EDITED BY TINA JOR N@Bo ks
68 EW.COM MARCH 10, 2017SUPERMAN
WRITER_Peter J. Tomasi
WRITER/ARTIST_Patrick Gleason
ARTISTS_Doug Mahnkeand Jorge Jimenez
WHAT THEY KEPT“In this day and age we wanted to make
Superman stand for what he knows is right
and to have that sense of hope, even if it
seems naive,” Gleason says. ”Everyone’s
familiar with that aspect of Superman, but
we really wanted to put it front and center.”
WHAT’S NEWGone is the young, angsty Superman who had
populated DC Comics since 2011; now, when
he’s not battling monsters and supervillains,
Superman lives on a farm in the Midwest with his
family. “He’s a bit older, and he has a son and
wife,” Gleason says. “That dynamic changes your
entire life.” Tomasi adds, “His son, Jon, allowed
us to view Superman through new eyes. The
idea of Superman as your father—people really
seem to connect with that.”BATMAN
WRITER_Tom King
ARTIST_David Finch
WHAT THEY KEPTKing’s Batman is a visceral homage to the
character he loved when he was growing up.
“I was one of those kids who was bullied, dealt
with all kinds of crap,” he says. “Reading
Batman...gave me hope.” His take is a perfect
match for Finch’s art. “There are artists who
love light, airy things, and that’s never been me,”
Finch says. “I like dark and gritty. I was bullied
as a kid too, so I’ve got my own issues, and I can
get them out on the page.”
WHAT’S NEWAlthough Batman is a member of the Justice
League and teams up with Superman
when necessary, he has generally kept other
superheroes out of Gotham City. That has
changed with King and Finch, who have intro-
duced two new high-flying superheroes to
the series: Gotham and Gotham Girl.THE
ULTIMATE
SUPERHERO
FACE-LIFT
In 2015 DC Comics noticed that its most
iconic characters—includingSuperman,
Batman,Wonder Woman,Green Lantern,
andThe Flash—were looking a little...tired.
So they each got a makeover. Now, as
the first collections of the “Rebirth” line are
rolling out, EW chatted with DC’s creative
teams about what they nipped, tucked, and
left alone.BY CHRISTIAN HOLUBDC COMICSRDAN@EWTinaJordan