Anybody think Johns on Superman is a giant mistake?

[DragonPiece]

It makes sense business-wise. Superman sales are pretty mediocre, and with Morrison gone, the Superman books needs a strong flagship akin to Snyder/Capullo on Batman.

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Actual that is false. Lobdell's Superman was in the top 50 or 60 for sales for most of it's run which is pretty good for a comic with a bad writer. Even then, this obviously will sky rocket sales even more and move it away from cancellation.

[Auguste Dupin]

Forgot, he also is a executive producer for batman v superman. so it's make sense he take the writing duties

The guy is the executive producer of every DC comics movies. Doesn't mean squat.
Especially since "executive producer" is just a fancy word for "liaison between DC and WB that will not have anything to do directly on the movie."

[dancj]

Johns runs hot and cold for me, but his Superman and the Legion of Superheroes, Escape from Bizzaro World and Braniac storylines were some of the best Superman stories I've read in ages so I'm more than happy to have him back.

[Raiden]

It is true large minority doesn't like Johns superman, but it makes perfect sense to put him on superman. Superman is DC's flagship character (yes he is), and you know there is something wrong when his books are selling less than 40k. I don't see what was special about johns Shazam, all this praise is coming desperate fans who want see Billy in his own comic. That said, johns is not the only writer capable of developing underdeveloped properties.

[Magnum Miracles]

I've only read one issue of Superman's New 52, and I thought it was a plain mess.

Felt terribly cliched, and this was the first time i notice a comic have bad paneling. So much going on in them it was ridiculou,s and made for a cluttered first issue. Hopefully Johns can make this as good as Superman: Unchained or Action Comics.

[Rakzo]

I would have prefered to have him on Shazam of course and he wasn't my first choice to take over Superman (that would have been Charles Soule), but it makes sense in terms of business and his ideas sound pretty good so far, I'm sure that he will at least deliver a better worldbuilding and story than Lobdell.

However, I hope that he doesn't follow the same trend from the other popular writers who worked on New 52 Superman. Morrison failed, Snyder failed, hopefully Johns will have better luck.

[Ascended]

How did Morrison fail? I stopped paying attention to sale figures after the first year of the New52, but as far as I know, Morrison's run was in the Top Ten that entire time, and was in the top three or five for at least the first six months or so. I think it may have ended in the Top Twenty but that's still pretty damned good, especially considering the mega-events Marvel started over-hyping (AvX, NOW,).

[Ascended]

I don't see what was special about johns Shazam, all this praise is coming desperate fans who want see Billy in his own comic. That said, johns is not the only writer capable of developing underdeveloped properties.

Well, Im not one of those desperate fans hoping to see a Shazam solo (though I'd certainly try it out) and I enjoyed his story. The thing that made it work (for me) was the pure delight that you could see in Billy as he and Freddy ran around acting like a couple of kids, and the underlining message of "family is what it can be, not what it should be." I liked that Billy wasn't perfect, but that his powers derive from "good intentions" Telling kids that being good is a choice and not something you're born as is a great message. The Harry Potter-ish approach to magic fit well, and all in all it took the Shazam mythos and wove the best ideas and concepts together really well.

All that said, Johns can re-invent and/or save a troubled franchise with the best of them, but Superman isn't broken and hasnt been for the last three years. All the Superman franchise needs is some time for the stink of late post-Crisis (and Lobdell) to wear off and some solid creative teams on long runs where they can really dig into the character and build something good.

I expect Johns will give the title a serious sales boost for a few months, but after the first arc ends sales will slip back down. I think in order for Superman to become a real sales power again, he needs a writer who can really explore the crazy, wonderful things the character can get into without looking like a standard superhero cliche. Johns is not that writer, he lacks the high-concept imagination and story structure ability. Greg Pak is doing exactly what Superman needs, but he isnt a big enough name for people to notice. Years from now, people will look back on Pak's run and say it was a highlight of Superman's career in this Age.

[Rakzo]

How did Morrison fail? I stopped paying attention to sale figures after the first year of the New52, but as far as I know, Morrison's run was in the Top Ten that entire time, and was in the top three or five for at least the first six months or so. I think it may have ended in the Top Twenty but that's still pretty damned good, especially considering the mega-events Marvel started over-hyping (AvX, NOW,).

Morrison's run started decreasing its sales quickly, it wasn't one of the Top Ten sellers for most of its course.

Also, I wasn't talking really about sales, I was talking about quality.

[Blacksun]

I would have prefered to have him on Shazam of course and he wasn't my first choice to take over Superman (that would have been Charles Soule), but it makes sense in terms of business and his ideas sound pretty good so far, I'm sure that he will at least deliver a better worldbuilding and story than Lobdell.

However, I hope that he doesn't follow the same trend from the other popular writers who worked on New 52 Superman. Morrison failed, Snyder failed, hopefully Johns will have better luck.

Snyder failed? I just don't see how.

It is true large minority doesn't like Johns superman, but it makes perfect sense to put him on superman. Superman is DC's flagship character (yes he is), and you know there is something wrong when his books are selling less than 40k. I don't see what was special about johns Shazam, all this praise is coming desperate fans who want see Billy in his own comic. That said, johns is not the only writer capable of developing underdeveloped properties.

for sure there is other writers that can do it, but Johns brings lots of atention and sales. For DC is hard someone that can do it

[jade_nova]

I don't think Johns will be good because if his writing on Green Lantern is any indication then he'll be writing from event to event without any pause between them.

[Raiden]

Well, Im not one of those desperate fans hoping to see a Shazam solo (though I'd certainly try it out) and I enjoyed his story. The thing that made it work (for me) was the pure delight that you could see in Billy as he and Freddy ran around acting like a couple of kids, and the underlining message of "family is what it can be, not what it should be." I liked that Billy wasn't perfect, but that his powers derive from "good intentions" Telling kids that being good is a choice and not something you're born as is a great message. The Harry Potter-ish approach to magic fit well, and all in all it took the Shazam mythos and wove the best ideas and concepts together really well.

All that said, Johns can re-invent and/or save a troubled franchise with the best of them, but Superman isn't broken and hasnt been for the last three years. All the Superman franchise needs is some time for the stink of late post-Crisis (and Lobdell) to wear off and some solid creative teams on long runs where they can really dig into the character and build something good.

I expect Johns will give the title a serious sales boost for a few months, but after the first arc ends sales will slip back down. I think in order for Superman to become a real sales power again, he needs a writer who can really explore the crazy, wonderful things the character can get into without looking like a standard superhero cliche. Johns is not that writer, he lacks the high-concept imagination and story structure ability. Greg Pak is doing exactly what Superman needs, but he isnt a big enough name for people to notice. Years from now, people will look back on Pak's run and say it was a highlight of Superman's career in this Age.

You misread my post, I was not dissing Billy or Johns. I said Johns is not the only writer capable of work building, there are other writers to who can write Shazam solo. Superman is the flagship character of DC and he needs johns more than anyone because of falling sales.

[Raiden]

I don't think Johns will be good because if his writing on Green Lantern is any indication then he'll be writing from event to event without any pause between them.

You can call every story arc an event if you want to, but it isn't really event if it doesn't cross over with multiple other books.

[Rakzo]

Snyder failed? I just don't see how.

Again, talking about quality. Snyder's run (just like Morrison's) received pretty mixed reception from both critics and fans, certainly not the overly positive reaction to his Batman run.

[LoneNecromancer]

Again, talking about quality. Snyder's run (just like Morrison's) received pretty mixed reception from both critics and fans, certainly not the overly positive reaction to his Batman run.

Is Unchained over now? I haven't heard anyone talk about it in ages.