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Grant Morrison: The 'Action Comics' Exit Interview

Brian Compton — 2013-02-06T09:00:00+00:00

There is no denying Grant Morrison is one of the premiere voices in the comic book industry today. Whether he is crafting stories about interdimensional, alien gods enslaving humanity or just reinventing the Justice League for a new generation, it is clear the man is a visionary. Particularly with respect to Superman, of whom Morrison had been telling a distinct, independently consistent saga for a number of years throughout a plethora of titles like JLA, DC One Million and Superman Beyond, concluding with what's arguably the writer's most beloved superhero work, All-Star Superman. But Morrison returned to the Man of Steel in 2011, writing the reboot of Action Comics for DC Comics' New 52 line, with the stated intention of taking a different look at Superman's early years, taking specific inspiration from the "New Deal" era of America in which the character was originally created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel.

With his run of Action Comics coming to an end in March, we thought this was the best time to chat with Morrison about his latest work with the Man of Steel.

(click to enlarge)

ComicsAlliance: You have a deep reverence for Superman as seen in All-Star Superman and Super Gods. Has there ever been a time in your personal life or professional career where you didn't have a strong connection with the character? What's kept you coming back to that character over the years?

Grant Morrison: I've always liked Superman, even since I was kid, but he was never my favorite. It was always the Flash when I was young, but I liked Superman and I particularly liked Superman stories when I was growing up all through the '60s and '70s. I was a big fan of that character and he's always been there, but I would say that as I've got older he's become more meaningful. He's become more symbolic and more useful as a symbolic tool to talk about big world stuff. I think in the past he was considered fun, but the older I've gotten and the more I understand what the character is capable of, the more fun its become.

CA: You spent the last year on Action Comics. You got to retell the beginnings of the Man of Steel as more of an everyman in jeans, t-shirt, the Bruce Springsteen sort of deal. However it wasn't long before we saw Superman in more of the traditional costume. How important do you think the symbolic nature of the clothes was to the evolution of Superman's character during your run?

GM: For me it symbolized that whole thing, because one of things Superman hasn't been able to do was show a particular development in his character. He didn't have an arc, as we say. So when [DC Comics Co-Publisher] Dan [DiDio] came to me and said that we wanted to revamp Superman, I had all these drawings, because I wanted to do an early years Superman story after I had done All-Star Superman at the end of his life. So I had a bunch sketches of Superman just in a t-shirt and jeans and I really loved the look and I kept coming back to it. So I said to Dan, "Can we use this look on Superman?" And he was really up for it, because it very much signaled a change. Once people saw that costume, they knew something different was going on with the character.

We still had to get to [DC Comics Co-Publisher] Jim Lee's costume, because it was the new official look for the character. But what that meant was I was allowed to tell the story of how Superman changed from this idea, this proto-idea, before there were any other superheroes. No one knew what a superhero was and all they had was this guy in jeans and t-shirt and a cape and that kind of influenced the look of every superhero on.

CA: Bouncing off that, you kicked off a Populist/New Deal flavor that reflected a lot of what is going on in America and other places in the world, especially following the financial crisis. What sort of contemporary or political issues influenced the rest of your run and especially coming up to the conclusion?

GM: Symbolically I'm not a big fan of dealing with politics in superhero comics because I think it diminishes both sides of the argument, but I do have my own take on things. I've got my own politics and so they do tend to find their way in. And really for me, its more symbolic, the way story winds up to tackle all those issues and looks at them through the perspective of Superman and Red Kryptonite and weirdness. So its gone underground. I think the early Superman was very much more aligned with the anti-establishment, anti-authoritarian current, because I think when Superman started out that he was what entered into.

So to bring it back at a time when people are more feeling that again seems very appropriate. But at the same time Superman has to be a lot of other things and that is what this story is about. As you'll see in the last couple of issues, that really is the paramount question, which side is Superman on? Is he on the side of the establishment or is he on the side of the rebel? And that's what it is really all about. And that is where all the tension is on the character.

CA: Fans can feel the end of your run approaching, especially when it says, "The Second Death of Superman" on the cover of issue #16. What can you tell us about the finale of the book?

GM: Well it's a big crazy story. It's something we haven't tried before and I wanted to do something we hadn't really seen in a comic before. So it takes place on a lot of different levels. We have the fifth dimensional character, the evil, psychopathic Lord Vyndktvx who is making his final move on Superman. So it's Superman under-fit, you know -- physically, literally, symbolically, conceptually. It's kind of an assault on Superman that is happening on more levels then you would normally see in a comic book and I wanted it to do more with the last question, "What does Superman represent?" as well. What is he in the new world? It's a big one and it's kind of psychedelic in that way and psychedelic in the sense that it implicates that he doesn't have specific way so everyone gets a chance to join in this one.

CA: What makes this the right time for you to move onto other projects?

GM: I just reached the end of what I had to say with Superman and especially after Super Gods, I kind of said my piece. And I began to be interested in different things and wanted to talk about different things, because I've spent so much time with superheroes. But it really is just the end of a phase for me. There is a bunch of other things I want to do. But certainly I am not laying off the superhero characters. Superman or any of these other are great fun to tell stories with, but other things were chasing my imagination.

CA: Fair enough. You worked with Rag Morales and a number of other artists on this run. Can you pinpoint any moments during the collaborative process where you felt the art team really nailed what you were trying to accomplish with you scripts?

GM: There's a ton of that. Especially because what I said to Rags and to Brad Walker up front was change things around. Change the storytelling, throw in your ideas. The collaboration has been fun. Especially the last few issues have been great depictions of the fifth dimensional entities and higher dimensional viewpoints and there's a little bit more of that in the upcoming stories. I've been pleased at what those guys have done.

CA: You're very well known for you psychedelic presence in comics, whether it's your Animal Man or The Invisibles. You've always managed to take that vibe and put it into a mainstream book...

GM: These things sort of go together. Look at Jack Kirby. Look at any comic you grew up reading. To me those things are psychedelic. Because I grew up as a kid in the '60s and '70s, the music even when I was reading those comics was psychedelic and they have always been inseparable.

I think one of the great things about comics is that you can do anything. There's no particular budget. Anything you can imagine, anything can you draw can go on the page. The word psychedelia literally means mind-manifesting, so if a comic isn't psychedelic [laughs] I don't know what is, because it is a physical product of someone's thought going directly on the paper.

CA: You said you were done with Superman, or at least done with him for the time being. Was there any territory you weren't able to explore during this run. I believe a few years back, you and Mark Waid had pitched out some Superman stories...

GM: Yeah, yeah...

CA: Was anything you weren't able to tell or wanted to explore with Superman or otherwise?

GM: No, not at all. I didn't want to do Luthor in Action Comics because All-Star Superman was all about him. So I didn't want to spend much time with him. I tried to set up a story where you could see the difference between Luthor at one end where he's a kind of cowardly, miserable, sniveling man and by the end of it he's a proper Superman foil. Like where he's a type of Moriarty-style figure. And you see him again at the end of Action Comics as the Luthor we all get. The absolute mastermind, the equal of Superman. So just by showing Luthor at the beginning and the end, we can suggest a character arc for him, so that's why I didn't use a lot of him.

Again, I didn't do much of the other ones, but I used the ones I wanted to do. There is no General Zod, but we did have a Phantom Zone villain, Xa-Du, who is the same type of character. What I pretty much wanted to do was introduce a lot of new guys. The big villain is not Mr. Mxyzptlk even though he comes from the same dimension. What I was trying to do was take something familiar and then make the scarier, badder, meaner version with fangs. So instead of Mr. Mxyzptlk, the trickster, we've got Lord Vyndktvx, the psychopath and they've both got the powers of a god.

There was no one I didn't get to, although I would have liked to have spent more time with Lois and Jimmy, but I think I spent just enough anyway. A lot of that was just setting up for other writers to do. The great thing that about Action Comics is that it is a monthly book and when I leave, someone else writes it. So you're not trying to tell a story that begins and ends in the same way that All-Star Superman is fairly complete story. Action Comics has been out forever, so it's a very different approach to telling something like that. You have to think about next month all the time and you have to think about the next guy coming in and that fact that Superman stories will never stop being told as long as people are capable of it.

CA: Going back to when you were writing JLA, a lot of people considered your take on the Electric Superman better than his own monthly books, at times.

GM: Oh, thank you, but I always tried to take the mythical aspect of him, because it's a superhero comic, so that's what I'm looking for and that's why you remember the Blue Superman for that one JLA story. Actually he was in some good stories, but he was just told in a way that didn't emphasize this big move I think.

CA: Your Image book Happy has gotten a lot of buzz. Can you tell us a little bit about what the future holds for you in terms of balancing creator owned projects and work for hire comics?

GM: I'm doing a bunch of stuff. Obviously Happy is wrapping up. I've got Annihilator over at Legendary. I'm doing the new Seaguy book with [editor] Shelly Bond at Vertigo. So those are the next few I'm working on finishing up.

CA: I know that you are going to be moving more towards creator-owned projects, but is there any character or book in the superhero world that you would like to try your hand at that you may have not tried before?

GM: Oh, no. Apart from the ones I am doing right now -- Multiversity has been a lot of fun, I've nearly finished that. I've just finished the first 20 pages of the Wonder Woman story that I'm doing, so that's been the most fun I've had in years. Wonder Woman is a really different approach to a superhero story and I am getting totally caught up in that.

Grant Morrison's final issue of Action Comics goes on sale February 20 in comics stores and digitally from ComiXology.

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Tons Of Superman TV Shows Get Collected In May

Brian Compton — 2013-02-01T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: DC, Television

Get ready for Truth, Justice, and the Television Way, because just in time for Superman's latest big screen adventure, Warner Bros. is releasing a pretty massive collection of the Man of Steel's small screen exploits.To coincide with their 90th Anniversary, Warner Bros. will be releasing a 30 disc box set called "The Best of Warner Bros. - Superman TV Collection."

Along with a 24-page collector's book, the set will include Seasons 1 of Smallville, Lois and Clark, and Adventures of Superman, as well as volume 1 of Superman: The Animated Series, the DC Universe animated movie Superman: Doomsday, and select episodes from both the Max Fleischer and Ruby-Spears Superman cartoons.

Here's the complete Superman TV Collection break down.

Smallville Season 1 - 6 discs
Superman Serials - 4 discs
Lois & Clark Season 1 - 6 discs
Superman: The Animated Series Volume 1 - 2 discs
New Adventures of Superman - 2 discs
Adventures of Superman Season 1 - 5 discs
DCU Superman: Doomsday Movie - 1 disc
Max Fleischer's Superman - 2 discs
Ruby-Spears Superman - 2 discs

This set will drop May 7 and is expected to retail for about $99.

[Via SHH]

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New 'Beware The Batman' And 'Teen Titans Go!' Images Arrive Online

Brian Compton — 2013-02-01T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: DC, Television, Animation

Cartoon Network's DC Nation block may not be making new episodes of Green Lantern: The Animated Series or Young Justice after this season, but in the "at-least-it-is-not-all-bad" side of the news, fans can now get a closer look at the shows' replacements.Apparently timed to coincide with Toy Fair (as toy and merchandise sales, among other things, affect the long term success of an animated superhero series), Warner Bros. Consumer Products has released new images of both Beware The Batman and Teen Titans Go! which will be replacing the much beloved animated adventures of the Emerald Knight and the covert team of DC sidekicks.

The CG-animated Beware The Batman will feature more of the recent additions the Dark Knight's rogues' gallery, such as Professor Pyg and Mister Toad, both whom figured prominently into the 2009 Batman and Robin run. Anarky and Magpie will also be on hand, although so far it's Pyg and Toad that are getting the most visual promo attention.

As for Teen Titans Go!, it will be a pseudo follow-up to the popular 2003-2006 Teen Titans cartoon, but with a more comedic, full-time chibi twist. The series gained traction this past year on DC Nation in the form of shorts, and was quickly approved to a full-on series. Though a few of the shorts dealt with the team battling villains, the new promo images seem concentrated on the team hanging out and having fun (or, in the case of Starfire, totally losing her cool).

Fans disappointed by the imminent apparent cancelations of GL and YJ have responded in a number of different ways, including voicing their displeasure through social media and pushing petitions protesting the decision.

The official DC Nation Facebook page responded with a post reading, "Thank you to all our fans for expressing just how much they love DC Nation on Cartoon Network. There's still more new Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series to enjoy in the coming weeks. And DC Nation isn't going anywhere; there will be plenty of new adventures coming your way later this year."

You can see the new Beware The Batman and Teen Titans Go! promo images below to get a taste of what's coming to DC Nation next year.

[Via Spinoff]

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'Space Pirate Captain Harlock' CG Feature Officially Landing In The Fall [Video]

Brian Compton — 2013-01-31T16:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Movies, Video, Anime, Animation

Fans have been treated to a number of images and trailers since news first broke that Toei would be rebooting Captain Harlock with a CG animated feature film back in 2010, but the latest promo footage finally cements that the antihero and his crew will be sailing onto the silver screen (and deep into our hearts) by later this year.Directed by Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) and produced by Toei Animation, Captain Harlock has been confirmed to make landfall, sometime during the fall of this year in Japan, and potentially many other markets, including North America. This is reportedly Toei Animation's most funded project yet, with a budget of $30 million. That may not seem like a ton considering that the original Toy Story had an estimated budget in the same ballpark back in 1995, but judging from the new trailer, SPCH seems to be doing just fine with that amount of booty.

Though this new Captain Harlock CG feature is technically a reboot, fans needn't worry about the series getting a dramatic facelift, storywise. The film will still follow the story of a scarred space pirate who rebels against totalitarian empires. The look of the character is even similar, although decidedly darker and more akin to contemporary video game cutscenes than, say, the original 1978 Space Pirate Captain Harlock animated feature.

You can scope out the new Space Pirate Captain Harlock teaser footage below.

[Via Crunchyroll]

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First 'Superman Unbound' Animated Feature Trailer Arrives [Video]

Brian Compton — 2013-01-31T14:00:00+00:00

Filed under: DC, Movies, Video, Animation

From Superman vs. The Elite to the recently-released The Dark Knight Returns Part 2, Warner Bros. Animation has been making it a priority to translate contemporary DC Comics storylines to the small screen the past few years and its looks like they will be keeping that ball rolling with their next film, Superman Unbound, inspired by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's 2008 Action Comics run. Animated bottled cities, ahoy!This new animated feature is primarily based on the aptly titled "Brainiac" storyline featured in Action Comics #866-870, which saw the Man of Steel face a Silver Age(ish) version of the alien AI over the fate of bottled civilizations and Earth alike. Sadly, the trailer does not seem to include Clark and Pa Kent sharing a moment over some refreshing bottles of ~~beer~~ root beer.

Taking on voice acting duties will be Matt Bomer (White Collar) as Superman, Stana Katic as Lois Lane and Molly Quinn as Supergirl (both from Castle), and of course Walter Bishop himself, John Noble (Fringe) as Brainiac.

The film is expected to be released later this year. Until then, you can check out the new trailer for Superman Unbound below. Be sure to keep your eyes open for when Superman pull his best Will Smith impression.

[Via The Nerdist]

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'Superman Lives' Could Find New Life In A Kickstarter-Funded Documentary

Brian Compton — 2013-01-30T14:00:00+00:00

Filed under: DC, Movies

It's no secret that the Tim Burton-Kevin Smith-Nicolas Cage, Superman Lives project is one of the greatest "what the hell happened there?" stories in the comic book movie realm. It seems that almost every few months, some new photo, video or news tidbit manifests online, challenging our notion of just how crazy could that project might have been (electric suit or greasy hair anyone?). Now, a new documentary aims to sift through all of the insanity to bring us comprehensive details... provided it can raise the capital on Kickstarter.Tentatively titled, The Death of "Superman Lives: What Happened?, Jon Schnepp's documentary intends to tell the story of the various attempts to get the Man of Steel off the ground between 1987 and 2006. His plan is to interview as many people involved with project as possible as well as recreate scenes from the script.

The goal of the Kickstarter is to reach $98,000, with the intention of having the film ready to preview by this year's San Diego Comic-Con International. As of press time, Schnepp has raised more than half that amount, with 39 days left to fund the remainder.

Of course, this Kickstarter comes right on the tails of new photos surfacing of Nic Cage sporting a very traditional-looking Superman suit. Well, as traditional as a rubber muscle suit can look, anyway.

If you can't wait for the doc to get funded, you can always check out our previous coverage of the failed project. Personally, I would pay in blood to see Superman fighting polar bears.

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Ridley Scott Producing Movie Based On Matt Kindt's 'Mind MGMT'

Brian Compton — 2013-01-30T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Dark Horse, Movies, News

Get ready for psychic spies on the silver screen, because Matt Kindt's critically-acclaimed Dark Horse Comics series, Mind MGMT is on its way to a live action cinematic adapatation care of none other than director Ridley Scott.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Twentieth Century Fox has picked up the rights to the psychic-espionage book and has tapped Ridley Scott to produce the film under his Scott Free Production company along with Dark Horse Entertainment's Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg.

Mind MGMT, which is written and drawn by Matt Kindt, focuses on a government agency that trains psychic spies and follows the investigation of the true crime writer, Meru, as she attempts to uncover the truth behind an amnesic airline flight and find one of the agency's former operatives who has gone rogue and seeks to break the organization.

As of the now, no writer has been attached to the project and Ridley Scott will not be directing the film. However, for those wishing to catch up on the series before it hits theaters, the first seven issues issues are now in stores and online through Dark Horse Digital. For the trade-waiters, a 200 page hardcover collecting issues 1-6 will be arrive in April.

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A Major Haul Of 'Dredd' Props Arrive On eBay

Brian Compton — 2013-01-29T16:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Movies, Culture

Fans have hopefully saved up some serious cred, because for those who have been aiming to get their hands on select props from the criminally underrated Dredd flick, now is the time. For the next two weeks, DNA Films and the Prop Store will be auctioning off a collection of exclusive items from the Dredd movie on ebay (no not the Rob Schneider one).Items include the Lawmaster Motorcycle, Judge Helmets, various hand props, and of course Judge Dredd's complete costume and utility belt. No word yet on if the Lawmaster Motorcycle actually drives and (fingers crossed) actually fires, but we can all dream.

Twenty new items will be added daily for the next 10 working days, giving would-be bidders a chance to review their funds.

This auction sadly won't increase the odds of fans getting to see a proper Dredd movie sequel. Despite decent DVD and Blu-ray sales, the film was a financial disappointment at the box office. Still, for the right price, winning bidders can create their own followup Megacity adventures at home.

[Via Robot 6]

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The CW's Teen 'Amazon' Take On Wonder Woman A No-Go... For Now

Brian Compton — 2013-01-29T14:00:00+00:00

Filed under: DC, Television

With the previous success of Smallville and the current buzz around its latest hit Arrow, it's no surprise that the CW is looking to expand on its DC comic line-up. Unfortunately for Wonder Woman fans, it looks like we're all going to have to wait a little longer to see the televised origins of Diana Prince.According to Deadline Hollywood, the Wonder Woman origin show Amazon has been passed on by CW execs. The word around the television campfire is that they felt the project needed more time, but if they are happy with the new draft of the pilot, it may get pushed into production sooner.

Currently, Amazon is being produced and written by Young Avengers writer and The_O.C. creator Allan Heinberg, who had relaunched Wonder Woman for DC Comics after the 2005-2006 crossover event, Infinite Crisis.

Wonder Woman's failed to get much standalone attention on the small screen since Lynda Carter's 1975-1979 portrayal of the braceleted badass, meaning Amazon is probably the heroine's best shot at a proper live action portrayal of Dianna since NBC's most recent (failed) attempt back in 2011. Of course, there's always the elusive Justice League movie.

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Ant-Man And Dr. Strange Movies Officially Coming In Marvel's Phase Three

Brian Compton — 2013-01-28T16:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Marvel, Movies

Better get ready to polish of your Eye of Agamotto, because it looks like Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange, is officially joining Ant-Man on his way to the big screen.With Marvel's Phase Two currently underway with Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it's no surprise that the movie arm of The House of Ideas is already forging ahead on its next set of films.

In a recent interview with MTV Splash Page, President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, dropped a few tidbits about Marvel's upcoming film line-up.

"'Ant-Man' is definitely part of Phase Three. Like 'Iron Man 3,' it's certainly set in the Marvel Universe, but it's also through the lens of Edgar Wright - which is the only reason we're making the movie... Beyond that... 'Ant-Man' is the only one officially announced, but you probably don't have to look too far to guess at the next list of characters we're toying with and beginning to develop."

Feige went on to pinpoint just which one of these characters was on the list.

"'Doctor Strange,' which I've been talking about for years, is definitely one of them. He's a great, original character, and he checks the box off this criteria that I have: he's totally different from anything else we have, just like 'Guardians of the Galaxy.' He's totally different from anything we've done before, as is 'Ant-Man,' which keeps us excited."

Ant-Man and Doctor Strange don't have proper release dates just yet, but it's safe to assume fans will be waiting until at least 2015.

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IDW Set To Launch New 'X-Files' Comic, Reprint Classic Material

Brian Compton — 2013-01-28T14:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Television, IDW, News

Cue Mark Snow's creepy theme music, because new The X-Files stories are on the way. In a partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products, IDW Publishing has announced that they have plans to bring the hit, sci-fi/horror franchise as a brand new comic series starting in June.While there is no word yet on the creative team for the new book, its stories will pick up where the last film, The X-Files: I Want To Believe, left off. Along with the new series, IDW also plans to reprint unspecified collections of Mulder and Scully's adventures, presumably those published by Topps and DC comics sporadically through 1995-2009.

Jeffrey Godsick, President of Fox Consumer Products shared his thoughts about the new partnership in IDW's official press release:

"The fans of THE X-FILES have remained loyal to the series since its conclusion. What better way to continue the show's legacy and give back to them than through new stories in a different medium. IDW has worked with a number of our Fox properties, and we know they're going to do great things with these iconic characters."

This is not the first time IDW Publishing has taken a call from the paranormal agents. In 2009, IDW Publishing teamed-up with Wildstorm Productions for the 30 Days of Night/X-Files crossover.

IDW's new X-Files comic launches in June.

[Click Image To Enlarge]

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