Tuesday afternoon USA Today broke the news that fan favorite artist Chris Sprouse decided not to illustrate the Orson Scott Card penned Superman story for the debut Adventures of Superman issue scheduled for digital release April 29th. Sprouse stated: “It took a lot of thought to come to this conclusion, but I’ve decided to step back as the artist on this story. The media surrounding this story reached the point where it took away from the actual work, and that’s something I wasn’t comfortable with. My relationship with DC Comics remains as strong as ever and I look forward to my next project with them.”
DC has slotted another completed story to run in place of the now artist-less Card story and states “We fully support, understand and respect Chris’s decision to step back from his Adventures of Superman assignment…we will re-solicit the story at a later date when a new artist is hired.” Obviously DC’s statement reads as corporate speak and I’ve read comments here and there that seem to express a sentiment that Sprouse should’ve declined the assignment from the start (which presumes Sprouse had full knowledge of Card’s attitudes and actions) or vocalized condemnation or at least disagreement with Card. The latter attitude ignores the distinct likelihood that someone in DC’s editorial or PR staff vetted Sprouse’s statement before its release in order to tell the “best truth”. Given the intense amount of scrutiny and reaction that came in response to this, I wouldn’t blame Sprouse if he released a vetted statement. Likewise, DC may be telling what it sees as the best truth when stating it intends to look for a new artist. Perhaps editorial will look and not find a willing artist and perhaps DC will simply let the story languish.
Meanwhile, Bleeding Cool’s assorrtment of commenters engage in the usual brand of discursive discourse. Comments are running at 32 pages right now. I suggest making popcorn and keeping a bottle of extra strength Tylenol on hand just in case.
Sprouse has started a Facebook fan page. Why not pop over and thank him? Sprouse’s motivating factor as stated may not be to everyone’s satisfaction, but being thanked can’t hurt matters.
