"Ask Matt" Fan Forum
Welcome to the Superman Homepage "Ask Matt" Fan Forum, where you get to ask Superman Comics Editor, Matt Idelson the questions you want answered!
That's right! Each month (or there abouts) the Superman Homepage is giving you the chance to ask Matt Idelson your questions about the Superman comic books.
How does it work? Simply complete the form below, placing your name, email address and question in the spaces provided, and each month I'll select the best 6 or so questions and put them to Matt Idelson. Matt's answers are placed on this page for all to see.
NOTE: The "Ask Matt" Fan Forum is NOT the place to ask questions about "Smallville", Superman movies or anything else outside the comics. Matt is the editor of the Superman comic books. Please only ask questions relating to the comics. If you have a non-comics related question you want answered, please use the Feedback Form.
Previous month's Questions and Answers can be seen in the Fan Forum Archives.
Here are Matt Idelson's answers to questions fans put to him for July 2010:
Matt's Answers
Satyen Gandhi (Email address withheld by request) asks:
Hi Matt, What is the official answer as to where Clark Kent has been since World of New Krypton began? As always, I appreciate your time and patience in answering these questions.
Matt: The official answer is that he was taking a leave-of-absence to be with Ma following the death of his father, Satyen. We paid lip service to this a couple of times, but we weren't as overt as I wish we'd been.
Frank (Email address withheld by request) asks:
How much change should we expect in the Superman mythos during JMS's run on Superman. Also is Eddy Barrows going to be the artist for the entire run or is he going to be replaced half-way through?
Matt: Interesting question, Frank. I assume by "mythos" you mean his history, right? None of that will be changing - JMS is running with what's in place as he helps take Supes back to his roots. As for Eddy, we're not going to be changing artists halfway through, no way, though there will be the occasional guest-artist appearance. Very few artists are fast enough to produce a monthly comic these days. Still, the breathers will be limited.
Brad (Email address withheld by request) asks:
Any chance we will ever get to see the energy form of Superman from the 90s again? I'm pretty sure I'm about the only person who enjoyed those books but I really did enjoy the Superman Red and Blue stories. (The whole energy form of Superman thing is what got me reading Superman...) Maybe get it acknoweldged in the books... or was that part of Superman's past erased?
Matt: Nice self-effacing question, Brad! The "Red-no, blue! Aggghhhh!" (sorry, little Monty Python humor there) era was not erased from history, though it's not something we're planning to go back to. Having said that, the whole of Superman's history is open to our new writers to take advantage of, and I could easily see that somehow working it's way to the top of the "do" list.
JP (Email address withheld by request) asks:
What is going to happen with "Adventures Comics"? Is it going to remain as a Legion book or some other Super-book?
Matt: ADVENTURE is going to remain a Legion vehicle for at least the next big chunk of months, JP, as the team there reveals the earliest days of the team.
Scott (Email address withheld by request) asks:
In a video interview on Newsarama at C2E2 this year, Geoff Johns mentions in passing that he thought about doing a Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane series with Gary Frank. As much as I know how Clark and Lois's relationship progresses after the pages of SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN #5, I couldn't help but think of how wonderful it would be to see it all fold out again under Johns/Frank. Is that project a real possibility for the near future? Please say yes, and please say it will only be handled by them. :)
Matt: Gosh, Scott, that would be the coolest. Geoff has often expressed his affinity for Clark and Lois of the SECRET ORIGIN era, as well as the Daily Planet staff. It would be the coolest to do that, and something I hope we'll see. Knowing Geoff and Gary's respective plans post-SO, I don't foresee this happening in the next year or so. But let's keep our fingers crossed, eh?
Jason Moraes (jason.physicist@gmail.com) asks:
Hello Matt. Could you give us a hint about Superman's power levels on the upcoming
Straczynski run? Will we be seeing a really powerful Superman?
Matt: When the situation calls for it, Jason, we'll be seeing super-powered Superman, for sure. He'll be keeping his use of his powers to something of a minimum as he shambles along, but we'll see if circumstance lets Supes be only a man of the people.
Paul S. (ausfan@yahoo.com.au) asks:
Hi Matt. Will DC make any more "Archive Editions" of ACTION COMICS and SUPERMAN?
Matt: I'm sorry to report that there aren't any ACTION or SUPERMAN Archives in the works at the moment, Paul, but perhaps you'll take solace in the face that in a very, very short time, a collection of Superboy stories from the 1940s will be coming out.
Mike McDonald (eversuperman@yahoo.com) asks:
Matt, thanks once again for taking the time to answer the fans' questions! Nothing makes us fans feel more appreciated than knowing we're being listened to. Now for my question: I'm not usually a continuity Nazi, but one discrepancy really can't be folded into today's continuity. Was Pete Ross old enough to be Vice President 10 years ago? If so, that would make Pete, Clark, and Lana at least 45 now, and Lois even older, assuming she has a year or two on Clark. Was this retconned out?
Matt: No way, Mike! We even got a glimpse of Pete's first day on the job, unwittingly signing off on General Lane's Project 7734 (a story we saw in last year's SUPERMAN: SECRET FILES). You're right that logically, Pete would have been younger than VP's normally are, but while ten years have passed in our world, a lot less time has elapsed in the world of comics.
Evan (aji_spidey@yahoo.com) asks:
Hi there Matt, When Superman's in action or struggling to do something or even when he's near sunlight, does he sweat?
Matt: Sure, we've seen Supes sweat, Evan, though I'd be hard-pressed to toss out an example off the top of my head.
Martin Alejandro Salinas (mas_el@yahoo.com) asks:
I was very excited with the announcment of JMS taking over Superman, but now I think DC is fogeting that Superman is an international icon. I like the idea of a more grounded character, but if he is only traveling USA, why we, in other countries, should care? I live in another country, so should I not buy Superman anymore?
Matt: I suppose that's one way to look at it, Martin, and I can see how you would feel that way. The reason Superman is traversing the US is to get back in touch with the people of the country whom he feels he's become disconnected with (or at least feels that they see him that way). The story allows us to take a character who initially and for a very, very long time was an American icon, one who often is seen as dull or dated, and contrast him against a country that's very very different from state to state and town to town, and show all that's great about him. I think if you skip out on this story, you're missing out on what's really a story about Superman in the USA of today, which is informative regarding both Supes and the country. And you know that once his trek is completed, Supes will be visiting any and every place as he gets back to protecting the whole world. (Man, can I blather on or what?)
Ryan (Email address withheld by request) asks:
So after fans rocketed away from the books like they were on the last ship off Krypton, DC's big plan to win them back is by sending Superman on a year-long walking tour of the U.S.? How much is Marvel Comics paying you guys to sabotage the books? Hiring a well-known writer is a step in the right direction and I think this could be a good story, but why not make it a separate mini and use the monthlies to get the character back to ACTION? I'm about to go on my own walking tour.
Matt: I'll admit the timing of this could be better, Ryan, what with Supes being out of SUPERMAN and ACTION for so long, but the opportunity to tell the "Grounded" story was just too compelling, and the opening it created in ACTION has, in my opinion, yielded what's already a terrifically cool story in ACTION, too. I sure hope you won't take a flyer on these two books, since they're really doing something different and exciting, and will ultimately dovetail back together once the respective arcs are over.
Steve asks:
With the announcement of DC going digital, what would you say is the most exciting feature of digital comics, and why should people who perhaps don't read comic books check out the digital variety?
Matt: To answer your second question first, Steve, I think a lot of non-comic readers today view comics as dated, both in their presentation and because they're released on paper. Today's world is very digital, miniaturized, and easily accessible from a wireless device. Maybe now, even out of curiosity, people will check out digital comics since they don't have to go to a store or add weight to whatever they're carrying, and discover a whole, cool world that they'll want to explore further.
And that nicely segues into my answer to your first question. I'm very excited at the ease in which a tremendously large audience can now sample our product, which they might not have before.
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