Looking at the sales numbers for DC Comics' big three or Trinity, it's pretty evident that Batman (and his offshoot titles) is the main draw of DC's readership. In fact, over the last four months Batman from Scott Snyder has sold more than the combined totals of both Superman and Wonder Woman. It may seem like a self-explanatory observation with the current success of all-things Batman related abut there was a time when Superman was king of the comic world. Thirty years ago Supes was still sitting on the comic book throne but by the mid 80's he was struggling to crack the top 10 as the X-Men titles from Marvel were absolutely dominating the sales chart. The resurgence brought by the wholesale reboot of the DC Universe last September spiked Big Blue's numbers but that appears to be on a downward trend. Perhaps the answer to this phenomenon lies in the very story told in DC's latest direct-to-video entry "Superman vs. The Elite." A story that seeks to answer is their a place for the small town morals Superman in today's harsher, grayer urban society. Those that have seen the film or are familiar with the original comic run know that it took Superman giving the world a "wake-up call" to remind them of his importance. After George Pérez, Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens have all been given a crack at revitalizing the Man of Steel, DC now turns to Scott Lobdell to remind readers of that importance.
Yes, I turned in a 25 page pitch for the series that examined every aspect of Superman, his friends, his enemies and over a dozen story ideas... but I've found over the years that the series often takes on a life of its own once the characters and the conflicts and the interactions start to show up on the page.
Just imagine how boring it would be if you sat down and told me exactly how your life was going to play out every month for the next 12 months -- who you were going to meet, what you were going to say, how they were going to act, what super powers you were going to use to defeat them? Then imagine the likelihood that your life would play out exactly the way you predicted it would over the course of the next twelve months.
HuffPo: Will you be carrying on the continuity, or pulling a new New 52 and tweaking things slightly?
SL: "Pulling a new New 52!? I love your questions, Bryan!
Let me say that there will be tweaking aplenty -- but I think it is going to be in terms of tone and attitude and not in history or continuity. We have no plans to reveal Lois is Superman's daughter from an alternate future or that Perry White is actually an amnesic Jonathon Kent who has been in witness protection.
But yes, you'll see from the very first issue -- in fact, even in the Annual and the Zero issue before it -- a Superman that is going to feel very of the moment.
HuffPo: What is your favorite thing about the Superman character and how do you guys hope to bring that to book?
SL: I like the sheer uniqueness of Superman. The fact he is stuck on a planet of six billion people -- who he is the self-appointed champion of those people -- but that he will never be one of them? How awesome is that? If it were me I would probably take a deep breath and fly into space and find a planet where people were more like me (could you imagine what that would look like) -- maybe a planet that wasn't so reliant on what I did every day. But not Kal El. He's there day-in and day-out putting his life on the line for a people that alternately put him on a pedestal or steer clear of the most famous alien on Earth.
Again, there are over six billion people on the planet, and only one Superman.
(And when you consider that the other two "supers" are a girl who thinks you've gone totally native and a clone of you who was created to be the world's greatest living weapon -- he has more in common with the rest of us than he does with his own 'family'.)
That said, too often Superman is seen by readers as "too perfect" -- that he always makes the right choice. But the truth is, every choice has consequences and when all the choices you make are super choices you have super consequences.
The very first issue is going to see the results of several choices which are going to have ramifications for months to come!
Sales Chart For DC's Trinity
Welcome the new creative team of Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort as they take us back to the days when Jor-El learned the truth about Krypton’s imminent destruction! Plus: More on the introduction of the Eradicators!
Written by: Scott Lobdell
Art by: Kenneth Rocafort
Cover by: Kenneth Rocafort
Variant Cover by: Kenneth Rocafort
Color/B&W: Color
Page Count:32
U.S. Price: 2.99
On Sale Date: Sep 26 2012
About The Author:
CBM writer for a decade+.
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