"Smallville Season 11" Comic Book Talkback (Spoilers)

[suss2it]

DC has announced that Bryan Q. Miller will be writing Smallville season 11, the comic. I still haven't finished S10, but I'm glad that BQM is finally on another book. It's gonna be released digitally first, and then physically, which I'm looking forward to. I hope that DC doesn't cut the pages in half like what they've been doing with their other digital exclusives.

And between Buffy, Angel, Charmed and now this, it seems a lot of shows are living on through comics.

 

[Peter Paltridge]

Is there really a demand for that?

 

[Wonderwall]

Was there really anything left to be said? It's not like the finale left a lot of questions to be answered.

Well on the plus side maybe we'll actually see him in the Superman costume this time

 

[Chaos Yoshi Mage]

And just when you thought it was finally over...

So, is Smallville one of the 52 universes?

 

[rggkjg1]

i cant wait for this. was this originally going to be a regular novel or a series of novels? oh well, i'd rather have this in comic form . i am honestly really excited for this. i can't remember the last time i was truely excited about an upcoming comic book. i know alot of fans have "hated" the show over the years, but i loved it. i felt the show got better and better with each season. the biggest thing i want to see is tom welling clark/superman finally meet bruce wayne/batman. maybe they can make that a long story arc which begins during the tv show and has them first meet at that point in time. i really hope smallville season 11 ends up lasting a few years either as an ongoing or a series of mini series' and one shots.

the only bad things i can think of is that they're using the new 52/man of steel superman costume. THAT'S NOT THE SUPERMAN COSTUME! END OF STORY. THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THE COSTUME CHANGE! although, that artwork in the above link is the best i've seen the new costume look. digital shmidgital. i want the print comic released first!

here's another article from tv guide and features gary frank artwork. the other picture looks better than frank's art .

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Smallville-Season11-Comic-1042919.aspx

 

[Peter Paltridge]

here's another article from tv guide and features gary frank artwork. the other picture looks better than frank's art .

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Smallville-Season11-Comic-1042919.aspx

Egad, how bad is Frank at this, then? He looks like Alfred E. Neuman.

 

[Wounded_Dragon]

Was there really anything left to be said? It's not like the finale left a lot of questions to be answered.

Well on the plus side maybe we'll actually see him in the Superman costume this time

Honestly, after I read the article my internal youtube pulled up the Vader Noooo! clip. The continuities were such a mess by the end of Smallville that ending it was a kind of mercy killing.

 

[rggkjg1]

Egad, how bad is Frank at this, then? He looks like Alfred E. Neuman.

gary frank is a great artist. he might go down as one of the best superman artists when it's all said and done. i wasnt implying that he was a bad artist, i just thought the other picture looked nicer. although, this art does look kind of "iffy" when compared to his previous superman work.

 

[Simpler Simon]

Egad, how bad is Frank at this, then? He looks like Alfred E. Neuman.

Egad. What happened, Gary Frank? I wasn't diggin' the digital cover, but it's inspired compared to this. I guess even one of this generation's great Superman artists has to phone it in sometime...

As for the actual comic, I'm excited. Smallville was never a paradigm of good writing, but it's a series that's been a consistent part of my life since high school, and there's a certain comfort in knowing this iteration will still be around. Plus, it's Bryan Q. MIller, who absolutely knocked it out of the park with the Steph Brown iteration of Batgirl. And you'd hope now that the series is in comic form, there'd be less restriction on character rights and "budget" constraints...like we might actually see a Superman fight that's actually...super?

EDIT: Totally said 'egad' without realizing Peter had used it first in the quote above. That's how bad this cover, is I guess!

 

[VictoryStar]

And just when you thought it was finally over...

So, is Smallville one of the 52 universes?

Pretty sure you can make a comic without it needing to be in any of the 52 universes. Though we are short one now considering the Wildstorm verse is now completely gone while the Vertigo one still stands because of Hellblazer so I guess they could make this into it's own universe. I personally wouldn't want that but if you do that's fine.

 

[PretenderNX01]

Anybody else pick it up? I thought it was pretty good.

The variant cover was definitely better looking than Gary Frank's was (he's usually great but I guess he can only do Chris Reeve Superman and not a Tom Welling face)

The inner artwork had just about everyone looking right to me. Lois's hair looked too red in my copy though. Minor coloring quibble aside, I thought the detail on even the background characters looked good.

And they explained his costume change from the CGI bit in the finale to this one.

I actually like this nu-Superman costume better than New 52 or the new movie's design and it looks more Smallville-y.

 

[PretenderNX01]

I used to think they should have just declared Smallville an Earth # then the continuity freaks would finally stop complaining.

Speaking of the comic, I picked up a print copy of it, I liked it.
They explained the costume change (I like this nu-look better than the other new looks for Superman in Nu52 and the movie)
I thought the characterization was on and everybody looked right. The artowrk was great, even background extras have details and are a mix of people.

I have a Superman book I enjoy now

BTW from what I saw, the digital variant was a way better cover. I guess Gary Frank can't do a Superman if he doesn't look like Chris Reeve.

 

[Simpler Simon]

I have a Superman book I enjoy now

Pretty much this. The first issue easily tops most of the Superman-family books in the New 52 line. I'm glad Bryan Q. Miller got this assignment but DC seriously needs to throw him on a second book, because the man is spot on when it comes to giving these characters relatable voices. Essentially what we've got here is all the best elements of Smallville, and none of the angsty melodrama garbage or budgetary constraints.

The Pere Perez art does take a bit of getting used to - he's channeling the likenesses of the actors without actually aiming for a full-on photo-realistic look like most tie-in comics go for. That's probably the better choice in the long run - I've found photo-realism tends to stifle fluidity and facial expressions in other tie-in books as the artist puts too much focus into getting the look right.

And the actual story is intriguing so far, too - the best reveal being what Lex's memory loss in the series finale means for his relationships to the other characters. Eager to see how things unfold.

 

[Antiyonder]

I'm glad Bryan Q. Miller got this assignment but DC seriously needs to throw him on a second book, because the man is spot on when it comes to giving these characters relatable voices. Essentially what we've got here is all the best elements of Smallville, and none of the angsty melodrama garbage or budgetary constraints.

I would have been satisfied either way as the show is one of my many guilty pleasures, but yeah, I had a feeling upon reading it that it was above the show.

Heck, if the first issue is an indicator, I find it to be one of the many examples of writing to the older audience without trying to insert needless content.

 

[Astrolupine]

Behold, Smallville's interpretation of the caped crusader.


If I was a person of lesser silence, I'd be rolling on the floor with laughter right now.

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2012/06/batman-to-appear-in-smallville-comic-book/

 

[Jin Kazama]

Batman's Smallville sidekick? Stephanie Brown.

The first two issues were pretty good, but I've been back-and-forth with the idea of getting it monthly. If this is more than a one-off appearance, then it's officially on the pull list. Miller back on Steph is amazing news.

If I was a person of lesser silence, I'd be rolling on the floor with laughter right now.

Honestly, given the way the show portrayed many of it's hero guest stars, I'd say this about lines up with Smallville perfectly.

 

[Road to Gotham]

COOL that BQM has found a way to use Stephanie Brown.
That is one UGLY looking Bat-Uniform. ***YUCK***

 

[Antiyonder]

Honestly, I'm suprised that the discussion online overall on this is pretty low. I mean it's not the onscreen appearance many fans hoped for, but still.

Anyway, I'm wondering if Chloe's reference to Batman from Fortune (Where she mentioned meeting several heroes including a Billionaire with high-tech toys) will be mentioned.

 

[Jin Kazama]

Steph's been booted for Barbara Gordon in the book.

The reason? She's not iconic enough.

I've always found this argument worthless. The reason Barbara is iconic is because whenever they do Batgirl outside for the comics, it's always Barbara. Of course she's going to be iconic then. The next time they use Batgirl in a cartoon, throw in Steph or Cassandra. She'll become "iconic" in the process to all the non-comic reading younger fans who only know of the show. But if you never give it the chance, and just go straight to Barbara, you never even give them a shot, and thus the argument is void.

I might not have been happy with them ditching characters like Steph and Wally post-relaunch, but giving a reason and leaving them on the shelf? I respect that answer. I might now like it, but I understand it and accept it.

Miller wanted Steph on the book. He's flat out said it. Didio axed it because he didn't want it (in an alternate universe, comic-only story no less), changing art and dialogue to match what he wanted. That I get upset about, and that I don't accept.

Dammit......

 

[Kouji Tamino]

Not happy with this at all.

Time to throw my money at other companies.