MattBrady
08-03-2006, 05:21 AM
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/Superman/Pepsiman/pepsiman_cvr.jpg" align="right">Sure, sure, there were the four <i>Superman Returns</i> prequel issues, each focusing on one of the main characters in Superman’s life, and showing what they did while he was away, but what about that <i>other</i> <i>Superman Returns</i> comic book?
No, not the adaptation. The <i>other</i> book.
Yeah – that 45 page one by Gail Simone and Derec Donovan, with a Jim Lee cover?
Missed that one?
Don’t go to the comic shop for it – hit www.dailyplanet.com to find it (though be warned – the comic and the site are a touch audio-heavy, so you’ll want to turn down your speakers in advance). This comic was part of Pepsi’s massive <i>Superman Returns</i> tie-in that spanned June and July. Created by DC’s Creative Services Department for Pepsi (you’ll notice more than a few Pepsi and Diet Pepsi trucks in the story), this four-panel strip spanned six weekly chapters, and starred Superman, Lois Jimmy Olsen, Lucy Lane, Perry Whit, Mercy, and of course, Lex Luthor.
With the whole comic now said and done, we caught up with Simone to talk about the gig.
<b>Newsarama</b>: So how did you get on the gig? Was it pitched to you, or did you have your name in to do something related to the movie?
<b>Gail Simone</b>: I’d just come off of a surprisingly well-received run on <b>Action Comics</b> with the brilliant John Byrne, and DC exec Bill Rosemann - a great editor and a fine writer himself, had enjoyed my take on Superman and Lois in particular, bless him. So it was his idea, he asked me out of the blue.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/Superman/Pepsiman/pepsiman1.jpg" align="left">I’d never done anything like this, both in terms of the semi-animated nature of the presentation, and the marketing tie-ins. I’m hugely attracted to anything I haven’t done before...I love a challenge. And Bill was very specific that all parties concerned wanted a real comic story, soda trucks notwithstanding. Bill said he definitely wanted it to sound like my work, which was very generous of him, I think.
And it may sound silly, but I really adored writing Superman and his supporting cast, and missed them terribly even in the short while between the end of our <b>Action</b> run and this project.
Finally, I had a sense that the film was going to be something very special, and as a fan of Bryan Singer, I found the whole idea very appealing. I just saw the movie last night and loved it, so I was delighted to have even a small connection.
<b>NRAMA</b>: Set up the premise of the story - this is movie continuity, and is set...when? Is the opening scene from the movie, or is this all extra-continuity to the film?
<b>GS</b>: It’s designed so that it doesn’t shred either the film’s or the comics’ continuity, really. You could place this story somewhere in the comics’ timeline fairly easily, but it also runs nicely with the scenarios suggested in <i>Superman Returns</i>.
<b>NRAMA</b>: The comic's presented in a very cinematic format - were you aware of that as you wrote the story, or did you treat it like a regular comic story? Obviously, the delivery and timing of the panels being presented to the reader are being done with an eye on emotional impact, so were you thinking more like a "director" than a "comic book writer" this time out?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/Superman/Pepsiman/pepsiman2.jpg" align="right"><b>GS</b>: Yeah, to some degree. I had no hand in the animation, so I was delighted at the obvious care in the presentation of the audio and movement. I think they did a fantastic job interpreting the script while keeping the integrity of Derec’s terrific visuals. It was all I’d hoped for and more.
I wouldn’t say I was thinking like a director, but certainly I was looking for moments that would translate to limited movement, and still be striking. The goal was to have something with the fun of an old Saturday film serial, with those kinds of crazy cliffhangers.
It’s a beautiful presentation, and a really cool way to present something that feels like real adventure comics on a computer monitor. I’d like to do more, actually.
<b>NRAMA</b>: That said, did you approach this as six discreet chapters, or one larger story, and it was broken up for you?
<b>GS</b>: Oh, definitely chapters. As I said, the idea was to emulate those old chapter serial films, with more of a modern spin.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/Superman/Pepsiman/pepsiman3.jpg" align="left"><b>NRAMA</b>: Any more pressure than normal on this, given that, no offense meant, but your comic work is seen by a portion of the comic book reading populace, while this could potentially be read by a portion of the Pepsi/Diet Pepsi drinking populace, which is, arguably, a little bit bigger?
<b>GS</b>: Just a <i>little</i>.
No, it was actually a lot of fun, and again, I credit Bill Rosemann for that. He made it very clear that the integrity of the characters and story were paramount. And I have to give props to Pepsi, because they were really supportive of that. They had an idea in mind for a way to include their product without the appearance of taking away any of Superman’s dignity, and I think that was pretty cool.
But if six million people see it, that’s great. I’m proud of what we did, and the art, by Derec and Udon, looks fantastic.
<b>NRAMA</b>: Finally - what kind of guidance were you given in regards to the characters? You've handled them all before, obviously, but were there subtle differences between say, the comic book version of Superman, Lois, and Lex and their theatrical versions?
<b>GS</b>: Really, not so much. Bryan’s version of Superman is one I can believe in, and his Lex is simply good, evil fun. It was a bit of flying in the dark when I started, not knowing much about the actual film, however. In fact, I started my story with Superman rescuing a plane, rather than the magnetic bullet train we eventually went with, because there’s a plane rescue in the film. Other than that, truthfully, Superman is Superman. It takes belief to write him well, and that transcends all else. Hopefully, we got that part right!
No, not the adaptation. The <i>other</i> book.
Yeah – that 45 page one by Gail Simone and Derec Donovan, with a Jim Lee cover?
Missed that one?
Don’t go to the comic shop for it – hit www.dailyplanet.com to find it (though be warned – the comic and the site are a touch audio-heavy, so you’ll want to turn down your speakers in advance). This comic was part of Pepsi’s massive <i>Superman Returns</i> tie-in that spanned June and July. Created by DC’s Creative Services Department for Pepsi (you’ll notice more than a few Pepsi and Diet Pepsi trucks in the story), this four-panel strip spanned six weekly chapters, and starred Superman, Lois Jimmy Olsen, Lucy Lane, Perry Whit, Mercy, and of course, Lex Luthor.
With the whole comic now said and done, we caught up with Simone to talk about the gig.
<b>Newsarama</b>: So how did you get on the gig? Was it pitched to you, or did you have your name in to do something related to the movie?
<b>Gail Simone</b>: I’d just come off of a surprisingly well-received run on <b>Action Comics</b> with the brilliant John Byrne, and DC exec Bill Rosemann - a great editor and a fine writer himself, had enjoyed my take on Superman and Lois in particular, bless him. So it was his idea, he asked me out of the blue.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/Superman/Pepsiman/pepsiman1.jpg" align="left">I’d never done anything like this, both in terms of the semi-animated nature of the presentation, and the marketing tie-ins. I’m hugely attracted to anything I haven’t done before...I love a challenge. And Bill was very specific that all parties concerned wanted a real comic story, soda trucks notwithstanding. Bill said he definitely wanted it to sound like my work, which was very generous of him, I think.
And it may sound silly, but I really adored writing Superman and his supporting cast, and missed them terribly even in the short while between the end of our <b>Action</b> run and this project.
Finally, I had a sense that the film was going to be something very special, and as a fan of Bryan Singer, I found the whole idea very appealing. I just saw the movie last night and loved it, so I was delighted to have even a small connection.
<b>NRAMA</b>: Set up the premise of the story - this is movie continuity, and is set...when? Is the opening scene from the movie, or is this all extra-continuity to the film?
<b>GS</b>: It’s designed so that it doesn’t shred either the film’s or the comics’ continuity, really. You could place this story somewhere in the comics’ timeline fairly easily, but it also runs nicely with the scenarios suggested in <i>Superman Returns</i>.
<b>NRAMA</b>: The comic's presented in a very cinematic format - were you aware of that as you wrote the story, or did you treat it like a regular comic story? Obviously, the delivery and timing of the panels being presented to the reader are being done with an eye on emotional impact, so were you thinking more like a "director" than a "comic book writer" this time out?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/Superman/Pepsiman/pepsiman2.jpg" align="right"><b>GS</b>: Yeah, to some degree. I had no hand in the animation, so I was delighted at the obvious care in the presentation of the audio and movement. I think they did a fantastic job interpreting the script while keeping the integrity of Derec’s terrific visuals. It was all I’d hoped for and more.
I wouldn’t say I was thinking like a director, but certainly I was looking for moments that would translate to limited movement, and still be striking. The goal was to have something with the fun of an old Saturday film serial, with those kinds of crazy cliffhangers.
It’s a beautiful presentation, and a really cool way to present something that feels like real adventure comics on a computer monitor. I’d like to do more, actually.
<b>NRAMA</b>: That said, did you approach this as six discreet chapters, or one larger story, and it was broken up for you?
<b>GS</b>: Oh, definitely chapters. As I said, the idea was to emulate those old chapter serial films, with more of a modern spin.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/Superman/Pepsiman/pepsiman3.jpg" align="left"><b>NRAMA</b>: Any more pressure than normal on this, given that, no offense meant, but your comic work is seen by a portion of the comic book reading populace, while this could potentially be read by a portion of the Pepsi/Diet Pepsi drinking populace, which is, arguably, a little bit bigger?
<b>GS</b>: Just a <i>little</i>.
No, it was actually a lot of fun, and again, I credit Bill Rosemann for that. He made it very clear that the integrity of the characters and story were paramount. And I have to give props to Pepsi, because they were really supportive of that. They had an idea in mind for a way to include their product without the appearance of taking away any of Superman’s dignity, and I think that was pretty cool.
But if six million people see it, that’s great. I’m proud of what we did, and the art, by Derec and Udon, looks fantastic.
<b>NRAMA</b>: Finally - what kind of guidance were you given in regards to the characters? You've handled them all before, obviously, but were there subtle differences between say, the comic book version of Superman, Lois, and Lex and their theatrical versions?
<b>GS</b>: Really, not so much. Bryan’s version of Superman is one I can believe in, and his Lex is simply good, evil fun. It was a bit of flying in the dark when I started, not knowing much about the actual film, however. In fact, I started my story with Superman rescuing a plane, rather than the magnetic bullet train we eventually went with, because there’s a plane rescue in the film. Other than that, truthfully, Superman is Superman. It takes belief to write him well, and that transcends all else. Hopefully, we got that part right!