The New Year’s 52: Supergirl

In the course of talking to comic creators this year, I started to think about their unique talents and what I think they would be best suited to. Inspired by all kinds of wonderful ideas I’ve seen online and heard from creators, I’ve put together my New 52. These are the 52 books I would publish if DC’s offerings were up to me and, as my friends and I have had a good time discussing them, I thought I would share them with you.

I tried to consider the actual feasibility of these titles, not only in the sense of immediate sales but in their ability to expand DC’s brand long-term. I also recognize that this is a dramatically simplified version of what DC actually has to do. As such, I made a couple of rules for myself.

First, as I don’t have the same knowledge of the creators’ availability and timeliness as an actual editor, I decided that I would allow myself access to any writer currently working in comics, but that I could only assign a creator to one book. Second, I tried not to put a writer on the same book that they’ve already worked on, though some were moved to similar concepts or allowed to expand short work they’ve already done. Finally, while an actual relaunch might do well to include some new books, I limited myself to preexisting titles and IPs for this project.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, on why I’m right, why I clearly screwed up, who should be illustrating the series, etc. But, regardless, I hope you enjoy.

Supergirl is a character that DC has tried to push but rarely known what to do with. Just look at the number of characters and series to hold the name and you’ll find ample evidence of that. Just looking at her history in the New 52 you’ll find five separate runs with entirely different directions scattered around a number of editorially mandated crossovers. What’s even more amazing is that I’ve personally found every one of those interpretations to be quite strong. And, of course, that’s nothing compared to being Kara Zor-El, Matrix, Kara Zor-L, Linda Danvers (the human), Linda Danvers (the angel), and Kara Zor-El again. Needless to say, there are a lot of ways to go with this character, but what’s the best way to introduce her to the New Year’s 52?

SENYC Report: The Days of High Adventure – An Interview with Tony Bedard

Tony Bedard has been a presence in comics since the early 90s, working for a huge number of publishers in nearly as many roles. Bedard excels at writing clever and engaging comics that often explore the edges of their universes, where his ideas are free to grow.

Bedard currently writes Supergirl for DC and, in reviewing that series, I realized how interesting it would be to talk to him for the site. It took a while to find a time, but I was able to sit down with Tony at Special Edition: NYC to talk about Supergirl, editing, and even superhero movies. I hope you’ll enjoy hearing from him as much as I did.