PKJ Action Comics Discussion and Spoilers

[Iclifton]

Wow, those pages look spectacular. I stopped reading Superman with Bendis but I`ve obviously been missing out.

Where to start with this run?

Is this one of the better books DC is putting out?

As of now I'm really only loving Robin, Nightwing and Flash.

[Vordan]

Wow, those pages look spectacular. I stopped reading Superman with Bendis but I`ve obviously been missing out.

Where to start with this run?

Is this one of the better books DC is putting out?

As of now I'm really only loving Robin, Nightwing and Flash.

Action Comics #1030 is where I’d start. PKJ wrote some earlier issues but 1030 was the start of the Warworld Saga which is what we’re currently in, and that was where he really started to hit the ground running. Personally I think Action is by far one of the best books DC is putting out, easily on par with those other books.

[The Frog Bros]

Yeah... incredible issue. Love Clark's journal as the narration. I can picture him in his cell each night chronicling the day's events and his thoughts. Also really dig how his language skills allow him to decipher the runes partially enough to understand; not a full translation, but knowing the cadence and syntax of so many languages gives him the knowledge that it reads upwards. Awesome.

Nat in the Forge... "I've worked in a forge before." Heh. And man, crafting his logo/chest shield, f'n great.

Opening battle pretty top notch, felt like a real gladiatorial endeavor. I also really like how right as the narration says "such feats may beyond me now," just as he takes down the beast.

Curious to see how his training goes down...

[Vordan]

Training will be fun but I’m most excited to start getting some background on the Phaelosians

[The Frog Bros]

Wow, those pages look spectacular. I stopped reading Superman with Bendis but I`ve obviously been missing out.

Where to start with this run?

Is this one of the better books DC is putting out?

As of now I'm really only loving Robin, Nightwing and Flash.

Yep! My two current fave DC books are Action and Swamp Thing.

[Vordan]

Yep! My two current fave DC books are Action and Swamp Thing.

Would love to get Ram V in the Superman corner of DC on any character.

[Iclifton]

Action Comics #1030 is where I’d start. PKJ wrote some earlier issues but 1030 was the start of the Warworld Saga which is what we’re currently in, and that was where he really started to hit the ground running. Personally I think Action is by far one of the best books DC is putting out, easily on par with those other books.

Great! Thanks!

Sounds like I am also going to have to pick up Swamp Thing.

[manwhohaseverything]

The problem with comics.(More keenly observed in superman).I don't think the warworld is gonna last.Hope i am wrong..Any kinda, character,design,world building..etc are usually left behind unless you are kirby,ditko,lee.the point of a world is to get referenced used and developed.

[Vordan]

Great! Thanks!

Sounds like I am also going to have to pick up Swamp Thing.

No problem. If you’re digging his stuff I also recommend the Superman Future State books he wrote, Worlds of War and House of El, both were great imo.

The problem with comics.(More keenly observed in superman).I don't think the warworld is gonna last.Hope i am wrong..Any kinda, character,design,world building..etc are usually left behind unless you are kirby,ditko,lee.the point of a world is to get referenced used and developed.

Truthfully I don’t bother to expect a writer’s stuff to persist past the tenure of their run. Very few things do. All I can do is enjoy the run in and of itself, like how I still love Morrison’s Action run even though it’s not “canon” anymore.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

PKJ and his collaborators are really pulling out all the stops here. This is shaping up to be a great Superman yarn if they can stick the landing.

[rpmaluki]

PKJ and his collaborators are really pulling out all the stops here. This is shaping up to be a great Superman yarn if they can stick the landing.

You had me scared there for a while, lol. And yes, here's to them sticking the landing (while also ignoring the upcoming "death of the JL).

[Vordan]

He keeps talking about the post-Warworld Saga status quo, so I think he’s got a plan for what comes next.

[nnelg]

Action Comics #1030 is where I’d start. PKJ wrote some earlier issues but 1030 was the start of the Warworld Saga which is what we’re currently in, and that was where he really started to hit the ground running. Personally I think Action is by far one of the best books DC is putting out, easily on par with those other books.

I think it is the best book period. PKJ took the pile of **** he inherited and turned it into gold. It's sad DC kills every book by publishing 40 Batman books a month then maybe Action Comics would sell better.


I wish he was on one of Marvel's flagships as well.

[Vordan]

PKJ AMA is active and he shared some Superman vs. Mongul art

I think it is the best book period. PKJ took the pile of **** he inherited and turned it into gold. It's sad DC kills every book by publishing 40 Batman books a month then maybe Action Comics would sell better.


I wish he was on one of Marvel's flagships as well.

He’s definitely one of the up and comers that DC is grooming to replace the old guard, along with Brandon Thomas, Ram V, and Tom Taylor. Marvel is giving him a few books but I don’t think they view him as positively and I don’t know how his Alien book is selling. Likely PKJ gets offered more DC books at some point, probably in the Batverse or even JL.

[Vordan]

Alright I will collect some of the responses:

Is there any plans for The house of El characters or Thao-Là?

Will “the death of the justice league” affect your run?

Definitely. Deeply love all those characters, and I have big plans for how to revisit them all. In a perfect world, every thread I introduced in Future State Worlds of War and House of El will be addressed and there’ll be a big-ass run that ties it all up in a bow. BUT obviously that’s a ways off, and we’ll see what readers want to see, that’s what matters.

Hey Phillip, thank you for doing this!

I imagine you're not allowed answer most most of these, but here we go:

1. ⁠Do you have any plans for Metropolis-set stories? I'd love to see what you'd do with the City of Tomorrow and the Daily Planet!
2. ⁠I loved your characterization of Jon on Superman #30-#32, specially nice that his heat vision thing tied back to his love of science on the Tomasi/Jurgens era. Will we see Jon again on Action soon?
3. ⁠How about Kara, Conner and Krypto? Any plans for a Super-Family reunion?
4. ⁠One thing that Clark and Jon will now have in common are unpleasant to say the least experiences in space as prisoners of tyrannical warlords, is that something will plan to explore?
5. ⁠What are some Superman comics outside of the classics (All Star, For All Seasons, Red Son, Smashes The Klan, Last Son, etc) that you would recommend?

I DO have big plans for Metropolis, damn near as ambitious as what we're doing on Warworld. I've always wanted Metropolis to be as distinct at a glance as Gotham, Atlantis, New Genesis, etc.

Plans for the whole Super-Family coming up, but I shouldn't spoil just yet. Some of it might require more writers to join the fray

I'd highly recommend Superman 400, an old anthology that meant a TON to me growing up. I also love his characterization in Kingdom Come, there are key moments of that book that I deeply love.

Hey Phillip! Thank you for coming out and visiting us today! And thanks to Nick Valente from DC for arranging this!

I got a couple of questions:

1. ⁠What's your process for worldbuilding? Between The Last God and Action Comics, you must have put a lot of thought into developing the settings, the cultures, and the inhabitants of these worlds. And do you have further plans for The Last God?
2. ⁠(from u/Killercroc22)

Hey PKJ. Love your work on Action Comics. It's turning out to be one of the greatest runs of the characters of all time. I really love that you reintroduced Mongul back as a real threat to Superman after decades of jobbing. Best iteration of the character since For the Man who has everything imo. You also have such a fantastic hold on Clark's voice.
Any plans of utilising other villains from Superman's roster once Warwold Saga ends?
(Please keep writing Superman as long as possible)

Man, I could answer that question with a college course, but in a nutshell: worldbuilding is basically trying to answer every question with another question. When working with another artist, it's also finding ways to marry up their vision with your own rather than tether them to what you originally envisioned.

By "answer a question with another," for example: "Who ARE the warzoons, at their core?" The way the Fremen are all about water scarcity, what's the warzoon thing, and why is Mongul different? which led me to the answer of: "Dominance." The first Mongul did what no leader on Earth has ever done, and conquered his whole world. (we'll learn how soon.) Then we get to: "How does that impact their culture? The way they choose leaders, find food, etc. Down the question chain, we get to "What's the warzoon language like?" which leads to "DO they all speak the same language?" to which the answer HAS to be No. It's an entire goddamn planet. WE don't all speak Latin or English or whatever, we all have our own thing, so why wouldn't they? Leading me to: would all the different warzoon cultures/tribes get along? Obviously not. Even though they all serve Mongul, they all vie for dominance constantly, as we do on Earth, except even more violently. And after asking these questions long enough, you get what has essentially become a real place.

Hi Phillip,

With over 1000 issues, Action Comics has quite the legacy! Do you have a favorite writer from over the years, or if that’s too difficult, a top 3?

Ugh, man. I hate to disrespect all the greats by singling out a few, but here we go. Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, and Jeph Loeb all have a terrific Superman voice. But there are so many greats.

Hey Phillip.You are doing a great job with superman and dc(hope to se many more series from you).

You mentioned before that for 5g/future state initially you were brought in for a cosmic title.are you allowed to reveal what was for?

If you could work on any series/adapation/original work given the choice what would it be?

Also any plans for Steel(John Henry irons) or val zod or kara?

Heh, I probably shouldn't reveal yet. Someday! I was also working on one NON-cosmic 5G book that I still desperately want to do, and hope to in some form.

I have a crime noir story for Batman I want to do. It would most likely be a long but self-contained Black Label story.

I have an extremely dark take on Scarface and the Ventriloquist I want to write, entitled "Dummy." Practically a creator-owned horror book, pee-pants scary and upsetting.

I've loved Alien since I was a kid and am also hugely honored that I get to write that, and I'm also a massive fan of The Last of Us.

I DO have plans for Steel and Kara. Both incredible characters and will be super important going forward.

Hi there! Like many DC readers, I've fallen in love with your Action run and I love your House of El stories/characters. I'll admit I'm especially happy to see a blue lantern kryptonian, especially one with such an incredible design as Rowan. Does this mean in your vision for the future of Cosmic DC, the Blue Lantern Corps returns?

Also, I'm sure you have been asked about Death of the Justice League quite a bit and will continue to be asked about it, but I'm curious about what something like that looks like behind the scenes. I know you can't tell us how that event will impact things, but what is it like as a writer to work with your peers on large scale events like that? Is it exciting, frustrating, exhausting, all of the above? You mentioned that you have known about Williamson's plans for a while, so I'm curious about how DC is handling these line-wide storylines in the Infinite Frontier era.

We try to tie things together whenever possible so readers who buy stuff across the line every month are rewarded and feel like they're reading a cohesive story, but we're also mindful that very soon these stories will all be collected in TPB or HC and should stand alone without expecting the reader to read them all. I need the stories to make sense on their own. Good example of that was Action Comics vs Superman and the Authority. Grant fans can pick up just SatA and not need Action, and Action devotees can just read the Action run and not be punished for leaving out the miniseries. It's a fun but challenging aspect, and a HUGE honor to work with artists and writers like these. Grant, Josh, Mikel, Riccardo, Daniel, Miguel, on and on, they're all legends and also nice as hell to work with.

If you had to give someone a single issue of a Superman comic to explain them why Superman is worth reading, what issue would you pick?

Superman 400, I think. It's not just about him, it's about the impact he had/has on the world.

There's another one that's technically not about Superman himself but it's super powerful, I am totally blanking on the name. The equivalent of Batman: Creature of the Night, but the Superman version of it that came out before. Beautiful story.

First issue of Kingdom Come, in which a self-exiled Superman returns to save the world from supers who have lost their way.

A fellow Secret Identity enjoyer!

Any plans to do more with the House of El characters?

If you based your story from previous works, which stories served as inspiration?

Yes!

I wanted House of El to feel like ancient, epic poems like Beowulf, the Fall of Arthur, Finn and Hengest, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, etc. I LOVE that stuff. That's why I wrote the iambic pentameter captions, to make it feel like we were reading a lost text about the fall of an ancient house after a thousand years of great deeds.

Hi Phillip it's awesome to have you here. Big fan of Warworld Saga one of the best Superman stories in last 10 years and classic in the making for sure.

How was it working with someone like Grant Morrison during the process? For me it was a pleasure to follow prelude part of Saga with your Action Comics and Superman and the Authority by them.

After the Warworld Saga we know Death of the Justice League is coming and you said your Action Comics plans won't be affected because you knew it's gonna happen. Who will Spotlight Action Comics during that time? Looks like Tom King's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (another classic in the making) will be finished by then, I hope we can see Kara and Connor two great Superman's legacy heroes more during Death of the Justice League arc.

Working with Grant is a massive honor and pleasure, always. They've always been SO gracious, amazingly humble given everything they've done, and just a joy to work with. And a MOUNTAIN of knowledge and creativity.

Forgive me, I shouldn't reveal what happens between Action and DotJL, it'll be something you want to see for yourself. I WILL say, it might be another Action/Superman and the Authority situation where fans are initially like "how do these work together" and will eventually get their answers. Again, we want the stories to stand on their own when they're finished, and they definitely will.