New Krypton
The idea that part of Krypton had survived the explosion that killed Superman’s parents (and the rest of his race) isn’t new, but bringing the Bottle City of Kandor back into continuity – not to mention turning it into an artificial planet – and using it to make sense of the contradictory versions of Krypton that’ve appeared throughout Superman’s history required a lot of work. While it’s true that the “New Krypton” storyarc that has been running through the monthly Superman, Action Comics and Supergirl comics – as well as mini-series World of New Krypton and Last Stand of New Krypton – since the beginning of 2009 could’ve worked using a more generic version of Superman’s people, all wearing variations on Superman’s costume or Terence Stamp’s wardrobe from Superman II, the effort taken in creating a believable background for the plot has resulted in one of the most impressive, and most quiet, worldbuilding seen in comics in years.
Unsung hero of the (multiple) hours has been Pete Woods, the Oregon-based artist who not only illustrated the World of and Last Stand of New Krypton mini-series, but also created the look of New Krypton’s architecture for all artists working on the storyline, as well as designing some of the new world’s citizens. He’s made some of his design work available online, including this fly-through of the city of Kandor:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gslk17Ryq4c]
(Here’s his Metropolis fly-through, if you’d like to get your bearings for Superman’s home on Earth.)
Despite his stellar work on the storyline – Work that will continue as he joins Doctor Who‘s Paul Cornell as the regular creative team on Action Comics starting next month as the series takes on Lex Luthor as its new leading man – Woods isn’t responsible for one the story’s cleverest visual tricks: The Kryptonian Guilds.