Joe Quesada, Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, recently talked to the Comics Newsarama website and talked about one licensing opportunity that Marvel pursued but was unable to get:
“I can tell you that after I saw the trailer at the Vegas Retailer Summit, I knew it was going to be a hit,” Quesada told Newsarama. “We love the show and felt that it was a missed opportunity by ‘AOL Comics’ not to have a comic out. We could have made Smallville a top 10 book! We had a whole creative team in mind to do the book. Imagine getting Jeph Loeb and Mike Wieringo! I’m sure they would have done it in a heart beat!”
The article goes on to explain that at the time, Quesada’s contacts told him DC wasn’t looking to do it, so he figured, “let’s take a shot”. A few weeks ago calls were placed to Warner Bros. about acquiring the license, and according to the Editor-in-Chief, after several attempts Warner responded and informed Marvel they couldn’t give them the license, that DC had exclusive rights to all their properties in comic book format.
[The Newsarama article to originally post this interview no longer exists]
As for DC Comics’ plans for a Smallville comic book series, despite reports at other sites, we are hearing of no current plans for a Smallville comic (even though one would be a no-brainer and give DC a chance for their own “Ultimate Superman!”). However, there will be a Smallville comic-format story in the Dec. 8 TV Guide, drawn by Terry and Rachel Dodson. If we hear otherwise that a Smallville comic is indeed on the way, you’ll be the first to know.