For those of you just tuning in, DC has rocked the comic industry with some bombshell announcements, including ending their current line of comics, relaunching the following month with 52 new #1’s and releasing every title digitally, day-and-date with the print edition. Ian and Nuv, joined by Mark “Funky Bunch” Campbell, play 52 pickup and guide you through the new DC Universe. Need to play catch-up? Follow the links below…
PART ONE • PART TWO • PART THREE • PART FOUR
Superman by George Pérez and Jesus Merino
Mark: I am so glad that Perez is only writing this book. Because the new costume (which is dumb enough as it is… knee pads? Really? He’s the Man of Steel.) looks worse than normal when Perez draws it.
Ian: George Perez is old and crusty. So is Superman. Perfect fit!
Mark: It doesn’t really matter because I’m saving my Superman allowance for…
Action Comics by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales
Mark: ‘Nuff said.
Ian: A new Action Comics #1! Do you know how much the original #1 is worth kids? Better buy 50 copies of the re-boot just in case! DC is actually marketing the book like this. To Nuv.
Nuv: Look. I get it. I had a hard time getting past resetting the longest-runnning comic back from 900+ back to 0. I got over it. This is actually a brave and bold move. Letting go to look ahead is hard. If you’ve been on one path since 1938, to change courses? DC’s playing Superman here, leading the way, giving the rest of the industry something to look up to, and hopefully, saving the day. It’s at least partly working. Everybody’s talking about them. Leaping headfirst into digital comics with day-and-date releases is probably the biggest move into the future from a notoriously nostalgic industry.
As for the comic itself? Well, the faith I have in the creative team on Action went a long way in helping me get over all my trepidation. I’m actually as excited for Morrison and Morales’ Action as I am for Johns and Lee’s Justice League. And, DC, I know you’re trying to look ahead. (Though, while I’m more forgiving of Pérez than most, he hardly seems like an infusion of fresh blood.) I promise I’m okay with change, when it makes sense, and attention on my favourite superhero, as well as (I’m sure) trying to line him up with the upcoming movie, are all good things. And you wanna do away with any elements that can be construed as “of their time,” cool. So what’s the biggest problem in your eyes? The underwear. Wait. What?
Superman is one of those things that has transcended being just a comic, or a character, or a costume. He’s an icon. A symbol. Universal. Timeless. You don’t need to change the look of something that’s timeless. You can modernize the concept, the character, whatever. People always claim he’s unrelatable, (I, for one, am sick of the attempts to make an emo-gaylord out of him) so start there. First superhero, kick-ass leader, there’s a lot already there. Somewhere along the way Action Comics (barring the Johns/Frank run and the period where Lex took over the book) became REAction Comics. Fine. Clean break. Make a man outta Mac. Give us a reason to “Look! Up in the sky!” again. I’ll tell you this though – it ain’t the threads that need updating, DC. From a business standpoint, the branding has history. Disbelief long suspended, underwear accepted. From an artistic standpoint the suit needs that field of red breaking up the blue. But, whatever. If you are going to change that for the sake of “not dating” him, do it for the better. Don’t change to dodge lawyer bullets. Change to move forward DC. Not sideways. Not backwards. Up, up and away, right? So, how the hell are kneepads and 90s-Image cosplay boots any better than the underoos? Come on! While Ian tells me kneepads come in handy in his (the oldest) profession, WHY WOULD SUPERMAN NEED THEM?!
Some things are meant to be forever. Superman is one of those. You don’t spit into the wind, you don’t tug on his cape, and, to me, he wears his underwear on the outside. I guess he can’t put it on in a phone booth anymore. Whatever. There’s probably an App for that. And you’ll probably make the Daily Planet a blog. But I digress. My argument works both ways. Maybe by October the genius of Kryptonian kneepads will be realized. I don’t know.
I do know one thing. There’s a whole universe at stake here, DC. This looks like a job for Superman.
Let’s see if he’s up to the task.
– The Big Three
