Lately, I’ve been following the sharp constructions popping out of Paul Cornell’s comics brain. He’s a scribe for the Doctor Who multiverse, but he’s also the mind behind recently invigorating releases like Superman: The Black Ring.
Most importantly, he’s manned two series from DC Comics’ much-hyped but unambitious New 52 reboots: Demon Knights and Stormwatch, both of which I’ve exclusively premiered at Wired. Those in search of an imaginative writer who makes you feel bad you didn’t find him earlier should take a head-trip through my recent Cornell coverage below. Let me know what you think when you come out the other side.
Exclusive: Paul Cornell’s Lunar Stormwatch Lunacy
It’s the kind of outer-limits sci-fi that Cornell has mastered, whether it’s for Doctor Who or DC Comics. Even better, it’s a much-needed antidote to the jingoism and misogyny found at length in DC Comics’ otherwise underwhelming New 52 reboot campaign.
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Exclusive: Paul Cornell’s Demon Knights Gets Medieval on DC’s New 52
From its self-aware satire and uncanny body horror to its clever inclusion of Vertigo’s highly readable sorceress Madame Xanadu, Demon Knights has perfectly positioned Etrigan for the 21st-century fantasy addicts that have made HBO’s adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones a crossover phenomenon.
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Lex Luthor Steals The Black Ring. Will He Pwn Superman’s Blockbuster?
“Lex Luthor is only a couple of degrees away from being a hero,” Cornell said. “But that couple of degrees is all human failing. His tragedy is that he doesn’t understand that Superman, who he sees as such an alien, was raised to be a much better human being than he was.”
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Batman and Robin Get Medieval in Knight and Squire
The task of reinventing the derivative supers is now left to Cornell and Broxton, who are probably having more fun than they should stuffing the pages of the Knight and Squire series with riotous heroes and rogues like The Milkman, Double Entendre and, of course, British Joker.