2003 Comic Book News Archives
August 12, 2003: Mark Waid Talks “Superman: Birthright” (Part 1)
Comic Book Resources reporter Arune Singh caught up with Mark Waid to discuss "Superman: Birthright" with him. Here's an excerpt from the interview...For many Superman fans, their desire was to have Waid work on one of the core Superman series- "Action Comics," "Superman" or "Adventures of Superman"- and while it's an enticing proposition, the writer explains that he felt "Birthright" was just too big of an opportunity to miss. "The chance to do a 21st century updating of the origin was offered to me by then-new DC VP Dan Didio," explains Waid of how the assignment came about. "We were in agreement that while the Superman franchise was staffed by great creators doing good stories, the trend in comics over the past fifteen years or so to cater to only one audience--the audience that's been with you for fifteen years--has had its drawbacks. In the context of a novel or a movie or any other finite piece of fiction, yes, characters must grow and evolve and change. On the other hand, for characters like Superman or Batman or Spider-Man, who are allegedly 'timeless,' too much change and growth runs the risk of robbing that character of its foundations and that which has allowed it to be timeless.
"The assignment with 'Birthright' was to re-envision Superman for a contemporary young audience, to ask questions of the character and his motivations that might not have been asked nearly 20 years ago the last time he was rethought, and to hew a little more closely to the parts of the Superman mythos that everyone but the small hardcore audience is familiar with: that Kal-El was an infant when he left Krypton, that Clark is a mild-mannered reporter, that the secret of his dual identity is closely guarded from everyone, even Lois Lane, and so forth."
Waid does admit to a need to re-imagine certain elements of Superman, says the core essence of the character is eternal and explains how he perceives Superman. "He's a man who does his best every day to make the world a better place and to help those who can't help themselves. There will always be a need to be inspired by someone like that. I think his ideals and what he stands for are timeless, but he's always been 'tweaked' for a new generation. If he hadn't been, Clark would still be pounding a typewriter and standing over a teletype for the latest bulletins."
Read the complete interview at the Comic Book Resources website.
2003 Comic News
Listed below are all the Comic News items archived for 2003.- January 14, 2003: Schultz Talks “Superman vs Darkseid”
- January 15, 2003: Jeph Loeb Talks “Superman/Batman” Comic
- January 23, 2003: Berkowitz Discusses “Justice League Adventures” and Season Two
- January 31, 2003: Mark Millar Talks “Superman: Red Son”
- February 4, 2003: Adisakdi Tantimedh Talks “JLA: Age of Wonder”
- February 13, 2003: Editorial Changes at DC Comics
- February 17, 2003: Joe Casey Talks Superman in 2003
- March 1, 2003: Steven Seagle Talks “Superman” Comics
- March 7, 2003: Joe Casey Talks Superman Comics
- March 11, 2003: Wheatley Talks “Last Stand on Krypton”
- March 15, 2003: Jason Hall Talks “Justice League Adventures #20”
- March 25, 2003: Dynamic Forces U.K. Celebrations!
- April 11, 2003: Curt Swan: A Life in Comics
- April 23, 2003: Mark Millar Talks Superman
- May 14, 2003: John Byrne's Justice League
- May 15, 2003: Dynamic Forces Signed Superman Comics for July
- May 20, 2003: Alan Davis Talks “JLA: Another Nail”
- May 21, 2003: DC Comics Launch Revamped Website
- May 24, 2003: Mark Waid Talks “Superman: Birthright”
- May 28, 2003: “JLA: Liberty and Justice” Free Preview
- May 28, 2003: Talking Superman at Wizard World East
- June 24, 2003: “Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity #1” Sold Out
- July 1, 2003: DC Comics at the San Diego Comic Con
- July 11, 2003: Steven Wacker Talks “Justice League Adventures”
- July 11, 2003: “Superman: Birthright #1” Sold Out at DC!
- July 17, 2003: Busiek Joins DF Team for Avengers/JLA Signing!
- July 21, 2003: JLA News from the San Diego Comic Con
- July 22, 2003: Superman News from the San Diego Comic Con
- July 28, 2003: Jim Lee and Brian Azzarello on Superman
- July 29, 2003: DC Confirms Changes to Superman Titles
- July 30, 2003: Greg Rucka Talks “Adventures of Superman”
- July 30, 2003: Chuck Austen Talks “Action Comics”
- July 31, 2003: DC Comics at Wizard World Chicago
- August 2, 2003: More on “Action Comics” from Chuck Austen
- August 3, 2003: Jim Lee Talks Superman
- August 6, 2003: “Superman/Batman” #1 Sells Out
- August 10, 2003: Superman Panel at Wizard World Chicago
- August 12, 2003: Mark Waid Talks “Superman: Birthright” (Part 1)
- August 17, 2003: More “Superman: Birthright” Interviews
- August 18, 2003: Chuck Austen Talks Superman
- August 19, 2003: Variant Edition of “Superman/Batman” #1
- August 24, 2003: Tom Derenick Talks “Smallville”
- August 24, 2003: Paul Dini Talks “JLA: Liberty and Justice”
- August 24, 2003: Greg Rucka on Lois and Clark
- September 3, 2003: Matthew Clark on Drawing “Adventures of Superman”
- September 9, 2003: More on Superman from Greg Rucka
- September 10, 2003: Winick Talks “Superman/Thundercats”
- September 13, 2003: Turner and Kelly's Superman Stint
- September 17, 2003: Ivan Reis Talks “Action Comics”
- September 18, 2003: Superman Comics Revamp/Relaunch in 2004
- September 25, 2003: Smallville/Superman in Wizard #145
- September 28, 2003: “Superman/Batman Secret Files 2003” Sells Out!
- September 30, 2003: Jim Lee Talks Superman
- October 2, 2003: Dynamic Forces Release Signed “Superman #200”
- October 7, 2003: More Contributors on “Superman #200”
- October 7, 2003: Alex Sinclair Talks Coloring Superman
- October 7, 2003: DC Comics at Las Vegas Comic-Con
- October 11, 2003: Ron Garney Signs Exclusive to DC Comics
- October 14, 2003: “Superman: Secret Identity #1” Previewed in November Comics
- October 14, 2003: “JLA: Liberty & Justice” Mini-Site
- October 16, 2003: DC Sends “Superman/Batman #1” Back to Press
- October 20, 2003: Mike Carlin Talks JLA... Justice League of America
- October 30, 2003: DC Comics at Wizard World Texas
- November 2, 2003: $1 Million for “Action Comics #1”
- November 4, 2003: Chris Jones Talks “Justice League Adventures #25”
- November 10, 2003: Karl Kerschl Talks Superman Comics
- November 17, 2003: Kurt Busiek Talks “Superman: Secret Identity”
- November 17, 2003: “Smallville”: Internet, Comic and TV Series Get Tighter
- November 19, 2003: “Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity” Collected in Hardcover
- November 19, 2003: Smallville Comics Collected as Trade Paperback
- November 20, 2003: Sold Out - “Superman/Batman #1” Third Printing!
- November 28, 2003: Steven Seagle Talks “Superman #200”
- November 28, 2003: Jason Hall Talks “Justice League Adventures”
- December 2, 2003: Clint Carpenter Talks “Smallville” TV & Comics
- December 3, 2003: Alex Ross Book Signings
- December 8, 2003: Loeb Talks “Superman/Batman” and “Smallville”
- December 9, 2003: “Avengers/JLA #4” Delayed
- December 11, 2003: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning Talk Superman
- December 15, 2003: Byrne and Claremont on JLA
- December 16, 2003: Julie Schwartz in Hospital
- December 17, 2003: New Printing for “Death of Superman” Trade Paperback
- December 19, 2003: Ron Garney Talks JLA & Superman
- December 23, 2003: Jeph Loeb Talks “Superman/Batman”
- December 23, 2003: Pat Lee Talks “Superman/Batman”
- December 23, 2003: Denny O'Neil Talks JLA
- December 24, 2003: The Return of Supergirl!
- December 24, 2003: Superman Related Wizard Fan Awards Nominations
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