Fans attending today’s Absolute Power panel at San Diego Comic-Con were treated to a deeper dive into DC’s blockbuster summer event, plus updates on DC All In and the Absolute Universe, courtesy of an all-star lineup of DC storytellers, including Absolute Power series writer Mark Waid, Absolute Power: Super Son and Suicide Squad: Dream Team writer Nicole Maines, and Superman writer Joshua Williamson, Absolute Batman writer Scott Snyder, Absolute Superman writer Jason Aaron, and Absolute Wonder Woman artist Hayden Sherman.
In a discussion led by DC group editor Paul Kaminski, Waid, Maines, and Williamson spoke to a wide range of topics. As the architect of Absolute Power, Waid spoke to the challenges and opportunities of planning an event of this magnitude and mapping out the connecting DC core titles and support series like Absolute Power: Origins and Absolute Power: Task Force VII that reinforced the scope of Absolute Power and its impact on the DC Universe.
Maines, who has portrayed the DC Super Hero Dreamer on television, as well as written the character in DC’s core comics line and a young adult graphic novel (Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story), spoke in detail about Dreamer’s evolution, Maines’s passion for Superman (Jon Kent), and what fans can expect from her and co-writer Sina Grace in the upcoming Absolute Power: Super Son tie-in one-shot. And current Superman writer Williamson talked about working with Mark Waid in connecting his House of Brainiac story arc in Superman and Action Comics to Absolute Power.
In the wake of DC’s announcement of DC All In, the conversation with Williamson turned to the impact of Absolute Power on Superman in October. The audience was treated to some teases as to what’s in store for the Man of Steel, including the return of Doomsday—one of Williamson’s favorite DC Super-Villains—and a new Superwoman. But the writer’s biggest surprise was the announcement that another fan-favorite artist will be joining him on the title, confirming that Absolute Power artist Dan Mora will replace Jamal Campbell as series artist beginning with Superman #19 in October.
And there was more Dan Mora news to share, courtesy of Mark Waid, who announced that he would be writing a new Justice League series, with Mora providing art. Accompanying this announcement was a reveal of Mora’s cover art for Justice League Unlimited #1, scheduled for a November 27 launch.
As Absolute Power sets the table for DC All In, Williamson remained on stage as the panel shifted gears to talk more about this new status quo as award-winning writer Scott Snyder, Absolute Superman writer Jason Aaron, and Absolute Wonder Woman artist Hayden Sherman replaced Waid and Maines on the dais and DC executive editor Chris Conroy stepped in to guide the discussion. Conroy spoke with Snyder and Williamson about how the October 2 DC All In Special #1 not only connects to Absolute Power but uses its special flipbook format to set the stage for both the changes to DC’s core line and the creation of the “Absolute” universe of titles, and how Darkseid provides the connective tissue to both. Snyder also provided some added teases about his plans for Absolute Batman with series artist Nick Dragotta.
Artist Hayden Sherman spoke enthusiastically about making his DC series debut with Kelly Thompson on Absolute Wonder Woman and provided some tantalizing hints regarding what the two of them have in store for readers when the debut issue arrives on October 23. Jason Aaron is no stranger to Superman, having written him in Action Comics as part of DC’s Superman Superstars initiative, and he spoke of his excitement over having Rafa Sandoval as series artist and teased early details about the debut story arc, creating lots of anticipation among the audience for when Absolute Superman launches on November 6.
And in a final bit of news, Conroy announced the next title in DC’s “Absolute” universe, revealing that writer Jeff Lemire and artist Nick Robles will be joining forces on a reimagined version of the Fastest Man Alive as Absolute Flash debuts in March 2025.
