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Joe Hollon
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Joined: 08 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 13675

Posted: 29 March 2005 at 9:39pm \| IP Logged \| 1

JB,

I'm a huge fan of your Superman comics and in recent years have begun reading some pre-Crisis Superman stories as well. Obviously when you accepted the Man of Steel assignment you were undertaking a major operation. My question for you is what were your main inspirations for writing Superman? The Christopher Reeve movies? Curt Swan comics? Anything specific that you "studied" or consciously tried to emulate in your version of the Superman mythos?

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John Byrne
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Robot Wrangler

Joined: 16 April 2004
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Posted: 30 March 2005 at 6:42am \| IP Logged \| 2

Part of the homework I did preparing to take on Superman was to study up on as much material as I could find. First the comics, of course, and there I sifted through almost fifty years of often very contradictory material. I looked at the serials, the George Reeves TV series, the Fleischer cartoons and, of course, the Christopher Reeve movies. I also checked out how the character had been handled in his Superboy adventures. With all that percolating in my brain, I took the parts that seemed to be most consistent thru-out, and then added a few modernizations.

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Danton Lopes
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Take The Dare

Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: Brazil
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Posted: 30 March 2005 at 12:49pm \| IP Logged \| 3

I seem to remember reading somewhere else that originally you didn't want to do a reboot. You even had your plans to how you want Superman to be and how to get there.

Can you elaborate, please? For example about the various kryptonite colors, Bizarro World, Smallville... summarizing: what were your plans at that time?

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Thanos Kollias
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Joined: 19 June 2004
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Posts: 5009

Posted: 30 March 2005 at 2:43pm \| IP Logged \| 4

Don't worry Danton, the awful way DC has been handling Superman the past few years, merging him with the older version and taking so much of the "Byrne version" away as they go, I think we will get to see what JB had in his mind then, when DC ask him yet again to bring life to the character. ;-)

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Al Flores
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Joined: 25 December 2004
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Posts: 511

Posted: 30 March 2005 at 7:44pm \| IP Logged \| 5

I completely dislike what DC has done since Mr.Byrne finished his run on the MOS.
Sad to see what superman has become. sigh

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Carlin Trammel
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Joined: 16 April 2004
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Posts: 78

Posted: 30 March 2005 at 8:58pm \| IP Logged \| 6

JB,

You mentioned the Fleischer Superman cartoons as one of the many things you reviewed for inspiration. Would you be willing to share your thoughts on those cartoons and what (if any) specific impact you feel they had on your version of Superman?

Thanks.

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