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Death and Life, Again: Roger Stern's Superman Novel Reprinted
Roger Stern has had a healthy run with the Superman universe. He's written for the comics, done several novels and informational books about the character, and he even appeared once in an episode of Lois & Clark.

One of his most memorable works is the novel "The Death And Life Of Superman," which retold the story from the classic "Doomsday" and "Reign of the Superman" stories from the early 1990's Superman comics. This is the storyline that brought many new fans into the comics - many who are still buying them today."D&LoS" as a novel is a cinematic read, and fantastic for those curious about the storyline who might not remember. (Yes, contrary to what Jordan Cross may have seen, Superman did die - although he did come back, so maybe Jordan's vision was right after all!)

Barnes & Noble is soon doing an exclusive reprinting of the novel, and before reprinting, Mr. Stern made some edits and provided a new Foreword. To promote the new release, KryptonSite has interviewed Mr. Stern again. Enjoy!

KRYPTONSITE: When you went over the book again to search for things to correct, was there anything you found that you wished you had done differently?

ROGER STERN: Yeah, I wish that I'd used a lot fewer exclamation points. At the time, that was the general default punctuation of comics, and there were 'way too many of them in the book's first edition. For the new edition, we've corrected that, along with misspellings and typos. Plus we've changed certain words from Italics to plain type and vice versa, and fixed a few errant paragraph breaks. And I subtly re-paced a couple of scenes.

Aside from the new introductions to the book, there are a lot of little things that you probably won't notice unless you placed the different editions next to each other and went through them, line-by-line.

K-SITE: Is this paperback edition a Barnes & Noble exclusive? How did its republishing come about?

STERN: Well, I know that the book will be available at Barnes & Noble stores - and presumably B. Dalton stores - in March. It can be preordered now via the Barnes & Noble website. Whether it will be offered elsewhere, I don't know.

As for how it came about, DC had been in discussions with Barnes & Noble for some time. In fact, it was once hoped that the new edition could be reissued in time for the 10th anniversary of the Death of Superman. That didn't work out, but B&N still wanted to do the book and so now, at long last, here it is. They're also issuing a trade paperback edition of Batman: Knightfall.

K-SITE: Has Smallville the TV series affected the way you write today? (Whether it's writing the novel, a new Superman story for the comics, or even going over the book... were there any visions of Welling, or even Rosenbaum as Lex Jr. with hair?)

STERN: If you're asking whether any Smallville images came to mind while going over Death and Life, the answer would have to be no. That story is of a very different period in Superman's career, and it's a very different Luthor.

The series definitely influenced the way I wrote Smallville: Strange Visitors, but I don't know how much it has affected my writing overall. Different media require different ways of telling a story.

Take pacing, for example. Pacing for television is based upon time and predetermined breaks for commercials and station identification. Pacing in comic is limited by space; you have a set number of pages in which to tell your story. Pacing in a prose novel, novella, or short story can be more flexible, as long as you engage your readers' attention.

However, I'm currently in the middle of writing a new novel that does carry a few subtle echoes of Smallville -- from both the series and my second novel.

K-SITE: Do you still have people coming up to you saying that Death and Life was the first novel they read?

STERN: Yes, I do. And it's a big responsibility, providing that "first read" for someone. I always feel reassured when they say that it made them want to read more. Other folks have said that it was the first book they read because they wanted to read it! And that's just an amazing feeling, to think that I many have helped change someone's mind about reading, helped them realize that reading can be fun!

K-SITE: What do you think of the recent changes to the Superman comics, with almost a more Pre-Crisis feel?

STERN: Some are okay. Others feel temporary to me. A lot of the changes seem to be connected to certain story arcs. The return of the "Silver Age Krypton," for example, turned out to be part of a villain's scheme. And just recently, the "Brainiacization" of Metropolis appeared to be undone. We'll have to wait and see what happens next.

Whatever happens, I suspect that the basics of Superman, the heart of the characters, will always remain true. That's why so many people have loved them for all these years.

STERN: Do you have any thoughts you can share on Smallville Season 3?

I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't been following the series as closely since it moved to Wednesday nights. And I haven't been setting the VCR because I haven't had any further Smallville-related assignments. But I still have a great fondness for the show and its cast. Between reruns and DVD collections, I'll catch up eventually.

K-SITE: On a similar note, what has been your favorite non-comics adaptation of the Superman story?

STERN: You never forget your first love, so I'd give the nod to The Adventures of Superman, with George Reeves. I was probably three or four when I first saw that show, and I still hear a faint echo of George's voice whenever I write a line of dialogue for Superman or Clark. When I learned that there was a soundtrack CD with the show's opening theme and all the background music, I ran right out and bought a copy. Even now, I get a thrill whenever I hear, "Faster than a speeding bullet --!"

But almost all of the versions have had something to recommend. Smallville has of course been fun. And there've been scenes so beautiful that they just break your heart. Remember the episode from late in the first season, when Whitney's father died? There's a scene at the graveside service, when we see Tom Welling standing alone in the rain. In that instant, I just stared at the screen and thought, "My God, this kid is going to grow up to be Superman!" In the moment, I totally believed it.

What else? The Fleisher cartoons are still amazing. The Lowther book was quite well done. Even Lois & Clark had its moments. (And, no, I'm not including the episode where I got to tug on Superman's cape.)

K-SITE: Who would be your choice to play Superman in a new movie, should there be one?

STERN: I'd want to go with a virtual unknown who looks the part and can act. Chris Reeve came out of the Soaps; maybe that would be the place to look.

Or, here's a crazy idea, do the whole movie with computer animation. Think Final Fantasy, one generation improved, with a really meaty story. With the right voice actors, you could have a major, groundbreaking motion picture. Especially if the voice actor is accomplished enough to drop his voice an octave like Bud Collyer did on the radio, to help differentiate Superman from Clark. It doesn't have to be a "spooky" transformation, like the one Kevin Conroy uses to distinguish Batman from Bruce Wayne. But Superman's voice is supposed to be deeper than Clark's, and that's too often forgotten in Hollywood.

K-SITE: What do you think is the lasting appeal of The Death and Life of Superman?

STERN: Superman…the Clark and Lois romance…and one of the strongest stories we ever came up with for the comics. "The story's the thing…" It always comes down to that.

K-SITE: Do you have any more Superman or comics related projects coming up? Any possibility of new novels?

STERN: Yes, as a matter of fact. Late last year I finished my first draft for a new Superman novel for the Justice League novel series from Pocket Books. (This part of a series that includes Batman: The Stone King by Alan Grant and Wonder Woman: Mythos by Carol Lay. There's also a Flash novel, written by Mark Schultz, a Green Lantern novel by Denny O'Neil, and an overall Justice League novel by Christopher Golden in the pipeline.) Each novel focuses on one hero, but it's also a Justice League story with many of the major members having their scene in the spotlight.

I hope to have the notes on the first draft back from my editor soon. Once I do, I'll be able to dive into the final draft. I'm really excited about this story, and I can't wait to finish it. With luck, the book should be out later this year. If you liked The Death and Life of Superman, I think you'll like the new book, as well. I'll be able to talk more about it when we get closer to publication. But I can tell you that it involves international terrorism on a "super" level.

K-SITE: Anything else you'd like to share?

STERN: I'd just like to thank everyone for reading and to say that if they like the book, to help spread the word. Oh, and if they have anything else they'd like to discuss more directly, there's a great little message board at < www.sterntalk.net.

And there you have it! Thanks again to Mr. Stern for taking the time to do this interview, and if you'd be curious to purchase this new reprinting, just click on the link below.

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Death and Life of Superman