For the past couple of weeks I've been noodling around with a short comic script starring Lois Lane. Just an 8 or 10 page thing of the type you'd find in a Superman 80-Page Giant. In it, she confronts a classic Superman villain (not Lex) for an interview with some very personal consequences for our intrepid reporter. I consider it a portfolio piece, something to test the waters in a medium I'm hoping to do some laps in some day soon. I chose Lois because she's a character I admire. A household name who's sort of criminally underexposed in today's comics. Simply put, she's a character I'd like to read about on a more consistent, prominent basis. And since I can't, I've endeavored to write her.
Scrolling through Tumblr today I stumbled on some information I found frustrating as both a reader and a writer. Credit for bringing this to my attention goes to DC Women Kicking Ass and artist Doc Shaner.
Project Rooftop editor Dean Trippe and artist Daniel Krall developed a thoughtful and downright elegant concept for a series of illustrated YA novels starring Lois Lane: Girl Reporter. Trippe posted a detailed portion of the pitch, including character descriptions and plot breakdowns, a prose excerpt and some of Krall's wonderful illustrations, to his blog. Why so forthcoming? Because DC rejected the project, and it will likely never come to fruition.
Here's Trippe's premise:
"THE PREMISE
"Lois Lane, Girl Reporter follows the adventures of young Lois Lane. At eleven years old, Lois has discovered her calling: investigative journalism. She sets out to right wrongs and help out her friends. This series explores Lois’s character, reveals her surprising early influence on the future Man of Steel, and introduces fun new elements into this enduring character’s back story.
"In each book, Lois will tackle a problem or mystery affecting the members of the community she finds herself in as she travels around the country. The investigations in this series will not be mystical or supernatural (though some characters may suspect such sources), but real world problems that Lois works to set right."
And it's not like this is all about Lois solving mysteries with a basset hound. Young Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are in there too. How do you walk away from this product?"
I'm not remotely the target audience for this book, but I would've picked them all up anyway. Not just to support the creators or the idea of a smartly produced series for teen girls. But because I love the "girl with flashlight" genre. From my mom's old mildewed Nancy Drew hardcovers, to Veronica Mars, to Batgirl: Year One and the unsinkable Stephanie Brown. I've grown up around smart, bold women and I've been falling for them my entire life. It's why I dig Lois Lane and it's why I'm so disappointed that DC walked away from such a promising concept. YA books are a hot prospect right now, and denying this character her rightful prominence is honestly pretty lame.
Does it make me want to drag my Lois Lane script into the Trash folder? Not in the least. If anything, I'm even more serious about getting it right. Even if it's just for the people who know me.
Read more about Dean Trippe's Lois Lane: Girl Reporter.
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Great; more interesting things DC Comics will never publish. I’d rather just think they were lummoxes than know they are actively rejecting things like this and Superman 2000.
I woulda picked this up, especially for my nieces.
Maybe, just maybe, we might get a one-shot…sigh, maybe not
“Does it make me want to drag my Lois Lane script into the Trash folder? Not in the least. If anything, I’m even more serious about getting it right. Even if it’s just for the people who know me.”
Paul’s writing fanfic now?
@KickAss Did you just jump in mid article?
This sounds awesome.
And every one should be allowed to explore their fandom and explore the mechanics of craft in their own way. If that qualifies as “fanfiction” so be it. One size does not fit all. And that’s fine.
honestly, i wouldn’t buy it. i don’t think we can get up set about the companies not publishing books that would be doomed from the beginning.
also, i would like to see Daniel Krall do something original than re-work a Lois Lane story
Looks like a great concept, and one that might have actually grown the market and expanded demographics some.
But instead DC wants to publish things like the 14 Flashpoint tie-in series, most of them featuring C-list characters and written by assistant editors. This is where their priorities are.
Is there some hidden part of number-crunched reality that we just don’t know about? In the innermost offices of Marvel and DC, do they have irrefutable evidence suggesting that the industry is going to die anyway, and hence any slightly outside-the-box mainstream-oriented project would just be a waste of time and money?
@edward
yep evryone seems to want it but nobody is going to buy it.
i would buy a lois lane book but its just will not sell in this market. i hope the market changes enough to let a book like it to survive but its not in this market.
honestly does anyone think that this book would really sell the 15-20,000 copies needed to break even. a lot less effort to come out with another green lantern or batman book that will sell 50,000 copies.
Note: This is not a comic. It’s an illustrated prose novel series. Different market.
love the character design.
would love to see in a comic book (illustrated prose is great, too, but for me, it would be the comic).
secret desire: lois and mary jane work on a story together.
this would have been neat. Lois Lane as a sort a teen investigative reporter? nice, thoughtful update of Nancy Drew, I guess.
ah well
@PaulMontgomery ah! right. still…
If it’s not your bag, I get that. I still think there’s a market for this.
I would have bought this in a heartbeat, I love Lois and the premise just sounds awesome. Shame we will never get to see it 🙁
If we had Spider-Man love mary jane why not this?
Come on DC, get yer finger out … at least try it!
What a beautiful series of books that could have been. If this found a home in the Timmverse it could be a cartoon that defined a generation of young women.
Thanks, guys. 🙂
@PaulMontgomery I probably have no right saying this since I’m a 30 something male. But, Paul you have proven it a few times that you have a knack for finding “the voice” of certin charcters, and the best ones seem to be young and female (although spidy seems to also qualify, don’t know what that says about him). Please keep at all of it, it’s a blast to read. And I look forward to reading you in wider realease… Some day
John
That was awesome well done!
I would absolutely buy this in a heartbeat. One of the things that I’ve hated about the modern Superman books is how the supporting cast just isn’t being followed. I guess I was spoiled in the 90s when 4-5 issues a month meant there was time and pages to follow their lives too.
Please let this happen.
@JohnNevets That’s very kind. Thank you.
Aggh! I would have bought this in a second and probably would have gotten another for my little sister. Still trying to get her into comics. so far she only likes Vaughn’s Runaways (which is definitely excellent), but I’m trying to get her to branch out.
Oh man, this could be so awesome! This is designed down to the letter for myself and my daughter. (Yes, yes, I’m always talking about my daughter. The name is PowerDad. But you can’t blame me in this case! Oh man!)
Who at DC can I write about this story or this sort of thing? And I’m not talking an email, I mean an actual, physical letter here. I tell you, I’m writing DC, perhaps with an attention to Diane Nelson?
Honestly guys, letter writing gets some attention. For most companies a single letter is considered to represent many silent people; that’s why writing an actual letter can have impact. (Well, possibly have impact – but it doesn’t usually hurt.)
Of course, if a couple letters have no impact, WE (daughter and I)would love to read whatever fan-fic you produce, Paul. Seriously, this is so up our alley.
@deantrippe Dean, I was just looking at Tumblr, and this looks even better than what Paul described above. (http://deantrippe.tumblr.com/post/4021523420/lois-lane-girl-reporter)
I will fire up the word processor tonight, and get a letter in the mail. Honestly, this looks awesome!
Thanks, powerdad. Don’t worry about trying to get DC to do it. That ship’s sailed as far as I’m concerned. They’re welcome to use their creators do try something like this, and I think that’d be a good idea, but I’m on to the next thing. I don’t really mean this to sound as harsh/cocky as it does, but the simple fact is, I’m not going to keep hoping the decision-making guys who can’t make good comics will realize I can.
You might be able to make a better comic, but you certainly cant keep a good deadline. I’m still waiting for a sketch I paid you for last Sept. 2010. You keep sending me excuse after excuse as to why you havent done it, but I see all these other things your producing. $125 down the drain! I’d think twice if I was Marvel or DC.