DC Comics announced on their blog that the fan favorite television show Smallville, which ended last year after 10 seasons would be getting some renewed life in comics. Picking up where the TV show left off, with Clark finally accepting his destiny as Superman, Smallville Season 11 will be written by former Smallville show writer, and writer of the popular pre-The New 52 run on Batgirl, Bryan Q. Miller. Joining Miller will be artist Pere Perez, who also worked on Batgirl.
What’s interesting here, aside from the continuation of Smallville from the TV show into comics, is that DC Comic will be releasing the comic digitally first. Launching on April 13, 2012, installments of Smallville Season 11 will be released weekly with digital covers by Cat Staggs. Later on, the digital releases will be collected into a first issue in print, with covers by Gary Frank, in stores on May 16, 2012. DC did not reveal how long the digital releases, or chapters as they refer to them, would be, but it’s probably safe to speculate that if an issue is being released a month later, that these weekly installments may be around 5 pages.
This announcement follows the success shown over at Dark Horse Comics by continuing Buffy the Vampire Slayer in comics, after the television show finished it’s run. Given that Smallville ended with Clark donning the cape, Smallville season 11 promises to provide new stories as Superman makes himself known to the world.
Personally, as a fan of Smallville on TV, and a loyal reader of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in comics, this is an announcement that I got excited to read. Factor in the digital release component of this and the reunion of Miller and Perez on a DC book and this announcement gets even more interesting on multiple levels.
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Get OUT.
i was totally going to rag on this concept then i thought, “i would totally buy a “Lost” season seven comic”
for real
and while we’re at it, give me Twin Peaks season 3!
Lost Season 7 comic would be a zombie book, because season 7 was going to be the Zombie Season according to Lindelof and Cuse.
I could do with alternative universe LOST season 3-6 in comic format.
The Smallville costume now doesn’t contain red underwear. I’m pretty sure the CG Clark in the finale was wearing them?
Very excited about this!! 🙂
Nope, all blue. As much as I despised the red ‘over-undies’, the all-blue was almost boring. Hopefully, the artist will draw something much cooler than both!
I’m pretty sure the DC’s digital page count is 10 pages chopped to 20 pages. Btw, we’re getting Batman Beyond with Norm Breyfogle next week.
Norm Breyfogle is amazing, I’ve got some of his original art. Missed that announcement somehow.
I seem to remember a Smallville companion book during it’s early seasons. How well did that do?
I liked the show but can’t see myself devoting reading time to it. I hope it does though.
A lost comic would be terrible IMO. How could you by a book with zero story direction and can’t decide what it’s about until the final issue? No offence to fans of lost. I was one of them until I realised I got long-conned into watching the show. Gotta give it credit for it’s addictive writing though.
I hope it does *well* though
Great news!
I’llI be getting it in print. But will definitely try out the digital first, cos I cant possibly wait 4 weeks to read it. I have to read it in April.
I’ ll get the first digital part to see if I like it, but will wait till the physical copy to finish if it’s good
I will check out anything with Bryan Q. Miller’s name on it. That it’s a Superman book is icing on the cake. Very excited about this announcement.
My thoughts exactly. I haven’t seen a single episode of Smallville (something I hope to remedy soon since I’m actually pretty keen on Superman), but DC put together something really exciting here. I’m a digital-only customer, and I love how this looks like it’s going to work and benefit both people like myself and people who go to the comic shop weekly.
I dropped off the show maybe in like season 4. Can’t even say I was a fan back then. But BQM! Yes, I’m in!
This certainly gives me a reason to catch up on Smallville. I’m only 9 and a half seasons behind.
Looks like Whedon might be leaving a noticeable mark on the comics industry after all.
Yep. BQM is definitely the draw here for me. I was satisfied with the ending of Smallville. I really didn’t need to revisit it. However, I will gladly checkout anything from this creative team. The digital format should also be interesting too, but that’s more like window dressing.
BQM + SMALLVILLE?
I smell success.
so Digital or Print, everyone?
Loved the show, considered it a guilty soap type pleasure when it came out, watched it on Tuesday’s w my girlfriend, saw the 1st four seasons or so then just last year got really into in via Netflix catching up from seasons 5 through 9, got hooked like I couldn’t get enough(JSA Absolute Justice episode did me in), then watched season 10 eagerly each week off the xbox and gotta give that show credit for one, being good and two, sparking an interest in a character I never read. I always liked Supes as a character but never bought anything, now I love him, had a brief obsession, buying trades it fill in the history gaps I needed to know. So thanx Smallville for creating a good show and a Superman/ Legion fan. I hope this series does good. @@
Agree!!!!
Awesome! I can’t wait! Today is going to be a good day. Great news!
Did not see this coming. I’m in.
Uhm, you haven’t even read this yet, how sure are you that its good?
Also, I’d like to see this out of main DC continuity, I want everything to be just like in Smallville. No need to try and correct any “mistakes”
I’m going to be picking this up instead of the second JMS Earth One book. I really enjoyed the Stephanie Brown Batgirl so here’s hoping some of that magic can be rebottled.
Agreed.
I was satisfied with how Smallville ended and didn’t need it to continue in comics, but the creative team of Miller and Perez, responsible for the best single issue of 2011 with Batgirl #17, has me completely sold. I may buy the print version, though, since I can’t stand DC’s technique of chopping regular-sized comic pages in half to fit horizontally on a tablet.
And WB needs to hurry up and release a Smallville Complete Series Blu-ray set already.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
REMY ZERO!!!!!
I’m 10 seasons behind (never seen an episode..damn you netflix)….i wonder if its a good jumping on point? ha
i love the idea of digital first release….its a cool idea.
I’m kind of in the same boat. Never seen a single episode, so I probably won’t pick this up. I am however fascinated by the release strategy, seems like another ploy to capture the ever-elusive “untapped audience”….I may actually work(on a very small scale of course).
Soooooooooooooooooo pumped for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not for nothing but this concept should have been connected to the DC relaunch as Superman #1.
Continuity Schmontinuity.
Yes! This is great news.. The Smallville TV show is what got me into reading monthly comic books. Plus, it’s the only show that my family would regularly tune in together and watch. Together, as a family! I’ll be buying multiple copies every month to give out.
OMG same here. ^5
Ech, really don’t care about Smallville and I’m really disappointed that the kick ass creative team behind Batgirl are.in my honest opinion, wasting their talents on a series that seems, I don’t know, kind of pointless.
More people watched Smallville weekly than read all the Superman monthly books combined. Pointless??? I think not.
I just mean it’s pointless because the whole point of Smallville was to show the years (the lots and lots and lots of years) that lead up to Clark Kent becoming Superman. Now that he is Superman isn’t it just more Superman comics with a slightly different continuity. I would rather have just had this team do a Superman comic and finished – though of course, where they really belong is injecting life into the whole “Young Justice” line.
Just realized what this means…. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
We could FINALLY see “Smallville’s” Batman and Wonder Woman and Green Lantern and…….
Possibilities are endless now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ooooh. Good point.
Don’t you mean Wondrous Woman?
Good catch.
Yes, Wondrous Woman that’ll throw you for a loop.
I had a fanboy squeal when Chloe said that.
Save for Season 6, I loved every minute of Smallville and came to know and love the characters. I’m hoping the artist will create as close to look-a-like replicas of our favorite characters. LOVE the cover art here!
I was hoping to see Miller writing again.
ditto!
This sounds amazing! Love Smallville, but didn’t like that we didn’t get a good look at the outfit. Now, we get to really see the outfit!
Really?!? really…..They jerked you followers around for 10 years before putting Clark in the costume…THEN gave you shitty CGI that looked like some high school kids had put it together for a class project after you waited SOOOO long to see him don the cape. And ended it…NOW, the only way you’re going to see him as Superman is in a comic? That’s SUPER LAME! I wanted to see this in LIVE ACTION!
This is why I refused to watch this show in the first 7 seasons.
And, as a dumb ass that I am, I’ll read this book simply because Miller is writing again…..
I’m not sure what you mean by they jerked us around. It’s not like they promised he’d be Superman on the show and then teased us along for ten years. They explicitly said he wouldn’t be Superman… because that’s not what the show was about. It wasn’t about Superman, it was about Clark Kent becoming Superman.
Exactly Conor. Wasn’t the credo “no tights, no flights” for the longest time?
I’m preeetty sure they very clearly stated a number of times that the show would END with Clark donning the costume. So, there definitely wasn’t jerking anyone around… although, to be fair, I know I read those statements from the producers on comic book and entertainment websites because I’m a geek and I seek those things out. So I wonder if there’s a contingent of the mainstream who just kept thinking Clark would actually become Superman during the run of the show?
For me, I never wanted him to become Superman. The journey was the fun part. I just got tired after about four seasons because I thought they tapped out the concept.
But the comic could be fun, if they do a nice accessible Superman. And I dig BQM.
a former coworker’s husband worked crew for a while on the show, and he had told me they were legally not allowed to use anything from the Superman/Superboy brand in the first few seasons. He was telling me about all the checks and balances they had to deal with to keep it really distant from the Superman brand. There were all kinds of legal studio things at play.
Thats kind of the reason why i never got into the show…i had heard it was more of a teen drama kinda show and i wasn’t interested in it.
I agree with Conor, noone said he’ll appear as Superman. Besides, isnt the show called Smallville?
Anyways @wally not sure how true that is, but its nothing like a teen drama. There were beautiful dialogues with Clark and Johnathan, Clark and Martha.
The dynamics with Lana, Lex and Clark was brilliant. Lex got tons of fans after the TV show. Lois and Clark were both great. Chloe and Ollie, love them together. Its everything you want in a Smallville TV series.
They were targetted to teens, but it kept the core Superman concept and many interesting villains appeared in the series.
@mrsethypants—i’ll be totally honest…the main reason i never watched it was because my little cousin (like pre-teen at the time) had her bedroom covered in Tom Welling posters and had weekly watching parties for her friends to ooh and ahh over the teeny bopper hotness of all the menz in the show…..so i stayed away.
I’d check the show out now in hindsight…but its not on netflix streaming! argh.
Somewhere, Dean Cain is trying to get Didio on the phone ” Lois & Clark will totally work as a digital comic. And you get use me for photo-referencing. I assure you I’m available. Hello? Hello?”
Pretty happy about this, especially given the Green Arrow pilot is not a spinoff.
Should have happened much sooner to the end of the show though and followed more directly on from the show.
Nice to see DC trying some digital first things out.
I’ll try it. Batgirl was great and I think this is a good spot for Smallville. He’s actually Superman, but he’s already faced most of the foes. What’s left? Also, will the digital version play the theme every time I open the issue?
I never watched Smallville, ’cause, in the beginning I heard it wasn’t that good & by the time I heard it had gotten good, I had no time to catch up. So, I was all set to ignore this until I saw Miller & Perez were doing it. Now, I shall try my hardest to squeeze it into my budget. I loved the Brown Batgirl, and still think that DC made a mistake in replacing her with a healed Barbara, but anyway. I’m happy to see them both working and will be quite curious to see the results.
Oh, and I’ll probably buy the physical issues, since that’s the kinda guy I am . . .
When my wife and I were first dating and were fairly poor, Smallville was date night. I think I will give this a try.
How sweet.
This Cat Staggs cover is superb! But has anyone seen the Gary Frank cover? I normally like his stuff, but wow… its really really terrible!
http://supermanhomepage.com/images/solicitation-artwork/May-2012/Skipped/smallville-embed.jpg
What a great idea …should pull in none comics fans like Buffy did.
What a shame the cover art shown here is so bloody awful!
S
Crikey… the Gary Frank Cover is even worse!!
I like the art by Cat Staggs.
I am glad they are doing this. But where the hell’s the red shorts!! The costume looks indecent without it. It was there during the finale that last time I checked!!!! It doesn’t have to follow the MOS movie. They shouldn’t have taken it away, they should have left it alone!
Glad to see this. It made sense to end Smallville when they did, but there were plenty of potential stories left. Ironically, this could revitalize Green Arrow as a character in books. I found the pathos of Smallville’s Green Arrow than Tom Welling’s Clark Kent. There is a built in readership for this book too. I’ll look forward to checking it out.
I miss lost 🙂 Disney owns abc and Marvel so…
That would be interesting, although I wonder how all the flash forwards/backwards/sideways would work in the comics medium. Even though the finale provided a definitive ending to the series, there was a LOT of unseen content and action that would provide rich resources for an ongoing comic book.