2009 Comic Book News Archives

WonderCon

March 1, 2009: Exclusive Interview with Ian Sattler

By Jeffrey Taylor.

Superman Homepage reporter Jeffrey Taylor grabbed time with DC Comics senior story editor Ian Sattler at this weekend's WonderCon to ask him a few questions about the Superman comic books.

Q: I work in a comic book store and I saw sales and pre-orders for Superman books spike when "New Krypton" was getting started. Now that "New Krypton" is over and DC announced that Superman would be taken out of his own books, our pre-orders dropped even below where they were before. My question is, what makes taking Superman out of his regular books a good decision from a marketing standpoint?

A: I worked in a comic book store and my response is to look at the stories. I mean how good the stories are with Greg Rucka and James Robinson in Action Comics and Superman and how good the story they're tying with New Krypton and Superman is. So I think that people are getting a little hung up on the phrase "Superman not in his books." I mean we don't have this rule set. He'll be around. He'll show up. There are moments, I know it, specific ones where he has to be back on Earth or has to do something else in Action Comics. As we're trying to show the scope of how big this New Krypton story is, that's how the pieces of the story move and that dictated what we do in the books.

The point isn't that it's Superman out of the books. It's who's also there with him. I would really advise people just to check the books out and see how they feel about it before they just assume that it's something where there's no Superman. Because the stories are awesome and it's all part of the bigger picture that's going to last for another year plus as we tell this big story that is New Krypton. We promised when this started that it wasn't going to be six months and then they're all back in the bottle. So we need the room to tell this story.

Q: The triangle numbering system was a mainstay in the Superman comics for more than ten years. Then it went away and it's been needed for a while. What took so long?

A: I think it just seemed like the right time in the way that we brought Supergirl closer into the mix with Sterling writing it. Some of the stuff Geoff had planned and how closely Rucka and Robinson were working, New Krypton was the opportunity to do that. And at the same time, there were people that said, "Oh no, now I have to read every book."

I still say that the triangles are thematic. It's not like where you get to the last page of one book and it's always picked up immediately in the next like we're doing a traditional crossover. I think the way we're doing it right now shows the unity in the books without being the law. If you want to read Supergirl and nothing else, you can still get that story. It's the same with Action Comics, Superman and World of New Krypton.

Q: World of New Krypton recently had a change in its creative team. How and why did that happen.

A: It was a scheduling change Andrew Kreisberg has been working on Fringe and there's only so much someone can do in a month. Luckily we figured that out in time rather than four issues in. James and Greg moved right in and are doing a great job. Andrew is doing a great job on Green Arrow/Black Canary for us. So sometimes this just happens and there's nothing more to it than that. The simple answer is that sometimes people are busy and this is what we have to do.

Q: How long can we expect James Robinson to be writing the Superman books?

A: James is on Superman for a while. I can't emphasize enough that New Krypton was never conceived as a short-term story. It's very long-term and we're not even into some of the really big stuff yet. I think when people see what we're building on, I hope that people look back on this time with Geoff, Sterling, James and Greg and look at it as an era of Superman. They'll refer to it as the New Krypton period, because a lot of really good standards are going to be set. I think we're telling a different story. I kind of lost my train of thought there because I'm so excited. So James is on for the long haul.

Q: Will Geoff Johns be returning after Superman: Secret Origin?

A: He'll be returning to something.

Q: Something Superman related?

A: Yes.

Q: Can you explain the holdup on Robinson's Justice League?

A: The truth is that we maybe announced it earlier than we should have. We got a little excited. The art on that book is pretty spectacular and takes some time. It's actually been a really good thing for us. James has been able to take some time and tinker with the story. What we have now is just excellent and we're underway. We should have the release date for that in the next couple of weeks.

The fact of the matter is that we got excited, so there's really no holdup. We should have announced it a few months later than we actually did. It was always planned in this pocket. The time period that the story is in is right on. When we announced it we were talking about a time period way down the road. It's maybe a few months later than we originally planned it, but on our schedule is not that off.

Q: Finally, I've seen many past characters who I know and love from years past returning to the comics for the first time. Could I ask about a few of my favorites and you can tell me yes, no or no comment?

A: Absolutely. Fire away.

Alpha Centurion: No
Bibbo: Yes
Manchester Black: No
Cadmus Project: Maybe
Conduit: Yes. No wait. That guy? No.
Cat Grant: Yes, Supergirl.
Emil Hamilton/Ruin: No
Hellgramite: Isn't Hellgramite dead? No? No.
Inspector Henderson: No comment
Hope/Mercy: No comment
Lana Lang: Yes
Lena Luthor: No comment
Maxima: .... I'm trying to think of how to put this. Yes and no. How's that?
Rampage: No
Riot: No
Pete Ross: No comment
Maggie Sawyer: No comment
Scorn: No
Shadowdragon: No
Special Crimes Unit: Uh, you know, I can't answer that one
Franklin Stern: No
Supermen of America: No
Ron Troupe: Not a lot
Dan Turpin: Not for a while

The Superman Homepage would like to thank Ian Sattler for taking the time out at WonderCon to answer these questions.



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