DC Comics' continuation of the smash-hit Smallville with its digital-first Season 11 continues to expand the ever-blossoming universe, first with its introduction of Hank Henshaw, then by debuting Batman and Robin, and now a familiar face from the show returns in the form of Bart Allen, aka Impulse.
With the Smallville superheroes growing at a consistent rate and the reveal of new "interlude" chapters that will focus on characters in the Smallville Universe that aren't directly related to the ongoing events -- like Batman and Martian Manhunter -- it makes one wonder if we'll soon see the debut of this universe's Justice League...
Read about The Dark Knight Coming to Smallville
To get the answer to that question and a whole bunch more, we talked with series writer Bryan Q. Miller. The latest chapter of Smallville: Season 11 goes on sale each and every Friday on the DC Comics app powered by Comixology. The Impulse arc, titled Haunted, begins today!
IGN Comics: Unlike Batman, we’ve actually seen a speedster in Smallville before. Is this the Bart Allen we met during the course of the TV show?
Bryan Q. Miller: Yes, though he’s arriving with a Season 11 “upgrade” – a new look, and exciting new sound effects… like “VING!” Plus, it was time for the hoodie to go. Like we (and by we, I mean me) pointed out in Season 10’s “Masquerade”, how DOES a hood stay up when you’re running at the speed of sound?
Under the outfit, he’s definitely the same “amigo” who stole Pa Kent’s wallet, lo those many years ago. But there’s something he’s been hiding from his friend, Clark, for almost as long as he’s known him. When he shows up in Metropolis, that secret won’t be very far behind.
IGN: So is he still going by Impulse or has he graduated to the Flash now?
Miller: He’s still Impulse, through and through. We did, however (in Season 9’s “Absolute Justice”) have a nod toward the JSA’s very own Flash, Jay Garrick. So, this next arc will technically have a Flash in it… at some point.
IGN: How do Clark and Bart's paths cross this time around? Does it build upon the ongoing narrative of Season 11?
Miller: What seems like a perfectly innocuous social visit (Bart’s yet to see Big Blue in the tights in person) takes a turn for the worse within the first 30 pages. Clark and Bart’s thread in Haunted delves much more into Bart’s backstory and current dilemma. Chloe’s thread, on the other hand, moves us down the field on the season’s “Crisis” front. And Lois may begin to learn some surprising things about Lex as she starts to dig. We’ve got a lot going on in Haunted, to say the least.
IGN: You know, we’ve got Superman, Green Arrow, Batman, and now Impulse is back… could it be you’re building to an official Justice League for the Smallville Universe?
Miller: Absolutely. Though, by the time we see them out in full force towards the end of the season, it may not be the roster everyone’s expecting. Regardless, we’ve got a few more familiar DCU faces to meet before we do a roll call.
IGN: What’s the dynamic between Superman and Impulse like here? How does their history together affect that relationship as opposed to the dynamic we saw between Bruce and Clark?
Miller: This arc is definitely deeply entrenched in certain moments in series history, and not just on the Bart side of things. “Run”; “Justice”; “Fracture” and the both our Earth 2 episodes all play a part in the whole. Clark and Bart already know each other, and already have a history, so they don’t need to push through that awkward “getting to know you” phase of two heroes’ relationship where they punch each other through walls. Even though at one point, someone DOES send Bart flying at a wall… and he gets to vibrate through it!
IGN: Because it’s basically a requirement to ask concerning these two characters: might we be seeing your take on a Superman vs. Flash race for the Smallville Universe?
Miller: Briefly, yes. WAY back when I was breaking the season, the race was going to be a legitimate component, but it fell away by the time I got to writing Haunted. They do race, however, and there is an answer as to which of them is fastest.
IGN: Are there any other characters you’d like to bring into the Smallville fold that haven’t been seen yet?
Miller: Yes. More than a few. But, before we get to that point, we’ll be revisiting another old friend we haven’t seen for a while.
IGN: Awesome. Now, I understand that you guys are changing up your release schedule a bit?
Miller: Yeah, we’re doing something new with our digital release schedule, starting in January. Typically, we’ve been on for 3 weeks out of every month, and dark for every Friday that passes until we’ve had our print issue come out. Lather, rinse, repeat. In January, during our first break in the Haunted arc, we’ll be rolling out the first of our “Interlude” or “Meanwhile” stories – shorter Smallville Universe tales that run as digital exclusive chapters across those formerly dark Fridays. Stories featuring Smallville universe characters not involved in the main narrative.
IGN: So what's the first of those interlude chapters about?
Miller: The same week that sees Haunted’s first 30 pages collected in print, that Friday, Effigy begins – a 4 chapter tale that follows Detective John Jones -- Smallville’s Martian Manhunter -- as he investigates a series of murders that have a deeply-rooted connection to his past. And our Batman (whom we met in Detective) goes along for the ride. We come back the next Friday with another 3 Fridays in a row of Haunted, then return for chapter 2 of Effigy, and so on. Axel Gimenez (who helped us round out Detective by filling in on art for Chapter 23) is on Effigy for pencils.
IGN: Are those interludes going to be collected in the monthly print comics as well?
Miller: Our parallel Smallville narratives will be digital-exclusive, only seeing print in collected trades. We wrestled for a while with trying to find a way to deliver uninterrupted Smallville and not step on print scheduling’s toes – this is a great way to accommodate print and spin more Smallville tales in the process. Hopefully, this might also lure some of our print-only die-hards (for whom we have endless appreciation) over to the apps to see what all the digital fuss is about.
Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator. Follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyEsposito, or find him on IGN at Joey-IGN. He turns on Remy Zero right before he reads any chapter of the Smallville comic.
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