DiDio and Lee talk Superman on Bloomberg TV

DC Comics co-publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee talk about everything Man of Steel, from the new Superman Unchained comic series (and new villain) to the blockbuster feature film.

I’ve been a long time fan of Jim Lee. Ever since his X-Men run for Marvel Comics, I’ve thought he was easily one of the top artists in the game and he most definitely still is. Now as a co-publisher of an entire line with DC Comics though, Lee has significantly more on his plate.

Just the fact that he’s taking on Superman, and with writer Scott Snyder no less, has me jazzed to see a super-book that does the Man of Steel justice. From the sounds of things, they’re really putting something different together too.

I love the idea of the giant splash pages – especially for a character like Superman and an art style like Lee’s. But enough of my flowery expounding, have a look at the interview for yourself and listen to what Lee and Dan DiDio had to say about the Man of Steel film, how comics are read in the modern age and what Superman means to the world at large:

(*note- transcript of the most interesting notable comments runs after the video)

On the evolution of Superman:
Dan Didio: “He was first created in 1938 and he had a very particular appeal at that time [to uplift the population]. As we say, Superman is the ultimate immigrant story. He comes in from another planet with no parents, learns the American life, learns the ideals and wants to come out and help everyone he comes in contact with. At the core of it resonates so much that as we change the world around Superman, we find ways to contemporize him and really play into the ideals and the expectations of what a hero is today.”
On what he keeps in mind as he tries to reinvent the Superhero:
Jim Lee: “The really cool think about Superman is even though he has changed he has stayed the same, at his core, superhero with all the greatest powers you would expect but he has tremendous humility and a moral compass. So that part of him has not changed and that’s why he continues to be an inspiration and an icon. “
On what he would like to achieve with the new Superman series:
JL: “I was working with Scott Snyder and we said if we could only tell one Superman story, this is what we would tell. If you only have one shot you want to do all the classic element of superman. We have lots in there. We have Lois. We have Lex Luther doing diabolical things. There is a new villain named Rathe. I think we can reveal that now. That is an exclusive. Scott will hate me for that [Laugher]. We are adding things to his mythology and that’s how you keep him fresh and relevant.”
On whether digital or physical comic book consumption is more popular:
DD: “There is great symbiosis between the two, it’s not one catabolizing the other. They are really building on together. We are also growing in the bookstore market. We do collections. We see ways to reach people in any channel possible.
JL: “Part of the strategy is to continually innovate in print and digitally. The first issue of “Superman Unchained” there is a poster that is part of the story. It is interactive in a physical sense. The image is a panel within the story. Then you turn the poster to the other side that is page four or five of the story, and it is a page six. You fold it back up, and you keep reading. That is something when you read on the ipad, it will show up as a regular splash page so that kind of experience is something you could only get in the print product.”
On whether “Man of Steel” the Movie helps moving the brand:
JL: “Sure. It is a year-long celebration of the character. Having a fantastic movie like “Man of Steel” come out is an awesome event. We are doing a lot of things in publishing digital comics. Everything you can think of we are doing with superman, so we are excited with the movie… We are sworn to secrecy. All I can say is it was a great movie.”
DD: “Anything that draws attention to our characters and our medium. It helps to reinvigorate everything we are doing. You have to go back to the sensibility that comic book storytelling we are doing. You have to go back to the sensibility that comic book storytelling is one of the first pure American art forms. It was something created in the United States. It is something we hold dear to us. The fact that all of this material spins out from this course material gives us a sense of pride.”

Video and transcript credit: Bloomberg Television