Scott Lobdell On Preparing Superman For a Major Change Coming in the Fall

Veteran comics writer Scott Lobdell has a new Superman Annual out today–one of a handful of Superman and Action Comics stories that he’s been working on for the last few months since he took over both titles when Andy Diggle and Tony Daniel left Action.Dealing with Brianiac, the issue puts Lois Lane in danger and features art by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund.Lois, in particular, is of interest since the Superman supporting cast is a topic that we discuss quite a bit below; Lobdell joined ComicBook.com to talk about leaving his pet project, Red Hood and the Outlaws, for DC’s biggest property and what he’s building to for the fall’s Superman #25.ComicBook.com: So I’ve lost the exact count, but I think roughly, you are the writer of I think 46 of DC’s books.Scott Lobdell: Yes–46 of the New 52. And I am fifty-two, so it’s kind of ironic.ComicBook.com: You know–I just spoke to your replacement on Red Hood & the Outlaws. What was it like leaving a book like that, where you’d built such a unique series?Lobdell: You know–if you would tell me who that is and where I can find him? Apparently they won’t tell me who’s writing the book because they’re afraid that I will fly into a rage.I kind of felt like with the last two issues I had told a complete story, so that made it easier. It wasn’t as if I was writing one day and then yanked away from the book. Somebody told me yesterday–they said “The book was so you…” and so leaving a Superman or something, when the time comes, Superman existed before me and will exist after me. But Red Hood & the Outlaws was something that I created from scratch, so it’s kind of like–Rodney Dangerfield used to say that when someone else tells your jokes it’s like having someone else beat your kids. So I do miss the gang.ComicBook.com: But you’re doing…well, not only Superman, but you’re doing a hell of a lot of Superman right now.Lobdell: Yeah, it seems that way. I’m doing Action Comics and I have the Annuals coming up and stuff. I felt it was important, the few issues that I got to do of Action, to bring the book to the modern moment. I think Grant did a great job and Andy did a great job of telling stories throughout that five year period but it was like, “Let’s take Action and make it feel almost like a biweekly Superman book.”ComicBook.com: It’s the first time in a long time that there’s been that kind of post-Byrne feeeling that there’s a kind of through-line going through the books.