Before ‘The 100-Minute War’ kicks off in THE WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, writers James Robinson and Sterling Gates warm up the guns of war in THE LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON. What better way to warm up for the super-event than by taking a look at artist Marcos Marz’s variant for the first issue?
And, as an added bonus, here's Aaron Lopresti's variant cover to ADVENTURE COMICS #8:
You read that correctly. An interstellar conflict waged at superspeed.
Could this be in any way related to THE WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, which we announced not too long ago?
Same thing, folks, and it's all hitting in May, courtesy of writers Sterling Gates and James Robinson.
An epic, defining battle for the Man of Steel unleashed in one month. Because super-beings that fly fast? Well, they fight pretty fast, too.
But let's move past the high concept and dive into the nitty gritty, shall we? We pestered Superman Group Editor Matt Idelson on his day off to give us the goods, so take it away, Matt:
"The war between New Krypton and Earth has been the worst kept secret in comics the last several months. The number of mocking 'Wouldn't a world of supermen defeat Earth in five minutes?' questions I've been assaulted with have undone years of therapy. Now, thank Freud, the time for secrets is over, as the two sides are finally going to war! And it's going to last a lot longer than five minutes--100, to be exact, told in 25 minute increments. That doesn't count the few minutes before the clock starts, in WAR OF THE SUPERMEN #0, our contribution to this year's FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. There, we'll bring new readers up to speed on everything they really need to know, while hitting our regular loyalists with a tense tale the ending of which baps you between the eyes. Yay, war!
Jokes aside, this 100 minute thing made us realize that spreading the story over several months would kind of deaden the impact of the timeframe device, not to mention starting the war a month after #0. Besides, with five covers by Mr. Eddy Barrows, and Eddy being joined on this thing by the likes of Aaron Lopresti, Jamal Igle and Eduardo Pansica, why wait to put the issues out?"
But there's more.
With Superman caught between the war-hungry factions of General Zod and General Lane, could any victory be much more than Pyrrhic? What side will Supergirl take, and could it find her at odds with her cousin? Where are the other "Supermen" of the DCU, like Steel and Superboy? Right in the thick of it, is the answer.
War is declared. Time is of the essence. May is going to be a game changer for Superman, and if you don't believe me yet, maybe these stunning in-progress Eddy Barrows WAR OF THE SUPERMEN covers -- along with the cover to #0 -- will help sway you.
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In addition to the special, 50th issue wonderful-ness coming your way next month from the stellar creative team of writer Sterling Gates and artist Jamal Igle, SUPERGIRL #50 features a story by none other than Helen Slater,who as some of you can recall, played Supergirl in the major motion picture by the same name. In tandem with co-writer Jake Black and the very talented Cliff Chiang, Slater will tell a story about a “Meet the Press”-type show where a panel discusses Supergirl’s merits (or, according to Cat Grant, her lack thereof).
We checked in with SUPERGIRL assistant editor Wil Moss for the lowdown on the story, and not only did he share some info, but he passed along two lovely pages by Mr. Chiang. Take it away, Wil:
"We're thrilled to have Helen Slater - Supergirl herself! - contribute a story to this special anniversary issue of SUPERGIRL. She and her co-writer, the wickedly talented Jake Black, have crafted a short story that really encapsulates everything that's good and true about the Girl of Steel. The fact that we were able to get the A-list art team of Cliff Chiang and Dave McCaig to provide the art and colors just seals the deal - this is one story you do not want to let fly by!"
SUPERGIRL #50 hits 2/17.
What is the LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON? Well, it's basically New Krypton's worst nightmare come to life, as Brainiac attacks the planet, determined to recapture the city of Kandor.
But General Zod has prepared for this moment since Brainiac first attacked the original Krypton. Only problem? Zod's plan to save New Krypton will mean the destruction of the future.
So it's up to Superman, Supergirl, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes to save the people of New Krypton and ensure the Legion won’t be wiped from the future’s existence. Good luck! Or, to quote editor Matt Idelson:
“This is the story that ties together tons of threads that have run through all the Super-books up to now, clearing the decks for the war we all knew was coming. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting months to see Brainiac restored to his full, horrific glory. And at last, we’ll get to see Superboy interact on an ongoing basis with the rest of the Superbooks’ characters.”
LAST STAND is a three-issue miniseries, weighing in at 30 story pages each, from writers James Robinson and Sterling Gates and artist Pete Woods. The first issue sports an amazing Andy Kubert cover and kicks off the latest chapter in the New Krypton saga, "Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes," which we teased right here not long ago. “Brainiac & the LOSH” is an eight-part story (plus an epilogue and a prologue) that will run in LAST STAND, SUPERGIRL, SUPERMAN, and because you demanded it, ADVENTURE COMICS. Secrets will be revealed, loyalties tested and would-be lovers will be reunited—for the first time? And, knowing that all signs are pointing to an epic WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, why not hop aboard now?
SUPERMAN: LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON hits in March.
We’re right in the thick of the holidays, but for the Superman books, it’s the dawn of a new day. James Robinson and Greg Rucka are in the same boat, balancing their holiday shopping with writing WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #12 and turning the other Superman books on their respective heads in anticipation of… but I’m getting ahead of myself.
WONK #12 (gosh, I’m going to miss that name) is the finale, the wrap-up, the cherry on the sundae that has been WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON for the last year. A very devious conspiracy has been afoot on New Krypton, one that could change the balance of power in our solar system, and not in a good way! Because we were all raised not to do things in a simple, easy way, that means change abounds in the related Super-titles as well. Since we’re not in a position yet to show you any interiors, check out this variant cover by Ladrönn, who handled the variant for the first issue of the series! (And as a bonus, check out this page by Pete Woods from WONK #11!)
While WONK is doing its death dance, in SUPERMAN James is bringing Mon-El front and center once more in a story that could only be called “Man of Valor.” Check out these pages from issue #695, due out in time for Christmas. Man, that Bernard Chang and Blond make a heck of an artist/colorist team, don’t they?
Meanwhile, Greg and the one writer who truly understands him, Eric Trautmann, are feverishly bringing the story of Nightwing and Flamebird to a head. Check out what they’re making the book’s artist, Pere Pérez, draw. Yikes! (And yes, that is indeed Guardian and Mon-El, along with their pals the Science Police—this is part one of a two-part crossover between ACTION #885 and SUPES #696 that will reveal, among other things, yet another of General Zod’s sleeper agents!)
So we’ve covered the middle of the month and the end of the month, but what about the middle? Well, that’s where you’ll find SUPERGIRL. Doing his own juggling act, writer Sterling Gates is keeping me on my toes with issues #49 and #50. Matt Camp, who did an amazing job with issue #47, is back for another go-around (where things take a turn for the worse for poor Lana Lang!). And your pal and mine, Jamal Igle, returns for our big, shocking, oversized issue #50, where, among many other things, we pick up on the story of the not-so-nice Superwoman and her even-more-not-so-nice father, General Lane!
But I’ve digressed, I fear. I started this off talking about balancing the present with the new day in the Superman titles. Come March, a brand new miniseries (emphasis on the “mini”) will arrive, taking the place of the dearly departed WONK. You’ll be learning a lot more about this in a few short weeks, but what I can tell you is that James and Sterling are teaming up with a recharged Pete Woods for this story. And weighing in at 30 pages per issue, it’s one heck of a page-turner for the Superman line. Oh, and I might as well mention that a certain colleague of Lex Luthor’s will be showing up. And if that weren’t enough, said miniseries will be roping in SUPES, ACTION, SUPERGIRL aaannnnddd… ADVENTURE COMICS! (And check out Wil Moss’ recent blog post for more clues to all of this!) Can you feel the excitement? If not, you will!
All of this -- these events, these changes -- are just the table-setter for what’s to come. Man, when May rolls around, readers and non-readers of the Superbooks alike will be very, very tickled. And, yes, I did just say “tickled.”
Following a trail of experimental equipment that was stolen from WayneTech, the new Robin finds himself in Metropolis and face-to-face with the straight-laced Guardian. But when Parasite and Mr. Freeze appear, the two heroes will have to band together to capture the villains and retrieve the missing tech. What are the villains really after, though, and who is pulling their strings? No clue, readers. But these pages should help answer some of your questions.
WORLD'S FINEST #2 hits 11/25.
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You know, these days, with the Internet and all, lots of DC’s business is conducted through e-mail and on the telephone. So it IS unusual to see the hallways of DC’s offices bustling with writers and artists!
This used to be normal back when I entered the business—before fax machines!!!—as the writers and artists would actually hand deliver material on a weekly basis. Shortly after Fed Ex became a factor artists and writers started moving away from the big bad city that the comics publishers resided in—probably just so they could breathe some fresh air, though more likely because it was harder for us to grab them when we needed something ASAP!
Nowadays with everyone able to post high resolution scans of the art for any given title—we work with people all over the globe and we don’t even touch the physical art boards here in New York City anymore. (Man, THAT’s weird for a guy whose first gig in comics was photocopying Jack Kirby’s actual penciled art for KAMANDI and/or Walt Simonson’s pages for the Batman/Manhunter team-up back in the early 70s!!! Yup… I was a High School Intern at DC back in the day!)
So, not touching art, or seeing writers and artists in person makes it a real event when the talent comes into town to meet with us about the future!
In these two weeks before Thanksgiving we have Geoff Johns, Pete Tomasi, James Robinson, Sterling Gates, Eric Trautman, Tony Bedard, Keith Giffen, Judd Winick and more coming through the hallowed halls to help plan, with their editors and Dan DiDio, all of 2010-- and beyond-- in the DC Universe!
These meetings for a couple of new series as well as Superman and Justice League related titles are some of my favorite part of making the comics. They bond everyone involved to the goals and concepts shaped and honed TOGETHER and everyone leaves feeling like they are part of the family and that they matter to making the agreed upon stories “the best ever”! (And yes, Families sometimes have “feuds” but even THAT passion can help fuel the Never-ending Battle between the covers!)
I was in on instigating some of these so-called Summits back when I was editor of SUPERMAN… and they all came about because of a dinner a bunch of us had at a convention in Cleveland, IL during Superman’s 5oth anniversary in 1988.
There were a bunch of us Superman types on hand to help celebrate. Jerry Ordway and Roger Stern were there… George Perez was about to join us on the return of Superman TO ACTION COMICS… and the master himself Curt Swan even joined us at this legendary dinner. Together we all went out to discuss an ACTION ANNUAL that would bring George into our team… and would have Curt returning to the Man of Tomorrow as well! The dinner was fun and productive with everyone contributing ideas to the mix—including Curt who was only to draw a few pages in the annual.
When the dinner was over I asked Curt how this “plotting session” compared with the ones he’d done in the old days. He said that it was great—because he was never invited to join in the plotting back then. He was clearly excited to have been involved.
This got me to thinking… excitement behind the scenes always makes for excitement on the page… so we quickly scheduled the first real Super-Summit for shortly after that. And the meetings have stayed a staple of the creative process since then in one form or another.
The excitement in the halls this mid-November promises to translate well for next year… so let them keep inventing ways to keep us all apart—we’ll still find a way to get together and blow everyone away with what we can come up with!
The one thing I’ll never understand is how anyone did comics (or ANYTHING) before Post-It notes were invented! (But even those work best when everyone’s all in the same room!)
Supergirl has finally brought Reactron back to New Krypton so he can be held accountable for murdering her father, Zor-El. While the debate about what to do with him rages among the people of New Krypton, the planet's ruler – and Supergirl's mother – remains unsure. Should Alura have Reactron executed? And will Supergirl allow it to happen if her mother decides to go that route? We can't spoil that for you here. But we can give you a glimpse at the issue, from writer Sterling Gates and guest artist Matt Camp.
SUPERGIRL #47 hits 11/18.
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As some of you know, artist Michael Turner died from complications of cancer last summer. He left a lasting legacy with not only the Maid of Steel, but comics in general. We thought it would be a great honor to spotlight his career and this milestone issue, SUPERGIRL #50 by having a cover from the artist that helped usher the modern version of Supergirl into the DCU.
We hope you agree and join us in celebrating the character, and this great artist.
Sterling Gates is far from a newcomer to the DCU -- but he's certainly one that's on the rise. With his work -- alongside artist Jamal Igle -- redefining and stabilizing SUPERGIRL, Gates has made a name for himself for his tight plotting and knack for strong and precise characterization. All of which can be seen month-in and month-out in the pages of the Girl of Steel's ongoing series. Not-so-coincidentally, you can get a good sense of what we're talking about here by picking up the newly-released SUPERGIRL: WHO IS SUPERWOMAN? collection, which shows Gates and Igle slowly unraveling the mystery behind the new, villainous Superwoman.
But why stop there? In addition to his work on SUPERGIRL, Gates has expanded his reach in Metropolis and Krypton, firstly by co-writing the recently-concluded "Hunt for Reactron" arc with writer Greg Rucka in the pages of SUPERGIRL and ACTION COMICS and now with WORLD'S FINEST, a mini-series slated to spotlight members of the Batman and Superman families of characters as they team-up to face off against common threats.
The first issue kicks off with Gates and artist Julian Lopez bringing Red Robin and Christopher Kent/Nightwing together to help track down a missing Flamebird -- but as readers have come to expect from Gates, things are rarely that linear, so fans should be in for a treat. But don't take my word for it -- check out some pages from the first issue below.
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