Dear DC: Make Us Believe a Man Can Fly (Again)

Dear DC,

Please bring the Super back to Superman in 2011.

J. Michael Straczynski started his run on the series with issue #701 and began Superman’s “Grounded” storyline in which Superman walks across the country to reconnect with the good people of America. So far we have gotten three terrible issues, a mediocre issue, and a fill-in Lois Lane-centric story by G. Willow Wilson that made me nostalgic for Straczynski’s work on the book.

Last month Straczynski found great success with his Superman: Earth One original graphic novel, a reinterpretation of the character and his origin which was a perfect fit for the writer who does not seem to work well within the constraints that sometimes come with writing the Man of Steel.

So what is DC doing with Superman? Putting this lousy storyline back in Wilson’s hands (preview above). Here is the description of issue #706 from DC’s blog, The Source:

Superman’s departure from Metropolis to walk across the country has led to a slow news cycle for the city’s biggest paper. If a lack of Superman front-page headlines weren’t bad enough for the paper, a muckraking news blog has accused the Planet of bribing Superman for their stories — putting even their journalistic integrity on the line!

With all of the paper’s best reporters on other duties, Perry White must recruit the help of a junior photographer to go undercover and save the Planet’s reputation.

Why is this happening? This is the second “Grounded” fill-in story—out of six—to not feature Superman. Consider this book officially dropped from my pull list.

I love human interest stories in comic books as long as they are not forced and contrived. And they can’t be written at the expense of the character. Straczynski could not find Superman’s voice and Wilson could not find Lois’ either.

DC, bring this long walk to an end.