In a recent interview with Hero Complex, Jim Lee is quoted as saying:
HC: I was intrigued to read about “Batman: Europa.” What’s going on with that?
JL: That’s a project I began a while back when I was living in Italy for a year. It’s still on deck. I’ve gotten sidetracked with other projects. I’m working currently on [the nine-issue series] “Superman Unchained” with a writer named Scott Snyder.
Which of course created a MGS-style “?” over our heads as to the odd wording of this. Because, really, it could be one of a few things:
- “Superman Unchained,” despite being billed as an ongoing, was always a 9-issue limited series
- Jim Lee’s run on the book will end with the 9th issue
- The current team of the book of Scott Snyder and Jim Lee will finish telling their tale with 9 issues
The second of those seems more likely, with the third being an honest close second. If you look at your average graphic novel selection in bookstores and comic shops, most of the books that feature Jim Lee are always billed as very limited stories — “Superman: For Tomorrow” and “Batman: Hush” both immediately spring to mind, though they were each runs on otherwise ongoing books. If “Unchained” were simply set to be collected after 9 issues and more stories with or without Snyder’s involvement were to happen from there, it’d make a lot of sense.
When reached for comment, we were told be a DC representative that this information is “not officially confirmed.”
We’ve additionally reached out to Scott Snyder for comment, but as of the time of this posting no response has been given. We’ll update as we learn more.
The latest solicited issue, #6, has the following solicitation:
SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #6
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art and cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
Backup story art by DUSTIN NGUYEN
1:300 B&W Variant cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
“We Can Be Heroes” Blank variant cover available
On sale DECEMBER 18 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with twelve covers. Please see the order form for more information.
The Man of Tomorrow and the Superman of yesterday go at it—no holds barred! Supes goes full throttle after his would-be ally, Wraith, in a seismic battle ranging from deep space to the ocean’s floor and ultimately the core of the earth! Meanwhile, Lois Lane holds the key to defeating Ascension, but she needs to reach the Fortress of Solitude to ensure its safekeeping—not to mention hers! And she’s being pursued by a heavily armed force, and it isn’t Ascension!
This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
Update! Scott Snyder commented on Twitter.
@Bennyjamin28 Naw! This ARC is 9-10 issues. Series is ongoing, and Jim & have said to each other, and publicly, we’re playing it by ear…
— Scott Snyder (@Ssnyder1835) October 7, 2013
@Bennyjamin28 … in terms of whether we’ll do the next arc, or let someone else. But we’re enjoying working together a lot, so we’ll see
— Scott Snyder (@Ssnyder1835) October 7, 2013
And to us: “ongoing, we’re just not sure it’ll be us past #10”
