2004 Comic Book News Archives
July 8, 2004: Joe Casey Talks Superman
Joe Casey, the much maligned writer who had a year's stint on "The Adventures of Superman" comic books before the current creative team took over, sat down with ComicBoards.com to discuss his career in comics, including his run on Superman. Here's an excerpt from the interview...
- Q: What was your philosophy for working on THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN?
A: At the time I was very much in the mindset of Superman being an entry-level book for new readers. Meaning, Superman is still sold at newsstands and supermarkets. If a parent wanted to pick up a comic book - possibly their kid's *first* comic book - I figured there'd be a good chance they'd pick up a Superman comic book based on character recognition alone. So, in that spirit, I tried to make sure that every issue was as complete and accessible an experience as we could provide, to hook that reader and bring them back again. Crossovers aren't exactly geared toward that kind of casual reader, but I was still set on making each issue stand on its own, even if it was ultimately part of a larger story.
So, that was my thinking during the writing of those OWaW [Our Worlds at War, DC Comics' 2001 mega-crossover] issues. I wasn't nearly as concerned with how great the crossover would be as I was with how good *my* issues were if you were picking them up cold. Whether that was the correct mindset is obviously a matter of opinion, but at that time, it was just how I felt.
Q: How did you feel about your contribution, and OWaW as a whole, following the story's publication?
A: To be honest, I've never read the complete story, front to back. Remember, I'm looking at it from the inside, so my memories of it basically consist of the rip-roaring time I had with [Superman books editor Eddie] Berganza, [and writers] Jeph Loeb, Joe Kelly and Mark Schultz plotting the story out and working together. It was without a doubt the best time I've ever had in a franchise situation. I think the five of us had great creative chemistry and that's the kind of thing I took away from the OWAW experience.
Q: The "self containment" of your stories really started to pick up once the books were "split" following Our Worlds at War. You seemed to break your arcs down into one- and two-issue stories. Was this a conscious effort on your part to reach that youth demographic - or were you simply sick and tired of long-ass Superman arcs?
A: Well, now everyone seems to be jumping on the "anti-decompression" bandwagon but I knew it was coming two years ago and starting in late summer 2002, I was already cramming as much action, drama and general mania that I could in each and every issue of ADVENTURES. And with so many books part of the same franchise, not having that freedom to be as weird and as impactful as I wanted can drive a guy to drink (or to do massive amounts of drugs) so luckily we did have a year where we could tell our own stories. After a year of that, I'd done a lot of what I wanted to do with the character so I was quite happy to exit stage right.
2004 Comic News
Listed below are all the Comic News items archived for 2004.- January 9, 2004: Three Different Supermen in 2004?
- January 10, 2004: Jim Lee Interviews Lee Bermejo
- January 10, 2004: Jim Lee Interviews Brian Azzarello
- January 12, 2004: Three Supermen Rumor False
- January 21, 2004: Art Adams Signs Exclusively to DC Comics
- January 21, 2004: Pre-Order CGC 9.8 NM/MT Grade Copies of First Jim Lee Drawn Superman
- January 23, 2004: Julie Schwartz in Hospital Again
- January 29, 2004: Price Rise for Superman Comics
- February 3, 2004: Superman/Batman vs Aliens/Predator
- February 3, 2004: Newsday Publishes History of Comics Article
- February 3, 2004: Alex Ross Interview
- February 4, 2004: Superman to Sport Painted Cover by Matt Wagner in May - (Updated with Images)
- February 8, 2004: Julie Schwartz Dies
- February 10, 2004: Comic Art Exhibition at Mizel Center for Arts and Culture
- February 11, 2004: Superman Comics Back to Press for Second Printing
- February 11, 2004: Milligan Talks “Kid Amazo”
- February 12, 2004: Jim Lee Talks Superman
- February 22, 2004: Sold Out “Godfall” Issues On Sale for $10!
- March 2, 2004: “Superman: Godfall” Continues to Sell Out at DC Comics
- March 3, 2004: Superman in Wizard #150
- March 7, 2004: Jeph Loeb Talks New Supergirl
- March 11, 2004: Mark Waid Says “Birthright” New Official Superman Origin
- March 16, 2004: Artist Ian Churchill Signs Exclusive Contract with DC Comics
- March 16, 2004: DC Staff and Talent Head West for Wizard World LA
- March 17, 2004: Ivan Reis Talks “Action Comics”
- March 18, 2004: Jeph Loeb Talks “Superman/Batman”
- March 18, 2004: DC Comics Rushes Sold-Out “Superman/Batman #8” Back to Press
- March 18, 2004: Kryptonian Translation of “Superman/Batman #8”
- March 21, 2004: DC Panel at Wizard World LA
- March 23, 2004: Chuck Austen Talks “Action Comics”
- March 24, 2004: Eddie Berganza Talks About Superman in 2004
- March 25, 2004: “Godfall” Continues to Sell Out at DC Comics
- March 26, 2004: Kurt Busiek Talks “Superman: Secret Identity”
- April 2, 2004: DC Unveils New Collected Editions
- April 5, 2004: DC and DF Present Signed Superman Comics for June
- April 11, 2004: Brian Azzarello Talks Superman
- April 13, 2004: “Superman/Batman #8” Second Printing Sells Out at DC Comics
- April 18, 2004: “Superman/Batman #8” is Diamond's Top-Selling Comic fo March!
- April 18, 2004: Stuart Immonen Talks “Superman: Secret Identity”
- April 19, 2004: Alex Sinclair Talks “Superman”
- April 20, 2004: Ivan Reis Signs Exclusive Deal with DC Comics
- April 21, 2004: Jim Lee and Michael Turner Take the Cover Challenge on “Superman/Batman #10” and “Superman #205” [Updated with images]
- April 22, 2004: DC Comics Rushes “Superman/Batman #8” Back to Press
- April 22, 2004: Jim Lee on “Superman” and Life Advice
- April 27, 2004: Gene Ha and Arthur Adams Talk Superman Covers
- May 11, 2004: Chuck Austen Talks “Action Comics” and “JLA”
- May 18, 2004: Dexter Vines Talks About Inking “Superman/Batman”
- May 26, 2004: Rags Morales Talks “Identity Crisis”
- June 8, 2004: Chuck Austen Talks “Action Comics”
- June 9, 2004: Comic Book Idol - Round 2
- June 15, 2004: DC Comics “Ask The Editors” Online Letter Columns
- June 21, 2004: Stan Lee Writes Superman for Julie Schwartz Tribute Issue
- July 8, 2004: Joe Casey Talks Superman
- July 9, 2004: Kim Howard Johnson Talks “Superman: True Brit”
- July 25, 2004: San Diego Comic Con Superman News
- July 28, 2004: Grant Morrison's Return to JLA
- August 16, 2004: “Superman/Batman” Panel at Wizard World Chicago
- August 31, 2004: Rick Veitch Answers Questions About “The Question”
- September 20, 2004: Greg Rucka Talks “Adventures of Superman”
- September 22, 2004: DC Sends “Identity Crisis #1” for Second Printing
- October 5, 2004: Comics Gaining Educational Reputation
- October 19, 2004: Scott McCloud Talks “Superman: Strength”
- October 19, 2004: DC Comics Pay Tribute to Christopher Reeve
- November 4, 2004: Rags Morales to Pencil Adventures of Superman #636
- November 11, 2004: David Goyer to Write “Superman/Batman”
- November 12, 2004: Superman Colorist Appearing at Comic Expo
- December 16, 2004: Chuck Austen Leaves “Action Comics”
- December 17, 2004: “Superman/Batman #13” Takes Top Spot on November Sales Chart
- December 17, 2004: Matthew Clark Talks About Drawing Superman
- December 20, 2004: Changes for Superman in 2005
- December 21, 2004: New Creative Team for “Superman” Comic
- December 21, 2004: “DC All-Stars” - DC's Answer to Marvel's Ultimate Line
- December 22, 2004: Grant Morrison Talks About “All-Star Superman”
- December 22, 2004: John Byrne in New Creative Team for “Action Comics”
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