If Tom Welling is your Superman
February 9, 2012 2 Comments
…then do I have a story for you. DC Comics announced today that they would be launching Smallville Season 11 in comic form. The comic will be written by Brian Q. Miller and drawn by Pere Perez. This isn’t the first time a comic has continued where a TV series has ended. Although, I can’t think of any that weren’t a Joss Whedon series (Buffy, Angel, Firefly). What I find interesting is how this is getting released. Beginning on April 13, a chapter will be released weekly in a digital format. Then, on May 16, a print copy that collects the chapters will be released. There’s currently no word on pricing or length of each chapter. While I’ve always had a mild fascination with Smallville (have the first 7 seasons on DVD), I’m not really interested in this. What I always found interesting about Smallville was that it was about Clark Kent and not Superman. It was an alternate take on everything, and not just another entry into the Superman mythos. Once you put him in the costume and make him Superman, all of that is gone. All you have now is another take on Superman. You’ve lost what made Smallville unique. Of course, I could be convinced to buy it if this turns out good, but my point about it not really being Smallville will still remain.
An X-Men fan through and through, he writes on comics with a blend of awe. cynicism and intrigue. Jacob is a stickler for continuity and annoys the other writers of Comicdom Wrecks! with lengthy presentations about the how's and why's of comic book storylines with numerous graphs and charts.
A student of the Dark Knight, J.R. stays in the DCU unless forced (often kicking and screaming) to other comicdom areas. More practical than his co-writers, J.R. believes that a good story outweighs the need of fitting everything in right away. The details can be sorted out later.
So the Comic of the TV show of the comic. Although you have to admit a Superman comic is a great idea, can’t think of how they thought of that.
I can understand what they’re going for. Over 10X as many people were watching Smallville than buying are currently buying a Superman comic book. So yeah, there’s an untapped market that DC is hoping to reach. The problem with trying to get people who are watching the television shows and movies to read comics is that neither DC or Marvel really do any marketing to the general public. All marketing is done so that only those already reading comics see the ads. (DC running some commercials for The New 52 is the exception.) Specifically speaking to this Smallville comic, something should have been ready to go when the television series ended. As the final episode ends, tell fans how they can continue to follow these characters. Or at least get something ready to advertise it on the DVD.