DC sends Superman into space and gives Batman his last rites
EXCLUSIVE: Dan DiDio of DC Comics talks about Superman leaving "Action Comics" (and Earth), the revival of "Adventure Comics" and major changes in Gotham City that will mean "a close to the existing lore ... the last rites of Batman."
I was in New York a week ago to work on a long feature about the singer Beyoncé but (just to prove what a hopeless fanboy I really am) I was more excited about making my first visit ever to the offices of DC Comics, which was no disappointment. After a tour, I sat down with Dan DiDio, the senior vice president and executive editor of the DC Universe, which means he oversees the bread-and-butter, ongoing comics titles. He had plenty of scoop to share, including this Andy Kubert cover above, which is the variant for the upcoming landmark Batman tale "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader"...
Geoff Boucher: So, Dan, what are you most excited about right now?
Dan DiDio: Oh, gosh, that’s a good one. We’re coming to the end of “Final Crisis” right now and I’m not only excited about people reading the ending of “Final Crisis” but I’m also excited about getting to the end of “Final Crisis.” We did “Countdown to Final Crisis” and “Final Crisis” itself so this has been a long story for us. I feel we’ve accomplished a lot of goals and we created a lot of excitement. But more importantly it’s a point of change for us in DC Universe again. And once you know the ending is coming, it’s in sight, that’s when you start getting worked up about what’s coming up next. That’s what I really get jazzed about. We have two really big events that spin out of “Final Crisis” each in its own way and affecting our key franchises, Superman and Batman. The first thing we’re going to see is called “Battle for the Cowl,” that’s going to be a book that features nearly every member of the Batman family
GB: Even Ace the Bat-Hound?
DD: [Laughs] Probably. We have a writer-artist team on this right now that’s scouring every book possible to see what they can include in these two-page spreads they want to build of all the characters that inhabit the Batman universe. So it’s a lot of fun for us. I always like those things because it’s a big noisy adventure book. And whenever you do one of those, the level of excitement is always right there on the page. You hopefully have people respond properly to that.
GB: There’s a lot going on with the Batman franchises.
DD: There are a lot of questions about what’s going on with the Batman line of titles. We just recently canceled three of the longtime Batman-related series: "Birds of Prey," "Robin" and "Nightwing." They all end in February. Then in March, “Battle for the Cowl” starts and once it does, you will get to understand how the Batman universe is starting to be realigned.
GB: And what about the Man of Steel?
DD: Simultaneous to “Battle for the Cowl,” we’re going to be making changes in Superman’s world as well. Superman has been the star of "Action Comics" for its entire run, essentially, and he will be leaving it and handing it over to new characters. The only time he hasn’t appeared in the book, I believe, was after “The Death of Superman,” in those years. So this is a lot of fun for us. I think that’s going to get people excited and scratching their heads and wondering what’s going on. In his own book, "Superman," there will be a dramatic turn as the hero leaves Earth and it seems like he’s leaving for good. We’ll follow his adventures in space more so than his adventures on Earth, and that’s a big and exciting thing. We’re also bringing back one of the old-time favorite titles of DC Comics, "Adventure Comics." It will be ...
Five questions for artist Tone Rodriguez
Tone Rodriguez is a journeyman artist, having drawn for many companies over the years. He's a fixture at many of the local (L.A.) comic book shops and gatherings and is an approachable, affable guy. A guy looking for love! In our Times video feature, ICU, he talks about a chance encounter, and then a not so chance encounter, on a bike path.
We wish him luck with his biking pal. He was also cool enough to answer five quick questions:
How much of your day is spent drawing when you have a deadline project, and does that affect your personal life (ICU-related)?
When I'm working -- I'm working all day -- I'll get up around 9 or 10, get to it, spend all day at the drawing table, and get to bed around 1 in the morning or so. Now, breaks are real important -- take a break about every two hours or so. I'll head out on a 7-mile bike ride just as the sun is starting to set. It's still light as I get back -- that lasts about an hour and a half. So it’s a good day. Right now I'm being lazy -- playing Scrabble online, waiting on a phone call. Tomorrow I'll take off all day, and the following ... I have two days to catch up on, so it's full speed then. My personal life takes place around my working. My pals will drop by, the door's always open. We might grab some eats, watch a DVD. I'll excuse myself back to the table while they're still watching the flick. I might even watch from the table. As for the women in my life, well that’s not really a go at the moment. I was in a relationship -- it ended while I was still under the impression it was still going on. So I guess you can say I'm single. I'm not really putting any effort into looking, to be honest. This last relationship really threw me for a loop and I guess I'm not really looking to start a new relationship all over. Heck, what will probably happen is that I won't be expecting to get into a new relationship and one day I'll look around and boom, that will be the day I realize I'm in a new relationship.
