We’re getting you ready with this week’s “So You Want To Read Comics”. This is our weekly feature where we take a look at a single topic or genre, then give you two comic book recommendations, perfect for new readers, based on that topic or genre. This week we’re looking at the recently announced DC movie slate.
In 2022, James Gunn, director of The Suicide Squad (the better one) and Guardians of The Galaxy, was tapped to co-helm a new slate of movies based on DC Comics properties. Now, while the previous attempts at a DC-shared cinematic universe had its fans, it just never matched up with the efforts over at Marvel and their MCU. So, bringing in James Gunn can be seen as basically taking another stab at it. James Gunn then took to Twitter to reveal the planned slate of films that will be part of this new universe (this is covered in Major Spoilers Podcast #1013 ). This of course isn’t exactly a unique move, but what was surprising was that James Gunn then went on to elaborate on some of the sources that will be serving as inspiration for these movies.
So here are two comic series listed as possible inspirations for upcoming DC movies.
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Frank Quitely
Publisher: DC Comics
All-Star Superman is a celebrated series by Grant Morrison that depicts Superman in a race against time to rectify unfinished business, mend relationships, and leave a lasting legacy. That’s the simple version. In reality, All-Star Superman is many things: It’s one part love letter to the history of Superman, particularly the silver age, it’s one part meditation on if it is our biology or our connections that makes someone human, and the struggle of staying grounded and humble when given ultimate power. It’s an interesting choice to be the inspiration for a new Superman movie being that in many ways All-Star Superman can be considered a “final” Superman story. But, that isn’t to say there isn’t a plethora of fun Superman action moments to pull from this series, even if it doesn’t follow the plot completely. Also, I wouldn’t consider it the newest reader-friendly since there are some deep pulls from Superman’s history, but I also wouldn’t say not knowing those bits from the history diminishes the reading experience.
SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Bilquis Evely
Publisher: DC Comics
On a personal note, I have to admit that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was my favorite series of 2021-2022. So, when this was revealed to not only be an inspiration to an upcoming film, but also lend its name to it, I was excited. That being said, this is also a strange choice for inspiration. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow finds the titular character on a faraway planet trying to get drunk, and then gets wrapped up in a Western/Sci-fi quest for revenge a la True Grit. Along the way, the series touches on the nature of vengeance, how to manage anger and trauma, and the distinct differences between Kara and her cousin Clark. Once again, I wouldn’t say that this is the most new reader friendly, but also once again, this can be certainly enjoyed on a surface level as just a fun story, without knowing some of the deeper lore. It’ll be interesting to see how much of the more abstractness of the comic series is utilized in the movie it’s inspiring.
Are you excited for these new movies? What did you think of these recommendations? Let us know in the comments section below.
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At a young age, Jonathan was dragged to a small town in Wisconsin. A small town in Wisconsin that just so happened to have a comic book shop. Faced with a decision to either spend the humid summers and bitter winters traipsing through the pine trees or in climate controlled comfort with tales of adventure, horror, and romance, he chose the latter. Jonathan can often be found playing video games, board games, reading comics and wincing as his “to watch” list grows wildly out of control.