JMS leaves Superman, WW to write SM Earth One sequel

[madmarva]

JMS is leaving the Superman and Wonder Woman regular series to write a sequel to the Superman Earth One graphic Novel.

I knew the GN was selling well, but it must being going crazy for this to happen.

DC hired Phil Hester to finish up writing his Wonder Woman arc and Chris Roberson to finish up his Superman arc.

All the hoopla with the Wonder Woman costume and keeping Superman to just one book will certainly be second guessed, but honestly I'd rather read more Earth One Superman than the grounded storyline of the crazy Wonder Woman story, which really isn't Wonder Woman at all in my opinion.

Hopefully, DC will shorten both storylines since JMS is not longer involved, just his notes, and we can have some decent Superman and Wonder Woman stories.

While I would rather JMS just have worked on Earth One and sequel from the beginning, probably the best thing to come out of all of this is Paul Cornell's Luthor series in Action Comics.

[The Toyroom]

What a clusterf.....! JMS seems to be stacking up quite the unfinished/aborted projects now isn't he?

[samurainoir]

probably the best thing to come out of all of this is Paul Cornell's Luthor series in Action Comics.

As a fairly new Dr Who fan, Cornell's stuff has been terrific in the comics I've read. I've been meaning to go back and check out his Captain Britain.

If Emo Superman ropes in additional younger readers and females, this is in no way a Bad Thing. Superman can exist in all colours and flavours. His iconography and comtemporary mythology is strong enough to handle many different interpretations without taking away anything from any previous or other current versions.

Earth 1 for the win in sales numbers and readership. A victory for the viability of the ORIGINAL Graphic Novel at the Big Two as well.

[BlackKnight]

Man ..., Quick Bail on BS Idea's Huh ? Way to go DC .
See Folks ..., Don't Buy the Batman BS .

.... I did read Earth One, Finished it up last Night.
I Enjoyed the Book Quit a Bit.
Shane Davis' Art work was Fantastic, Each Page was just so very nice and Clean bright stuff. Dude's got mad skills.

But JMS and his story was just ok . I was Expecting Better than What I got. But I did like the Idea of the Villian and the Direction of all of that.

I only Buy Adventure comics right now in the Superman Camp.
I am really digging the Classic past new stories of the Legion.

[boynightwing]

I was enjoying the Wonder Woman story.

I read Earth One. I loved the art but didn't much care for the story.

[madmarva]

I enjoyed Earth One, but I enjoyed Secret Origins and Birthright Before it. John Byrne's retelling of the origin was cool 24 years ago — has it been so long — as was Superman: The Movie.

As mentioned by others, Superman's origin is so durable, it's hard to mess up. But, I don't know that JMS added anything all that inventive. Tacking Glacatus' nearly 60-year-old schtick onto the villain, who is basically a mashup of Mongul and Brainiac, doesn't cut it for me.


The issue now as it has been 1970s or earlier is, what do you do with Superman after the origin. Hopefully this is the conundrum JMS can figure out, and it might work a lot better in twice-a-year graphic novels than a monthly or weekly serial format.

Superman's really too powerful to be the social crusader he started out as in the 1930s or to handle ground-level crime like he did in the first two seasons of the Adventures of Superman TV series, before it was intentionally de-dramatized into being even more of a kiddie show.

Morrison handled the whimsy and power of the Man of Steel well in a 12-issue series, but he could ground the story in Superman's oncoming death in All Star Superman to add a bit of humanity.

Lois and Clark and Smallville have worked Clark/Kal-El's love life to death.

With Superman, you really have a neutered god-figure. He has all the power, but you can't have him actually tackle the issues a being with that much power would be tempted to handle in reality — war, famine, disease. The story would end too quickly

By the end of the 1940s, DC figured out Superman's best role was as a figure of hope and as an ultimate role model. It's the reason I've loved Superman forever, but it doesn't always make for the most interesting stories to tell month by month.

I hope JMS can find something new to do with the character, tap a vein of inspiration that no one has touched upon in the last 70 years. Heck I'll even settle for what Byrne, Jurgens, Ordway, and Stern did, recast some of the older stories and ideas in an inventive and entertaining way.

One thought is to have Kent be the crusader as a blogging populist journalist, using the power of the internet to battle corruption on the ground level, while Superman does it in the skies. Instead of Kent being the milquetoast background guy, his ground level battles with corrupt politicians and crime and the corporate side of Luthor Corps could drive some of the storytelling. Might work for a little while.

Really someone like Kent could be more dangerous to a Byrne-like Luthor than anyone elese.

Ah well, we'll see.

[samurainoir]

^^^
I love all those ideas! Particularly to have Clark Kent fighting Luthor with words as well as fists gives it a new dimension.

Although I think The Point of Earth 1 isn't really any kind of reinvention, but a new surface coat of paint for a new audience.

They really seem to be taking a certain cue from not just Smallville, but the inarguable success of Ultimate Spider-Man. The classic tropes remixed in a youthful veneer. It's ridiculous how many printings and formats USM has seen, and my understanding is that it's pretty much a mainstay of all graphic novels for youth sections in most public libraries (alongside Scott Pilgrim). I think it's very telling that the new movie will be based on USM now that the Stan Lee/Ditko/Romita version has run it's course at the box office.

Also it's really important to see what a bold statement DC is making by going straight to Original Graphic Novel. Like USM, if they do it well enough, you'll have the aging comic store crowd anyways... that's a given. They are skipping the pamphlet monthlies and going directly to their broader target audiences in the bookstores/libraries. The fact that Amazon sold out is bloody incredible!

[jemboy2004]

Well I hope Wonder Woman at least gets her story completed with the new writer.

[Bizarro Amy]

I was enjoying the Wonder Woman story.

With the exception of the costume, I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. I am annoyed with the idea of her either not knowing her true origin, or something happening to change it and needing to be restored, because Diana already had something similar in the Walt Simonson run. That might not even be the only time. But I do like the part about the military hunting down the scattered groups of Amazons and Diana seeking them out.

[samurainoir]

The incoming writers will be working from JMS' plot outlines and he's apparently going to be consulting on them as they go along. So the storyline is by no means going to be unfinished. I understand that this actually might but The Twelve back on track (but don't hold your breath until you actually see it).

[The Toyroom]

I understand that this actually might but The Twelve back on track (but don't hold your breath until you actually see it).

The Twelve has lost any momemtum it might have had.....better for JMS to finish it up quietly and then just solicit as a trade when completed....