Filmmakers from Hollywood have been trying their hands at comics for while now. Names like Kevin Smith, Joss Whedon, and J. Michael Straczynski all came from the screen to the shelves at your local comic book shop. And the door is open the other way too, as many comic book writers have been making waves in movies and television as well. The latest person to make the jump from one to the other is Max Landis, the writer of the found footage superhero film ‘Chronicle’.
According to /Film, the screenwriter will provide an 8-page backup story in ‘Action Comics Annual’ #1 with art by Ryan Sook, who’s done work on ‘Jonah Hex’ and ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’. When asked about how he approached Superman, Landis had this to say:
“What would I do if I had the keys to Superman? Honestly, my opinion of Superman has always been that he should be a normal guy. In as much the sense, we don’t go too cartoon-y, we don’t go too far into the idea that he’s an alien. We just focus on how fucking weird it would be to be Superman. I would love to write a Superman comic, a series or an arc, which is about how bizarre it is that he’s this guy who grew up in Kansas and he finds out that he’s an alien. They sort of brush that over constantly, but this is a guy who, if the New 52 timeline works out, grew up watching ‘Alien’, ‘E.T.’ and ‘Independence Day’. And then he finds out, ‘Oh, that’s me? I’m from space. I don’t feel like I’m from space’. That’s what’s so special for me. He’s not a billionaire. He’s not a fucking Amazonian princess. He’s not even a particularly picked-on guy. He’s not Peter Parker. He’s just a dude. And to grow into a slightly smarter than average dude and find out you’re Superman, that’s fucking interesting to me… I feel like he should be a way-in for readers, which is a way that he really hasn’t been used as. That’s what I’d do with him.”
You can check out the first page of his story in ‘Action Comics,’ as well as the first few pages of the regular story written by Sholly Fisch with art by Cully Hamner, after the synopsis of the issue below:
This special oversized issue continues to explore the secrets of the “missing five years” between when Clark Kent came to Metropolis and the present day. And in the wake of Brainiac’s attack on Metropolis, Superman faces his first Earth-born villain: the Kryptonite Man! Plus, in the back-up story, witness the DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 introduction of The Atomic Skull!
‘Action Comics Annual’ #1 hits shops this Wednesday, October 31st.