Smallville Season 11 Premieres on comiXology Today!

The wait is over! Smallville Season 11 issue #1 is now available on comiXology!

When the series finale of Smallville aired last year fans were left wanting more. Now Smalville returns in this all-new digital exculsive series form DC Comics available on comiXology tights, capes and all! with issue #1 avalable in CMX-HD for only $0.99 there has never been a better time to be a Smallville fan!

Get ready for the next era of Smallville! Season 11 starts now!

What happens after Clark puts on the costume? Can he keep his Super-secret quiet? Pere Perez illustrates Bryan Q. Miller’s story in the first chapter of this ongoing series.

This all-new digital exclusive comic book launches now! Picking up right after the series final of the long running fan favorite television series Smallville by taking the characters up, up and away in an all new direction based on the orginal show!

Now is the perfect time to check out Smallville season 11 with issue #1 available for only $0.99! Get started on what is sure to be one of the not to miss superman series of 2012 right now!

Be the first to experance the next exciting chapter in Smallville’s history! Whatever you do…don’t miss out! Download Smallville Season 11 issue #1 today!

SUPERMAN: THE COMPLETE NEW KRYPTON SAGA $0.99 SALE

From Superman’s Pal Jimmey Olsen #1 to the critically acciamled War of the Supermen, the saga of New Krypton tested the Man of Steel beyond anything to his very core!  With a brand New Krypton in orbit around the sun, an entire planet of supermen has become Earth’s Newest neighbor. With nearly every member of the superman family left changed by recent events in the DCU this is the event that set a new status quo for the worlds first Super Hero. A fresh saga for a new age this is the event that explored the history of Superman’s home world like never before, with a last stand that won’t soon be forgotten.

Forswearing his ties to earth Clark Kent takes up the mantle of Kal-EL in order to lead his people into a new age of freedom and prosperity as their own independent civilization separate from an earth they could rule as Gods. For the first time ever we’re releasing the entire New Krypton saga beginning with the city of supermen story arc in adventure comics #671 all the way through Superman #700   that’s a total of 86 books available for download and the best part is, we’re kicking things off with a Sale!

That’s right on March 4th and 5th fans can download every single issue of the groundbreaking New Krypton saga for just $0.99 an issue. Now that’s a detail even Lex Luthor wouldn’t turn down. Hurray though while the savings may be more powerful than a loco motive it’ll be over faster than a speeding bullet! Don’t delay Get them on the DC comics app and Web Store right now!

A Curtain Call For Comic Books

Despite technical woes, legal disputes, and more bad press than even the Daily Bugle would care to print, the Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark continues to swing onward towards becoming one of the biggest musicals in history! It’s officially scheduled to open next month after over a year of false starts and while many have claimed the production seems doomed to fail, it is still anyone’s guess as to whether or not the web-slinger will hit the jackpot with theater goers.

One of the projects biggest hurdles has been it’s production. With a budget busting $65 million expense spread out across it’s massive cast, crew and elaborate effects and set design critics have argued that comics and superhero’s have no place among chorus lines and cat walks. True the high flying antics of many a spandex clad super-hero may not be the most practical choice for a Broadway musical, however that doesn’t mean the medium is without dramatic merits. Check out the list below for some awesome comics worthy of the spotlight but won’t break the bank in the process.

1. Little Nemo in Slumberland: Forget Little Orphan Annie, this classic Winsor McCay strip has the making’s of a sleeper hit. Worth it almost for The Marquee art alone this comic from the early 1900′s serves as a charming reminder of the magic of childhood and the dreams that go along with it. With the right set design and a proper score McCay’s timeless tale could speak to a whole new audience of all ages eager to dream once again on the great white way.

2. Jenny Finn Doom Messiah: Imagine if Oliver twist had been adapted for the stage buy H.P. Lovecraft.  Forget happy go lucky Street Urchins and get ready for a macabre mystery of the highest order. Seeing Mignola’s art translated to a stage production would be spectacular, and just imagine the stage directions “Exit pursued by an enormous tentacle monster” that’s just theater magic waiting to happen.

3. Pinocchio Vampire Slayer: Traditional Puppet Theater pre-dates the modern musical by several hundred years, and while current Off-Broadway hits like Avenue Q have reinvigorated the genre for a new generation, the most famous marionette of all time could use a bit of a re-boot. The SLG graphic novel would provide the perfect source material for an action packed take, savvy among the disturbing trend of vampirism fanatics on the up-swing of late. check it out today!

4. Tom Strong: A role tailor made for a true leading man of Broadway and with the success of Moore’s other work across different mediums Tom Strong seems a likely choice for the next disowned adaption. Tom ,Tesla and The Modular Man!  A homage to the science hero’s of pulp and dime novel’s past would work well in an industry known for revivals.

5. Archie: Speaking of revivals, a lot has been going down in Riverdale lately, a wedding, a funeral and the arrival of a brand new character helped finally bring this classic title up to speed with the rest of the industry. Sure Archie and the gang have have had their share of Musical endeavors in the past, but why not go out on a limb and do something a little different? maybe exam the genre mainstay in a darker light? or perhaps give it the Mel Brooks treatment?

6. Batman/Superman: Without a doubt DC will likely cook up something cool to stake their claim in the theatrical world (although it should be noted there was in fact a short lived superman musical in the sixties, seriously!) but rather than rely on over-top stunts and an expense score, why not go in the direction least expected. Opera. Think Gotham City Soprano’s mixed with a fresh take on the Kryptonian Space Opera!

7.  Hawkeye & Mocking Bird: What’s not to love about the drama of star-crossed lovers unfolding before a live audience? The comic event that brought Marvel’s unlikely pair of Love birds back into lives of mainstream readership seems to operate on an almost shakepearean level. For comic relief just add Deadpool after all who needs aerial acrobatics when you can break the fourth wall and go “meta” with a little gunplay?

Of course these are just simple ideas offered up in the wake of the media frenzy that is Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark. As of this posting it’s scheduled to open on March 15th 2011 fans of live theater, comics and U2 should check it out. In the meantime however, check out the awesome comics hitting the app this week and while your at it why not tell us which one’s you’d love to see get the ol’ razzle dazzle treatment?

Villains are white meat, right?

This week in Action Comics, Superhero Captain Pilgrim (Dan K.S. Givingston) turned Lex Luthor into a turkey and then unleashed a certifiable feast of pain on him.

Okay, none of that happened, just an excuse to use a Thanksgiving-related cover redo. The issue in truth concerned a long term prophecy Vandal Savage has been waiting to see come about and pitted Savage against Luthor in a battle that will continue next month. It was great to see these two villains, who’ve previously had little cause to brush up against one another, interact and Paul Cornell deftly handles both the characters’ histories as well as the history of the DC universe to weave a new tale in an old context. This is the kind of retroactive continuity you can appreciate, one that derails no previous stories and instead just layers them with new content. Through his run, Cornell has seemed eager to weave a path, using villains mainly, through the DC universe, showing the spectacular character of Luthor’s brilliance and megalomania while giving each space he visits a loving spotlight. I’ve seen complaints here and there about the absence of Superman in Action Comics, but I think this headlining comic is doing just what it should: playing with the whole shared universe while showing why Superman, and in this case his villains, are at the center of it. With Superman’s own comic floundering, it’s something we can be thankful for.

Superman: Earth One – What is it worth?

DC Comics recently released the first in a new series of graphic novel format Superhero books set outside of continuity, Superman: Earth One. Ostensibly, the goal is to reinvigorate headlining characters, so far Superman and Batman books have been announced, by modernizing them and giving them space to breath outside of the often limiting confines of mainstream comic history. These books will be guided by marquee creative teams. In the case of Superman that means Joseph Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis. The question that I’m interested in engaging with isn’t the question of quality of the book, it was competent but not incredible. I’m more interested in the success of the project. Do we need an Earth One line? Is it going to add anything to the overall landscape of comicdom or is it an exercise in excess?

1. What has it got to add?

The graphic novel format is more new reader friendly. Many non-comic readers are reluctant to engage with a medium that isn’t finite. They don’t have interest in following story lines continually and would rather be able to pick up whole stories just as they would pick up a novel or watch a movie. These books can perhaps function as an entree into superhero fiction for this audience. In this regard, Superman: Earth One succeeds. It covers all of Superman’s origin story and introduces his supporting cast while completing the story of Superman’s first triumph against a major threat.

Elseworlds and other media representations have a symbiotic relationship with mainstream continuity. The continuity gives birth to them, they’re like parallel time lines (literally in this case), and their successes then influence the continuity in the return. For example, the Smallville T.V. show character Chloe Sullivan was recently introduced into mainstream continuity as Jimmy Olsen’s ex-girlfriend. I think in this regard the Superman: Earth One book will be most successful. The book’s take on Superman is at times great and at other times a bit too angsty for my taste. Where the book shines is in its take on supporting characters. Lois Lane is allowed to be confident instead of starry-eyed and Jimmy Olsen is possessed of the kind of lunatic bravery that has the power inspire a hero to take up his cause. The notion that humanity inspires Superman through these remarkable humans and through the notion of journalistic integrity and truth is the greatest success of this book.

2. Should you read it?

I’m of two minds on this. On the one hand, it’s an entertaining Superman tale, one that would make perhaps a great movie. On the other hand, it’s not particularly exceptional. I’d say it’s still worth reading since it’s the start of a new series that could improve greatly now that it’s moved past the confines of the origin tale and because the take on supporting characters is so great.

3. Is Earth One worth it?

I’d say definitely. In the same way that the Ultimate universe once reinvigorated the Marvel universe, the Earth One universe might reinvigorate the DC universe. Also, I hope the graphic novel format will take off. It seems as though a transition is coming for comics over all though it’s a bit hard to chart what form the industry will take. Superheroes have gained much more visibility in the last ten years through the myriad movies that were produced, but we haven’t seen that translate into a growth of the industry. Perhaps Superhero graphic novels can help in making that happen.

Other Books by J. Michael Straczynski