Elle of El stands on the brink of the finest trial in the adventures of Superman of Elle. There were only two days left for the retailer to order the series (August 11th) and when I arrived on September 3rd, I spoke with Johnson of Fan Expo Boston to delve deep into the Hot New series.
Maxiseries reunites future states: Superman: House of El Creators Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski follow directly in Johnson’s action comic run, building towards a future that has been glimpsed in future states.
In the series, the superfamily peace is shattered when an enemy transformed into a powerful alliance invades Earth with the divine aspect of the unstoppable army and the mad god of the First World, Orglan. Even the combined forces of Elle’s house cannot stop him, forcing Superman to a place he never had before, and he will find an allegiance he could never have hoped for.
Courtesy DC
Connect the thread
“When tying together multiple storylines like this, I think it’s really important to reward the perfectionist without punishing anyone who only reads one story,” Johnson said. “I didn’t read the obscure things I wrote five years ago, so I don’t want to leave my readers behind. But I love rewarding them by giving them a little bit of lore points and art that I recognize from elsewhere.”
He explained the Elle of El is an idea he has played in “Essentially since the original future state story.”
What began as the concept of “Elseworlds” is “truth, the inevitable future where Superman’s adventures will one day lead, hiding small elements through Superman’s run, knowing where those plot points will ultimately lead.
Olgrun: Endgame’s Villain
Central antagonist, Orglan, was part of Johnson’s endgame from the start. He saw this character as a way to connect the DC Heroes Pantheon to Kirby’s fourth world and older gods who came before.
“He’s really mythical, too big to punch, too strong to oppose, invincible, indomitable, not knowing, immeasurable,” Johnson explained. Elle’s house discovers whether the gods once tore Orglant, and what is at risk if he returns.
Courtesy DC
The future Superman look
“There’s no Elle’s home without the beautiful design work that Scott did in our future state story,” Johnson said.
“Our prioritization of updated character design and setting is that they blow the minds of readers and capture the imagination just like they do with a high fantasy setting. This story takes place mostly in a new timeline.
Balancing big stakes with small moments
“There’s a touchstone element that must appear in every Superman story,” Johnson explained. “We have to show Superman’s off-chart powers in a dynamic and surprising way, but in the end those powers need to be on the page to explain how compassionate and uncorrupted he is. Ready.”
Speaking about his personal views on the character, Johnson said, “Superman shouldn’t call himself ‘Superman’. The word itself means that he has more than others, and it’s not how he sees himself.
Courtesy DC
The heart of Elle’s house
“We can’t wait for readers to learn more about the relationships between members of Elle’s family. The way the house has split up over the centuries, and what Superman means to them all,” Johnson said. “But more than anything, I want to give my readers more time with Superman and the Super Twins. I love those damn kids. I love how much they love each other, how they embraced them as their own, the opportunity to show them with Faelusians from other war worlds… I love those kids and I love how Clark is their dad.”
For fans of Future State: House of El, he promised:
“You’ll have more time with these characters. There are more complex character relationships, origins, history, support characters, visually interesting settings, all sorts of heroes, monsters. We’re now excerpting from real EL excerpts on all issues!
Adding dreams to the super family
“Ellie Stewart, the sister of John Stewart’s extremely revived sister,” Johnson replied when asked which non-Superman character would be added to his adventure. “Erie was the first sensory hard-light construct and I think she is not only very interesting and complicated, but very important. I would like to write more Ellie.
Superman of Adventure: Book of El combines years of careful planning, mythical interests and deep emotional beats to become a vision of Superman’s future that Johnson has built since his earliest work with the character.
The retailer’s final order cut-off is August 11th. The first issue will hit the shelf on September 3rd.
