Inter-Action
"Ask Matt" Fan Forum Archives
Here are Matt Idelson's answers to questions fans put to him in March/April 2012:
Matt's Answers
Adrian (Carde85@hotmail.com) asks:Since Chloe Sullivan made her comic debut, in the Jimmy Olsen back ups in ACTION COMICS, has there been any talk of using her in the New 52 in some way? Perhaps as a more regular character?
Matt: Well, that's a question that certainly hasn't come up before, Adrian. I'd love to see Chloe return, but we haven't yet made any plans (yet) to see her. Consider me reminded to explore this!
Collin (adekis52@gmail.com) asks:
Is Superman more or less invulnerable than his armor-looking suit? His uniform has traditionally been invincible, but whenever something can actually pierce it, the Man of Steel is relatively unharmed, if a bit worse for the wear. Now he has something that looks like armor. If something is strong enough to get through it, does that mean it's strong enough to hurt him, or will he laugh it off like in days of old?
Matt: Well, Supes is certainly more vulnerable than he was in the days of old, Collin. He can be hurt, as we've seen, though he can still heal as well. Lets just say from a general standpoint that if something can pierce his suit, it can probably pierce his skin as well. Really, the reason Supes first put on the suit was revealed in ACTION #8, but the fact that it is Kryptonian in origin (and therefore part of a heritage he wants to understand) and certainly more durable than his T-shirt and jeans look gives him incentive to keep wearing it.
Will Jones (wjones4179@hotmail.com) asks:
After reading the latest interview with Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens, whose plans honestly gave me a sense of 'been there, done that', along with the disturbing implication that Lois and Clark are inevitable,which to me is another word for lazy and unimaginitive, I'm wondering why there seems to be such an aversion to taking chances with Superman. In a previous Ask Matt, one fan brought up the possibility of another book in the Superman line, in which you questioned him starring in it, and I'd like to know why Bruce Wayne can have four books of his own but it's too much for Superman to even have three. And I can already see the whole sales argument coming, as valid as it might be, so what about a miniseries for Superman fans who aren't fans of the traditional trappings of the character, in my case the Lois and Clark nonsense.
Matt: Hey, Will! Despite what you took away from that interview, Clark and Lois are NOT inevitable, and in fact it isn't going to happen, at least while I'm on watch duty. There will be romance of varying degrees in both characters' lives in the months to come, but not with each other, so you don't have to sweat that.
As far as launching another Supes title, we first want to get things stabilized for the long-term with SUPERMAN, since we had to change things up just six issues in. I think by the November issue of the book, we'll have a sense of if what we're doing is working, if not before, and then we can look at expanding things further. I've got a trio of ideas for expanding the line, but they need to be done at the right time so they have the best chance of long term success.
Jonnathan Molina (Email address withheld by request) asks:
Hi, Matt! I'm loving collecting the new 52, and especially my favorite hero of all-time, Superman. I wanted to understand one thing: the new Action story in which Kal-El is the first superhuman to go public still serves as the inspiration behind all the other heroes donning costumes and joining the good fight, right? I know every hero has their own journey but I kind of always thought Superman was the linchpin and heart of the DC Universe; and the hero to the heroes!
Matt: To quote the late Ed McMahon, "you are CORRECT, sir!" Indeed, Supes is the world's first superhero, certainly the first we've seen publicly, and his emergence is the catalyst for the swarm of gals and guys in tights that have arrived on the scene since. Of course, there IS the growing mystery of "the other Superman" in ACTION at the moment...
Pardeep (Email address withheld by request) asks:
Hi Matt. I like the look of the New 52 (well done!!), but I have to ask: If the old Superman was seen as too powerful, as people love to whine on about so often, why is Supergirl gaining another ability? Why are DC now saying that she's "more" powerful? I don't see the sense. Unless of course DC just wants to weaken Superman out of dislike and use the whole "too powerful" argument as a excuse to do so? :)
Matt: Nah, we're not that shallow, Pardeep. Superman has slowly been building up the solar charge in his cells from the moment he popped out of his rocket on Earth to the present. He's like a battery that's been charging up all this time. In the pages of ACTION, he isn't yet at the point of a full charge. SUPERMAN proper is more representative of how powerful he'll be. So why was Supergirl at full strength when she popped out of her rocket, you ask? Guess you'll have to stick around through issue #12 of her title, when that answer will at last be made clear.
Jon M. Wilson (new52superman@gmail.com) asks:
Edge and Galaxy buy the Planet at the beginning of the new Superman series. But in Action Comics #3, one of Clark's reasons for not leaving the Star for the Planet is because Glenmorgan (then-head of Galaxy) owns it, even thought it's five years before that purchase was made. I'm confused about how all that works.
Matt: Yeah, we sort of goofed, sort of didn't, Jon. In the five years ago period of ACTION, Glenn Glenmorgan does indeed own the Daily Planet. Five years later, in SUPERMAN #1, the paper's bought by Morgan Edge. Two different guys, with unfortunately similar names. I can see why you got confused. In hindsight, we probably should have given Glenmorgan a name without "Morgan" in it.
Nathan (nawhereman@live.co.uk) asks:
I'm very excited about the extra Superman titles, "Smallville: Season 11" and "Superman Family Adventures" coming out soon. If these series are a success are there any plans for more Superman titles? Perhaps a Daily Planet series spotlighting the staff and how they live in this crazy sci fi city (with Clark/Superman as a background character)? I think this would be great because for me one of the things I love best about Superman stories are the supporting cast.
Matt: I'd love to see a Daily Planet series, Nathan, but I'm not sure the large majority of the buying public would share our enthusiasm. Non-superhero stuff is a tough sell, presently, as evidenced by books like FRANKENSTEIN and I, VAMPIRE, which we're creatively thrilled with but we're seeing struggle to find an audience. Granted, those books are horror, not "real folks," but we've seen in other titles, like MEN OF WAR for example, that a lack of capes seems to indicate a lack of sales. Everything's cyclical, of course, so hopefully the Daily Planet will find its day in the sun.
Scott (Email address withheld by request) asks:
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions. I'm not sure if this falls to you, but is there any chance they'll be collecting all the "Mr. & Mrs. Superman" stories featuring the Earth-2 Clark/Lois marriage that started in Action Comics and continued for a few years in Superman Family? There were some great creators and appearances by a lot of fun golden age characters in those stories.
Matt: Always enjoy getting suggestions about collections, Scott. I spoke with my pal Pete Hamboussi in Collected Editions. He said that while that project isn't something they're currently planning to do, they have discussed it before and hope to do it at some point in the future.
Adrian (Carde85@hotmail.com) asks:
If the post-Flashpoint Universe hasn't seen a superhero until 5 years ago, (indicating the JSA was not active during WW2, and isn't part of this rebooted universe) does this mean Post-Flashpoint Earth's history is more or less identical to our own? WW2 played out like ours did, the September 11 attacks happened, Obama is currently in the White House, and so forth?
Matt: That's right, Adrian! No more fictional presidents in the White House, no world where the Axis was defeated by folks in tights. Hence, you're hopefully noticing a different reaction to the presence of superheroes in the New 52 versus before the reboot, when folks were, by and large, glad to see them. By now, I'm guessing you also know how the JSA fits into the larger picture, courtesy of the newly-launched EARTH 2. (OKAY?)
John (Email address withheld by request) asks:
I LOVE the reboot. But based on the amount of time you spend apologizing to a certain sector of fans here, I was wondering how do you gauge customer satisfaction? Is it purely on sales figures or are there other methods you use?
Matt: Honestly, it mostly comes down to sales, John. My experience has been that people vote with their dollars, more than ever. With so many titles to choose from each month, both from DC and the other companies out there, I think we can reliably look at our month-to-month sales and gauge whether what we're doing is working or not. As far as determining what, specifically is not working, that's a little trickier.
Carey Lester (Email address withheld by request) asks:
With DC having books set on parallel earths, any chance we the long time fans can get a book set on an earth with the pre-Flashpoint continuity? One that has the classic suit, the Kents alive, and the marriage intact?
Matt: With there being some very definitive plans in place regarding these parallel earths you speak of, I can't say much, Carey. What I will say is that the events that lead to the New 52 wouldn't have resulted in their being a pre-New 52 parallel earth.
fmoon (Email address withheld by request) asks:
As a female fan of Superman I find it very disheartening a certain section of this fandom are going around the internet and accusing DC creators like Rags Morales, Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, James Robinson as woman hating. I for one love what you are doing with Superman and I don't agree nor appreciate the unfair bashing of hard working creators. How do you begin to deal with this kind of irrational hysteria that is in no way reflective of all female fans?
Matt: That's an awesome question, fmoon, and I wish I had a (semi) monthly prize to give you! Honestly, the only way to deal with this sort of thing is to ignore it. The internet invites all sorts of horrible commentary, accusations and rumor mongering, and it's like that 'cause people don't have to sign their name to it or look you in the eye when saying it. It's kind of the coward's domain, in effect. And since none of us in this business can control what other people think, the best we can do is just keep doing our work, sticking to our principles and forging ahead.
I used to read reviews of the books I work on, but so often the "critiques" were unconstructive and generally fell into the realm of things I can't repeat here, rather than a thoughtful analysis of what did or didn't work. Believe me, if I thought I could get useful feedback from the internet, I'd be all over that. That's not to say that every review site falls into this category, but you reach a point where it's just not worth sorting through the noise for useful nuggets of wisdom, you know? Truthfully, the best feedback I get from readers is via this column and when I go to conventions.
Frank (Email address withheld by request) asks:
With Action Comics now being set in the present, can we except a shift in tone from the books? Also will Rags Morales stay on as the artist on the book? Will we get more guest artists like Gene Ha and Andy Kubert.
Matt: Hey, Frank! Well, despite what we might have planned earlier, ACTION doesn't sync up with present-day continuity until issue #14, and even then, Clark's going to be a little busy with some timely matters. As for the artist end of things, we'll be doing something similar with issues #11-12 as we did with issue #8, with Rags and Rick being joined for a section of each issue by Brad Walker. #13 will be drawn by BLAHABLHA, and then Rags will return for issues #14-16. Beyond that, I choose not to reveal our plans, as they are most exciting, and I don't want to start focusing on them yet at the expense of what we have planned now and in the near future.
Steve asks:
Matt with Superman discovering recently that he's from Krypton and finding out about Kandor, etc... Will we see any stories focusing on Krypton, its history, Jor-El, Brainiac's involvement there and its final destruction?
Matt: Oh, most definitely, Steve. Look for another cameo by Jor-El in issue #11 of ACTION, while the last days of Krypton (and a bunch of days from far earlier in its history) will be examined from a couple different perspectives in the surrounding Superbooks this fall. Bet your summer just got a lot longer, eh?
Got a question you want to ask Matt? Then be sure to fill in the form on the main "Ask Matt" Fan Forum page.
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