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"Ask Matt" Fan Forum Archives
Here are Matt Idelson's answers to questions fans put to him in December 2010:
Matt's Answers
Scott (Email address withheld by request) asks:Now that the Legion has taken over ADVENTURE COMICS again is there any chance of a "Clark Kent Superboy" series in the near future?
Matt: No plans for that presently, Scott, but we'll be featuring a meeting between Clark Kent Superboy and Conner Kent Superboy in the pages of, yup, SUPERBOY, probably in issue #15 or #16 (though that could change).
Freddie Crespo (Email address withheld by request) asks:
My question is regarding Superboy, the new book looks and feel amazing, but I got to ask are there any plans on a costume change for him? I like the casual look he has, but I just feel like it contradicts his feelings, as he's happy now with his life and how it's going. I don't mean an overhaul for him, but at least some blue on the shirt. Of all the Superfamily characters, he's the only one dark and not using any of the super colors, even villains Superwoman and Cyborg still use'em in a way.
Matt: Interesting observation, Freddie. We're not going to be changing Conner's look, certainly not anytime soon. I guess the blue of the jeans and the red of the s-shield aren't enough for you, eh? I rather like the black myself, as it's a pretty predominant color among people in Conner's age group, and I think it helps set him apart from the rest of the Super-folk. But that's just one man's opinion.
Matthew Turnage (Email address withheld by request) asks:
Matt, thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. With JMS stepping down from scripting SUPERMAN, how difficult was it to find a writer willing to follow JMS's story notes? How much freedom will Chris Roberson have to develop the storyline on his own? And will Chris be only around through "Grounded", or is there the possibility of him continuing beyond that point?
Matt: Great questions, Matthew! It actually wasn't hard at all to find someone willing to work off JMS' blueprint, partially because there was indeed room for Chris to expand on and add things of his own, and partially because Chris loves the character and the "Grounded" concept and was thrilled to step in. Not everyone makes my life easy like that. There are some definite elements that Chris is bringing to the picnic to add to what was already in place, but the central theme and concept of "Grounded" won't be changing.
Lemar Jones (jones.lemar@gmail.com) asks:
Matt, first I want to thank you for taking the time to be a part of the Superman Homepage and allowing us to ask probing and tough questions. If I could send you a Baldy, I would. One of the things I miss in comics is the Letters pages. They were insightful and let the reader know the editors and writers were listening and not just looking at sales figures. What is the equivalent of this today in modern comics? How can I be sure that someone who can make a difference is listening?
Matt: Wow, Lemar, you must be psychic! I mean, talk about timing! As you no doubt know by now, the letters pages are indeed returning to the titles (though happily for me, Steve is willing to keep me around to do this monthly Q&A with you folks, which I love), so your voices will most certainly be heard, by the editors and creators alike.
Chuck (Email address withheld by request) asks:
Dear Matt, I thought it was telling when you told a fan last time that it would be hard to instruct him what to pick up to get caught up on continuity. Will there be a rest from retcons soon, and will there be a more consistent sense of continuity as there was in the 90s?
Matt: Not just telling, Chuck, but painfully so. We'll indeed be going with a rock-solid approach to continuity soon, which I think will be a pleasure to both new and existing readers alike. For too long, we as an industry have taken for granted that someone reading an issue has read the prior ones, and not done our jobs properly. No longer, I'm happy to say.
Frank (Email address withheld by request) asks:
After "Grounded" ends, will we see a major shake up in the world of Superman or will everything basically return to the pre-"New Krypton" years?
Matt: Gosh, I wish I could answer that for you, Frank, but to do so would be premature from a timing perspective. Ah, to heck with it. Yeah, we'll be shaking some things up, though I absolutely promise that finally, Superman will be in both his titles each month.
Gregory McNeill (mcneill_35@yahoo.com) asks:
Since Lois' sister is now known as Superwoman in the comics, I want to know how will this situation address what happened to the relationship between her and Ron Troupe, including their son? I haven't seen Ron Troupe in the comics in awhile nor him and Lucy's child. That would be great to see it addressed.
Matt: Ron's made the occasional appearance of late (such as SUPERMAN #706), Gregory, but since we haven't been spending much time with the Daily Planet cast, the opportunity to bring him in more hasn't been there lately. I hope we'll see much, much more of him and his colleagues in the latter portion of the year, though. As for the Ron/Lucy/baby thread, we did a lot of debating on whether to address that or not during the New Krypton stuff, and if so, how. We finally elected to steer clear of it there (we had so much story and, with each succeeding month, back story to cover), but a formal declaration on where that stands in the larger continuity is definitely warranted.
David (Email address withheld by request) asks:
Hello, Matt. Thank you for answering questions. Since you're the editor on SUPERMAN/BATMAN now, I wanted to ask you if the "Dark Knight Over Metropolis" storyline could be collected (hardcover, please?), the story where Superman first gives Batman the kryptonite ring in case Superman ever loses control. It was only three issues, but it could include a few set-up stories and be, like, a "Superman/Batman Vol. 0". Hey, even Dan Jurgens is on record as wondering why this hasn't been collected!
Matt: That's an awfully great idea, David. While there are no plans presently, that is something we'll most definitely keep in the brain-pan, no worries!
Freddie Crespo (Email address withheld by request) asks:
I have a little confusion regarding Bizarro, Bizarro-girl and their world speech. I see it change every time they appear, recently in Supergirl, they now seem to speak normal, with just the replacement of most verbs to "am", instead of antonyms, as previously appearance when bad verbs=good and good=bad. Is this going to keep changing with every appearance... will the normal "am" speech be now the norm, or will it be the backwards speech?
Matt: It's a most tricky thing, Freddie, and one that has occasionally vexed me as well. In the case of Bizarro Super-Girl, we basically went off what we had established in the "Escape from Bizarro World" story, and added with Bizarro-Lex's clarification that different regions of the planet have different dialects, much like, say, different parts of the US. That work as an explanation for ya, Freddie?
Steve Younis asks:
Are writers and artists becoming bigger than the characters they're hired to write/draw? Once upon a time nobody really worried who was writing a comic, they just loved reading good stories. But now the feeling amongst many fans is that who the creative teams are and what pet project they personally want to do seems to be more important to DC than ensuring the character is properly serviced. While we like certain writers or artists, we're Superman fans first and foremost, we just want good Superman stories. What are your thoughts on this?
Matt: I totally agree, with you, Steve. Yeah, the question of who the talent on the book was became a huge consideration coinciding with the industry's boom, to the point where a talent change could have an impact on how the book sold. Things will never return to it solely being about the character or story, but at the same time, I think we're gravitating towards a point where there becomes a certain level of equality in the importance of both the contents of the book and who is authoring them. I think the real trick is finding people of name value who will both draw in readers who might not otherwise pick up the book and have a loyalty and affinity for the character. Depending on the project, I think we've done a decent job of that the last couple years, but we're always shooting higher, regardless.
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