11.3 - Haunted - Discussion Thread (Spoilers)

[ironman29758]

Originally Posted by Johnny

Jeez, Scott Kolins is good but did they really have to choose him for cover art? People have been complaining for awhile about cover art looking too cartoony, now it's just way out there. For some reason Scott Kolins reminds me a lot of John Romita Jr. and I don't think that's ok for Smallville. Anyway, is that Barry Allen? Bart isn't blond.

Edit: Nevermind, BQM said on twitter it's Bart. I guess he had a dyejob.

Well Bart in the episode Run was a little more blonde than brunette and had a comics Barry/John Wesley Shipp Barry style haircut then as Justice and Doomsday came he had a more brunette/comic Bart hairstyle. Plus in Prophecy(a Brian Q Miller episode) he was given a lot of Barry traits(his file reads that he has Blonde hair, blue eyes, the ability to pass through solid objects and is a Central City resident plus he had Captain Cold as a villain basically).

This was the second episode BQM gave Bart more Flash like traits-first being Hex(him and Clark going to Keystone City/hometown of Wally West, Jay Garrick and Bart Allen Kid Flash) to deal with a crisis which in a podcast interview was revealed to be a rampaging gorilla as a shoutout to Gorilla Grodd and Ollie was going to say "Bart always gets the interesting rouges" but was later cut due to time restraints and they didn't want a League member taking too much time from Zatanna's debut episode but maybe it can appear in the comic.)

[The Incredible Hulk]

Originally Posted by LJ-90

I wonder if this has anything to do with the Crisis. Smallville is selling kinda low (around 19 000) and Miller said that he had a "short cut" if things looked bad for the book so he could finish the season early. I really hope that's not the case because as far as I was concerned Haunted was to be something like a "mid-season finale" because the last chapter would be the one year anniversary of the book.

selling low in print? I had heard the book was doing very well, at least digitally.

[LJ-90]

Originally Posted by The Incredible Hulk

selling low in print? I had heard the book was doing very well, at least digitally.

It sells ok in digital (I'm not sure if it's still #1 every week) but in print it sells around 19 000, in twitter a fan said that's kinda low and BQM just said that those have been the numbers for a while. Also, a fan asked if we would get a "Christmas" issue and BQM said that it wouldn't work this year and the same fan said "there's always next year, right?" and he just said "fingers crossed".

Maybe I'm just being paranoid but I'm worried about the book, that's all. I don't want it to go away any time soon.

[Johnny]

I worry about that too. But in Smallville's case I think digital sales are more important. So I hope it doesn't get cancelled soon.

[The Incredible Hulk]

I buy my digital copy religiously every Friday (when there is a new one) on comixology. Havent picked up one of the print books yet however.

[LJ-90]

I'm going to order the trade for Guardian, it's easier for me, I would order every issue in print but it gets kinda expensive for me. I would like that DC let the trades come out faster, I mean, Guardian finished like 3 months ago and I still have to wait a lot for the trade.

Anyway, the episode looks great, I always loved Bart. And I really hope this has to do with the Crisis, BQM said Haunted is Lois-heavy and we'll learn about Eart-2 there so...

It looks even better than Detective!

[Binker]

SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 #11
Written by BRYAN Q. MILLER
Art by PERE PEREZ
Cover by SCOTT KOLINS
On sale MARCH 6 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
• All-new digital adventures in print for the first time!
• In order to face Bart’s demons, Superman and Impulse confront a reluctant ally: the JSA’s Jay Garrick!
• Lois’s investigation into Lex takes a surprising turn.
• Chloe’s journey through her doppelg‰nger’s memories turns dangerous.

[ironman29758]

Originally Posted by Binker

Thanks Binker you are the man! First Bart and now Jay too! This is a dream come true. I wonder what Chloe finds out. Maybe Clark Luthor has something to do with this. I wonder how much Lois finds out Lex's secret.

[Binker]

Given the last scene of Clark Luthor, I wonder if Earth-2 Ultraman/Superman had a redemption story gone tragic at the end (because of a Crisis element).

[ironman29758]

well seeing as how Haunted begins tomorrow there has been couple of spoiler reveals and interviews:

first from Amazon(don't know if it's legit or not):
http://www.amazon.com/Smallville-Sea...ille+Season+11

Smallville Season 11 #25 [Kindle Edition]
Bryan,Q. Miller (Author), Jorge Jimenez (Illustrator)
“Haunted” part 1! Lex Luthor dives far into his own mind, trying to force Tess into revealing her secrets. Just as he’s about to make a breakthrough, he’s forced to confront a former…experiment…named Psimon, who’s after his blood. If only Lex could remember him! Will Superman be able to stop Psimon, or will he need the help of a very fast friend?

second from TV GUIDE which includes pictures as well as the reveal of the print issue 9 cover:

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Smallvil...k-1057735.aspx
http://www.tvguide.com/PhotoGallery/...son-11-1057741

Smallville Season 11 Comic Book Features Impulse and Expands its Universe
Dec 13, 2012 10:46 AM ET
by Rich Sands

As the Smallville Season 11 comic book begins its third arc the story is about to speed up — literally. Clark Kent's old friend and teammate Bart Allen, aka the lightning-fast hero Impulse, makes his debut in the digital series in this Friday's chapter. And DC Comics has plans to expand the series, a top-selling title in both digital and print.

The new arc, "Haunted," will explore the origins of Bart's ability to run at super speed. "There's something that has been haunting Bart for some time, some baggage he's been carrying," says writer Bryan Q. Miller of the title. "Everyone in our story is being haunted — physically, metaphorically — by some element of their past."

When Bart first appeared in the TV show's fourth season episode "Run," he told Clark there was an accident and "this huge flash of light" that gave him his turbo charge. "For the first time ever we head-on address how Bart got his powers," says Miller, who was also a writer on the TV series. "Perhaps there was more to it than possibly even Bart knows."

"Haunted" will have more direct connections to the television show than Season 11's earlier stories. "It's the first time we are relying heavily on previous Smallville series history," Miller says. "This arc has many more roots in specific episodes and mythology from the series." It also continues Chloe's quest to learn more about her dopplegänger from the parallel universe of Earth 2, as well as Lex's attempts to fill in the blanks of his amnesia.

"So industrious was Lex at covering his own tracks, that he hid the information from himself," Miller says. He's been harassed by his subconscious memory of his half-sister Tess, who he killed in the TV finale just as she drugged him with a mind-erasing drug. "Tess' memories are that last bastion of him. This is his last desperate attempt to find out the man he was before the amnesia, and also to find out what she knows — that he presumably also knew — about Superman."

Smallville Season 11 is published digitally three Fridays a month (and later collected in print editions). Starting Friday, Jan. 4, a new series of parallel adventures will be published digitally on the title's off-week. The first arc, "Effigy" features a team-up with John Jones, aka the Martian Manhunter (another recurring guest star on the TV show), and Batman, who made his Smallville universe debut in Season 11's most recent storyline. "These are stories that will help fill in the rest of our world while Clark is busy on his main adventure," Miller says. "The first four off-weeks will be 'Effigy.' It gives everyone a chance to keep that Smallville machine rolling every week."

Smallville Season 11 is available for download at readdcentertainment.com, the iBookstore, Nook Store and Kindle Store. For an exclusive first look at the first chapter of "Haunted," click here.

Flash Bart Allen SV S11 smallville1-intro1_325x500.jpg

Superman RS Lex Luthor SV S11 smallville1-1_500x383.jpg

Flash Bart Allen SV S11 smallville1-2_500x386.jpg

[ironman29758]

Flash Bart Allen SV s11 smallville1-3_500x384.jpg

Flash Bart Allen SV S11 smallville1-4_500x384.jpg
Plus BQM said on twitter there would be an interview with IGN either today or tomorrow.

[vantheman77]

Bart is looking more like his grandfather, Barry.

It's a shame that we had to see Clark beat Bart in a speed race in print than what we saw on TV.

[ironman29758]

Originally Posted by vantheman77

Bart is looking more like his grandfather, Barry.

It's a shame that we had to see Clark beat Bart in a speed race in print than what we saw on TV.

Is it wrong for me to say I hope Bart beats Clark in the end? I guess that it means Bart is closer to his destiny as Smallville's Flash(especially since Jay Garrick is coming in #11, and Bryan gave Smallville Bart a lot of Flash/Barry elements in Hex and Prophecy through mentions and notes)

[smallville fan]

Originally Posted by vantheman77

Bart is looking more like his grandfather, Barry.

It's a shame that we had to see Clark beat Bart in a speed race in print than what we saw on TV.

Isn't Clark faster than Bart when he flies?

[vantheman77]

Originally Posted by smallville fan

Isn't Clark faster than Bart when he flies?

He should be or at least be equal to his speed.

[ironman29758]

Here is the IGN Interveiw with BQM which has a few spoilers bolded:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/12/...d228107c00009e

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

Smallville Season 11: Building the Justice League

Bart Allen returns to the Smallville Universe.
by Joey Esposito DECEMBER 14, 2012
DC Comics' continuation of the smash-hit Smallville with its digital-first Season 11 continues to expand the ever-blossoming universe, first with its introduction of Hank Henshaw, then by debuting Batman and Robin, and now a familiar face from the show returns in the form of Bart Allen, aka Impulse.

With the Smallville superheroes growing at a consistent rate and the reveal of new "interlude" chapters that will focus on characters in the Smallville Universe that aren't directly related to the ongoing events -- like Batman and Martian Manhunter -- it makes one wonder if we'll soon see the debut of this universe's Justice League...

To get the answer to that question and a whole bunch more, we talked with series writer Bryan Q. Miller. The latest chapter of Smallville: Season 11 goes on sale each and every Friday on the DC Comics app powered by Comixology. The Impulse arc, titled Haunted, begins today!

IGN Comics: Unlike Batman, we’ve actually seen a speedster in Smallville before. Is this the Bart Allen we met during the course of the TV show?

Bryan Q. Miller: Yes, though he’s arriving with a Season 11 “upgrade” – a new look, and exciting new sound effects… like “VING!” Plus, it was time for the hoodie to go. Like we (and by we, I mean me) pointed out in Season 10’s “Masquerade”, how DOES a hood stay up when you’re running at the speed of sound?

Under the outfit, he’s definitely the same “amigo” who stole Pa Kent’s wallet, lo those many years ago. But there’s something he’s been hiding from his friend, Clark, for almost as long as he’s known him. When he shows up in Metropolis, that secret won’t be very far behind.

IGN: So is he still going by Impulse or has he graduated to the Flash now?

Miller: He’s still Impulse, through and through. We did, however (in Season 9’s “Absolute Justice”) have a nod toward the JSA’s very own Flash, Jay Garrick. So, this next arc will technically have a Flash in it… at some point.

IGN: How do Clark and Bart's paths cross this time around? Does it build upon the ongoing narrative of Season 11?

Miller: What seems like a perfectly innocuous social visit (Bart’s yet to see Big Blue in the tights in person) takes a turn for the worse within the first 30 pages. Clark and Bart’s thread in Haunted delves much more into Bart’s backstory and current dilemma. Chloe’s thread, on the other hand, moves us down the field on the season’s “Crisis” front. And Lois may begin to learn some surprising things about Lex as she starts to dig. We’ve got a lot going on in Haunted, to say the least.

IGN: You know, we’ve got Superman, Green Arrow, Batman, and now Impulse is back… could it be you’re building to an official Justice League for the Smallville Universe?

Miller: Absolutely. Though, by the time we see them out in full force towards the end of the season, it may not be the roster everyone’s expecting. Regardless, we’ve got a few more familiar DCU faces to meet before we do a roll call.

IGN: What’s the dynamic between Superman and Impulse like here? How does their history together affect that relationship as opposed to the dynamic we saw between Bruce and Clark?

Miller: This arc is definitely deeply entrenched in certain moments in series history, and not just on the Bart side of things. “Run”; “Justice”; “Fracture” and the both our Earth 2 episodes all play a part in the whole. Clark and Bart already know each other, and already have a history, so they don’t need to push through that awkward “getting to know you” phase of two heroes’ relationship where they punch each other through walls. Even though at one point, someone DOES send Bart flying at a wall… and he gets to vibrate through it!

IGN: Because it’s basically a requirement to ask concerning these two characters: might we be seeing your take on a Superman vs. Flash race for the Smallville Universe?

Miller: Briefly, yes. WAY back when I was breaking the season, the race was going to be a legitimate component, but it fell away by the time I got to writing Haunted. They do race, however, and there is an answer as to which of them is fastest.

IGN: Are there any other characters you’d like to bring into the Smallville fold that haven’t been seen yet?

Miller: Yes. More than a few. But, before we get to that point, we’ll be revisiting another old friend we haven’t seen for a while.

IGN: Awesome. Now, I understand that you guys are changing up your release schedule a bit?

Miller: Yeah, we’re doing something new with our digital release schedule, starting in January. Typically, we’ve been on for 3 weeks out of every month, and dark for every Friday that passes until we’ve had our print issue come out. Lather, rinse, repeat. In January, during our first break in the Haunted arc, we’ll be rolling out the first of our “Interlude” or “Meanwhile” stories – shorter Smallville Universe tales that run as digital exclusive chapters across those formerly dark Fridays. Stories featuring Smallville universe characters not involved in the main narrative.

IGN: So what's the first of those interlude chapters about?

Miller: The same week that sees Haunted’s first 30 pages collected in print, that Friday, Effigy begins – a 4 chapter tale that follows Detective John Jones -- Smallville’s Martian Manhunter -- as he investigates a series of murders that have a deeply-rooted connection to his past. And our Batman (whom we met in Detective) goes along for the ride. We come back the next Friday with another 3 Fridays in a row of Haunted, then return for chapter 2 of Effigy, and so on. Axel Gimenez (who helped us round out Detective by filling in on art for Chapter 23) is on Effigy for pencils.


IGN: Are those interludes going to be collected in the monthly print comics as well?

Miller: Our parallel Smallville narratives will be digital-exclusive, only seeing print in collected trades. We wrestled for a while with trying to find a way to deliver uninterrupted Smallville and not step on print scheduling’s toes – this is a great way to accommodate print and spin more Smallville tales in the process. Hopefully, this might also lure some of our print-only die-hards (for whom we have endless appreciation) over to the apps to see what all the digital fuss is about.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator. Follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyEsposito, or find him on IGN at Joey-IGN. He turns on Remy Zero right before he reads any chapter of the Smallville comic.

by the way does anyone knows what happens in the latest chapter?

[The Incredible Hulk]

thoughts on Haunted thus far?

[ironman29758]

Originally Posted by The Incredible Hulk

thoughts on Haunted thus far?

Well I'm going to buy the print issue 9 in stores, next week but based on what I heard from the little spoilers around the Internet, it's going great and the only problem was people don't like the costume(to me it looks like a combination of the comics Impulse look as well as the Smallville Impulse costume without the hood with Bart looks more like Barry with a little Kyle Gallner infused but personality is 100%Kyle Bart)

but yeah from what I've seen and heard I'm loving what Bryan Q Miller is doing with the Smallville cast(I felt ever since Hex that BQM wanted to write a Bart/Clark team up scene if not a episode) and like the callbacks to previous episode and how he introduced/is introducing

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

Psimon, Monsieur Mallah, The Brain and Black Flash

and can't wait for the next chapter.

[smallville fan]

Aww for a moment I was totally psyched that the Gorilla in today's issue was Grodd

It would've been so awesome if it was Grodd

[ironman29758]

Originally Posted by smallville fan

Aww for a moment I was totally psyched that the Gorilla in today's issue was Grodd

It would've been so awesome if it was Grodd

Yeah I thought BQM was going to finally do the scene he was talking about in one of the Podcasts about "Hex" where he expanded on the mission in Keystone City with Bart and Clark where they were chasing after a rampaging Gorilla and Oliver delivers a line about "Bart always gets the most interesting Rouges" but I'm glad they got to show the other famous gorilla Supervillain and I kind of hope they either mention/hint at it or show it either in Haunted or the next time Bart shows up in the comic.

[Johnny]

Great chapter. Action-packed with some good Lex character moments. I was surprised they showed The Brain and Monsieur Mallah but I'm glad they put a good spin on them. BQM seems to enjoy giving campy villains like Prankster, Psimon and Brain a better take and make them relevant to the overall story. So far, so good. That was obviously The Black Flash after Bart, and as a huge fan of the Speed Force concept, I'm very happy they put that element in. The "Monkey" line was priceless. The art was great. I hope Jimenez draws more chapters than the other rotating artists, because he's just awesome. He draws Clark youthful and serious at the same time, with enough similarity to Tom while still putting his own spin on his looks. As a Smallville fan and DC reader, I'm delighted to see such a great balance between faithfulness to the source and artistic expression. Haunted may turn out to be the best chapter of S11 so far.

[The Caped Knight]

See I knew the solution would be for Clark to take a sun bath to remove the iso radiation . It's interesting that Emil is sightly fearful that the process could eventually turn Clark into raw energy . (like Electric Superman which occurred in the comics after Clark was transported into the very heart of Sun to restore his powers)

[Johnny]

Wasn't the "Sun will turn you into raw energy" thing from the All-Star Superman series?

[dru-zod2501]

Bart beat Clark in the race (as many of us expected anyway), but I call baloney on the idea that Clark's ground speed should decrease now that he can fly. I mean, I can sort of understand the reasoning behind it, but it still smells like ********. Even at his top speeds Clark still can't beat Flash, never could...

[JosephCAW]

Originally Posted by The Caped Knight

See I knew the solution would be for Clark to take a sun bath to remove the iso radiation . It's interesting that Emil is sightly fearful that the process could eventually turn Clark into raw energy . (like Electric Superman which occurred in the comics after Clark was transported into the very heart of Sun to restore his powers)

The whole Electric Superman was actually a parasite that latched on to Superman and changed his powers, I think they called it the "Strange Visitor" and it was a she who took the Electric Superman suit after they split