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"QfK" Archives
Here are Kurt Busiek's answers to questions fans put to him about "Superman #665" and other relevant topics:
Kurt's Answers
Adam Dechanel (Email address withheld by request) asks:Chris Kent is mentioned in the issue but both Lois and Clark are at work... where is he and given his inability to confidently control his powers is it safe to leave him alone?
Kurt: He goes to school, as Lois mentions in Superman #664. Is it safe? Well, that's a story, maybe -- but he's a child, not an infant.
Jeff Javorie (Email address withheld by request) asks:
Can you clarify what exactly is up with the animals in the issue? is that a Kryptonite effect and if so what exactly is happening? The artwork doesn't really give any clues to the cutscenes...
Kurt: I think it's pretty clear. The green monkey (who is outside the bars, and, well, green) bathes the other apes (who are zoo apes, in cages) in green eye-rays, then goes all bubbly and turns into green copies of them. The others don't react to it well. The green monkey runs away the first time, and gets mad the second time. That's what's happening. Why is it happening? Tune in next time for more...
Noah Treadwell (Email address withheld by request) asks:
Jimmy's signal watch has been given the New Earth retelling here but what happened to the first time as we remember it... has it now been erased by the 'Crisis Curse'?
Kurt: The first origin of the watch happened in the Silver Age, and was erased by the historical changes in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths. History has been reordered again a couple of times since then, the latest time being the formation of "New Earth" at the end of Infinite Crisis. Whether the post-COIE Earth history still exists out there somewhere, or has been erased, remains to be seen. So the answer, apparently, is, "The same thing that happened to all the other history that's changed in the wake of Infinite Crisis."
Barry Freiman (Email address withheld by request) asks:
If Jimmy Olsen met the New Gods in his past, presumably validating the fact that the Jack Kirby New Gods stuff from "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen" actually happened in continuity, then where do Galaxy Communications, WGBS, and Morgan Edge all fit in as they were integral parts of the Jimmy Olsen/New Gods stories?
Kurt: Maybe Countdown will cover that. But it hasn't come up in anything I've written, so it's not really a "QfK." I'd presume that those events happened in somewhat different ways, until and unless you get told otherwise.
Adam Dechanel (Email address withheld by request) asks:
I know technically this is a question for Matt, Geoff, Richard and Kurt but... With the delays, half finished story arcs and filler issues currently facing Superman, will the gap which is widening by each issue be addressed especially as the after effects of the stories are already being referenced... We already know the aftermath of Last Son is that Chris stays behind with Lois & Clark. We also know none of the Phantom Zone escapees is the "3rd Kryptonian" as that was referenced in the Auctioneers debut. Arion is causing problems in Camelot Falls but essentially that and all the filler stories set in "no specific time" have been done and dusted (ie pre week 51) by the time 852 happens especially as quoting directly: "Countdown is in 'Real Time' week 42." Will this substantial time gap be cleared up anytime soon via an issue or special?
Kurt: I doubt it. While the finale of "Last Son" is coming out later than planned, for instance, I don't see where it creates a "time gap." It happens at the end of that story, and then the next stuff happens. If there's a period that Superman doesn't have a lot of adventures, I'm not sure that needs to be filled in -- it's during times like that that he catches up on his deadlines, looks good to Perry and/or stops crimes and disasters that aren't dramatic enough to tell stories about. But I don't see the gap you're assuming is there, myself.
barry miller (barrym53@comcast.net) asks:
I just loved SUPERMAN #665, I don't think there was ever a story that said why Jimmy is Superman's Pal. Jimmy has been neglected for far too long. Except for the off screen death(?) of Jimmy's parents it seemed inspired at least by Dick Grayson's orgin. Am I reading too much into this or were you trying to get that feeling?
Kurt: Glad you liked the story, Barry. But no, Jimmy's story wasn't at all inspired by Dick Grayson's. Dick's parents were killed by an extortionist trying to squeeze money out of the circus they worked at, and after their death, Batman offered Dick the chance to expose the killers and avenge his parents -- or at least that's how I remember the story; if they changed it I haven't noticed, but then, I haven't had to do a lot of Batman research of late.
And Jimmy's parents aren't dead, just missing.
Adam Dechanel (Email address withheld by request) asks:
You reference Doomsday... will he be addressed continuity wise soon?
Kurt: He's been established as part of New Earth Superman continuity since Superman #650, the very first "New Earth" issue.
Thanks! Keep up the great work.
Kurt: We'll do our best!
"QfK" Archives
You'll find links to our archives of past Questions and Answers on the main "QfK" page.