IT HAS BEGUN!

The origin story!

Links to the actual auctions here!

And Tommy was kind enough to answer some questions on the auction itself, and also about the wonderful world of Superman, and related Super-stuff. Please to enjoy some detail on the

"Has anybody really surprised you with their responses to your auction?"
Every one, really. I wasn't expecting this to spread like it has. I hesitate to mention any contributors specifically because I don't want to give the impression any one donation meant more than any other, because, as corny as it sounds, every single one meant the world to me.

Oh, you know, I will single one out. The guy that donated the drawing of Power Girl naked. He probably surprised me most.

"Have you been giving any direction to the contributing artists, or are they just providing whatever they come up with?"
I can't draw a straight line with a ruler. I left all artistic decisions to the artists.

"Without naming names, have you gotten any rejections from creators? Don't name names. Use a pseudonym like 'Yawn Shmyrne.'"
I actually did get a few, but they were, for the most part, very cool about it. They were honest and said "I'd like to help, I just don't have the time." Most even thanked me for asking them to take part. I should have asked Shmyrne. I bet he would have done it.

"You're also a Star Wars fan. Where do you come down on the perennial 'Could a lightsaber cut Superman' debate?"
Depends on the Superman. Golden Age, yup. Silver age, nope. Byrne's/Jurgens', yup. Today's, nope.

The real question is would the Superman that could stop a lightsaber simply deflect it or disrupt the blade's energy field like cortosis does? Oh, I could keep going. I am geek without shame.

"In your blog, you have failed to appropriately address the villain known as Conduit. Why?"
What's his deal? He's an evil cyborg that hated Clark Kent for being popular when he was overlooked, right? He was part of all the Zero Hour jazz. That stuff just gives me a headache. Has any one used him since?

"Any thoughts on Smallville versus the older, 90's Superboy syndicated show?"
I loved that Superboy show when I was kid. I still do, though nostalgia whitewashes right over how silly it actually is.

Smallville, however, not so much. You'd think it'd take a lot to be a Superman series I won't watch, but really, all it takes is one look at that lone monkey-doing-a-math-problem facial expression Welling seems capable of to keep me away.

"Superboy/man Prime: do you hate him? Would you in good conscience auction off art featuring him trapped in a Sun-Eater?"
I liked Superman Prime much more the first time around when he was called Ultraman. The idea of an evil twin isn't a bad one, it's a time tested cliche that can be a lot of fun. But they have just done some awful stuff with that character. "I'll kill you to death!" Awful.

"Is there an artist/writer you would love to see handle Superman? Name one of each. And at this point would you like to see what Frank Miller could do with the franchise?"
You know, Superman's one of those characters nearly every mainstream creator does something with at some point, so it's hard to pick some one who hasn't already worked with him.

Has Frank Cho ever Drawn Superman? I'd like to see that. Dan Slott's done a tiny, tiny amount of work with Superman, but I'm still gonna pick him as the writer I'd most like to see who hasn't done a proper run on the character.

Frank Miller. Heh. He said in an interview with Wizard years ago (I paraphrase), "You know, I wish there was something on the shelf of my work with a big red S on the spine" and mentioned he owed Superman an apology. Being that Miller has since lost his damned mind, I'm gonna guess he feels Superman and Wonder Woman causing earthquakes with their 'special hug' in DK2 was that apology. Frank Miller is insane.

"Why are you ducking the Conduit issue? What are you hiding?"
Did you know he got an action figure in the 90s Superman line before Luthor? Yeah, because that's what kids want, not the villain they know, but Kenny Braverman and his spinning tentacles of doom.

Top Five Superman stories, any medium, no holds barred, GO:
In no particular order-

Superman: The Movie
The Death of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Curt Swan
Birthright by Mark Waid and Leinil Yu
All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Must There Be A Superman? by Elliot S! Maggin and Curt Swan

"Which of the auction items would you love to bid on for yourself?"
Oh man, so many pieces I'd love to have. I know I shouldn't play favorites, but I LOVE the Superman's Rogues Gallery piece by Paul Salvi; and the ink painting of Superman by David Mack I would take a puppy away from an orphan for. There's another half dozen I could go on about.

Salvi piece-

Mack piece-