Greg Pak talks ‘Batman/Superman’ and Taking Over ‘Action Comics’

by Mark Povelaitis
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Greg_Pak,_2007Greg Pak has been a busy man lately. His new series Batman/Superman detailing the early days of the World’s Finest teaming up debuts this week, Wednesday, June 26th – check out our preview here!

Following the success of Man of Steel DC looks to reinvigorate Superman’s comic as well. Starting in November, Greg Pak will be taking over writing duties on Action Comics, which first introduced the character in 1938, along with artist Aaron Kuder.

Having worked with Marvel the past few years on such well-received books as Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, and various X-Men titles, Batman/Superman will be Mr. Pak’s first foray into the DC Universe.

Pak describes the first meeting of the future World’s Finest: “They’re figuring out what it is they’re doing, who they are and what kind of methods they’re going to use,” 3033856-batman_superman_1_06sPak says. “They’re testing their ethical limits and boundaries, and it’s just a huge opportunity for great drama and conflict. That whole package is a blast.”

The opening story arc will begin with Clark and Bruce meeting for the first time and quickly move the characters to the parallel universe of Earth-2, where they will meet older versions of themselves.

“On Earth-2, these heroes are established and they’re best friends and they’re straight-up heroes who solve all the problems,” Pak says. “And our guys are young and raw and hate each other’s guts and are suspicious of everybody.”

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Aaron Kuder will be writing and drawing a special Parasite one-shot Superman issue in September

While working on Batman/Superman Mr. Pak had many talks with Superman editors, which eventually led to him being offered Action Comics. He certainly seems to understand the importance that the character has to many fans, both old and young, as he describes his own introduction to the character: “For young children, Superman is your first introduction to superheroes and you love him. But as I’ve gotten older, I realized how resonant the whole story of Superman is and how his struggles actually reverberate with people at every age.”

But even as he promises to keep the “action” in Action Comics, Greg Pak also wants to examine the life of Clark Kent outside of the tights.

“It’s not like he grew up among people like him from day one and all his power was just totally natural and supported by everyone around him and everything was cool,” Pak says. “He grew up as a normal kid who discovered he had these powers and it was terrifying and it set him apart from everybody else and it gave him incredible responsibilities.

“In a weird way, that replicates everybody’s experience. Just as regular people, as we grow up we learn that we actually have real power. The things that we do can hurt people terribly, can break hearts, can break stuff, or they can be a real help to people. And it’s up to each of us to figure out what we’re going to do with our own abilities.”

Be sure to check out Greg Pak and Jae Lee’s Batman/Superman when it releases Wednesday, June 26th – and check out Mr. Pak’s run on Action Comics when it debuts in the fall!

Source: USAToday

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