Justice League On Film

Designing TekWorld, Part 1

Downtime on a movie or television set can often be a creatively debilitating experience, but for William Shatner it served as the impetus for creating the TekWar universe; a universe that has spanned numerous best-selling novels, comic books, trading cards, four television movies, a weekly series and, now, a brand new series of comics with talk of new TV adventures.
   It was during the production of 1989’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, on which he made his feature directorial debut, that Shatner began to create what would become his first work of fiction, TekWar. That novel was an attempt to blend elements from two of his most popular television series, Star Trek and T.J. Hooker, resulting in a unique science fiction adventure. Shatner does, however, admit that he may have been influence just a little too much by Star Trek in terms of his creation’s futuristic setting.
“When I sat down to write the novel,” he explains, “I followed my instincts rather than any conscious desire.  It was almost as though I didn’t believe anything more would come of it than my doodling around with the story. As a result, I wasn’t too careful about where I set it. Since I was working on a Star Trek movie at the time, I set it instinctively, almost, in the general time of Star Trek. So the novels are set 200 years from now and the world that I imagined was a world that I probably had absorbed from various contacts, pictures, paintings and covers of magazines and other science fiction that I had read from the multitude of sources that one gets their imagination from. I had a generalized feeling of the world of Tek, but what I was concentrating mostly on was this policeman whose life was torn asunder by the various things that had happened to him.”
   TekWar introduced ex-police officer Jake Cardigan , accused of murdering his partners while under the influence of Tek, a drug-like virtual reality experience that is oftentimes fatal in its addiction. As a result of this supposed crime, Cardigan is placed in cryogenic freeze for a 15-year sentence, but freed after four by the influential Bascom, who wants him to work for the Cosmos Detective Agency. Partnered with Sid Gomez, Cardigan goes up against one Tek lord after another in each subsequent adventure while simultaneously trying to repair the rifts between he and his wife and son, clearing his name and getting on with his own life.
 The basic concept of the Tek “drug” came about, Shatner says, “by the fact that I put a television set in a wall in my bedroom and used it – and use it – as a means of going to sleep. In the middle of the night when the dark hangs heavy, to light a candle was to open the television set so that the television, in a way, is something I’ve become accustomed to using both for information, of course, but to sleep as well. It’s almost something I try not to do because I do it so often. As a result, I extended the drug effect into a totality of drug, in that the television miniaturized can then become your fantasy and your fantasy becomes real. In that case, it would become difficult to even leave your house, which is what happens to a Tek user in addition to getting their neurons scrambled. That’s the lure of Tek, that your fantasy world can be better than your real world.”

TO BE CONTINUED

BATMAN: THE MOVIE CELEBRATES 20 YEARS

BATMAN: THE MOVIE Starring Michael Keaton Celebrates 20th Anniversary

with New Single Blu-Ray Book

from Warner Home Video

Debuts May 19 with Hours of Bonus Content

Including Tim Burton Commentary and 50 Pages of

Collectible Essays, Trivia and Photos

Burbank, Calif., March 16, 2009 - BATMAN: The Movie, the film that launched a global phenomenon, celebrates its 20th anniversary May 19 with a new single release. 

BATMAN: The Movie 20th Anniversary Blu-ray Hi-Def will be packaged in a premium hardcover book format that is loaded with hours of bonus content, including commentary with director Tim Burton and a digital copy which allows consumers a single non-transferable download of the full-length film compatible with iTunes® and Windows Media devices™. The Blu-ray book includes original script pages, excerpts from the Batman Official Book of the Movie and the DC Comics comic book adaptation of the film!

BATMAN: The Movie 20th Anniversary Blu-ray Hi-Def will be available for $34.99 SRP.

About the Movie

Tim Burton’s direction and Michael Keaton’s performance combine perfectly in the first film of the Warner Bros. series which captures GOTHAM CITY’S sinister atmosphere and BATMAN’S brooding nature. Jack Nicholson stars in a memorable performance as the maniacal villain, THE JOKER and Kim Basinger is VICKI VALE, the beautiful and resourceful photojournalist. Featuring songs by Prince and a score by Danny Elfman, BATMAN won the 1990 Oscar® for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration. 

Special Features

(Includes all of the special features from the Two-Disc Special Edition DVD): 

* Commentary by director Tim Burton

* On the Set with Bob Kane

* Legends of the DARK KNIGHT: The History of BATMAN

o The Comic Book Saga as Reinvented and Reinterpreted over Seven Decades

* Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the DARK KNIGHT Parts 1-3 

o The Road to GOTHAM CITY

o The Gathering Storm

o The Legend Reborn

* Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery – 6 Featurettes:

o Visualizing Gotham: The Production Design of BATMAN

o Building the BATMOBILE

o Those Wonderful Toys: The Props and Gadgets of BATMAN

o Designing the BAT-SUIT

o From Jack to THE JOKER

o Nocturnal Overtures: The Music of BATMAN

* Three Prince Music Videos

o Batdance

o Partyman

o Scandalous

* The Heroes and The Villains Profile Galleries

* BATMAN: The Complete ROBIN Storyboard Sequence

* Theatrical trailer

BATMAN 20TH ANNIVERSARY BLU-RAY BOOK

Street Date: May 19, 2009

Pricing: $34.99 SRP

"GREEN LANTERN FIRST FLIGHT": AN INTERVIEW WITH PRODUCER BRUCE TIMM

Warner Bros. animation veteran Bruce Timm continues his role as producer of DC's made-for-DVD titles (which have included Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: New Frontier, Batman: Gotham Knight and Wonder Woman) with this summer's Green Lantern: First Flight. For an interview with Bruce Timm on the film, just head over to our Green Lantern Film.net site by clicking HERE.

WATCHFRIENDS: WHEN WATCHMEN MEETS SUPER FRIENDS

BAT-STATS

With The Dark Knight having grossed $1,001,082,160 worldwide, the film currently stands as the highest grossing film in Warner Bros. history. Additionally, it's the second-highest grossing film domestically of all time and the fourth-highest worldwide. In terms of IMAX,The Dark Knight is considered the largest "2-D digitally re-mastered" IMAX release of all time both domestically ($49.6 million) and worldwide ($64.9 million). Says Warner Bros. President of Domestic Distribution, Dan Fellman, "From our initial record-shattering opening weekend to the unprecedented momentum of the film's box office run, we could not be more proud of The Dark Knight's unparalleled success. We salute our filmmakers, cast and crew on making cinematic history."

EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK: DIRECTOR LAUREN MONTGOMERY ON "GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT"

DC has announced its newest direct-to-DVD animated film, Green Lantern: First Flight, which follows Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: New Frontier, Batman: Gotham Knight and this week's Wonder Woman. To check out an exclusive interview with Green Lantern director Lauren Montgomery, just head over to Green Lantern Film.net, by clicking HERE.

THE UNFILMED GREEN LANTERN

If everything goes according to plan, the Green Lantern movie will finally go before the cameras in the spring of 2009. This after about ten years of development and a number of false starts, thankfully in some cases (Jack Black as a Green Lantern?!). One of the aborted attempts to birng GL to the big screen came from Knight Rider executive producer Gary Scott Thompson. Our sister site, Green Lantern Film.net, has scored an interview with Thompson in which he discusses his efforts on the project. To check out that interview, click HERE.

MEDIA GEEK: SUPERMAN REBOOTS

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FROM THE WATCHTOWER: TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE?

One of the reasons George Miller's movie version of Justice League was derailed had to do with the fact that the Australian government denied the production an important tax break that would have made shooting there fiscally viable. As a result, Miller threatened to take JL, Happy Feet 2 and other productions out of country. Now, however, word has come out that the director will get said tax break for Happy Feet 2 and that production will start in January. Given how the situation has changed, however, odds are this won't make a difference in terms of Justice League gearing up. Due to the success of The Dark Knight, Warners has shifted gears to focus on solo superhero films with a potential Justice League further on in the horizon. No doubt Marvel's success with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and for the forthcoming Thor, Captain America and The Avengers has played some influence as well.

MEDIA GEEK: THE GRAYSONS & THE POWER OF PRAYER

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LYNDA CARTER GETS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

SOURCE: Lab Business Week
DATE: November 9, 2008
The National Museum of Women in the Arts will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Lynda Carter Friday, November 7 at NMWA's Annual Fall Benefit. At the event, Lynda will perform a variety of pop and Broadway hits from her current Cabaret show.
   Before winning our hearts as Wonder Woman in the television series, Lynda was an accomplished singer performing in Las Vegas and clubs around the country. After the series ended, Lynda had the distinction of starring in five of her own network television specials, several of which were Emmy-nominated. She has performed onstage with many of the world's most popular singers, including Tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Ray Charles and Ben Vereen.
   Lynda Carter made her professional singing debut at 14 in Tempe, Arizona. She studied classical dance for seven years at the School Ballet of Phoenix. She also studied piano, and had her dramatic training with Laura Zucker, Stella Adler, Charles Conrad, Milton Katselas, Lieux Dressler, and Greta and Sandra Seacat. In 1973, she won the Miss World-U.S.A. title and shortly thereafter outdistanced hundreds of other actresses for the part of "Wonder Woman."
   The iconic Wonder Woman character has been featured in contemporary art works such as Dara Birnbaum's 1978-79 video, Technology, Transformation: Wonder Woman. Birnbaum's work was part of the landmark exhibition WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, which was on view at NMWA in fall 2008.
   The 2008 NMWA Annual Fall Benefit celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Shenson Chamber Music Series. A portion of proceeds from the benefit goes to fund the series, which offers concerts featuring emerging and established composers and musicians from around the world.

MEGAN GALE VS. MEGAN FOX AS WONDER WOMAN?

SOURCE: The Daily Telegraph (Syndey Confidential)
DATE: November 7, 2008
AUTHOR: Holly Byrnes & Joel Christie
Megan Gale might want to keep the whip at the ready after fighting off an online challenge by comic geeks to lasso Transformers femme Megan Fox into her role as Wonder Woman.
   Warner Bros, the US studio behind the stalled production of Justice League of America, in which Gale is signed to star, has been forced to deny web reports and a convincing poster campaign which features Fox as the lycra-clad super-heroine.
   Fox, rated as one of the sexiest women in the world, was mocked up in the movie-style trailer which teased fans this week with political-type slogans, including ``it's time for a new `W''' and an Obama-esque ``A real change is coming''.
   But the rumor on Wonder-Who.com has been exposed as a fake produced by comic fans attempting to force studio executives to cast Fox over Gale.
   The campaign was deemed credible in movie gossip circles, given the trailer featured the company logos of Warner Bros, Legendary Pictures and DC Comics -- all with links to the Wonder Woman story.
   However, London's The Guardian newspaper exposed the fan fraud in a blog entitled: ``The week in geek.''
   Confidential yesterday sought Gale's comment over the cyber push to unseat her from her Wonder Woman role, but her publicist said her Justice League contract with Warner Bros prevented her from speaking on the controversy.
   “Megan has an agreement with Warner Bros that she cannot comment on details of film projects that she's been linked with and she has to respect that request,'' her publicist said.
   The movie's Australian director George Miller did not return calls, but has previously backed Gale as his first choose to debut as the alter ego of character Diana Prince.
   “She got the job because she blitzed her screen test. I had no idea she was so good. She was brilliant,'' Miller told Confidential in August.
   “Once she read we all looked around at each other and said, `Well, there's no question.''' The success of Batman movie The Dark Knight and issues over local film subsidies have contributed to the Justice League project being put on hold.
   While Warner Bros is still committed to making the all-superhero movie, Gale revealed last month it had to be put back.
   “Batman [the central character in The Dark Knight] is part of the Justice League and so there are a lot of other things that have to be taken into consideration before they shoot,'' she said.
   Gale, the brand ambassador for David Jones, is also planning to firm up her contacts with studio executives and directors with another trip to Los Angeles this year.

BACK ISSUE NO. 30 - TV SUPERHEROES SPECIAL

Back Issue magazine number 30, from TwoMorrows Publishing, will undoubtedly appeal to Justice League fans as the issue is devoted to television superheroes. Kicking things off is an in depth look at Captain Marvel (as in Shazam!), starting with a look back at DC's 1970s revival of the character. This is followed by a look at an unpublished Captain Thunder story (the thinly veiled version of the good Captain who went up against Superman in Action Comics #576. Which in turn leads into one-on-one interviews with the two actors to play Captain Marvel in the Saturday morning Shazam! television series, Jackson Bostwicke and John Davey.
   ABC's 1970s version of the Justice League -- in the form of Super Friends -- is next, getting 14 pages of coverage and looking at the show from the point of view of a Hanna-Barbera (the animation company that produced the series, along with numerous others) employee, as well as from DC Comics' perspective in terms of titles based on or influenced by the series. Then there are photos and discussions of an unproduced "fourth wave" of the "Super Powers" action figures -- featuring characters from the show.
   Marv Wolfman actually pens a retrospective look back at the 1988 Superman animated series from Ruby-Spears that he produced. "I suggested the title The Adventures of Superman, based on the original live-action show I had watched as a kid," Wolfman revealed. "That show was the reason I got into comics in the first place. I also suggested using the opening from the TV show (and radio show): 'Look! Up in the sky!' etc... but set to the John Williams Superman movie score. The best of all possible worlds."
   To give an idea of the kind of stories he relates, Wolfman discusses the writing of the show's pilot episode. "I had a big scene at the end where Superman, using all his powers, smashes through a series of attacking giant robots, destorying them in a big scene. This was back in '88 or so and unlike these days, fighting on cartoon shows was not permitted by any of the networks. In fact, one character aggressively touching another was forbidden. S&P [Standards & Practices] said we had to change the ending. Superman, they said, can't destroy the robots because, and this is a direct quote, 'Even robots have souls.'" Yeesh! His retrospective spans three features and features storyboards and character model sheets.
   Other stories in the issue (with absolutely no connection to the Justice League) include a look back at the late Dave Stevens (The Rocketeer) and the Saturday morning cartoons Space Ghost and Astro Boy. To order this issue of Back Issue, go to TwoMorrows.com.

FROM THE WATCHTOWER

While reporting that Brad Pitt is looking to team up with director George Miller on a space-set version of The Odyssey, Variety also mentioned the fact that Miller remains attached as director to Justice League. Of course, given Warner Brothers' intention to shoot Green Lantern next year, reboot the Superman franchise and the fervent hope that Christopher Nolan will agree to helm a third Batman film, it would seem that Justice League is a number of years away...The new issue of Entertainment Weekly goes behind the scenes of J.J. Abrams' new take on Star Trek. In that interview, he briefly mentions the fact he had written a draft for the oft-aborted Superman revival project that preceded Superman Returns. Laughing, Abrams said of that effort -- designed to be the first chapter in a trilogy that postulated, among other things, that Krypton survived and Lex Luthor was a Kryptonian -- "It was not well received by the Internet community," he says.

RYAN GOSLING AS HAL JORDAN?

this.href, '_blank', 'width=333,height=500,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false" href="http://darkcommandos.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/10/09/gosling_2.jpg"> According to Latino Review, reliable sources have claimed that Ryan Gosling could be in the running for the lead role of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern.  An acclaimed actor, Gosling is known for bringing character integrity to roles in such films as The Notebook, Half Nelson and Fractured. When interviewed about the latter, he discussed a less than heroic hero, which may possibly be similar to the Hal Jordan we meet at the beginning of Green Lantern.
   “I liked the character," Gosling said of that part. "Willie’s a character that, most movies like this, in this genre, they’re like really virtuous guys - like natural heroes waiting to come out,. And this guy’s not. He’s not good. He’s not a good guy, and he never really is. He’s the good guy in the movie because he’s better than Anthony’s character. But he’s not really that good and he’s not bad, and he’s okay with that. As long as he’s not a bad guy he can live with it. He’s just naturally kind of a narcissistic, self-obsessed, selfish guy with tons of ambition. He’s kind of put in a situation in this movie where if he [spoiler deleted] for a promotion, he’s going to officially be a guy he doesn’t want to be, so he reluctantly does the right thing. In the whole film doing the right thing is kind of a pain in the ass for him, and he never makes some kind of huge moral shift. He just reluctantly walks that line, and I thought that that was probably more realistic.”
    Obviously this doesn't have a lot to do with Hal Jordan, but  it nonetheless provides an insight into the actor's thought processes.i

STAN WINSTON STUDIO ON "GREEN LANTERN" & "IRON MAN 2"

An article in the Los Angeles Times regarding the late Stan Winston and Stan Winston Studio states that the name of the operation is being changed to Legacy Effects, and mentions that one of the projects in the pipeline is the forthcoming Green Lantern.
   "The last two major American movies that will have Winston Studios listed in the credits will be Terminator Salvation and then the Cameron-directed 3-D film Avatar, which is fitting considering the importance of both the killer-robot franchise and its original director in the career of the late wizard... The Winston name will also appear on a German film called Pandorum. After that, the Legacy era officially begins (as far as movies are concerned) with the Bollywood production Robot and then, if things go as expected, with Iron Man 2 in 2010. Legacy is doing some early design work for a planned movie for Green Lantern, the DC Comics character..."
   In other Green Lantern news, the online io9 commented on the fact that the movie, to be directed by Greg Berlanti and scripted by Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green, could go into production as early as Spring 2009. In what could be a MAJOR SPOILER ALERT, they describe the film's plot as follows:  It "will start with the death of Green Lantern Corps member Abin Sur on Earth after a battle with the intergalactic baddie Legion (the latter will appear as one of the movie's villains). The dying Abin Sur snubs Clark Kent to pass the potent bauble to Hal Jordan, a civilian grappling with the death of his father. Once annointed, Jordan finds himself busy romancing aerospace businesswoman Carol Ferris, all the while gaining an enemy in Hector Hammond, who obtains powers while performing a government sanctioned autopsy on Abin Sur. Facing certain defeat, Jordan journeys to the Green Lantern motherland, Oa, to ask for help in defeating the tenacious Hammond.... The movie looks like it'll be somewhat steeped in space travel and, as such, is a total fanboy pleaser."

BULLETS & BRACELETS

Hello everyone, it's Raffy with some updates to share right here on voicesfromkrypton.com regarding the First Lady of Superheroines, Wonder Woman.  First off- The Wonder Woman Movie !!
   By now, I'm sure many of us have read that the Justice League live action movie is off and that Warner Brothers is now planning to take a similar route as Marvel Studios when it comes to producing Superhero movies.   So George Miller is off Justice League and Australian model turned actress Megan Gale will not be playing Wonder Woman after all. Over on darkhorizons.com (http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/080910r.php), there's news that producer Leonard Goldberg, who is working alongside Joel Silver. is waiting for a new script they can use for Wonder Woman: The Movie.  Goldberg describes himself as being "old school" and that he wants to get a completed new script first that can be presented to directors and see who among them has a take on it that blows then away.
   The Wachowski brothers, who thought they might have an idea on how to do Wonder Woman ,ended up working on other projects and never followed through.  Joel Silver bought a spec script from Matthew Jennison and Matt Strickland, whose setting was World War 2, decided to hire these same two writers to write a new script set in the present and featuring the origin of Wonder Woman.   But Goldberg said unlike the spec script, they are not going to use the same plot for the rewritten version (that Steve Trevor crashes on the island and Diana saves him from being executed by the Amazons), but will use a plot we have seen (with the Origin intact).  They plan to cast an unknown as Wonder Woman, firmly believing it’s the character and not a particular actress that will draw in the public. When all of this is supposed to happen is anyone’s guess, but maybe there’s some solace in the fact that we have the Wonder Woman Animated Movie to look forward to.
Coming in February of 2009 is that highly anticipated DC Universe direct to DVD Wonder Woman animated movie  starring the voices of Kerri Russell as Wonder Woman, Nathan Fillion as Steve Trevor, Virginia Madsen as Queen Hippolyte, Rosario Dawson as Artemis and Alfred Molina as Ares, the Olympian god of war.  The feature will present for the first time a full length version of the origin of Wonder Woman, exploring the attraction between Diana and Steve Trevor, the Tournament of the Amazons and legions of Ares’ creatures pitted against amazing Amazons.  Lauren Montgomery  (Superman: Doomsday) directs this movie and even designed the new look of the characters.  The story is by fan Favorite and award-winning writer Gail Simone (comic scribe of Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman) and features a script by Michael Jelenic (Legion of Superheroes, The Batman) and is Executive produced by Animation legend Bruce Timm. The movie will be available in both DVD and Blue Ray formats. (source: wonderwomanmovie.com)
   Lastly, in about two months, the great six-part story arc saga “Whom Gods Forsake” will begin with Wonder Woman # 26, featuring part one, “Rise of the Olympian”.  Written by Gail Simone, the saga will finally answer many of the questions that have come up in the past few months such as where the Amazons have disappeared to, who is the so-called “Male Wonder Woman” and why the Olympian gods have chosen a new champion.  We will also see the ramifications of Diana’s new allegiance to Polynesian god, Kane Milohai, and the problems this cause between Diana and her original Olympian patrons as well as the continuing courtship between Tom Tresser (a.k.a. Nemesis) and Diana herself.  The entire six part arc will be illustrated by Aaron Lopresti, whose breathtaking art clearly fits the overall theme of this series.
   Yes, indeed, it’s great to be a Wonder Woman fan these days.  Action figures, animation, film, comics and other merchandise abound.  So that’s all for now folks.  Feel free to comment  or ask other Wonder Woman related questions right here on voicesfromkrypton.com

Raffy Arcega
Phoenixmarvel2002.tripod.com

GOTHAM CENTRAL

Frank Miller's All-Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder certainly made some news recently as DC recalled issue #10 because of a "printing gaffe" where Batgirl and some thugs exchange obscenities (S-words, F-words, C-words and A-words) that were supposed to be blacked out. The series does not have a mature readers warning on the cover. DC caught the problem early in the week of publication and stopped some shipments, but had to request retailers to destroy the rest. Despite the clear request, many issues made their way into the hands of readers. If you must have one of the recalled issues, then eBay should be your next destination (I recently saw 260 listings). The non-recall intended version of issue #10 came out on September 24th.
   I wish I could talk about Grant Morrison's "Batman R.I.P." arc more, but that arc is still taking a hiatus this month. So I think I'll wait until next month to talk about it more. Mark Sable's Two-Face Year One #2 has been pushed back until October 8th. I talked to Sable myself online and he is very upset with the delays. I was not a fan of Ra's al Ghul Year One or Scarecrow Year One, but Two-Face Year One is very good thus far. It is faithful to The Long Halloween and does a neat job of laying the early continuity roots for the acclaimed title Gotham Central. Sable knows Harvey Dent and early Gotham well. Fans of the show Dexter may want to check out the story, as Sable openly borrows from it to craft the plot of Two-Face Year One.
   In movie news, there still really is no movie news. Aaron Eckhart told MTV that the Nolan brothers have more Batman stories in them (for what that is worth). The Dark Knight is apparently going to be re-released in early 2009 (probably IMAX only) as a means of reminding Academy members of the film for the Oscar race.
Plenty of Batman video games are either released or on the horizon. Lego Batman: The Videogame was released September 23rd and stars almost every Batman character. On November 10th, Midway will release Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which will include Batman and The Joker. Sometime in 2009, Rocksteady Studios (developer of Urban Chaos: Riot Response) will release Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is a single-player game based on the comic book mythos. Head over to IGN to see the few pictures out there for this game; it's the one I'm most excited for.
   I leave you with a favorite quote from The Joker in Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum. It's the end of the graphic novel and Batman is leaving Arkham feeling spiritually reborn. Joker says to him as he's walking outside to the cops, "Parting is such sweer sorrow, dearest. Still, you can't say we didn't show you a good time. Enjoy yourself out there... in the asylum. Just don't forget -- if it ever gets too tough... there's always a place for you here."
                      -- Jeff

KEVIN J. ANDERSON ON SUPERMAN/BATMAN: FIRST ENCOUNTER, PART 2

In this exclusive interview with Voices From Krypton, Kevin J. Anderson continues his preview of the followup to The Last Days of Krypton, First Encounter, which chronicles the first meeting between Superman and Batman. You'll find the audio file after the excerpt below.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: These days it seems that Superman is a little more comfortable with being a part of humanity, but in the book it feels like there’s still a pretty large gap as far as he’s concerned.

KEVIN J. ANDERSON:  That’s a lot of the internal struggle of Clark/Kal-El in that he is trying to relate and at one point he throws up his hands to his mom and says, “I don’t understand these people. I don’t understand their problems. “ Martha says, “Do you think we understand them, Clark?” She tries to make him see that the things he doesn’t understand about humanity is a perfectly normal part of being human. It’s very poignant, because he’s Superman and when he’s sitting there in her kitchen eating apple pie and drinking milk, he says, “What right do I have pretending to be Clark Kent and living a life of my own? People need saving 24 hours a day. If I’m having coffee with Lois Lane for that hour, how many people die in car accidents or plane crashes? Shouldn’t I be Superman 24/7? And Martha Kent is insisting he deserves his own life and has to be among human to understand humans. This isn’t just a book of chapter after chapter of Superman stopping bank robberies, saving crashing airplanes and beating up bad guys. I think that’s the difference with the novel; you can really get into the reality of everything. On a comic book page, you can’t have pages of the character’s face as he ruminates. In a novel you can at least do it a little more in depth.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: How do you view the relationship between Superman and Batman?

KEVIN J. ANDERSON: The structure of the novel, and I don’t know if I should say this, is that it’s almost like a classic romance. First they get together, they hate each other, they’re at odds, then they gain an understanding and they come together.  There’s a lot of friction because Superman does not agree with Batman’s tactics, and Bruce is having a lot of problems with Luthorcorp. He also figures out that the only other company that can create these things – the bullet proof suit, the ability to fly -- is Luthorcorp, so Superman has to be working for Luthor. Who else could have made someone like him? So there’s an immediate at odds and the situation worsens. They also look at their duty in a completely opposite way. Batman kind of wants to stop the little criminals – the muggers in the alleys, the rapists, the thugs – whereas Superman wants to promote world peace and stop wars and keep the governments from killing each other. So it’s a big picture or little picture thing. Obviously something happens where they have to work together to do both.

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KEVIN J. ANDERSON ON SUPERMAN/BATMAN: FIRST ENCOUNTER

After the success of last year’s The Last Days of Krypton, it’s not surprising that author Kevin J. Anderson has been given the chance to dip back into the DC well and what he’s emerged with his First Encounter, the 2009 novel that will chronicle the first time that Superman and Batman meet.
   “These are big books, not paperbacks, so you want to do something significant,” says Anderson. “So I thought the best way to go would be the first meeting between Superman and Batman. But I was still wrestling with it a lot, because I personally love the superheroes in the past. I did a JSA series set in the ‘40s and I just think those heroes belong in the ‘40s and ‘50s; that’s just my preference.”
   Then he was struck with the idea that if they were to meet each other in the 1950s, it would place the books setting during the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union.
   “Then all of these things came up,” he says. “That was the beginning of the UFO craze and the time of all of those great – or not so great, depending on your point of view – sci-fi movies, like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Them and Invaders From Mars. Everybody was seeing UFOs. This would be set eight or 10 years after the Roswell crash. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun for Perry White to have Clark Kent look into the UFO crazy and find out if there were any of these little green men wandering around on earth?’ Of course, Clark wants to find out if he’s the only alien on earth, if he’s truly the Last Son of Krypton or if there are others. So he’s passionate about that. I’ve also got Lex Luthor, who’s pretty much promoting the Cold War. He’s trying to increase international tensions with his counterpart, a KGB general in the Soviet Union, because Lex is making so much money selling weapons. There’s also the element of Bruce Wayne’s board of directors being blackmailed by Luthorcorp for sensitive information.
   “The other thing I thought was the most fun,” Anderson continues, “is that Bruce Wayne is just fascinated by this Superman guy. How does he fly? How do bullets bounce off of his chest? Bruce is down in the cave working like crazy to figure out how to make a suit so that bullets can bounce off his chest and whether or not he can rig something so he can fly. Bruce Wayne is a rational guy, he doesn’t believe Superman can be some alien from space flying around. I just had so much fun tracing these ideas and seeing how they can all come together.”

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