Paul Cornell to write Action comics

[Mr. Sin]

British writer Paul Cornell has apparentally been attached to write Action Comics-one of the Superman family of titles (Where he made his debut as well) and certainly one of the longest-running comics ever....

http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/04/12/paul-cornell-steps-in-as-new-action-comics-writer/

Cornell is probably best known to sci-fi fans for his extensive work on DOCTOR WHO, such as a ton of novels, audios and comics and three episodes: Father's Day (In which Rose saves her deceased father, causing a paradox) and Human Nature/Family of Blood (Where the Doctor becomes human to evade some aliens, based on Cornell's Seventh Doctor novel).


Cornell has also extensively written for Marvel, but I believe Action will be his first DC work.

 

[Hermiod]

He's also known as the reason why I cancelled my subscription to SFX magazine.

 

[Mr. Sin]

He certainly is a controversial figure, even among WHO fans at times. I must confess I haven't read any of his Marvel work...(Apparentally he's done some work mainly with British heroes like Pete Wisdom and of course Captain Britain).

 

[Hermiod]

^I know all about him.

SFX went through a period where it was "uncool" to say anything good about Star Trek, to the point of outright lies about DS9 being always on the verge of cancelation. If DS9 did anything good they picked out an episode of Babylon 5 that it "ripped off".

Part of this was giving Cornell his own column where bashing Star Trek was a frequent subject.

 

[CaptainCanada]

I'm most familiar with his Marvel work, which was generally of a very high quality. His sadly short-lived Captain Britain and MI13 series was one of the best around, and his Young Avengers material showed a strong grasp of the group; his recent Black Widow: Deadly Origin miniseries wasn't as good, he clearly bit off more than he could chew there, but overall I think he'll do well with Superman.

 

[Sci]

I'm afraid I'm mostly familiar with Cornell through his wonderful Doctor Who scripts (including the best Doctor Who episodes of all time, "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood") and his blog. What about Cornell is so controversial?

 

[Admiral_Young]

It should be interesting and it isn't mentioned in the original post but he is replacing Mark Guggeheim who had to depart...apparently the later questioned if he was the right person to write his own pitch whatever that means. The artwork posted of Lex Luthor in some kind of new yellow energy (Sinestro Corps ring powered) battle suit has me interested.

 

[shivkala]

^
It was an orange ring (representing Avarice). He got it (temporarily) in Blackest Night and has now lost it.

When I heard the name first, I thought it sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite make a connection (and the site mentioned his Marvel work only), but then it clicked. I liked the Doctor Who episodes he wrote, so hopefully he'll be good for Superman.

Guggenheim took over The Flash after the horrible Bilson/De Meo run where the book focused on Bart Allen, the former Impulse and Kid Flash taking over the role of Flash. I thought he had some good ideas, but unfortunately for him, DC pushed through the "Bart dies" storyline and he got a bad rap (undeserved, in my opinion) because of it. I quite liked his work on the series, even if the end result of the storyline was a mistake on the editorial side.

However, he wrote what some have considered the lower points of "Brand New Day" for Amazing Spider-Man, so I was a little worried about his work for Superman. Now, I don't have to worry.

Hopefully, controversy aside, Paul Cornell will be good for the book.

 

[Admiral_Young]

^ Guggenheim also wrote the Green Lantern movie screenplay...or at least the first draft of it.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I'm afraid I'm mostly familiar with Cornell through his wonderful Doctor Who scripts (including the best Doctor Who episodes of all time, "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood") and his blog. What about Cornell is so controversial?

There is no writer with any talent or wit who is not offensive to some segment of fandom or another.

 

[Stevil2001]

Heck yes! I'm a big Cornell fan from his Doctor Who work, and I've kept up with his Marvel work... even though I'm not a big Marvel fan. He's one of the only reasons I'd buy a Fantastic Four comic and literally the only reason I'd buy a Black Widow one. Rudiments of Wisdom and Captain Britain and MI13 were all sorts of fantastic, and it is a crime that the latter was canceled only a year in.

So the news that Cornell is writing for my favorite ever superhero is nothing short of awesome! I might even pick up floppies of this.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I had forgotten that Luthor had got the orange ring from Larfreeze and had it taken away again.