Official : Bendis gets both books

[Dispenser Of Truth]

But can we take a moment and talk about Bendis' direction for Metropolis? That skyline, the abundance of shining statues, and THE FREAKIN TREES, SON!!!! Love those rooftop trees something fierce, bruh. I'm pretty hype.

Man, you know I looooove the Metropolis design; hopefully the other artists (or at least Gleason on Action) will keep that in mind.

[manofsteel1979]

I hate it when Metropolis is portrayed as an average “modern” city, it’s the City of Tomorrow. It should not look boring. This version looks colorful and “green” which I like.

This is intriguing. The last time they went this route with Metropolis was during the Loeb and Kelly run, but it could be argued they went a little too far in the futuristic vein, but i was disappointed that they backed away and back to the generic Metropolis of old.

[JasonTodd428]

I was going to say a few things about the last couple pages of this thread...but in fear of being misunderstood or branded something I'm not, i will abstain. It's not worth it.

Bendis...you have my attention fully now. Let's see where this all goes.

Yeah me either. I'm staying out of it even though that's also likely to get me branded as something I'm not.

Anyway Bendis has my full and undivided attention now. Whether or not I'll end up enjoying things enough to stick with his run is still very much up for debate but I'm not going to make that judgement without first reading some issues.

[JasonTodd428]

Man, you know I looooove the Metropolis design; hopefully the other artists (or at least Gleason on Action) will keep that in mind.

I love that design too and I do hope other artists keep it in mind as well.

[RepHope]

This is intriguing. The last time they went this route with Metropolis was during the Loeb and Kelly run, but it could be argued they went a little too far in the futuristic vein, but i was disappointed that they backed away and back to the generic Metropolis of old.

The setting should be a "character" in and of itself. Gotham oozes Gothic architecture and Romanticism, along with Prohibition-era Chicago and the like. Metropolis needs some of that. If they're worried about making it too "fantastical", then put the high sci-fi in one "neighborhood" and the Art Deco in another. The Daily Planet is where the Art Deco influences should be. Lexcorp should feel more cyberpunkish. STAR Labs should have that 70s Star Trek sci-fi feel. But overall the city should feel like it's 5-10 years ahead of everyone like how Gotham feels more like a city in the past.

[The Learner]

Even if I end up not liking the story, the art alone will make the book worth my money. The art is just amazing. I am still not happy that he is taking over both books. But after reading all this interviews, I've decided to give his books a shot without my bias against him getting in the way.

[Armor of God]

With regards to Lois and Jon all he had to do was say that his book was not going to focus on a family dynamic but that they'll have important roles. Mind you those roles didn't even actually need to be important but a statement like that could have gone a long way. Instead he writes a story where Lois is replaced by his new potential pet character, her and Jon have been completely and notably absent from the solicits. The one solicit that does mention them teases their fate as if something horrible happened. I'm sorry but he brought this upon himself. Moreso when he pitched Action as a journalism driven book with a DP focus only to have Lois replaced.

Ofcourse neither her and Jon were ever going to die or anything, I do agree that those sort of complaints are exagerrated. But Bendis has done or said nothing to earn the trust of the fans of those characters ao they have a right to be apprehensive.

[JasonTodd428]

With regards to Lois and Jon all he had to do was say that his book was not going to focus on a family dynamic but that they'll have important roles. Mind you those roles didn't even actually need to be important but a statement like that could have gone a long way. Instead he writes a story where Lois is replaced by his new potential pet character, her and Jon have been completely and notably absent from the solicits. The one solicit that does mention them teases their fate as if something horrible happened. I'm sorry but he brought this upon himself. Moreso when he pitched Action as a journalism driven book with a DP focus only to have Lois replaced.

Ofcourse neither her and Jon were ever going to die or anything, I do agree that those sort of complaints are exagerrated. But Bendis has done or said nothing to earn the trust of the fans of those characters ao they have a right to be apprehensive.

And they have every right to be apprehensive. Heck, I'm still apprehensive myself about how this is going to go and to be honest I'm still not at all happy that DC have him both books. That being said I think the best way to judge his trustworthiness or lack thereof, at least for me and YMMV on this, is by his actions within the stories themselves. I don't care a wit for what writers say in interviews because let's face it they'll say whatever they think will get people to buy their book. The only thing I'm interested in is what happens in the pages of the comic itself and how he treats the characters there. Handling the characters that people are concerned about and doing well and with respect for them is a better and more direct way to gain the fans' trust IMO but even doing that is a meaningless endeavor IF fans aren't willing to even give him the chance to win their trust in the first place.

[Armor of God]

And they have every right to be apprehensive. Heck, I'm still apprehensive myself about how this is going to go and to be honest I'm still not at all happy that DC have him both books. That being said I think the best way to judge his trustworthiness or lack thereof, at least for me and YMMV on this, is by his actions within the stories themselves. I don't care a wit for what writers say in interviews because let's face it they'll say whatever they think will get people to buy their book. The only thing I'm interested in is what happens in the pages of the comic itself and how he treats the characters there. Handling the characters that people are concerned about and doing well and with respect for them is a better and more direct way to gain the fans' trust IMO but even doing that is a meaningless endeavor IF fans aren't willing to even give him the chance to win their trust in the first place.

I'm mostly judging Bendis based on his short stories and the solicits. His statements are actually designed to reassure but the reason IMO they're not working is because the work itself, what has been teased, the cancellation of the entire Super line of books and control over both flagship books has made fans apprehensive. It cannot be denied that the Superman line is now basically the Bendis fiefdom.

[Robanker]

Man, you know I looooove the Metropolis design; hopefully the other artists (or at least Gleason on Action) will keep that in mind.

Was going to pop in and say this as well. I thought it was a great touch on the part of Bendis and Reis. I like when a hero's city reflects them and a place named "Metropolis" evokes that well. It should be just a bit futuristic in that respect.

And we need more trees for Superman to pull cats out of. What? I enjoy him being a boyscout now and then.

[JasonTodd428]

I'm mostly judging Bendis based on his short stories and the solicits. His statements are actually designed to reassure but the reason IMO they're not working is because the work itself, what has been teased, the cancellation of the entire Super line of books and control over both flagship books has made fans apprehensive. It cannot be denied that the Superman line is now basically the Bendis fiefdom.

Solicits, which are made to sell books to retailers not fans, are not really a good judge of how any writer is going to handle the book itself IMHO. Very frequently they are intentionally misleading so anything said in them is a bit suspect to me and should be taken with a grain of salt. To be honest with you I don't even bother with the text of solicits anymore because of how badly misleading I feel they often are. These days I merely check them to see if there are any books that are on my pull that have been either cancelled or are involved in some crossover or event I'm not planning to read. That's all the use solicits are to me at this point.

As for the rest, while all of those things taken together have made me very apprehensive as well I'm still going to give Bendis a chance to prove himself. I have been known to be wrong about my initial feelings on a book's direction before so he at least deserves the chance to prove me wrong before I dismiss his run entirely based merely on only what I feel might be happening here and some nonsense that was said in a random interview. The only way I feel I can do this is by actually reading the material in a complete issue setting in addition to the shorts we got. With that I can get a full picture of his run and then I feel I can make an accurate determination as to whether I'll continue with the books or not after that initial test. Once I do I'll feel justified in whatever my continued response to his run is, whether that is good or bad, because I will have at least bothered to read the material in question.

All to often people complain about things but they've never actually read the material and I really feel that it weakens whatever argument they are trying to make. Instead it makes those arguments come off as being either uninformed or just another knee-jerk response or someone just jumping on a particular hate train because its the in thing to do. I've had far to many instances of all three in the past to say its not a common thing that happens. YMMV on that aspect and I'm not saying that people can't feel the way they do based on criteria other that what I use, I just personally feel like it make for a weaker argument not to have ALL the evidence before you is all.

[Digifiend]

These don't bode well. DC didn't like the sales numbers for Man of Steel and Action #1000.
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/05...t-the-numbers/
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/05...mics-expected/

[Myskin]

But can we take a moment and talk about Bendis' direction for Metropolis? That skyline, the abundance of shining statues, and THE FREAKIN TREES, SON!!!! Love those rooftop trees something fierce, bruh. I'm pretty hype.

To be fair, that isn't an entirely original design.
Even if Reis isn't openly admitting it (as far as I know), he was probably inspired by Steve Rude's Metropolis in Dave Gibbons' Worlds' Finest miniseries:
https://imgur.com/9l9DTQc

[RepHope]

These don't bode well. DC didn't like the sales numbers for Man of Steel and Action #1000.
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/05...t-the-numbers/
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/05...mics-expected/

Old news about MoS but I find it interesting how even though retailers whined to Marvel last year they’re still willing to order new Marvel #1’s in huge numbers while they almost always err on the side of caution with DC. But has Action 1000 sold out yet?

[JAK]

I hear what you are saying but truly....do you really think this is the best way to make female fans know that you hear them and value them? I'm asking genuinely. You are likely right that he's trying to make light of the situation to make some kind of joke that everything is going to be ok and I know how much you love Lois and I know how angry you would be if he did something to her. I'm not questioning your devotion---I love your posts.

Aw, thank you! On the question... his answer depends on a lot of things; how he was asked is one. Being a singer/performer, myself, I've seen a question asked one way in person and then they change the question slightly - often, this is done to clarify in the interviewer's opinion, but I've read some articles and thought "wait, it it'd been asked like that, I would have said 'xb' instead of 'x'." But even if the question didn't change, his answer can be read in a lot of different ways - and only one of those is right, really. He's also playing off the interviewer's energy, which is who knows what. So unless we have the audio, it's hard to say. My thinking that it's intended as jovial could be dead wrong, but I'm usually an optimist (unless I'm reading Snyder or some Didio quotes, but still.. ) There's also the question he was asked, assuming this is exactly what he was asked:

OK, let's talk about this copy that's floating out there in a solicitation that says something about the "fate of Lois and Jon." I think readers who love those characters were a little alarmed. You love those characters too, right?

I certainly think it would have been nice for him to address female readers' concerns, but that's not quite what he was asked. So it's entirely possible he wasn't even picturing Superman's female fans when he was imagining the noted "Twitter apologies". None of this means he's not thinking of female readers at all; just that he wasn't in that situation (he may well have been thinking of a particular fan who made the charge he jokes about - if it happened - and maybe that fan was male. Or not, just suggesting possible mentalities to what he says here). If he were asked, "There are a number of female readers, particularly those who enjoy and/or identify with Lois who've expressed concern over some of the ad promo talking about your run as it pertains to Lois and Jon. What would you say to let them know that you hear their concerns, and that you care about these characters too?" Then there'd be a definitive answer. But since he was asked in blanket fashion, I think he was addressing it the same way. So while I do understand your fears - and even share them to a good extent, overall - I don't know if this can necessarily be approached from this angle. If that makes any sense?

But can you sort of understand why this kind of approach maybe isn't being received well? I can get him wanting to make light of it but it would be a lot better for him to make light of it in a way that acknowledges that he understands WHY people worried in the first place. The best way to make "light" of it would be to just nicely acknowledge that he gets why people were upset but he really hopes they are going to love what he does because he put his heart and soul into and really loves the characters etc. That's literally all he had to do and I would be completely on board with this.

I would have preferred this, too, certainly, and maybe a different context/question/etc would bring that out of him. On what he did say, I think his context seemed to clear a bit in my mind when I read the quote I mentioned before:

So yeah, I'm excited to prove myself. But that is OK. That is what life is about. You must prove yourself over and over again. And I will do so again.

It seems to me that he's saying "I get that I need to prove my self to the fans and prove what I'm saying, and I will." While it doesn't address female readers directly, either, I see it as him saying he doesn't plan to mistreat these characters.. and that, if he does, this can be used to say "You said this, but you didn't do it. I'm out."

On "making light," there are a few intentions/etc in doing this. Some do it to dismiss what others are saying, others do it in an attempt to reassure in a jovial manner. I took it as the latter, but can understand why some might feel like it's the former, especially given the promo wording (though that's usually inflamatory on purpose). I just haven't seen enough evidence to know for sure, and what I have seen seems to be more reassuring than not (overall, imo). In the meantime, if he does any other interviews where questions can be submitted, putting those to him would certainly clarify the situation.