I’ll always remember this personal anecdote J. Michael Straczynski has told on various occasions about how he once stopped a shoplifting at a convention. He was doing a signing and shoplifter was running across the alley in front of him, so he dropped his sharpie, got up and tackled the guy. While JMS was pinning him to the floor and waiting for security to show up, the pinned perp said, “Hey - - aren’t the BABYLON 5 guy?”
That story’s always stuck out to me as an model of comics writer-badass-ity to emulate, and I think about it again because the man who brought you SUPREME POWER and RISING STARS (among many others) is now tackling SUPERMAN and WONDER WOMAN. Straight from the Source, we’ve got news today that he’ll be taking over both titles in July after their respective 700th and 600th issues.
So speaks Straczynski…
“For as long as I’ve been doing conventions (starting in the early Cretaceous period, when it was just me and a handful of pterosaurs on a panel debating whether or not mammals with opposable thumbs were really necessary to the writing of quality comics, a point still hotly debated today), there has always been the same question from folks in the audience: “Is there any one character who is your dream character to write for?” The answer has always been the same: Superman. When I first came over to DC, that dream was realized in part by Dan DiDio’s gracious invitation to write the first of potentially many Superman original graphic novels. Now the dream has come fully true with the opportunity to write for the mainstream title, in a story that returns Superman to his roots in a way that will have the whole country talking about him in ways that we haven’t seen in a long time.
Similarly, the chance to write Wonder Woman — the nearest analogue to Superman in the DCU — is massively exciting. She’s a vital, powerful character, and we hope to bring a more contemporary sensibility to her character will retaining everything that makes her unique.
That DC is willing to jump-start these two runs in the pages of their respective anniversary issues is a great opportunity and a vote of confidence in what we have planned for these characters. I’m looking forward to this with more excitement than words can convey.
It’s gonna be a blast.”
Given JMS’ own description, I think it’s time to adopt my gravel trailer voice and say…
This is an adventure 65 million years in the making.
What do you think, oh pre-historic Comic Vine community? Is this going to be a blast? And are you still pumped about his SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE?
-- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Comics and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia Comics. Watch out for the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover collection this March - - available for pre-order now on Amazon.com.