Superman Through the Ages! Forum

[BEEP]

so what do you get when you team a gore crazed hack with someone who never wrote a comic in his life?

A trainwreck...

also look at the artwork...

disgusting... (remember kids the S on Superman's chest stands for sadism and satanic)

oh well, one less book to buy.

http://www.newsarama.com/SDCC06/DC/action_D_G.html

Don't click on the link if you have a weak heart....

Tom Manciewicz should've gotten the nod.

Kubert's Superman looks like Bizarro.

Bleah.

You do realize this scene's being presented out of context, right? You don't know what's going on, or what's got Superman angry. And lest we forget, Johns co-wrote the gore-free "Up, Up, and Away." I think he deserves more respect than this.

And I'll take Adam Kubert over Frank "I failed basic anatomy" Quitely any day.

I'll take Quitely, but despite that debate...

I can't tell much from the interview...the artwork features something I detest in a lot of modern Superman, the look of out-of-control hating rage...some of Shuster's early work gives him a hard look, but the violence in the look of art like the panel shown here is just so beneath the universe's greatest hero.

Johns won me over with "Up, Up, and Away."

As for Donner, I don't see the problem. Others from the film industry have done the same with great success. The guy directed the best portrayal of Superman on the big screen, IMO. So, I'm giving the guy a chance.

Too bad he didn't write all of it, please read the credits again, compare the good stuff there with that other writer that post here and then IC which johns wrote, and you can see where the real credit should go to for making it so good.

Better yet just Compare Superman to Action comics when there are writing them solo.

then compare that to Up, Up and Away.

I have no problem with this.

I'm a fan of the original Superman movie as well as most of Richard Donner's other films. I think he has an inherent understanding of good storytelling and what makes characters tick. I'm a fan of most of Geoff John's work and I feel that he's one of the better character writers that have come along in recent years. I thought his Flash run (with exception to his first arc) was outstanding!

As for Donnor's ability to write for comics...it sounds from what was said in the article that he'll be more of a co-plotter...pitching ideas, refining the script after Johns has written it, etc.

As for the page of art in question, I'll wait until I see it in proper context of the story before I pass judgement.

I know he didn't write all of it. But, his contribution to the story took away any reservations that I had after IC.

I had no such reservations with Mr. Busiek. Generally, I have enjoyed all of Busiek's work with Superman. That includes JLA/Avengers, his JLA arc, Secret Identity, his collaboration with Johns, and his first issue on Superman.

As for comparing. Try this, compare IC with some of Johns' other solo work. IC doesn't hold up to his arc on JSA Classified, doesn't hold up to some of his story arcs on Teen Titans, JSA, Stars and Stripes, or the Flash.

The thing that is most interesting I think, is that Geoff Johns is going to bring in General Zod. The thing is, every single writing team for the past six years has had some Zodlike idea at some point, and the whole business with him is a horrible mess.

Enter Johns.

Remember, this was the guy that played "continuity janitor" with Hawkman, and did in no uncertain way, what Grant Morrison attempted and failed to do - bring a viable Hawkman back in the DCU that respected every version of Hawkman that came before.

There's always been a lot of give and take between the comics and other media; for instance, Kryptonite and flight, concepts integral to Superman, came originally from media, as did Jimmy Olsen. So, why not let somebody as famous as General Zod in, a character that never really had a strong comic presence?

I don't think it will be a bad comic book, even if the one I'm really waiting for is SUPERMAN (not yet arrived here).

I don't have anything against film industry folks in the comic book biz, though I think some do better than others.  JMS is great -- as long as you don't have him take on an established character in a shared universe.  

But, AFAICT, Donner's not really a writer.  What he's doing sounds more like what a seasoned comic book editor might do.  That's fine and dandy, but why not call him an editor (or kick Didio out and call him the boss of DC :) )?  Really, I'd like to get stories from more and different voices.  My hunch is whatever comes out will largely feel like Geoff Johns.  I like a lot of Geoff Johns work, but he's spread too thin.

It scares me that it's him who will be revamping Brainaic and Zod, after seeing how he threated Alex, Superboy-Prime, and Earth-2 Superman, I have no hope whatsoever it's going to be any good.

Adam is not a bad artist, clearly he has talent, but he seems all wrong for Superman, he would be better serve drawing Wolverine, The Hulk or Lobo.

Put those two together and "all hope abandon, ye who enter here" should be written on each cover.

Well at least before i gave my judgement i'm going to wait after i have read some episodes of the Action Comics by Donner e Johns,since the last one  made a real good job on Hawkman and with Busiek over Up,up and away! i hope it will do the same with his new partner.

 :s:  :s:  :s:

There is no way I would ever pick up that book, unless a whole lot of people at this site give it rave reviews and then I might change my mind and give it a shot.

Trust me I much rather have three great Superman books rather than just two, but I have yet to see anything that would make me think it will happen.

Well, here is the solicitation for Johns/Donner's first issue together...recently added to the DC website after the official announcement.


ACTION COMICS #844

Written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner; Art and cover by Adam Kubert; Variant cover by TK

Geoff Johns (INFINITE CRISIS, FLASH) joins forces with Richard Donner (director of Superman: The Movie and Superman II) and artist extraordinaire Adam Kubert (X-Men, Ultimate X-Men) for "Last Son," the tale of a small child from the planet Krypton. Sent by his parents to Earth with powers beyond imagination, the child's future potential is limitless. Especially when Superman finds him! Don't miss this amazing comics event!

Superman  |  32pg.  |  Color  |  $2.99 US

On Sale October 25, 2006

And here's the *stunning* cover...

http://www.dccomics.com/comics/cm_popup.php?i=6199

I hoped to see more action* in the cover.















* Except for the title logo, I mean!

So Superman should never get angry, never use force, or ever intimidate a villain no matter how much the situation demands it because it's "beneath" him.

I guess the Fleischer, Alyn, Reeves, and Reeve Supermen all missed the memo then.  :roll:

Superman should not embody 'roid rage.

Wow, this is an old thread...

But yeah, Superman should use force, get angry occasionally (as far as the memos to Superman actors, well, Christopher Reeve screams at the death of Lois, I suppose one more time would have been too much for me, and for the life of me I can't remember a raging George Reeves)...purple faced rage can be saved for five year olds and professional wrestling... 8) Once upon a time, Superman could use his smarts to deal with situations that made him angry...

I have to come down on the side of Matter-Eater Lad here.  

Of course Superman, or any man, would occasionally get angry, but for the last few years now it seems the new "iconic" image of superheroes in general is that of a raving, frothing-at-the-mouth berzerker, just itching to tear open someone's throat.  That was novel and even sort of cool back in the late 70s when Wolverine did it, but by now it's beyond tired.

Superman is not a character generally motivated by vengeance and rage, and honestly neither is Batman, for years now DC's best stab at "Wolverine Lite."  Superheroes should be about something other than mindless violence, but apparently that's what sells.

Anyway,  I think some characters can get away with it visually even if it's not good for the character in the long run.  Like Batman, who already has a scary outfit...he can bare his teeth, run around in a "battle-damaged" costume and leap on hoodlums to generate some excitement.  But seeing Superman, with his all-American good looks, bright colors and that "S" on his chest, re-imagined as a bloodthirsty avenger shown in silhouette except for red glowing eyes (and, imposssibly, the "S" somehow perfectly lit though the rest of him is inky black) always strikes me as ridiculous.  What's next, Underdog with rabies?

Oh, and George Reeves was never "raving," though he was known to set his jaw and squint his eyes.  And punch thugs right in the kisser!

 :rotfl:



He decked quite a few. Sometimes when his dander was up he would pick up a couple of men he'd already knocked to the floor and crack their heads together, Thock! (Ouch.)

Do I need to add I thoroughly approved every time he did it?

I quite agree with Nightwing that the whole superhero-doing-Dirty-Harry schtick is old and tired, and in Superman's case it never made sense anyway: he's so much stronger than everybody else that he would not even be expending any energy by knocking them around. When I lose my temper (which happens more and more as middle age sets in), I don't try to vent my fury by tearing a tissue apart.

Also, Clark grew up on a farm, in comfortable Midwestern circumstances amid plenty of parental love. He's not the sort of person who's likely to fly off the handle. I'd almost like to think of him as a laid-back, laconic farm hand first, who just happens to be the most powerful man on earth: "Oh, Luthor's causing a rampage agin', huh? Yup, they'll do that, them city folk. Guess I'd better see to it."

In his excellent (my opinion!) series, Paul Chadwick once had Concrete strike his assistant in anger, smashing several ribs, and chillingly realise that in his new, grotesque and powerful body, he could never afford himself the luxury of losing his temper again. Indeed, one rarely if ever sees the character try to intimidate people with his prodigious strength, though to be fair, he's not exactly a conventional superhero.

Superman is the one super-character least likely to lose control of his temper, except perhaps for Green Lantern. Remember Superman has spent his whole childhood and beyond using rigid self-control to blend in with the multitude. Without the automatic inhibitions that enable him to function in his Clark Kent identity, he would demolish his surroundings. (The man's breath can flatten a forest. His foot can flatten a mountain.) Clark Kent is Superman's supreme exhibition of self-control. There is an element of truth in your hicksville quote, Permanus... The Man of Steel is the strong man continually frustrated by his inhibitions, self-imposed by will power, whether right or wrong, over half a lifetime. The steroid Superman frothing with rage is plainly ridiculous. Superman doesn't have to worry about losing control of his temper. His ingrained self-control probably causes him much more anguish.