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Post by hondobrode on Nov 18, 2017 2:58:38 GMT -5
It suddenly hit me tonight after re-reading a Silver Age Supergirl story, Kandor has been in various storylines over the years, but I truly think it could at least be a mini-series, if not an ongoing.
I mean, c'mon, Gotham Central ran 40 issues.
We could have loads of cool characters including Flamebird & Nightwing, and integrate some cool sci-fi with a potential super-race of heroes, villains, or a super-powered mix, their place in the DCU, the politics involved in that, their culture and interaction with the Superman Family and other aspects we could see more of like the Phantom Zone, etc.
There's so much potential there just bursting with energy and promise.
There could be lots of points to touch upon like Thanagar, Rann, the Legion, more of the Fortress of Solitude, super pets, maybe the Bizarro world as a running set of characters as the flip-side of Kandor, etc.
At the very least it could be a limited series.
Would everyone be super ?
What would they do for a shot at Superman's fame and power ?
What would the Kandorian government do to contain it ?
What if there was an election, or a junta, that threw everything into chaos ?
What if there were a power struggle between Kandor, the Superman Family, and maybe the GL Corps, or the New Gods ?
What if Darkseid decided to leverage the power of Kandor ?
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Post by Icctrombone on Nov 18, 2017 13:26:59 GMT -5
Although I've been stockpiling all Superman and Action issues, I haven't read them all yet. What is the current status of Kandor, Is it in another galaxy?
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Post by hondobrode on Nov 18, 2017 13:48:13 GMT -5
Huge Superman fan but I'm behind on the current stuff, though it looks fantastic.
Not sure what Kandor's Rebirth status is.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 18, 2017 15:21:43 GMT -5
Kandor of the Silver and Bronze Age was a little too Utopian to provide much story meat, which is why it tended to be used sparingly. I think the best you'd get, of that era, was pretty much what we got in the World of Krypton mini-series, that DC published in the early 80s (the so-called "first mini-series"). Most of the material, though, had been presented in previous stories, particularly the World of Krypton back-up stories in the Superman comic, in the early 70s (the Kryptonite No More run). There were some great little stories there.
Outside of that, you had the Nightwing & Flamebird stuff; but, those tended to be kind of run-of-the-mill.
Where I thought there was potential was when Superman succeeded in returning Kandor to its proper size, on a derelict world he had discovered; but, the process destroyed the buildings and infrastructure of the city. The citizens were going to have to rebuild, from scratch. Meanwhile, the planet was actually a dimension shifter and was about to switch back, forcing Superman and Supergirl to leave the Kandorians to their future. DC really didn't do much with it, other than the Krypton Chronicles mini-series, where they had been rebuilding; but, were just a framing device for more history of the El family. I would have liked to have seen more of the Kandorians trying to rebuild their city, without the benefit of the technology that was lost. I don't think you could get a series out of it; but, you could probably manage at least a mini-series, if not a maxi-series.
John Byrne and Mike Mignola explored his post-Crisis revamp krypton, where Kandor was just a city on the planet. There really wasn't anywhere to go with that. Byrne's intent was that Krypton and its legacy, part from Kal-El was gone. Even kryptonite was limited to one piece that came to Earth on Kal-El's ship/birth matrix.
It's been done in bits and pieces; but, I'd like to see an in-depth examination of Bruce Wayne's journey to becoming Batman. That was the pitch for the tv series that instead became Smallville (it was originally pitched as a Bruce Wayne series, but rejected, then turned into exploring Superman's adolescence). It is what people hoped for with Gotham; but aren't really getting (based on criticisms I have read; I bailed after a couple of episodes). I'd like to see a maxi-series that takes him from the young, scarred boy to the man who is returning to Gotham to launch his war on crime. I would stop before he puts on the costume, as Year One covers that well enough and I don't think you need to rehash it. I'd go from the day after the murder (metaphorically, at least) and take it up to him boarding a plane to go back to Gotham (s we see him returning, in Year One). Take him around the globe, as he studies with different masters, maybe even using the idea of him studying with Zatara, as done in BTAS.
I'd also like to see an exploration of the time between the Golden and Silver Ages, where the heroes are gone or operate in shadows and focus on those groups and individuals that arose to take their place, like the Challengers of the Unknown and the Suicide Squad. Darwyn Cooke certainly wets your appetite for that in The New Frontier; but, I'd like to see it examined more thoroughly. I'd also like to see more of the DCU before the dawn of the superheroes; things more like Guns of the Dragon, where it is post-WWI pulp adventure, with Bat Lash, Enemy Ace and Biff Bradley. Things like the Brian Savage Times Past stories of Starman, where you see the turn of the century, as the Old West gives way to the modern world. I'd be more interested to see characters like Jonah Hex face the end of the frontier and the beginnings of modern life, like John Wayne's The Shootist.
I'd also love to see a series like Legends of the DC Universe, and Brave and the Bold (the later version) that focuses on some of the more obscure characters and their adventures, much like James Robinson's Vigilante mini-series, City Lights, Prairie Justice. Examine some of those lesser heroes, like the Quality Manhunter or the Jester, Captain Triumph, Johnny Quick, Hop Harrigan, Tex Thomson/Mr America, the Paul Kirk Manhunter during the war, etc. Explore what happened to the war comics characters, after the war.
I'd also like to have (hell, I'd like to write) a series that takes those classic war comic characters from the start of WW2 to the end, without superheroes and the supernatural. I brought that up before, which begged the question of the Haunted Tank and I think you can do that with the idea that the ghost of JEB Stuart is all in Jeb's head, which was pretty much the premise of the comic. I'm more interested in the tank crew characters being there to provide the perspective of Patton's forces, rather than the premise of the tank being haunted by Stuart's ghost. So, no Creature Commandos or Viking Soldier (though that could just be a nickname). I'd make the Losers a Marine Raider unit, operating much like the Alamo Scouts, in the South Pacific, which means switching Johnny Cloud to the Marine Corps, which has more historical precedence, via the code-talkers. M'lle Marie provides the experiences of those in occupied territories, as well as the resistance fighters. Sgt Rock provides the GI and I would parallel Lee Marvin in Sam Fuller's The Big Red One (which felt like Sgt Rock, to me). I'd make Blackhawk into a squadron in the RAF, flying Mosquito bombers, involving them in the strategic attacks on the heavy water plan in Norway and the mission to free Maquis leaders in France (both actual Mosquito missions). The Unknown Soldier would provide the perspective of those special operations soldiers/spies with the SOE and OSS. I'd want to cover the Eastern front; but, am not sure I'd go the route Garth Ennis did, with Eney Ace. He never convinced me that someone like Von Hammer would ever fly for the Nazis, under any circumstances. I think I would use him as a perspective of the rise of Nazi Germany; but, not a combatant for either side. I might throw him into the plot to kill Hitler. Not sure what that leaves for the Russian front, other than creating a new perspective character.
I'd also like to see (again, write) a maxi-series that follows the superheroes through their WW2, beginning to end. James Robinson's Golden Age put that idea in my head, as did the JSA mini-series, that predated the relaunch of the title (with Robinson co-writing the early issues). It would be a nice mix of that, the All-Star Squadron, and the JSA origin from Paul Levitz and Joe Staton.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2017 17:05:11 GMT -5
I read about 30-40 percent of the stories in ACTION COMICS and that's one area that DC COMICS never, ever fully developed and it's bothers me that they don't develop it at all. I think DC COMICS didn't want to go that direction and explore that mythos of Kandor and proceed from there. Personally, what codystarbuck said in the first 4-5 paragraphs is pretty much sums up why they didn't bother it at all. I agree with him and that's why most readers prefer bits pieces of it and leave as it is. The World of Krypton didn't hold my interest at all and I've felt that Krypton should be a mystery to all of us and not to be revealed at all. Making Superman mythology more mysterious and left unexplored. I feel that the citizens inside that bottled city of Kandor should be left alone ...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2017 17:49:50 GMT -5
Although I've been stockpiling all Superman and Action issues, I haven't read them all yet. What is the current status of Kandor, Is it in another galaxy? Last I can remember it was enlarged & placed on another planet called New Krypton.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2017 17:51:41 GMT -5
I would like a retro series based on the JSA's post WWII adventures (1946-1951).
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 18, 2017 18:39:58 GMT -5
There are quite a few things find more than a little intriguing about Kandor.
First off, there's the Superman Emergency Squad, a bunch of tiny Supermen that show up when Superman is in trouble. They are kind of hilarious, but I bet they're a big deal in Kandor.
And then there's Lesla-Lar. Those issues of Adventure where Lesla-Lar is conspiring against Supergirl (and changing places with her when poor Linda is sleeping) give lots of little glimpses into life on Kandor.
It's been a while since I read them, so I may not have this exactly right, but it seems like life on Kandor was fairly regulated and one of Lesla-Lar's problems was that she was bored. The restlessness of Kandor's youth could be a stepping-off point for a series. And I love Lesla-Lar! It would be great to see her right in the thick of it in any Kandor mini-series. She could be gathering all the Kandorian youth who have been rejected from the Superman Emergency Squad.
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Post by MWGallaher on Nov 18, 2017 19:50:03 GMT -5
In the 70's DC produced, but never published, one issue of Grodd of Gorilla City. I'd have been all over that book if they'd done it. There have been occasional talk and tease of a series based on the Flash Rogues Gallery, and I think that has some potential, too. One character who comes (unexpectedly) to mind is Gnarrk, from Teen Titans. It really seems like someone would have done a series about a revived caveman by now, but I don't think it's been done!
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Post by Icctrombone on Nov 18, 2017 20:24:01 GMT -5
I would love an Avengers series involving the Original 5 back in the day.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2017 22:53:00 GMT -5
I would love an Avengers series involving the Original 5 back in the day. They've done that several times already... and in the all new back up vignettes in this reprint series... -M
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Post by Icctrombone on Nov 19, 2017 0:41:47 GMT -5
I did get all of the Avengers stories. I was thinking to do an ongoing series that shows more unknown adventures.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2017 0:52:01 GMT -5
I did get all of the Avengers stories. I was thinking to do an ongoing series that shows more unknown adventures. None of the previous limited attempts sold well enough to make it an ongoing, so what incentive do they have to try an ongoing now? The target audience for such a book is aged out beyond any desirable demographic that could build future sales or bring in advertising revenue so there's no long term gain and past indicators already said there's no short term gain in sales either, and that's not "The Avengers" to the demographic that has the potential to be a long term customer so there's no investment in the brand for future returns by doing it.Failed attempts show it is not an interesting concept to the customer base either, so unless a name creator that they want to secure for other projects pitches such a book and are they using this type of book as a hook for that creator and that combo of creator & concept can bring one of those other desirable things to the table, there's absolutely no reason for Disney/Marvel to pony up the money for such a book in the current market. That's a lot of ifs for a book that will be lucky to break 20K in sales for the first issue and drop like a rock after that like most nostalgia fueled projects do when they fail to capture a contemporary audience. -M
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Post by Icctrombone on Nov 19, 2017 0:59:38 GMT -5
Yeah, You're probably right but It's on my personal wishlist. Many of the proposed concepts mentioned here are also projects that wouldn't sell either.
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Post by berkley on Nov 19, 2017 3:18:36 GMT -5
As long-time Classics members are probably tired of hearing, there are several characters I don't think have been given their due:
I think Barda of Kirby's New Gods should have had her own series by now. Really interesting character concept, one of the best visual designs in comics, and would also provide a subtly different perspective on Apokolips and the Fourth World epic in general than we've usually been given.
Same with Thena of the Eternals: another fascinating character, deep mythological roots (far more so, I would say, than Marvel's version of Athena), and key to the whole Eternals concept. The Reject and Karkas would also be a big part of the series, because their story is so closely intertwined with hers. Thena has been woefully under-appreciated by most (actually all, as far as I've seen) writers apart from her creator, and a solo series would help redress that deficiency.
Yet another Kirby heroine, Crystal of the Inhumans: if you look at what happens in her FF appearances, it's obvious that she is by the most powerful member of the team, and also that she is mature, intelligent, and responsible beyond her years (often in contrast to Johnny Storm). I think all of that has been lost in later versions, so a Crystal solo series would be a good way to bring the character back to the original version of the Kirby/Lee FF.
And finally (for now) Moondragon, from the Englehart Avengers. I don't think anyone has ever built on the huge potential of the Englehart Moondragon, so a solo series would be the place to start doing just that. Most later writers saw her as an arrogant so and so that needed to be knocked off her pedestal, which they proceeded to do ad nauseum. In more recent years she's become mired in a kind of soap opera relationship drama, as far as I can tell, but I admit I'm only going by previews and other online samples.
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