>CBR News: "Super League" must be massive if DC Comics is giving you all four Superman books -- for two months -- to tell your story.
>Peter Tomasi: It's an amazing opportunity to have -- for two months -- every Super-book in the palm of your hand. As much fun as I had with Greg [Pak] and Gene [Yang] and Aaron [Kuder], to suddenly be thrown into your own sandbox by yourself is just as much fun. It's really interesting to have each title in your hand and being able to just really swing for the fences with each issue. There are a lot of great artists on each issue. It's a real nice eight issues of just one big ass story that will lead into Rebirth.
>The books themselves are really just focusing on Superman, who is front and center. He's got a mission. We learn that he's dealing with all of the stuff that's just happened in the "Truth" and "Savage Dawn" arcs. We look at how that's all changed his body physically, and his perspective on things, and he's now going to move forward. But first, he needs to recruit some other superheroes.
>Supergirl's story, in particular, is one of the good issues. We'll also see Batman. We'll see Wonder Woman. We'll see a lot of the DCU as we move along through the course of the story.
>Why does he need to recruit superheroes? Are the regular, run-of-the-mill Justice League members not available?
>There are so many spoilers, let's put it this way: It's such a big story, from beginning, middle to end, for those eight issues. To really go into anything about the formation of [the Super League] and why would give away too much. That's how crazy it's going to be.
>His first call goes to Batman. If Batman was making a Bat League, would Superman be his first call?
>Yes. In my writing head, it would. I think Batman/Bruce knows what Superman/Clark brings to the table. I think Superman would definitely be his first call. Some other writers and fans might disagree, but in my head, I've always loved the pairing of those two guys. Obviously, their own disparate elements that they bring and their different perspectives on the world, I think that's what makes them as interesting as hell. They balance each other nicely.
>The new "Supergirl" TV series has been a surprise hit, and Kara, perhaps, has never been more popular. Why do you think TV viewers have responded so well to "Supergirl" and have you taken anything from Melissa Benoist's portrayal to influence your take on the character?
>The funny thing is that Supergirl's popularity right now and the fact that she is on her own TV show had no bearing on how I was thinking about the story when I was constructing it. It actually played out organically based on who and what she is as to why she is included in the story. It's a cherry on the top that Supergirl, at the moment, is in a real popular TV show . She is getting a lot of press right now, which suddenly shines more light on her as a character. But the way that I built out the story for these eight issues, the role Supergirl plays is just something that occurs organically because of where she comes from.
SUPERGIRL IS BACK
If I get 90s Superboy back out of this I'll read whatever
>You've also been writing "Superman/Wonder Woman" leading up to this arc. Looking back, do you think New 52's biggest leap -- a romance between Superman and Wonder Woman -- worked?
>I think it did. When you have this amount of history between characters, I don't think there is anything wrong with throwing them in a box and shaking them up sometimes and see what happens. Putting them together has obviously always been one of those "what if?" scenarios that has been thought about throughout history, and it seemed like the right time to do it and explore it. Geoff [Johns] and Jim [Lee] initiated it [the romance] in "Justice League," and then Charles [Soule] did it when he launched the "Superman/Wonder Woman" book. It's one of those situations where these characters are out there, and there is no reason not to sometimes take them and put them in different, unfamiliar, even uncomfortable positions to see how they play off each other. Otherwise, it can get pretty dry.
>>80533234
>Tomasi will be shitting up all Superbook for two months
Yay...
>I know some people think they shouldn't be fighting or be at odds with each other while this relationship is going on. To me, that's not realistic. We can have this beautiful Superman and Wonder Woman story for four years, of them running through fields and having picnics and being in loving and fighting aliens together, but there is no drama in that. In any real relationship, you have your fights. It's a roller coaster ride, and the relationships get stronger due to conflict as long as you don't get divorced. [Laughs] You learn to give and take. That's what a relationship is about. I thought it was a great idea putting them together, and I had a lot of fun taking over the book from Charles and running with it as long as have. Of course, having Doug Mahnke on art definitely helps as writer, when you have somebody as talented as that on a book. He can really get across the emotional elements of the story. Not to mention the big action stuff that he always draws the hell out of.
>>80533326
>CBR News: How'd you land the job of writing all the Super- books for the next two months?
>Tomasi: DC needed a filler event rushed out the door before Rebirth, and I said I was up to the task.
too bad his superman is awful, his diana too for that matter
>I love the Great Ten, and I think they have been widely underutilized, but maybe that's a good thing for you as it might be something new for some of your readers.
>Absolutely. It's funny, because we always agree to do these interviews but we can't talk about anything. [Laughs] I can say that they play an integral part to something that we are building out in that story, and that something has ramifications into Rebirth.
>I think when fans see the Great Ten, they are going to really love them. Doug Mahnke is drawing that issue, so it's going to look freaking awesome. There is some really great stuff in that story, and the Great Ten are there because they fit into the story in a really specific way. What comes out of that whole angle of the story will be playing into Rebirth and what comes after.
>The other big tease that we have gleaned from the solicitations is that in this arc, we are finally going to see the meeting of pre-New 52 Superman and the current Clark. I realize that again you can't give too much away, but from what you have already said, this meeting doesn't sound like the end of the New 52 but rather a continuation into Rebirth and beyond.
>I'm glad you said that, because this really is key. This is not a closed end story. "Super League" goes into Rebirth and continues in the Superman books and beyond. The pre-New 52 Superman and the New 52 Superman meeting in this eight-issue arc provides some pretty cool, crazy moments. I think fans are really going to be floored as to how it all goes down. This story has an ending, but the ramifications of it moving forward are big. They're huge.
>Finally, Superman's new power, his first new superpower introduced in a long time, the solar super flare plays an important role in this arc too, right?
>Geoff used it, and then we played with it a lot in the "Truth"/"Savage Dawn" storyline. Sometimes powers can be overused, so I wanted to make sure when and if I do use it, it has a real purpose. It has a real impact. It's a cool power, and I think it's going to be interesting to see how it is utilized moving forward.
>>80533234
>>80533294
>>80533326
>>80533343
>>80533366
>>80533384
>>80533413
>>80533434
http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/tomasis-super-league-guides-the-dc-universe-into-its-rebirth
>>80533384
AUGUST
GENERAL
IN
IRON
Fuck it, I'll give it a try. I don't "hate" Tomasi, I just don't if he's the guy you want on a Superman-based event.
>>80533294
>The new "Supergirl" TV series has been a surprise hit
QUIT SPREADING LIES. The only thing supergirl beats on the big network primetime is Agent Carter. It's barely even able to hold it's own against Flash, Arrow, and LoT even though it's on such a big network. That's bad news, especially since CW only gets a fraction of the viewers CBS and ABC does.
>>80533413
inb4 Pre-Flashpoint Superman gives his classic suit to New 52 Superman
>>80533340
Not like Yang and Pak left much for him to shit all over. They were just as awful.
>>80533496
it was mostly pak though
yang was supposed to have some big run but I'm pretty sure the only thing that was actually his idea were those korean gods in fight club
Still can't get hype for Tomasi. I hope the Rebirth Superbooks are better.
>>80533496
Nah, they were pretty good. Maybe each of them has had one bad arc throughout Truth but Tomasi has been full shit.
>>80533602
rumor is tomasi is on superman and jurgens is on action comics
>>80533474
Where are you getting those numbers? Supergirl is at like 7 million viewers while Flash is at 4. Gotham is the one that's at 4mil like Flash.
>>80533632
>jurgens is on action comics
Oh good, just what Superman needs. Yet another entirely mediocre but sufficiently readable run.
>>80533532
Yeah I know, that's why I hate him. Je had the fucking audacity to try to "fix Superman" and failed miserably. He needs to fuck off back to Marvel.
>>80533602
Nigga it was shit and shit throughout save for first 3 issues of Action comics.
>>80533632
I favor Jurgens more than Tomasi since even though he's boring he at least seems to write a Superman who doesn't want to make me rip my hair out. Not good though, but we'll have the fringe books too that might get better teams.
>>80533683
>Nigga it was shit and shit throughout save for first 3 issues of Action comics.
If you're only looking at Truth, the first arc of Action and the second arc of Superman were both pretty good. But Pak and Kuder did other good stories too. The two arcs with Lana were great. It's mostly the crossover shit that has made the run not as good as it could have been if it was straight up just Superman stories.
>>80533728
>If you're only looking at Truth, the first arc of Action and the second arc of Superman were both pretty good. But Pak and Kuder did other good stories too. The two arcs with Lana were great. It's mostly the crossover shit that has made the run not as good as it could have been if it was straight up just Superman stories.
I only found like 3 issues if action bearable. It went from "oh shit it's cops vs Superman" to "that's a fucking cartoon villain" in one issue. After that it was horse shit, just like everything else.
Yang was just plain awful from beginning to end. No saving grace.
And yeah I know he wrote 2 good arcs but seriously he tried to "fix" Superman, just like everyone else. To me any writer who wants to try that, I just despise him. Morrison did a fantastic job, there was no need to "fix" Superman again.
Also his Clark Kent's the real deal meme is just awful.
>>80533645
http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/supergirl-season-one-ratings-39121/
http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-flash-season-two-ratings-38406/
http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/arrow-season-four-ratings-38484/
http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/dcs-legends-of-tomorrow-season-one-ratings/
Sorry I should have mentioned that I'm talking about ratings.
>>80533885
I haven't really seen anything as an attempt to fix Superman though. The whole run has been mostly just pushing Clark to see if he'll break and then of course he doesn't because he's Superman. I get people who don't like it because of that and how Clark never gets a clean win, but I don't see how you see it as a fixing thing.
>>80534036
The whole characterization, cast and every basic thing was turned around, it was an attempt to clearly fix him. It backfired.
>>80534086
I honestly don't see what you mean. But I guess you don't have to like it if you don't want.
>>80533961
demo ratings are bullshit when they are solely determined by those with Nielsen boxes.
>>80533961
Gotham does about the same by that figure and it's on an equally distributed network:
http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/gotham-season-two-ratings-38069/
And even super-popular shit like Scandal is only ~0.5 higher in the most recent episode. I'm not sure how you're concluding failure.
>>80534144
There's an amount of error involved but it's useful for comparing shows vs each other.
>>80533234
>>80533294
I'd normally complain about this because I think Tomasi is crappy, but to be honest, having one writer over one event and a big Supes-centric story honestly seems pretty appealing to me.
>>80534458
That's an excellent point.
Robin War was pretty weak despite some strong issues for exactly that reason.
>>80534458
it still doesn't change the fact that he can't write the characters at all
the contrast with SM/WW and all the other titles was jarring
>>80534552
Honestly even the bookend issues were hard to read due to the shitty art. Only the Grayson one was for sure good.
>>80533632
>Tomasi and Jurgens on the Superman books
Meh.
>>80534169
Scandal is doing well in the ratings compared to supergirl, the average has been ~2.3 with roughly the same 8m views, yet supergirl averages a 1.7, which doesn't look so good in comparison to a show that's been renewed for it's sixth season.
Ratings aren't a perfect way to tell how a show is doing, but when a show with half the views gets the same ratings as a big network tv show during primetime, it doesn't look good.
>>80534458
>I think Tomasi is crappy
Why crappy? I'd get middling for sure, but crappy?
>>80535068
I was talking about the recent episodes not the average. Supergirl was 1.3 and Scandal was 1.7.
But I guess the bottom line is that no one reasonable is going to consider a show drawing 6-7 million viewers on CBS a failure just because the adult rating is low (ie equal to the other capeshit on TV). Probably just means that it's drawing a younger audience in large numbers which is what CBS wanted from the start anyway.
>>80533885
>he tried to "fix" Superman
What do you mean by this? I honestly don't get it.
>>80533303
Finally
>>80533234
>all four Superman books
Everything wrong with cape comics right there.
>>80533294
>Some other writers and fans might disagree, but in my head, I've always loved the pairing of those two guys. Obviously, their own disparate elements that they bring and their different perspectives on the world, I think that's what makes them as interesting as hell. They balance each other nicely.
Bless you, Tomasi.
>>80539648
Yes for Superbats friendshio.
