DC Nation #0 (SPOILERS) - free release on Reading Apps

[rosawater]

I loved Superman since I was a wee one ( Even though Spiderman and Storm sometimes gave him some healthy competition ), but the only thing I need from a writer is that they have a current love, understanding, and respect for the character

Lois both alive and back at the Daily Planet in Doomsday Clock btw.

At the rate they're going I can be secure about Lois' fate for another 80 years.

[Kirby Krackle]

the only thing I need from a writer is that they have a current love, understanding, and respect for the character

THIS. What writers or artists have said in the past regarding characters doesn't really matter since these views can change over the years. Heck, how many writers have gone onto books not really feeling a certain character only to realize how much they love writing said character. This happens. It's normal. Not everyone is a fanboy their entire life.

[soundsci]

I don't know much of Superman's history, so I can't say a lot about what was done right/wrong here, but this was easily the meatiest of the stories in DC Nation. King wrote an excellent short story that references what's going on in Batman and Snyder basically just introduced us to the No Justice teams and showed that there was a threat. Bendis showed us status quo changes, voices he's giving existing characters, and introduced new characters. He's said that AC will focus more on the daily planet and Metropolis, so I kind of see this as his preview to that in addition to MoS. Based on previous work, I think he could tell great stories revolving around the daily planet, I just hope this doesn't turn into a hunt for Superman's identity (or alternatively Clark Kent's alter ego).

Also, don't burn me but I'm saying this as a Bendis fan and just a moderate Superman fan (he has some big stories I love but I don't always follow monthly). I feel it can only be a good thing because now I have two Superman titles on my pull list for the first time! And not to imply that I'm a Bendis fanboy, he's just been responsible for a number of my favorite runs in comics.

[Batgrayson]

This mini-story and MoS are set in the past, before Clark and Lois' marriage, or I am wrong? Also, I don't like the return of clumsy Clark Kent, but if this is happening in the past, I can live with it. Between this one and the AC1000 story, I'm even more nervous about Bendis than I was some months ago.

[Superlad93]

This mini-story and MoS are set in the past, before Clark and Lois' marriage, or I am wrong?

No both are current actually.

[Sacred Knight]

Yep, both stories are set in the present. MOS might do some flashbacks but overall this is happening right now.

And to be fair Clark isn't really clumsy here. We don't see him tripping over himself and falling all over the place like slap-stick. He's just meek, slouched, and unsure. All things which frankly I feel to lose completely defeats the purpose of the alter in the first place.

[Kuwagaton]

I like it because it's not an extreme. I really wouldn't like him getting humiliated but I also don't think he should take his glasses off and yell at people.

[titansupes]

Yep, both stories are set in the present. MOS might do some flashbacks but overall this is happening right now.

And to be fair Clark isn't really clumsy here. We don't see him tripping over himself and falling all over the place like slap-stick. He's just meek, slouched, and unsure. All things which frankly I feel to lose completely defeats the purpose of the alter in the first place.

Agreed. Overly Confident Clark is just a strange way to go. He should be meek, but respected because he's good at his job. Going by this little preview, the balance is good.

[The Dying Detective]

I tell you once people see this Clark Kent the Comics Gate Crowd will never stop with accusing Bendis of emasculating Clark regardless of the fact Clark Kent always behaved in a rather meek way.

[Atlas]

He was deliberately trying to ruffle feathers there.

I know Bendis is a HUGE, HUGE fan of Byrne's run (heck, why he's using the title Man of Steel and even the Byrne logo).

And I've been told he was very active on the DC Comics Message Boards Superman forums under a pseudonym.

As a Marvel guy, he was trying to provoke readers a bit. I'm sure he doesn't casually read a lot of comics. Few people who make comics even read their comps. And, no, that isn't what the job is about.

As for all the back and forth on whether Superman is identifiable or successful or whatever, eh. Superman has not been consistently successful since around 1994. There was a big spike for the first half of the Loeb/Kelly run that OWAW kind of killed and IMHO a lot of that was saddled on them. There was a big spike in the Johns/Donner/Kubert run. There was a small spike at the start of the New 52. You could say that there was a big Spike for Lee and Azzarello's run but, frankly, I think the book's numbers were weaker than I'd expect from a Lee book at that point, even with a lot of six figure direct market sales.

The character has been neither terribly identifiable nor successful in 25 years for the most part. I don't blame the character. I think the creators were trying to do their best and only a few creators were transparently bad choices. I don't think any of the group editors have been especially weak.

I don't really blame DiDio or Nelson. I mean, Levitz wasn't able to make a big spike either.

I suppose to some extent I'd blame the audience, pop culture zeitgeist, etc. I would blame retailers. The direct market is all kinds of bonkers because you have retailers who are almost all fans and almost all heavily financially reliant on their shops and that did a LOT to warp the comics business. And the retailers who really skewed things are mostly out of the business now but, frankly, I think comic book dimensions and pricepoints and paperstock, etc. are all completely wrong and it handicaps the market that nobody really tips over the applecart and throws out the existing format, at least as much as publishers did in the 50s, the 60s, the 70s. It is insane that comics are basically designed to fit in mylar bags and longboxes that are a certain size.

Mostly I blame WB. Because characters like Superman have had to navigate this problem for 35 years that they either fly under WB's radar and can make some sensible decisions about the content but can't get significant resources put into improving and tailoring the product to sell or they attract WB's attention and they get handed all kinds of brand feedback.

The only BIG media companies in the world I think have real strength at brand marketing at the high levels are Hasbro, Mattel, Nintendo, CBS, and Disney. Nobody else should be giving notes or setting goals from the top nor is any other company really fit to handpick TV or film directors or producers from the top. Johns is changing that to a degree at WB and I think Nelson is good people.

Superman would have done better if they'd literally just licensed him out to somebody like IDW and setup some kind of brand committee of people like Pasko and Stern with creative teams given pretty much independence from marketing and publishing initiatives at DC.

Jenette Khan is BRILLIANT but the idea that whether or not Krypto the Super-Dog could be used was down to her or Mike Carlin or Kevin Tsujihara or Jon Peters doesn't make a lot of sense to me. And I'm not knocking any one of those people as skilled and experienced people. I just don't think they had any particular instincts for how to market Superman except as a spinoff of the Batman publishing operation. Being attached to Batman and people who knew how to sell Batman hurt Superman. Superman needed to be its own universe, its own genre, have a completely divorced editorial process, its own marketing team, and basically its own publisher with its own parent company.

The good thing in my mind is that somebody like Bendis writing the book probably at least makes things run a bit more like that.

I agree completely that WB has NO idea what to do with Superman. I do, however, put all blame for Superman's failure to find lasting success in comics for the better part of two decades solely on Dan DiDio. He may have approved All-Star, but he has no problem greenlighting non-continuity works that remain true to the iconic version of a character because they're out of continuity. He has consistently mismanaged Superman during his entire time at DC. The Iconic Superman returned during Rebirth, an initiative he had very little to do with. He's behind Bendis on Superman (more than I believe he or Bendis is truthfully saying), The New Age of Heroes failure was all his idea (and Lee's), and DC Black is also his.

As for Bendis being a big fan of Byrne, that doesn't do much to allay my fears. Byrne did some great stuff with the character but also gutted Superman's rich mythology, and I hope Bendis won't follow suit.

Co-signed, and in that scenario I'll supply you a pitchfork.

I feel like younger or newer readers are jumping to conclusions before realizing that a story needs a hook to get you to keep reading and peril is the oldest in the book. If you got JLGL coming out of retirement and a host of talented artists all excited about what he's doing, you really should wait to see what the first salvo delivers.

I'm a bit nervous too, but I've actually spoken to someone involved and while I didn't get any details, I got nothing but positive energy and solid enthusiasm from them over Bendis' plans for Superman. If MoS sucks, I'm out unless I hear good buzz on the monthlies, but it could also be a great refocus on Clark while having an interesting b-plot for Lois and Jon.

Also, your typo made me realize I need a Supernan one-shot where he has to chaperone all his colleague's kids.

I'm neither a young reader (42 years old and have been reading for a little over 30 of those years) nor jumping to conclusions. I haven't seen anything that gives me a reason to feel good about Bendis on Superman, and I've been around long enough to see the patterns that ultimately lead to Superman being crapped on in the name of making a fast buck and getting press. I've had it and am at the point where I will abandon ALL DC product if this is what we're about to see yet again. I'm sure one customer's boycott won't mean anything, but that's how sick I am of all of this.

I tell you once people see this Clark Kent the Comics Gate Crowd will never stop with accusing Bendis of emasculating Clark regardless of the fact Clark Kent always behaved in a rather meek way.

He hasn't "always behaved in a rather meek way." He was far more in the vein of George Reeves post-COIE, then a mix of post-COIE and Silver/Bronze after Infinite Crisis, then a cipher outside of Morrison's New 52 run, and then more post-COIE/post-IC in Rebirth.

[JasonTodd428]

I tell you once people see this Clark Kent the Comics Gate Crowd will never stop with accusing Bendis of emasculating Clark regardless of the fact Clark Kent always behaved in a rather meek way.

Clark coming across as meek was the one the part of the story that I disliked but then again I've never really cared for that characterization either. I find it a bit stereotypical to be honest and not really needed anymore. Everyone's mileage may vary on that but that's my opinion.

[Rod G]

The most weirdly reassuring bit in the story was the reference to President Luthor. That's one storyline I figured the Rebirth era would never explicitly reference again, and I actually assumed they'd blatantly establish it never happened at all.

That particular instance should be erased and forgotten.