Perhaps to get ahead of the craziness of San Diego Comic Con or in fear of being outshone at SDCC, DC has released a ton of information about this. Head here for what is known:https://aiptcomics.com/2024/07/17/dc-comics-absolute-dc-all-in-line-comics/
Since hearing about this, I wondered how this was going to differ from the Earth One books or even a plain old Elseworld. This looks much more cohesive and more tied into the main DCU. The idea that the current DCU is built on the idea of Superman (something good that came out of Doomsday Clock) is fantastic. Darkseid wanting to build a universe in his image is not a bad idea.
“If the main universe is set up by Superman energy, this universe is founded on Darkseid energy,” Snyder added. That makes the heroes underdogs. “They have to be tougher. Have to be more resourceful,” and that makes them more badass.
Of course, Snyder says it means the heroes will be more 'bad ass' usually means it is something I'm probably not going to like but I'm willing to give it a shot.
But there's more.
Absolute Superman will be brought by the team of Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval.
Anyone who comes here knows that I love Sandoval.
This Superman who came here as a teenager and feels like an alien is okay for a one-shot or 'out of continuity' story. But an ongoing? This gray suited brooder with the floppy hair, cloaked in shadows, makes me concerned. But I'll give it a shot.
As for the main titles, we have news there too!
Per the news Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora will be working on Superman and introducing a new Superwoman, with the return of Doomsday.
Williamson has confirmed that is indeed Lois. Thank goodness. I worried for a second it was Cir-El!
Dan Mora on a Superman book is a dream come true. I can only hope it means we see more of his take on Supergirl.
And given the ending of the Doomsday Special , I'm not surprised we are getting him again.
Williamson and Mora. I'm pretty pumped.
And then this mixed bag.
Action Comics is going to weekly with Mark Waid writing a story about Superman going into the Phantom Zone and fighting Xa-Du. Art is by Clayton Henry who has a bold style I like. Info here:
But then the other news in this. Mariko Tamaki and Skylar Patridge are teaming up again to do a Supergirl back-up story.
Things to like? DC giving Supergirl time to shine again! Skylar Patridge on art.
Things to be wary about? Mariko Tamaki writing Kara. After all, her story in the Supergirl Special was extremely lackluster, with a complete misunderstanding of Supergirl both historically and in that current continuity.
Tamaki seems to have one story to tell - a coming of age story of a young woman who feels isolated and awkward and (in most cases) angry at the system that makes her feel that way. She just shoves every character in to that mold.
While I can't wait to see Patridge on the character again, I worry this will be another dull story without grasping who Kara is.
What I wouldn't give to get a Supergirl announcement that thrills me!
Anyways, thoughts on this new initiative or these new creative teams and directions?
7 comments:
We share the worries about the Supergirl strip but fingers crossed we’ll either be surprised or that someone else will take over the writing pretty quickly. With luck DC editors will realise you don’t have to be a woman to write Supergirl/Power Girl.
Other than the Court of Owls series on Batman, I haven't liked any of Snyder's DC material that much.
Mart- DC editorial? Lol!!! They don’t have a clue!
I don't know what else to say about "All In" other than - I give it 2 years, max.
Thanks for your thoughts. Absolute DC mostly looks terrible, though the Kelly Thompson Wonder Woman series might have some potential. Absolute Batman looks almost like a parody of an attempt to make Batman even more grimdark while Absolute Superman seems like it will be Superman without many of the positive traits that make him appealing (having Jason Aaron as the writer for the title is also a red flag given how awful his I, Bizzarro story was). One thing I'm curious about is your claim that Absolute Superman came to Earth as a teenager. All I've seen related to this is that he has, "no family," and, "no home," so I'm curious where you learned that he showed up on Earth as a teen.
As for Williamson's Superman, Dan Mora is definitely a good artist but the idea of making Lois Superwoman is lame. Lois being Superwoman or otherwise gaining powers is a very worn out, unimaginative idea, and there's no indication that Williamson's take on her assuming this role will somehow make it interesting. Lois is always at her best when she's a grounded partner for Clark who shows that a regular human can be his spiritual peer in spite of their physical inferiority by sheer force of character and intellect. Turning her into a superhero takes away a lot of the power of her ability to match Clark on an interpersonal level by implicitly de-emphasizing the character traits that are what make her truly exceptional in the first place in favor of the blunt force of superpowers.
It also doesn't help that there's no way this isn't going to stick. Lois will revert to powerlessness in a few months, it's unlikely to lead to a lasting change in her character, and everybody will carry on as if nothing happened. If they really wanted to do something interesting with Superwoman, make it an adult version of Otho or a distant descendant of Clark who's travelled through time; somebody from New Phaelosia; or hell even the Earth 3 Superwoman secretly taking Lois's place. At least those ideas would be more original than this and wouldn't necessarily mess with Lois's character. Maybe Williamson will be able to make this tired concept work somehow (and otherwise the story he seems to have planned seems fine), but for now that doesn't seem likely.
Finally, while the Supergirl Special was a letdown, there's solid cause to be optimistic about Tamaki writing a good story for Kara due to the quality of her work on Supergirl: Being Super. I would also push back on the idea that she only writes bildungsroman featuring awkward and isolated young women. She didn't write Diana that way during her run on Wonder Woman, while her runs on She Hulk and Detective Comics also didn't strike me as fitting into that mold. At her best she has a gift for good characterization, original plots, compelling antagonists, solid action, and decent situational humor. Maybe Tamaki will botch this and present a nearly unrecognizable, mopey Kara who remembers almost nothing about Krypton and has weak motivations, but given her track record I think that's less likely than her writing at least a decent Kara story.
Two last points: First, while I'm glad Waid is writing for Action Comics, I'm a bit disappointed that the focus seems like will be strongly on Clark at the expense of the wider Superfamily. When the family is well integrated into stories, it makes for richer stories and characterization, so I can't help but feel something is being lost by putting the spotlight on Clark. Lastly, I can't help but notice that Power Girl hasn't been canceled, and Williams will now have had a longer run on Power Girl than Palmiotti and Conner. That is a disgrace to DC, and also completely inexplicable given that Williams doesn't seem to care about the character and the title is a commercial and critical flop. Why is anybody at DC still backing this, and who out there is reading it?
DC needs to just copy Marvel's original Ultimates concept: start the universe fresh set today with no existing continuity. I know how I'd do the Big Two plus Wonder Woman if I were to do that. -Steve McS
Isn't Mariko Tomaki the writer who suddenly decided that Supergirl was so frail and unconfident she couldn't handle a chunk of falling masonry without help from Powergirl?
That remains all I need to know about where this feature will be going...
JF
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