hey, did you guys know that there's a Krypto cartoon?




Don't tell MotA.


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but it would be so much fun to watch him explode. . .

I just realized what your screen name is.

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Quote:

the G-man said:
Good move, Rucka and Loeb. Keep alienating approximately fifty percent of the potential fan base with political comments.



I've never understood how people on either political side can feel alienated by political comments made by celebrities and the like.

That said, I'm willing to be well over half of all comic book readers are conservative.

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the thing that upsets me is that comics are supposed to be escapist fun. I don't want to hear any real world political shit. If I wanted that, I'd watch the news, not read comics.


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Quote:

thedoctor said:
Quote:

- Asked about the possibility of an “all-ages” Superman book, Berganza said they try to make all of the Superman titles accessible for all-ages




Does this guy not even read the books they're putting out?




They're stupid. They have guys like Grant Morrison who'd love to write superhero books for kids and Neil Gaiman who already writes kids books, and they don't use them. The Superman books are on the same imprint that published Identity Crisis: that alone disqualifies them as kids books.


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Quote:

rex said:
the thing that upsets me is that comics are supposed to be escapist fun. I don't want to hear any real world political shit. If I wanted that, I'd watch the news, not read comics.



Okay, but why care?

All I'm saying is that it's all about separating the art from the artist. Talent and political affiliation are unrelated.

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To some extent I can handle separating the art from the artist. However, the artists seem to have a problem doing so lately.

There have been too many not so subtle attempts at politicizing comic books over the past five or so years including, but not limited to, the current need to turn even characters that should probably be conservative or libertarian (Batman, Iron Man, being good examples) into liberals, not because it is in character, but because it fits the writer's agenda, and far too many incidents where Superman writers, including Loeb, Ruck and Kelly, more or less admit they are using Luthor, a supervillain/mass murderer as a metaphor for George W. Bush.

Like rex says, keep comic books more or less escapist and nonpartisan.

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Quote:

the G-man said:
To some extent I can handle separating the art from the artist. However, the artists seem to have a problem doing so lately.

There have been too many not so subtle attempts at politicizing comic books over the past five or so years including, but not limited to, the current need to turn even characters that should probably be conservative or libertarian (Batman, Iron Man, being good examples) into liberals, not because it is in character, but because it fits the writer's agenda, and far too many incidents where Superman writers, including Loeb, Ruck and Kelly, more or less admit they are using Luthor, a supervillain/mass murderer as a metaphor for George W. Bush.

Like rex says, keep comic books more or less escapist and nonpartisan.



But that's the way storytelling works, using real world analogies as metaphor.

This is the same with introducing drug use stories and gun violence stories. Believe it or not a lot of people don't like Bush or feel uncomfortable with the war. If you take away the writer's ability to express themselves through their work then you end up with the Silver Age.

And, though they sold millions then, Silver Age type stories don't sell in modern times unless they're reprints.


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But "modern" stories don't sell well either.

A typical top ten book these days sells less copies than a book facing cancellation ten or twenty years ago.

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that's a distribution issue, not a storytelling issue. without the retail outlet availability that existed as little as fifteen years ago, comics aren't going to sell as well.

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Fifteen years ago, comic books were in Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc. All those place have racks. And I see them in big grocery stores too. But sales keep plummeting.

The simple fact of the matter is that more and more comic books are written, not to attract new readers/kids, but to satisfy the same, and ever dwindling, group of hard core collectors.

No business can be successful by ignorning the need to expand and build its customer base.

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I haven't seen a comic book in a grocery store since about 1996-97 when Diamond demanded that they buy at least $500 worth of books a week or not receive any deliveries. The stores said "Fuck you" and pulled comics off the racks. I haven't seen one outside a book store or comic shop since.


whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules.
It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness.
This is true both in politics and on the internet."

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exactly. comics don't have a presence outside of the direct market or bookstores. there isn't the retail availability that they used to have. there are no comics in grocery stores, convenience stores, wal-mart type stores, etc. all of which they used to be available in. which more than tripled their availability and sales.

when I was a kid, comics weren't geared towards new readers either. I started reading comics at the age of three in 1978. I learned to read from reading comics. I never had a problem figuring out the various realities and worlds and all that. as a whole, comics haven't changed that much. they're still easy to read and figure out for anyone who wants to.

but people have to be able to get them. how many kids see comics these days? not many. because the comics aren't where the kids go.

it's about distribution. not storytelling.

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Quote:

thedoctor said:
I haven't seen a comic book in a grocery store since about 1996-97 when Diamond demanded that they buy at least $500 worth of books a week or not receive any deliveries. The stores said "Fuck you" and pulled comics off the racks. I haven't seen one outside a book store or comic shop since.




I see them in Wegman's whenever I go in. And this one of the biggest chains in the Northeast.

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I have looked and not seen them in Wal-Mart, Winn Dixie, IGA, Krogers, Sunflower, Big Star, Ramey's, or K-Marts in the past eight to nine years. Those stores represent the largest to smallest chains as well as franchised stores in the Southeast. Availability is still an issue.


whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules.
It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness.
This is true both in politics and on the internet."

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one store in one region of the country. does the entire chain of stores carry them?

because none of the grocery stores in the southeast do. and I've been in stores in texas, louisiana, mississippi, alabama, tennessee, and georgia across the last six years and haven't seen one.

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Was in a 7-Eleven on Sunday and saw some of the Marvel books that they're supposed to be carrying now.

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Which is a good turn on Marvel's part, besides the $2.50 cover price, which is another bane on comic sales. But, still, that's a deal made specifically with 7-11 which doesn't have stores everywhere. Now, if Marvel can make that same deal for every gas station/convenience store and maybe even drop their prices a bit I'd change my tune. Fact is that the only way I can get comics is to go to a large chain bookstore that hides them in the back or a local comic shop.


whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules.
It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness.
This is true both in politics and on the internet."

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Quote:

the G-man said:
Good move, Rucka and Loeb. Keep alienating approximately fifty percent of the potential fan base with political comments.

Beyond that, however, it just seem to me like more of the same. Every five or so years since Byrne took over, they announced that "everything" will change with Superman but nothing really does, beyond some cosmetic changes and yet another Supergirl.




It would bother you if they were making fun of Democrats?

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Of course it wouldn't, according to g-man liberals are all evil. They should be made fun of.


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Quote:

the G-man said:
Fifteen years ago, comic books were in Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc. All those place have racks. And I see them in big grocery stores too. But sales keep plummeting.

The simple fact of the matter is that more and more comic books are written, not to attract new readers/kids, but to satisfy the same, and ever dwindling, group of hard core collectors.

No business can be successful by ignorning the need to expand and build its customer base.



that has nothing to do with politics unless you think a bunch of little republican kids are being turned away.
it has more to do with Rebirth and Crisis that requires several hundred dollars to read and a deep knowledge of the Bronze Age.


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My points were that

    (a) every time DC gets political it potentially alienates half the potential ADULT readership;
    (b) alienating half the potential adult readership is especially troubling when you are systematically failing to create books that attract child readers.

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that is why you alienate most the posters here.


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Uh.....Why does Superman look like Michael Jackson? Is this DC's master plan to lure more children to the franchise?

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Quote:

rex said:
that is why you alienate most the posters here.




yeah?


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