Thanks for the comment Max I'm quite the fan! Chronicle is great and I love your take on comics (especially death and rebirth of superman) even though I've never really delved that deep myself.
+Uptomyknees Ok, so this "Batman": knew Joker left the city, knew Joker wouldn't kill anyone on the way to Metropolis, knew Joker would set bombs around Metropolis, with out slitting a throat or two, just to hope Superman would clean it up, and express where his mind is at? What was the contingency plan for the citizen's safety; and how doesn't this version of Batman differ from the Superman movie, where they fight in the city and destroy it. I understand that if Superman is actually a fucked up individual the WHOLE world is at risk, so it makes me wonder: was this Batman written to have a contingency plan, or is it a "sacrifice a few, to save a whole" type of thing?
I went out and bought the issue when I found out you wrote it. I hope you get the chance to write more Superman comics. You have a great voice for the character.
I saw this and immediately bought the issues and read along with you. I loved it man, Max you are easily one of the best writers for Superman I've ever read. I really wish you could get your own Superman series to write how ever you want because I'd read the shit out of every issue.
I've read it, really enjoyed it. I'm a minute and a half in, and this is as cringeworthy and you warned about, hahaha. Love it! Gotta finish this after work. Keep sharing stuff with us, Max. Can't wait for everything that's on the way.
Max Landis has written not only one of the best Superman comics, but also one of the best Joker stories. When I pick this up off the rack, it was a joy! Well done sir.
This was a one of the best Superman comics that I've read in years. It's how you first even came on my radar, then I found out you wrote Chronicle (which I love), then I found out you made that Death of Superman video, plus that people slapping video, and i've been hooked ever since.
Max, I can honestly say, I haven't been into comics for years, but thanks to you I'm getting back into it. And no, my first comic purchase as an adult won't be "Superman: American Alien"... it'll be "Adventures of Superman # 14" later today. I'll definitely get "Superman: American Alien" when it comes out though. Lover your dialogue. It's a sticking point for me in my scripts; but I'm working on it, trying to get better at that aspect of screenwriting.
Max this is really great. You are one of the few writers who seems to truly understand superman. American alien really highlights that, please keep writing superman!
I really liked your Joker voice, it's the same voice that I hear when I read a comic that has The Joker in it. And I really loved your comic, it was really cool and the art was awesome. I'd love to have you write Superman now that Johns is leaving, but everyone knows that, while Bob Harras and Jim Lee are there, DC is screwed. Greetings from Argentina!
Make another chronicle, that was a movie I expected to suck balls, and ended up being one of the best movies I've seen in the last few years, I rarely go to theaters, but that is one I really regret not seeing at the picture show
Uptomyknees Loved this! I'm such a dork I got my comic and read along with you lol I love some of the stuff you improvised! Next time you write a Superman comic have Tom Grummet do the art! Could definetly see Henry Cavill's calm, nice but firm Superman reading these lines. Maybe you should take Goyers job.....
Why is he holding a light? Did he not pay his electric bill or did someone from Berkley Art School convince him this was what artists do? The read along is a fun idea if I pass a comic store I will pick it up and finish watching. This kid will be so much more interesting once he grows out of his hipster phase.
Yeah, I am aware of who he is, douche bag. He is up-and-coming, he is hardly a professional on a "Hollywood level". LOL try taking your own advice. And he is also a hipster, I live in Silver Lake CA, I know what a hipster is.
Rich711 He wrote an extremely successful and critically praised feature film, he obviously wrote a comic book, he has finished shooting his first directorial film, Me Him Her. He wrote a Frankenstein film starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe. He also wrote two more feature films starring people such as Jesse Eisenberg, Kirsten Stewart, Anna Kendrick, Sam Rockwell, and others. I'm pretty sure that falls under the term "professional"
Stetson Robison Yeah, he sounds talented. But none of these projects have been released yet. Therefor, I say up-and-coming. He seems like a talented and funny hipster who this time next year may be the next best thing. I hope so, I love nerds, even hipster nerds. :P So, I say again, he will be much more interesting once he grows out of his hipster phase.
How am I supposed to suspend disbelief, wheen Superman can instantly vaporize the Joker with eye-lasers, is the Joker allowed to live? Is Superman is an accomplice to mass-murder?
Anybody who loves Superman or Max Landis would like this story, but anybody who's not up Superman's ass is annoyed by it. It superficially makes Batman and Batman's greatest villain look silly and the dialogue is way too direct. I understand that Max is trying to lean into these characters, because if Superman and Joker were ever really in a confrontation for the first time it would be relatively easy for Superman to stop him on the affront, but that doesn't mean that Joker couldn't have another cheap antic up his sleeve. In this story Joker could have been genuinely defeated, but then ordered one of his goons to hold someone hostage or took Superman up on his bluff to detonate the bombs, which would ultimately showcase how crazy Joker is and teach Superman a lesson about not underestimating criminals and/or not to use bluff/bullying tactics unnecessarily because it could ultimately bring about more harm than good. This is way too Superman partial and I'm annoyed after hearing it.
Max is spot on about Joker in this comic, and you fanboys can't stand it. Joker is the living embodiment of plot armor and bad writing, and he is the single worst thing about the medium. And please refrain from writing a thesis on why Joker is teh bestest villain evah, i've read dozens of them and they're all biased bullshit.
OverLordRiper "fanboys".. you throwing shots right out of the gate. Did you even read my comment? your response is disproportionately snarky to my comment. I offered suggestions on making a more balanced story, instead of a john cena match. john cena is bigger and stronger than Sammy Zayne, does that mean that the (scripted) segments and match should be one-sided, domineering performances by john cena? hell no.
thejumbalia That Sammy Zayne comparison really isn't helping, since catering to the smarks with First Name Last Name Mc Black Tights characters like Zayne is what fucked wrestling up so much. And the problem is, Max was right. At the end of the day, Joker IS just another killer in a stupid costume, killing people to hog an imaginary spotlight. He isn't a character, he's an idea. I love how he said:''Any actor can play you, any writer can write you'' because that's the truth, Joker has no character. He's just a bunch of traits cobbled together and the rest is up to whoever is portraying him. And why exactly should he ''teach Superman about not underestimating criminals?'' What's he gonna do? Kidnap his loved ones? The mental gymnastics it would take for Joker to merely accomplish this, let alone successfully maintain a hostage situation give me a migraine just thinking about them, and he's far from the only villain who has that option. Kill a bunch of innocent people? Again, what separates him from a mountain of other villains? He's crazy? Who gives a shit. That's not a superpower, and he's far from the only villain willing to go to any length. Hell, Henshaw is literally insane, but he's also extremely powerful. At the end of the, Joker having any sort of upper hand against Superman is merely to please the fanboys about how NOBODY MESSES WITH JOKAH HE'S SO COOL when at this point Black Adam or somebody would've just turned him into a stain on sheer principle. It was refreshing to read a story like this, rather then another ''Superman's IQ and powers drop by 99% so non-powered popular character can look good against him''.
OverLordRiper well then we'll never see eye to eye because you were entertained by this. as stated in my original comment, I understand and expect that a meeting between joker and superman (in real life) would end really abruptly, but for the sake of the story why waste time writing a Brock Lesnar match? This story isn't entertaining, no story constructed like this is entertaining. This is a Gary Stu esque waste of time, "why am I here" story. does any story like this: with star characters, yet without an arc have any chance of actually being a memorable and great story? if the point of the story is to show that superman taking on batman's villains is an extreme mismatch, and doesn't work thematically, then congratulations because it's a success. otherwise it's a total fail, unless a person has a grudge against batman's ethos or he's a tasteless superman fanboy
...and batman's response to superman while he is flying off should be: "That's what i was counting on, Clark."
you get it
Thanks for the comment Max I'm quite the fan! Chronicle is great and I love your take on comics (especially death and rebirth of superman) even though I've never really delved that deep myself.
+Uptomyknees Ok, so this "Batman": knew Joker left the city, knew Joker wouldn't kill anyone on the way to Metropolis, knew Joker would set bombs around Metropolis, with out slitting a throat or two, just to hope Superman would clean it up, and express where his mind is at? What was the contingency plan for the citizen's safety; and how doesn't this version of Batman differ from the Superman movie, where they fight in the city and destroy it. I understand that if Superman is actually a fucked up individual the WHOLE world is at risk, so it makes me wonder: was this Batman written to have a contingency plan, or is it a "sacrifice a few, to save a whole" type of thing?
Yes!
I LOVE your interpretation of Superman. Thankyou for proving a point about a character who is hated for no good reason whatsoever.
That awkward moment when Max has the same hairstyle as Kyle MacLachlan in Showgirls
Or Gary Oldman in the Fifth Element.
I went out and bought the issue when I found out you wrote it. I hope you get the chance to write more Superman comics. You have a great voice for the character.
Welp. I your Hope's have become realities.
Superman is my favorite superhero and this is one of my favorite one shot stories of the character to date. Awesome stuff!
I saw this and immediately bought the issues and read along with you. I loved it man, Max you are easily one of the best writers for Superman I've ever read. I really wish you could get your own Superman series to write how ever you want because I'd read the shit out of every issue.
I really felt the passion you have for Superman in this. Thanks for doing this.
I've read it, really enjoyed it. I'm a minute and a half in, and this is as cringeworthy and you warned about, hahaha. Love it! Gotta finish this after work. Keep sharing stuff with us, Max. Can't wait for everything that's on the way.
I am a fan of you. Creatively smart takes on stories we all think we know so well.
Max Landis has written not only one of the best Superman comics, but also one of the best Joker stories. When I pick this up off the rack, it was a joy! Well done sir.
This was a one of the best Superman comics that I've read in years. It's how you first even came on my radar, then I found out you wrote Chronicle (which I love), then I found out you made that Death of Superman video, plus that people slapping video, and i've been hooked ever since.
this is amazing. its super dorky but i love it. you keep getting more and more amazing. also, cant wait for me him her
I'm not called "Regular Man".
Max, I can honestly say, I haven't been into comics for years, but thanks to you I'm getting back into it. And no, my first comic purchase as an adult won't be "Superman: American Alien"... it'll be "Adventures of Superman # 14" later today. I'll definitely get "Superman: American Alien" when it comes out though. Lover your dialogue. It's a sticking point for me in my scripts; but I'm working on it, trying to get better at that aspect of screenwriting.
Amazing issue man! They need to give you control of him.
Max this is really great. You are one of the few writers who seems to truly understand superman. American alien really highlights that, please keep writing superman!
Finally got to read this. Great dialogue. Would make a fantastic short film.
I love this comic and i love you Max Landis, this is my favorite comic book i have.
I really liked your Joker voice, it's the same voice that I hear when I read a comic that has The Joker in it. And I really loved your comic, it was really cool and the art was awesome. I'd love to have you write Superman now that Johns is leaving, but everyone knows that, while Bob Harras and Jim Lee are there, DC is screwed. Greetings from Argentina!
And that's why batman villains never set foot in metropolis
Max Landis -- you are sheer awesomeness.
your joker voice sounds like jesse eisenberg's lex luthor
This is amazing!
motherfuckin max landis. :) i've gained the courage to grab the bull by the horns as a yung writer thanks to this guy
What's up Max, you should make more videos related to this like the 'regarding clark' vid. They're great!!!!!!! Have a chimichanga
Damn good, Max. Damn good.
Loved the issue. Put Joker in his place.
its genius. great story teller. now do chronicle 2!!
And then Injustice happened. Nice going, Landis.
I miss one video and the hair is gone. Whaaaaaat...
I started laughing pretty hard so I've stopped the video and I'm gonna go and buy the the comic asap
I love this ,more xD
Make another chronicle, that was a movie I expected to suck balls, and ended up being one of the best movies I've seen in the last few years, I rarely go to theaters, but that is one I really regret not seeing at the picture show
Thank you.
Will be sure to buy 7 Stories if/when it's released!
WOW Epic!
I think i better buy the issue before i watch this video or the experience of reading the comic will at least be partially ruined
Uptomyknees Loved this! I'm such a dork I got my comic and read along with you lol I love some of the stuff you improvised! Next time you write a Superman comic have Tom Grummet do the art! Could definetly see Henry Cavill's calm, nice but firm Superman reading these lines. Maybe you should take Goyers job.....
Isn't this Adventures of Superman #41, not 14?
Nice job of making him a bit more interesting.
Dig it
Why is he holding a light? Did he not pay his electric bill or did someone from Berkley Art School convince him this was what artists do? The read along is a fun idea if I pass a comic store I will pick it up and finish watching. This kid will be so much more interesting once he grows out of his hipster phase.
Yeah, I am aware of who he is, douche bag. He is up-and-coming, he is hardly a professional on a "Hollywood level". LOL try taking your own advice. And he is also a hipster, I live in Silver Lake CA, I know what a hipster is.
Rich711
lol ur a hipster
I wish... oh to be young and aware of contemporary music and fashion again. Nope, just a grumpy old man.
Rich711 He wrote an extremely successful and critically praised feature film, he obviously wrote a comic book, he has finished shooting his first directorial film, Me Him Her. He wrote a Frankenstein film starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe. He also wrote two more feature films starring people such as Jesse Eisenberg, Kirsten Stewart, Anna Kendrick, Sam Rockwell, and others. I'm pretty sure that falls under the term "professional"
Stetson Robison
Yeah, he sounds talented. But none of these projects have been released yet. Therefor, I say up-and-coming. He seems like a talented and funny hipster who this time next year may be the next best thing. I hope so, I love nerds, even hipster nerds. :P So, I say again, he will be much more interesting once he grows out of his hipster phase.
Why is this only just showing up on my mf FEED NOW?
I'm shadowbanned.
Great work, loved it. Will definitely be picking that up :) Would you be interested in an interview over Skype about your work Max?
Why did superman let joker walk away no jail or arkham
He's definitely headed to Arkham, he surrenders to police.
How am I supposed to suspend disbelief, wheen Superman can instantly vaporize the Joker with eye-lasers, is the Joker allowed to live? Is Superman is an accomplice to mass-murder?
*Not. An. Actor.*
Anybody who loves Superman or Max Landis would like this story, but anybody who's not up Superman's ass is annoyed by it. It superficially makes Batman and Batman's greatest villain look silly and the dialogue is way too direct. I understand that Max is trying to lean into these characters, because if Superman and Joker were ever really in a confrontation for the first time it would be relatively easy for Superman to stop him on the affront, but that doesn't mean that Joker couldn't have another cheap antic up his sleeve. In this story Joker could have been genuinely defeated, but then ordered one of his goons to hold someone hostage or took Superman up on his bluff to detonate the bombs, which would ultimately showcase how crazy Joker is and teach Superman a lesson about not underestimating criminals and/or not to use bluff/bullying tactics unnecessarily because it could ultimately bring about more harm than good. This is way too Superman partial and I'm annoyed after hearing it.
+thejumbalia It doesn't really bother me, because it feels like a lot of other people superficially make Superman look like a brutish moron
Max is spot on about Joker in this comic, and you fanboys can't stand it. Joker is the living embodiment of plot armor and bad writing, and he is the single worst thing about the medium. And please refrain from writing a thesis on why Joker is teh bestest villain evah, i've read dozens of them and they're all biased bullshit.
OverLordRiper "fanboys".. you throwing shots right out of the gate. Did you even read my comment? your response is disproportionately snarky to my comment. I offered suggestions on making a more balanced story, instead of a john cena match. john cena is bigger and stronger than Sammy Zayne, does that mean that the (scripted) segments and match should be one-sided, domineering performances by john cena? hell no.
thejumbalia That Sammy Zayne comparison really isn't helping, since catering to the smarks with First Name Last Name Mc Black Tights characters like Zayne is what fucked wrestling up so much.
And the problem is, Max was right. At the end of the day, Joker IS just another killer in a stupid costume, killing people to hog an imaginary spotlight. He isn't a character, he's an idea. I love how he said:''Any actor can play you, any writer can write you'' because that's the truth, Joker has no character. He's just a bunch of traits cobbled together and the rest is up to whoever is portraying him. And why exactly should he ''teach Superman about not underestimating criminals?'' What's he gonna do? Kidnap his loved ones? The mental gymnastics it would take for Joker to merely accomplish this, let alone successfully maintain a hostage situation give me a migraine just thinking about them, and he's far from the only villain who has that option. Kill a bunch of innocent people? Again, what separates him from a mountain of other villains? He's crazy? Who gives a shit. That's not a superpower, and he's far from the only villain willing to go to any length. Hell, Henshaw is literally insane, but he's also extremely powerful. At the end of the, Joker having any sort of upper hand against Superman is merely to please the fanboys about how NOBODY MESSES WITH JOKAH HE'S SO COOL when at this point Black Adam or somebody would've just turned him into a stain on sheer principle. It was refreshing to read a story like this, rather then another ''Superman's IQ and powers drop by 99% so non-powered popular character can look good against him''.
OverLordRiper well then we'll never see eye to eye because you were entertained by this. as stated in my original comment, I understand and expect that a meeting between joker and superman (in real life) would end really abruptly, but for the sake of the story why waste time writing a Brock Lesnar match? This story isn't entertaining, no story constructed like this is entertaining. This is a Gary Stu esque waste of time, "why am I here" story. does any story like this: with star characters, yet without an arc have any chance of actually being a memorable and great story? if the point of the story is to show that superman taking on batman's villains is an extreme mismatch, and doesn't work thematically, then congratulations because it's a success. otherwise it's a total fail, unless a person has a grudge against batman's ethos or he's a tasteless superman fanboy
Sorry, Superman's still lame