Inter-Action
"Ask Eddie" Fan Forum Archives
Here are Eddie Berganza's answers to questions fans put to him in May 2003:
Eddie's Answers
Jeff Spruiell (JASpruiell@aol.com) asks:Will we ever see a JLA/Dragon Ball Z cross over? I would love to see Superman and Goku get in a huge fight (for whatever reason) to see who is stronger, then have both their teams go up against some planet threatening bad guys.
Eddie: That crossover isn't happening, but I am working on possibly teaming Superman with some other animated characters in the future.
Mike (Smallville_17@hotmail.com) asks:
I'm curious about the size of Superman/Clark Kent. Just because week in and week out Kal appears in different publications by different artists and never looks the same. When I first began to read Superman comics, probably about 10 years ago, I always thought that Superman was one of those people who didn't have a lot of size to him, but was defined, but lately it seems like he's gotten a lot bigger and no one seems to notice. So I'm just curious how he should be percieved, is he a large muscle-headed farmboy or more of a long distance runner? Is there anyone in real life you could compare him to?
Eddie: Superman is 6'3" as Clark he's a couple of inches shorter. And he's a lot like Christopher Reeve in his prime.
Papu Jest (papujest@yahoo.com) asks:
If Superman fought Mxyzptlk in the Theta realm, could Kal-El make a good stand -- maybe even win -- against the Imp? I figure they'd be more or less on equal footing within that realm. That's Supe's turf, as far as I can tell... he calls the shots there.
Eddie: An interesting story there. I'll have to throw that one at Mark Schultz sometime. After all he was the keeper of the Theta realm. In the meantime, check out the most current issue of ADVENTURES for a very different imp (or two).
Rene "Fragman" Lutze (Wind_of_Rage@yahoo.de) asks:
I remember an issue where some water Witch was claiming Pete Ross as evil and stuff like that. That was never touched on again. Any chance we'll ever find out what that was all about? If not in the comics please tell me... It's driving me nuts!
Eddie: He's the vice President to President Luthor, need we say more. You can't stay clean with that kinda company.
Tommy (tidomonkey@hotmail.com) asks:
Hey Eddie. I have a debate with a friend that maybe you can solve. We often talk about Superman's nearly endless list of powers and we got on the subject of if Superman can read in the dark. The argument is that Batman can read in the dark (night vision goggles), but can Superman? He has telescopic and microscopic vision but is he foiled be mere darkness? My thoughts are that he could use a mild version of his heat vision, but I can't remember any specific instances. I hope you can shed some light on the subject.
Eddie: No pun intended, right? His pupils adjust quickly enough to be able to see in the dark. Those eyes of his are really powerful.
Cap (capobishop@aol.com) asks:
I have a question regarding Superman's penultimate fight against the Adversary (actually, an "army of Adversaries") which occurs in "Adventures of Superman #586". From what I can tell, there are two distinct actions that lead to the Adversaries' defeat; the actions are separated by two pages: 1) Upon impact or near impact with Superman's face, the Adversaries' material forms are disappeared by Superman hitting the Rao state; the forms are reduced to their energy essences. So it's... Hit-->Rao state-->material forms disappear/reduced to energy. 2) Two pages later, Superman then "turns his back" on the energy essences, and they disappear, leaving nothing. I'm actually in debate with a friend over this fight... he doesn't think the Adversaries had ANY physical manifestation prior to being reduced to energy essences. He believes they were all and only battles inside Superman's head. Kinda weird given these fights were broadcast on TV; and that the Adversaries interacted physically with other characters, including Luthor. Good stuff, by the way... I miss these kind of unorthodox battles. Out-punching or out-witting an opponent; exploring the freaky side of things is another, and is muy cool.
Eddie: These were mental manifestations of the child in the wheelcahir, thus that did have an actual physical presence for Superman to comabat.
Ryan Steans (rsteans@yahoo.com) asks:
Thanks for your thoughtful responses and your time! Can you talk a little bit about how an idea is pitched to you from writers/co-creators, and how you decide which ideas to work with and which ones you decide to shelve? With three main titles and several limited series/one-shots out there, it seems like catching art mistakes and spell checking would be the least of an editor's worries. Do you plan a year in advance at a Super-Summit as previous editors have done, or is there another method to the madness?
Eddie: We do plan out a year in advance, some things change in case there' a moment of brilliance. It varies a little from book to book, but it basically starts with a pitch from the writer. What I'm looking for is something that will support what we are doing in all the books in the case of theme even if the books are not connected. For instance, we're starting to go more into Kal's Kryptonian heritage this year. So, I'll look for stories that further that or avoid it depending what's going on in the other books. The new Supergirl seems to have some fans, so aside from spotlighting her in SUPERMAN, we're developing her further in upcoming issues of ACTION as well. I don't allow anything that violates the nature of the charcter such as allowing Superman to kill. Mind you, the writers on the books, know very well what they can do with the Man of Steel, so it's a matter of getting to all the stories they want to do. It pretty much has to do with hiring the right guys for the job in the first place. That makes my job easier later.
Brett Tolino (Brett.tolino@time4.com) asks:
Hmm, this is tricky because it isn't at all a patronizing question but as a long time Superman fan, I'm curious, many people have been attributing the declining sales and interest in the Superman comics to be directly in relation to Eddie Berganza's editorial direction. After all, in the entire history of comics, Superman's circulation has never, ever been this low. Yes, all comics have been suffering low circ figures but for Superman, the most recognizable character on the entire planet, not to even make the top 50 sales means even his own target audience is turning a cold shoulder to him. And we can't all blame the economy or his 'age'. Batman recently shot up to the top of the charts with a 300% circ increase. I'm curious and would like to know what he, Eddie, has to say about that.
Eddie: An excellent question. It does put me on the hot seat, and it is something that I'm looking at very seriously. There's something specific that audiences want from the Superman titles that we are not delivering, and it seriously bugs me. Ironically, it seems that the books went on a decline when they were separated, so so much for giving readers what they want. Regardless, this year and next will be focused on defining Superman better. Mark waid reintroduces him to everyone with SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT with some really gorgeous art by Lenil Yu, beyond that there's some other surprises that will hopefully put the Man of Steel back where he belongs. I certainly don't want to end my career as the man who tarnished the Man of Steel. And to think two years ago everyone was happy with how everything was going. If you guys have some more insight, please share.
Gerard Beritela (gfberitela@aol.com) asks:
Mr. Berganza, From what I've heard, at the recent Wizard World East in Philadelphia, you admitted that at one time you were considering allowing Kara Zor-El to remain in the DCU, but instead decided to kill her off again in order to let your new Cir-El have "a chance to flourish." Apart from the fact that this directly contradicts your statement on this very forum that "Cir-El had nothing to do with what was going on in SUPERGIRL," do you have any idea how much anger and resentment you've caused? Do you realize how many fans you've alienated? Neither Linda nor Kara fans will ever give this Cir-El a chance because of the way you're forcing her down our throats at the direct expense of the Supergirls we love.
Eddie: Don't know who gave you my quotes, but we went fully into how the two had nothing to do with each other. Former Supergirl editor Mike McAvennie was there giving his account on how Kara was brought in and how her demise though regretful was the best way to go to not totally diminish Linda's existence. Cir-El was being worked on in my office, and had, as I've said, nothing to do with Kara's fate. Infact, at one point she was gonna be a Superboy, but for me the dynamic of a Supergirl played better against Superman -- especially since he didn't interact that much with Linda. Cir-El has never been intended as the previous Supergirl's replacement, and we were not forcing her on anyone, but she is proving to be popular, so she won't be going away.
Thanks Eddie!!!
Eddie: Your welcome. Good ones. Tough, but good. I'm gonna go hang myself now. Bye.
Fan Forum Archives
Past Questions and Answers.