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Here are Kurt Busiek's answers to questions fans put to him about "Superman Annual #13" and other relevant topics:
Kurt's Answers
Tyson L Cromeens (pharmdtlc@hotmail.com) asks:So if we don't know the future, but the grim future is extremly possible. With Khyber waking up will Superman now hunt for Khyber? Seems not like Supes to just say "Oh well, he's probably dead" and not do something about it.
Kurt: The only evidence Superman has one way or the other is that Sirocco is convinced Khyber's dead, but that the Phantom Stranger confirmed that Arion's story is at least a very possible future. Based on that, Superman will probably devote some time to looking for proof of Khyber's existence (along with the many other such things he does), but it's unlikely to appear in a story unless the search accomplishes something. Superman does a lot of stuff that doesn't make it into the comics, since not all of it makes for exciting stories.
Zal-Ta/TalOs (talos_rokyian@yahoo.com.au) asks:
Kurt, VERY curious regards to Superman Annual #13 - any chance that your whole "Arion vs Superman" themed fight was a homage of sorts to THE Supergirl: The Movie's very own "Selena vs. Supergirl" original? I just got this overall vibe that THAT was the particular inspiration for THIS particular meant "evil Warlock vs. Superman" vibe thing shown mostly. Would I be right?
Kurt: Sorry, Tal, but I haven't seen that movie since it came out, over two decades ago, and don't remember much about it besides Helen Slater being cute and Faye Dunaway chewing up the scenery. As I've noted elsewhere, the spark for "Camelot Falls" came about when I was coming up with JLA plotlines, and it got turned into a Superman story when I wound up writing Superman instead of JLA. The proximate inspiration was actually the TV show The West Wing -- I very much like the way they managed to engage our sympathy by making the Bartlet Administration (collectively an extremely powerful organization) feel like underdogs by putting them up against threats that didn't have an easy solution, and I wanted to do something like that with the JLA. When I moved the story over to Superman, I found that it worked well there, too, to put Superman in a situation where he had to think about his status as an outsider, and to realize that he can never truly know what his influence will mean to the future, so he's got to be mindful of the greater picture even as he fights his never-ending battle.
Mike (kcbayliff@yahoo.com) asks:
I really enjoyed the Family Outing to Terabithia. I come from a happy, healthy familiy and it was great to see a healthy family in the comics. Thank you. I would really like the action of Superman to be mixed in with a healthy dose of family time. Do you have any plans to show how Clark's upbringing by the Kent's affects his raising of Chris? Secondly, we see Chris so often with Lois, I would like to see Chris and Clark on one of those fishing trips. Any plans for that in the future?
Kurt: More on Clark and Chris will be coming -- though Clark's need to rush off as Superman will often mean that Lois and Chris have to stay behind. Not always, though, as you'll see in the coming year.
DougEl (dmtisdale_jr@yahoo.com) asks:
Hey Kurt. This was a nice last chapter to the Camelot Falls storyline. My only question is, why did it take so long to get it published? Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions seriously.
Kurt: As you've seen in a number of books this past couple of years, DC's had some serious schedule problems -- and since the people doing the books (at all levels from creative to editorial to production and beyond) are mere humans, they couldn't get out of it by simply making everyone work at double speed. So some books got caught up (or kept on schedule) by bringing in other creators to help out (as with the multiple artists of '52' and Countdown, some DC decided readers would rather wait for (the All-Star line, notably) and some got a mixture, with storylines waiting until they could be completed by the artists that started them, while new arcs and inventory issues were done by others to get the books back on schedule. Superman was one of the latter -- they wanted to have the same creative team on the story all the way through, so we accommodated that by doing other stories alongside it. Had we known when we started that it would take this long, we'd likely have waited until much more of it was done to kick it off.
So the short answer to your question is, "It didn't get done on time." Now that DC's been able (mostly) to dig its way out of the schedule hole it found itself in, it's far less likely that storylines will be broken up this way in the future.
L Margolis (margolis_l@bellsouth.net) asks:
I liked the finale to Camelot Falls. I liked how you showed that the future that involves Khyber, and everything that Arion showed Superman a few issues ago, does not necessarily mean that this is the definite future. Pointing out Superman's time in the 30/31 Century with the LSH was something that I'm glad you addressed since it was something nagging at me. Question: was this story something that grew out, in some way, from Maggin's "Must There Be a Superman?" The themes of both stories are similar although the approaches are very much different. I also hope that the way that Superman dealt with Arion shows Superman not to be the wimp that so many have said he has been as of late. Regarding the second story - I liked it too. Since Jimmy knows Clark's secret ID, I'm surprised that you didn't include him, since Krypto was there (unless Jimmy's still stuck on Apokolips at this time). And why wasn't Power Girl included? Doesn't Supreman still sort of consider her as family? I'm looking forward to the next arc. Happy Holidays!
Kurt: Jimmy was indeed tied up in Countdown -- and there are plenty of people who know Superman's identity who didn't go on the trip; it was pretty much a small group of immediate family, not an event bringing together all of Superman's friends. Still, had Jimmy been around he might well have come along. Same for Power Girl, who is considered family, but who has plenty to keep her busy as well.
As for any connection to "Must There Be A Superman?" all I can say is that there's no conscious connection. As noted above, I started out planning this as a JLA story, and it turned into a Superman tale after it was fairly well worked out. Once people started pointing out resemblances to Elliot's story, I was flattered -- the story's considered a classic, after all -- but I chose not to pull it out and reread it so that I wouldn't be influenced by it more than subconsciously. Now that I'm done, though, I'll have to compare the two and see where mine resembles Elliot's, and where they diverge...!
Captain Kal (Email address withheld by request) asks:
Hi Kurt, Splendid work per usual. I like how the storyline ended with the potential for the Khyber timeline to still materialize. I didn't like so much the Phantom Stranger giving Superman temporary magical resistance as it implies Superman wouldn't have been resourceful enough without it to win. Since your Third Kryptonian storyline states that Kandor is a Wegthor Lunar Colony, and that it also is the name of the non-Kryptonian bottle city formerly in the Fortress, does Kara saying Kandor also exists on Krypton mean a third Kandor also exists? Is Kandor the 'Fairfield' of Kryptonian city names that gets used/overused multiple times (Fairfield is a very common U.S. town name as per an old Superman/Teen Titans World's Finest team-up). Also, did Kal and Kara pilot the ship to Terabithia or did they fly outside it? BTW, excellent back-up story there. It's nice to read a story about Superman and his family just enjoying themselves for once without a disaster in the making. Renato Guedes' art blew me away there as he continues to impress me by presenting a refreshing take on comics art that's still boldly realistic.
Kurt: I don't think Superman getting help from others implies that he's helpless on his own, Kal -- if it did, then every issue of JLA is an indictment of Superman's ability, rather than a recognition that he sees the value in working with others. Had the Phantom Stranger not been around, I'm sure Superman would have taken that into account. Whether he'd have triumphed or not, who knows? But I like variety, and don't mind at all Superman working solo in some stories and working with allies in others; he's been doing it all my life, after all, and longer.
As for Kara's mention of Kandor, that's what we refer to as "oops, brainlock!" I don't know why I had Kandor on the brain (from writing "The Third Kryptonian," maybe?), but I should have had her say "Argo.' But I messed up and nobody caught it.
Chris Clow (demolitionist@gmail.com) asks:
Cool finale for Camelot Falls, and I really liked the second story in the Annual. My question is: will Superman's gift from the Phantom Stranger stay with him, or was it only temporary?
Kurt: Only temporary. We do want Superman to be in situations where he needs to rely solely on his own resources, too -- not always a mixture of his own and the aid of others.
Thanks again Kurt. See you again in 2 weeks for "Superman #671", our last QfK for 2007.
Kurt: It shall be done!
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