Yang & Reis's Superman/Batman

[Ascended]

Interesting, you'd think there would be multiple minis with Superman fighting King Kong, Godzilla, Transformers and other big things, but I'm either blanking on them at the moment or there aren't many "Superman punches big thing" stories around?

I wanna say there were a solid amount of kaiju fights in the Silver Age; Titano obviously, and I think even a short crossover with Kong or Godzilla maybe? And there's a few every now and then; at one point in the early 00's Metallo would assimilate city blocks and grow to gigantic size.

But generally speaking, there aren't nearly enough kaiju fights. Though like Bored, my love of Superman punching giant robots is boundless so maybe that's just my bias speaking.

Anyway, got to the LCS today (twice in as many weeks, when lately I've gone months between stops! Go Ascended!) and I f*cking adore this issue. The retro narration, the layout using film stripes, the costume design, all the twists and turns and reveals (Alfred!!), many of them stolen from those old serials, and that film layout ending up being part of the plot itself? For a Golden Age fan like me, this issue is just the best gods damn thing ever. The level of craft on display here is damned impressive.

I was kinda pissed when Yang didn't get one of the solo Super titles, and pissed that Reis was leaving one. Just so these guys, who're clearly among the very best Super creators we have in the modern era, could also work on Batman. Yeah, I was pretty salty about it. But after reading this issue, all is forgiven and I'm foaming at the mouth waiting for the next issue.

I had high hopes for this book, once the solicits hit, and I had hoped we get "Smashes the Klan" levels of quality from Yang, rather than "Truth." And I think the issue not only met my expectations, but surpassed them.

Well done, DC.

[Sacred Knight]

Without taking into account that there's finally an interesting-looking Metropolis (straight from Superman TAS) and giant robots.
Seriously - there should be way, way more giant hulking robots in Superman stories.

Oh yeah, I love this take on Metropolis. Why they don't do this in the main line regularly just blows my mind. The B13 stuff was the only time they've tried something cool with the city, and unfortunately it didn't last. And 100% for more giant robots.

[manwhohaseverything]

I can't believe people are talking as if giant robots and lizards are something new to the franchise.Honestly, that's the average stuff you expect from superman franchise.

[Sacred Knight]

No one's saying its new, we're saying its not utilized as much as it could.

[Vordan]

Yeah I love Reis’ designs for Metropolis here. Really feel like Bendis didn’t let him go wild enough in designing how Metropolis looks. Glad he’s getting a chance to stretch his creative muscles more thanks to the Elseworld format.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Yes, but that battle was so incredibly confusing that I barely remember what happened in it.
That's one of the few cases in which Snyder should have done MORE slow motion than he did.

Agreed. It's only from my many rewatches of that particular scene that I've grown a greater appreciation for that whole sequence. That was the one movie wherein Snyder was trying to NOT use slow-mo. Eventually, someone will do a fan edit of Man of Steel that ADDS the slowmo back in

MAN of STEEL: The Snyder Cut

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Yeah I love Reis’ designs for Metropolis here. Really feel like Bendis didn’t let him go wild enough in designing how Metropolis looks. Glad he’s getting a chance to stretch his creative muscles more thanks to the Elseworld format.

Oh, I am so jazzed for this story. Reis has kicked off or drawn pieces of many a Multiverse story, but this looks to be his big one.

And Yang is absolutely on fire now after Superman Smashes The Klan, which I'm now doing with one of my classes. That book is even more amazing the second time.

[The Frog Bros]

Still haven't got my copy yet, hopefully this week. My kingdom for this book!

[Vordan]

One thing I’d like to see Yang let Reis do if Reis is sticking with the book: Let him design a new Superman & Batman costume for a new Elseworld take on the two from the ground up. What we got here is a very Golden Age inspired tale which is cool, but I’m interested in see how Reis would design a “modern” take on the costumes of the two from scratch.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

One thing I’d like to see Yang let Reis do if Reis is sticking with the book: Let him design a new Superman & Batman costume for a new Elseworld take on the two from the ground up. What we got here is a very Golden Age inspired tale which is cool, but I’m interested in see how Reis what design a “modern” take on the costumes of the two from scratch.

I'd love to see Reis do a brand-new steampunk Superman/Batman.

[HsssH]

Oh, I am so jazzed for this story. Reis has kicked off or drawn pieces of many a Multiverse story, but this looks to be his big one.

And Yang is absolutely on fire now after Superman Smashes The Klan, which I'm now doing with one of my classes. That book is even more amazing the second time.

If you don't mind, what are you teaching that MoS and SStK are good material?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

If you don't mind, what are you teaching that MoS and SStK are good material?

I'm an ESL teacher in Taiwan. Yang is Taiwanese-American, so they eat this stuff up. Superman Smashes The Klan, in particular, is just such a great teaching tool beyond helping them read for pleasure in English. It's got so much thematic and moral questions that my students can chew on.

As for MoS, I show the first Donner film and Snyder's film as a way of teaching Compare & Contrast Essays. It's what made me finally stop dismissing what Snyder was trying to accomplish with Man of Steel. There's issues with it, of course, but there's also issues with Donner's film. But those two films are a fun way for the kids to talk about something more exciting to them than the usual topics they get that are dull as &%#@

Comics, movies, TV, it's all fair game for ESL teaching.

I just showed those same kids the pilot for Superman & Lois as another point of comparison, along with the pilot for Smallville and the 1941 Superman cartoon where he flies for the first time. They love it!

[The Frog Bros]

Without taking into account that there's finally an interesting-looking Metropolis (straight from Superman TAS) and giant robots.
Seriously - there should be way, way more giant hulking robots in Superman stories.

My love for Superman fighting giant robots knows no limits.

As much as I have issues with certain choices in Snyder's Man of Steel, I will always give it credit for providing us with one helluva Superman vs. Giant Robot fight.

But generally speaking, there aren't nearly enough kaiju fights. Though like Bored, my love of Superman punching giant robots is boundless so maybe that's just my bias speaking.

A few years ago when they re-released Superman The Movie in the theaters for the anniversary edition, it was preceded by a Fleischer cartoon, The Mechanical Monsters. Classic robot action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LEfzup0aNs

[Vordan]

Interview with Yang about his plans for the series and the new villain Auteur.io: https://www.comicsbeat.com/interview...w-villain/?amp

The version of DC’s most iconic characters that I’m drawn to are rooted in their past. The versions of Superman and Batman that I’m most drawn to are rooted in the Golden Age. The versions of Flash and Green Lantern that I’m drawn to are rooted in the Silver Age. With the current era, Infinite Frontier, the freedom of the multiverse is I can deal with the versions of the characters I love the most. I can write versions of the character that are deeply rooted in the Golden Age, in the 1940s.

God I would love to get a BL Superman book from Yang that let him play with the same kind of ideas he was using in SSTK, just in a more mature story.

[Sacred Knight]

Yes yes yes yes yes yes.