The Kubert brothers didn’t last long at DC Comics; Andy’s being replaced by Tony Daniel on Batman because he couldn’t keep up with the schedule, and Adam got kicked off of Action Comics because … he couldn’t keep up with the schedule.
Luckily, an awesome replacement has been found in Gary Frank, whose character designs have been revealed by Wizard.
Here are some of my favorites, and you can click each picture to see a larger version:
Superman
Lois Lane
Lex Luthor
Supergirl
Darkseid
This stuff is absolutely gorgeous. That’s exactly how I see Superman — he’s tall and majestic and kind and powerful, without looking like a bloated bodybuilder. I especially love how Lois looks gutsy and intelligent, like a real reporter. (She reminds of me Jennifer Connelly’s character in Blood Diamond.) Lex looks cunning and cruel and Darkseid is a massive mountain of evil. I also love Frank’s interpretation of Supergirl (despite the too-skimpy costume that was designed for DC Comics by Michael Turner, whose women are always unnaturally elongated and ludicrously clad).
Frank’s art will be featured in stories written by ace DC storyteller Geoff Johns, who started the awesome “Last Son” storyline with co-writer Richard Donner, who directed the first two Christopher Reeve Superman movies, The Omen, The Goonies, Ladyhawke, Scrooged and all of the Lethal Weapon movies.
“Last Son” — which still isn’t finished because Adam Kubert’s doing the ending and he’s still that far behind — is one of the best Superman stories I’ve ever read and it should have been the new Superman movie instead of the blasphemous and utterly pathetic Superman Returns. The years-married Clark and Lois take in a young Kryptonian boy who mysteriously arrives on Earth only to find out that his parents are the evil General Zod and Ursa, who used the child’s little rocket ship to bust a hole in the Phantom Zone from which they subsequently escaped. Now they’re coming after their son, and Superman will do anything to protect the boy and stop Zod, Ursa and the army of Kryptonian criminals they’ve brought to Earth with them.
(It’ll finally be collected into a gorgeous hardcover collection as soon as Kubert decides to earn the rest of his paycheck. Tick tock, buddy.)
With Geoff Johns and Gary Frank on board for the Action Comics run that starts up after Johns and Donner finish up their upcoming “Bizarro World” story with artist Eric Powell, we can rest assured that Superman will be well taken care of in the comics.
(Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco are also doing amazing work in the regular Superman title.)
Be sure to check out the debut of Gary’s artwork in issue 858 of Action Comics on October 31!