Super League: Interview With Writer Peter J. Tomasi

DC’s Rebirth is what every DC fan is currently talking about. But for that large event, a bit of build-up is necessary. Peter J. Tomasi’s Super League story arc is just what the epic “not a reboot” ordered. In the eight-issue Super League, we find the Man of Steel dying — the result of the immense stresses he had to go through for the past nine months. His mission now is to say his goodbyes to his closest friends and allies and also find his replacement.

Tomasi’s Super League kicked off with the emotional Superman #51. This week, DC releases the writer’s continuing story of the Man of Steel’s farewell journey — Batman/Superman #31. Bam Smack Pow was fortunate enough to score an opportunity to interview Tomasi, and get his thoughts on how Super League is much more internalized than other stories.

Bam Smack Pow: For Superman’s emotional goodbye scenes, what did you draw upon? Personal experiences? Literature? Other media?

Peter J. Tomasi: It was very much straight from my own heart. It’s a sad thing, but over the years, I’ve lost a lot of people who were close to me, so I drew on that. It was basically drawing on the trials and tribulations of life. You know, I really put my heart on my sleeve when I write. I tend not to shy away, and comics allow you to do that. With their artwork and ability to tell stories through actions, I can really get at the emotions.

BSP: When I read your Superman, he’s very familiar to me in terms of his stoic, selfless nature and demeanor. Did you draw on past Superman incarnations for this characterization?

PJT: It’s not really a conscious thing. Whenever you watch and read about Superman — from the movies, television series, comic books, animated universe — it becomes part of your DNA. You’re not really thinking about what you’re drawing on. I think I’m unconsciously channeling all of them as my inspiration. So it’s pretty much all the Superman incarnations.

BSP: Super League is unique in that it starts out extremely slow, but I love it. Was it always an intention to make the first issue a lot more internalized?

PJT: Yes, it was very much the plan to make this an internalized story. I wanted to really dive deep into Superman’s internal thoughts and see how that rippled outward … how it affected the people around him. I made it a point not to have it be about action. In a lot of these types of emotional stories, some writers tend to dive too deep into the action. I tried to stay away from that. I wanted to make it an exploration of interactions between characters.

BSP: This will obviously lead to Rebirth, can you give us any hints as to what things to really pay attention to so that we get that “ah-ha” moment when Rebirth really happens?

PJT: I can’t really speak about Rebirth specifically, but in Superman #52 everything will come together. People will see that this story is really a prologue. There are some nice threads and people will want to stay for the ride. What I can say is that Rebirth will be awesome. It’s something that the fans will be really impressed with.

BSP: How long have you been planning Super League and what triggered this idea?

PJT: The overall Super League story arc has been in the works for about a year. We were actually building it backwards. And the idea sort of came out of the Dark Truth story arc as we were working on it. After that, we sort of knew where we were heading.

Batman/Superman #31 is now out in comic book shops and available everywhere books are sold.

Next: Batman/Superman #31 Review: Super League Part 2

Peter J. Tomasi became a comics fan at a young age because of Batman comic books his father bought him, television shows such as the Super Friends animated series, and the 1960s Batman series.  Of all the characters, Batman was the first superhero to enter his consciousness, and the first comic book whose creators he recognized.  He cites the works of Denny O’Neill, Neal Adams, and Bob Haney as what attracted him to the character.

Tomasi started his career as an editor at DC in 1993.  He worked on Green Lantern, multiple Batman titles, Aquaman, Hawkman, and JSA.  He was also an occasional writer for multiple titles, including JSA, The Outsiders, Steel and The Light Brigade.  He was later promoted to Senior Editor in 2003.

In 2007, Tomasi transitioned to writing full-time and began on the limited series Black Adam: The Dark Age.  In 2008, he wrote Requiem which was a tribute to the fallen superhero Martian Manhunter.  For fourteen issues, he worked on Nightwing until its cancellation in April 2009.  From 2009 to 2011, he co-wrote, with Keith Champagne, The Mighty, and also worked on the Green Lantern Corps story arc The Blackest Night.  From 2010 to 2011, he co-wrote , with Geoff Johns, the crossover story arc Brightest Day.

In 2011, Tomasi took over writing duties for Batman and Robin, writing the three-part Tree of Blood story arc.  During this period, Tomasi became a regular writer on Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors and Outsiders.  After The New 52 relaunch, he led writing duties on the relaunched volumes of Batman and Robin and Green Lantern Corps.

In February 2011, via an interview with Comic Book Resources, Tomasi stated that his then 8-year old son influenced his approach to writing the character of Damian Wayne in Batman and Robin.

Source: Comic Vine, DC Entertainment, Wikipedia