Action and Detective: No Superman or Batman? No problem

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — DC executives attending the annual ComicsPRO meeting were asked about upcoming issues of “Action Comics” and “Detective Comics” that wouldn’t star traditional heroes Superman and Batman.  Will the lack of those heroes cause sales to drop?

Detective Comics will feature Batwoman as the lead character, written by Greg Rucka and drawn by J.H. Williams.  Rucka is the writer on Action Comics, starring characters Flamebird and Nightwing. Issue #875, drawn by Eddy Barrows, is on sale now.  Didio said the art for Detective Comics is phenomenal, and will draw new readers to the series.

“I can’t wait to see this stuff because it’s just so cool-looking,” Didio said. “(Williams’) Batwoman stuff is just dynamite.”

Didio also reiterated the strong ties between Action Comics and the rest of the Superman world.

“Those characters (Flamebird and Nightwing) originated in Action Comics,” Didio said.  “(And) Superman’s not gone — he’s just not the star of the book right now.   If somebody is a Superman fan, they should feel engaged by this storyline and excited by it.”

DC’s vice president of sales Bob Wayne indicated that numbers on “Action Comics” ordered so far under Greg Rucka’s run are nearly the same as previous numbers under Geoff Johns.

– Matt Price