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CHRIS ROBERSON DENNIS CULVER

INTRODUCTION BYKURT BUSIEK


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CHRIS ROBERSON writer

DENNIS CULVERartist

STEPHEN DOWNERcolorist

JOHN J. HILL letterer & book designer

ALLISON BAKEReditorEdison Rex logo designed byDYLAN TODD


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SPOILER WARNING. SPOILER WARNING. SPOILER

WARNING. SPOILER WARNING!

Hey, Chris, Allison, can I get a nice big Spoiler Warning

stuck in here, maybe bright red and centered on the page?

S P O I L E R WARNING

Ah, thanks. Thatll do fne.

Heres the thing. Im going to talk about the stories in thisbook. I you havent read them, Im going to blow some o the

surprises. So go read them. Then come back and read this stu

i you like. I you read this beore the stories, well, dont say we

didnt warn you. Its right up there, big as lie.

So. Meet you on the other side o the asterisks?

* * * * *

Okay, lets go.

I know what youre thinking, or maybe were thinking, ater

you got through the frst chapter o EDISON REX. You were

thinking, Hey, this is what i Lex Luthor killed Superman, and

became Earths protector in his place?

And yeah, o course it is. And no, it isnt.

Let me explain.

In almost any other orm o fction, its entirely normal to react

to a story, a character, whatever, by saying, I want to do that

too. I want to do something like that, put my stamp on it, do it

my way, whether its an outright response song like It Wasnt

God That Made Honky Tonk Angels (or Howard Hawkss

RIO BRAVO, which is essentially a big ol middle-fnger salute

aimed at HIGH NOON), or a loving embrace, like Max Allan

Collinss Nolan novels, which take a character very much like

Richard Starks Parker and set him loose in Collinss stomping

grounds, or Lawrence Blocks Chip Harrison novels, whichgently parody Nero Wole. Or, heck, WEST SIDE STORY or

OUTLAND or FORBIDDEN PLANET and on and on and on.

Fiction is chock ull o instances o someone saying, I want

my own tough-as-nails PI with a bottle in his desk drawer,

up to his neck in dames, or my own old-biddy amateur

INTRO

DUCTION


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detective or crack secret agent or sexy vampire hunter or

whatever, and sometimes it seems like its only in comics that

any resemblance to something else is greeted with suspicion

or censure. Which is odd, in a medium dominated by a genre

that cheerully plunders anything it can get its hands on or

ideas (MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. is a hit? Lets give Nick Fury

an acronym agency! LASSIE big on TV? Can Superboy have a

dog, too?) and is all descended rom a very ew big oreathers

to begin with.

The heck with that. Fiction borrows, fction is inspired, fction

parodies, fction lampoons, fction grabs up a big pile o toys

the author loves and uses it to build something new.

And then that something new turns into its own thing, just by

the very nature o the process.

Look at Valiants origin. The whole story rests on it -- the twist

that kicks everything o, and everything that ollows. And

that aint Superman; thats nothing that could ever happen

to Superman. Its a new idea, a very cool idea, that even in

death makes Valiant into someone else. And it becomes a

piece o the ongoing story, as part o the pattern that makes

the interdimensional league o -- well, o whatever they are -- try

to recruit Edison. Changes ripple. They create possibility. And

those possibilities become realities, and build on each otheruntil youre in wholly new territory.

Whether its the hints weve gotten o Edisons background, or

a wonderul character like L.A.R.V.A. -- who may be equally

inspired by Marvels M.O.D.O.K. and DCs H.I.V.E. (and

maybe some Mister Mind, too?), but almost instantly took on

her own identity as a character too vividly hersel to be a copy

o anyone else -- the starting point is just a starting point. Once

the frst rock starts rolling down the hill, the avalanche that

travels with it becomes its own thing.

So is EDISON REX Luthor and Superman? On page 1, sure.

On page 92? By then, what youre getting isnt something you

could ever actually see in SUPERMAN. In six short chapters,

EDISON REX has already built a ascinating new world,

charging breakneck o in its own direction.

And Im ascinated and delighted, both by its loving embrace

o its inspirations, and by the sheer possibility inherent in

being untethered to them. I cant wait to see what comes next.

Whatever it is, Im sure its going to be a blast.

Lets fnd out together, shall we?

KURT BUSIEKNEWPORT, OR

March 2013


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EDISON REX. JUNE 2013. FIRST PRINTING. Edison Rex 2013

Monkeybrain, Inc. and Dennis Culver. 2013 Idea and Design

Works, LLC. IDW Publishing, a division o Idea and Design Works,

LLC. Editorial ofces: 5080 Santa Fe St., San Diego, CA 92109.

The IDW logo is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark

Ofce. Any similarities to persons living or dead are purely

coincidental. With the exception o artwork used or review

purposes, none o the contents o this publication may be

reprinted without the permission o Idea and Design Works, LLC.

Printed in Korea. IDW Publishing does not read or accept unsolicited

submissions o ideas, stories, or artwork.

Ted Adams, CEO & Publisher Greg Goldstein, President &COO Robbie Robbins, EVP/Sr. Graphic Artist Chris Ryall,

Chief Creative Ofcer/Editor-in-Chief Matthew Ruzicka, CPA,

Chief Financial Ofcer Alan Payne, VP of Sales Dirk Wood,

VP of Marketing Lorelei Bunjes, VP of Digital Services

www.idwpublishing.com

IDW ounded by Ted Adams, Alex Garner, Kris Oprisko, and Robbie Robbins

ISBN: 978-1-61377-654-4

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To Lester Dent and Elliot S! Maggin, whoshowed me how it was done, and Allison Baker,the brains o the outft. - CHRIS

To my wie, Wendy. I couldntdo it without you. - DENNIS

To Draw The Marvel Comics Superheroes:A Mighty Manual of Massively AmazingStep-By-Step Instruction (With 4 Feltmarkers and Drawing Pencil), by Klutz, Inc.

The frst book that taught me people coulddo this or a living. - STEVE

To Mom, who helped me scour every25 comic box in southern Michigan or'70s Kirby books. - JOHN

To Burnie Burns o Rooster Teeth.Without him, none o this would

have happened. - ALLISON


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