J.M. Straczynski Pulls The Trigger on Superman

by Vince Brusio

Because he is J. Michael Straczynski, because he has already proven whatever he thought he had to prove, he knows when to “pull the trigger” to get something done. In the case of Superman: Earth One Volume 3 (OCT140340) for DC Comics, Straczynski was smart enough to look beyond his nose and think about where the series would take him before he came to a crossroads. Thus, he was able to make time to blow up the outside world, hunker down, and write his latest chapter undisturbed for the Earth One DC series. In this exclusive interview, the writer explains the choices lined up for the Man of Steel, and how this latest installment is emotional, and with “a lot of personal resonance.”

Get Superman: Earth One Volume 3 (OCT140340) on February 4th at your local comic shop!

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PREVIEWSworld: For those who may not be up to speed on what you’re doing with the Superman: Earth One storyline, how would you talk about it to an audience at a Comic Con? How would you talk about it to an audience that wouldn’t be familiar with your previous books?

J. Michael Straczynski: I think I would explain it to both of them in pretty much the same way, and in the same terms.  For me, the book — especially this volume — has a very mainstream appeal while at the same time advancing the Superman mythos in ways that feel very contemporary.  On one hand, the book is about power: how you should use it, when you should use it, and in what service?  What do we do when we discover that we stand absolutely alone, with no one to back us up, and everything is on the line? 

In volume three, someone from Kal-El's past, from Krypton's past, comes looking for him...and makes it clear to every government on Earth that it's in their vested interest to step aside and let what happens...happen.  So it then falls to a handful of others, on either side of the equation — friends, allies and potential enemies — to decide what to do about that ultimatum.  In the end, it's about how one person, the right person, at the right moment, can make a decision, make a difference, than can change the future.  Maybe that's Superman, maybe that's someone else, maybe both...but the point is that you don't have to be Superman to make a choice that can change the future forever. 

PREVIEWSworld: New readers may want to know if the story behind Volume 3 is something you wrote independent of the first two installments. Would they have to go to Volume 1 first in order to put this edition in perspective?

J. Michael Straczynski: Volume Three is written in such a way that it can be read mostly independent from the first two books in that you don't need to have read them to follow this story, though it adds a lot of dimension and background if you have read them.  Certainly that would be ideal.  But you can't always count on or assume that level of familiarity.  So yeah, you can absolutely follow the story of volume 3 if you haven't read 1 and 2.  It would just be wonderfully spiffy if you have.

PREVIEWSworld: How did J. Michael Straczynski sit down to write this new chapter in Superman’s life? Did you set aside a week and put up a “Do Not Disturb” sign outside of your office door? Or was it something that was slowly brought together in between notes scribbled at airports and other engagements, and you picked a few days to sew it all together? Tell us how you made the magic work?

J. Michael Straczynski: Fortunately, I tend to write these things with an eye to what's coming down the road.  I always knew that these first three volumes would be interconnected, that we'd set up things in 1 and 2 that we'd pay off in 3. To pull that off I kinda had to know what was gonna happen in v3 as early as when I was writing v1.  So in a sense, I've been working on this for over two years, since v1 appeared.  When it came time to pull the trigger, I shut the door as much as possible so I could focus on this and not much else for as long as it took to get it done.  I have to give a lot of props to the editors, and of course to Dan DiDio, for giving me the creative freedom to write pretty much whatever I wanted.  So the result is in many ways a very emotional story with a lot of personal resonance. 

PREVIEWSworld: Without giving away too much, what scene(s) would you most likely want to blog about as being representative of the tone or fun factor for Superman: Earth One Volume 3?

J. Michael Straczynski: There's a scene in which Superman has been momentarily de-powered, cannot possibly survive the next blow, the death-blow...when the least likely person in the world who could save him, does so, at terrible personal cost.  I think it's going to be the scene most people are talking about after the book comes out.  It turns the Superman mythos upside-down but in a way that is totally consistent with what we've set up so far.

PREVIEWSworld: What is the most challenging aspect about writing a story featuring the Man of Steel?

J. Michael Straczynski: I think it's more a question of what you don't do than what you actually do.  Anyone who grew up with a given character, an iconic character, is like a tree with dye poured into its roots when still small.  It forever colors your perspective; you're invariably drawn to that version of the character.  For you, that is THE iteration of that character.  (For me, it was the Curt Swan version.)  If you're going to do something new, nostalgia can be a nearly lethal impediment. 

This is intended to be a Superman for the next generation, not a rehash of the Superman of my generation.  So whenever I put him in a given situation, there was always a dichotomy in my head between what my Superman would do, a Superman who grew up in a very different social context, versus a Superman who has come of age in the 21st century.  Fortunately, there's a part of my brain that has always been and will always be sixteen years old, and I can just say, "Well, what do you think?"  That voice has rarely led me astray.

Anyone who has ever been to my house knows what Superman means to me.  The walls are covered by original Curt Swan artwork, Alex Ross lithographs, movie posters and original art, the shelves are chockablock with literally dozens of Superman statues and figurines and hundreds of collectibles, and my collection of Superman comics is pretty awesome.  Superman is my number one icon, above everything else out there, and the chance to reinvent that character for the 21st century has been one of the proudest moments of my career.  And the terrific sales of the first two volumes — far outstripping DC's expectations, spending months and months atop the NY Times best-seller list — are the best confirmation that we're doing something right.  I hear constantly at conventions from fans who say they never bought a Superman book before the Earth One hardcovers...and that makes the effort worthwhile.

Dan DiDio has said I can continue to write these books for as long as I like, and believe me, I intend to keep doing them as long as there's an Earth One line.  Then someday, some other writer will reinvent Superman for the 22nd century...as we constantly reinvent and reinterpret Shakespeare...and that's amazing.  I just wish I could be there to see it, to see all the stuff I never thought the character could ever do.

What fun...what fun....