It seems odd that virtually every writer who gets signed up to write Superman these days makes sure to cite Maggin's work as a big influence on theirs. But few of them seem to show it in their work, and DC isn't interested in signing up the "original".
You know, I've noticed this too, and it's very interesting because generally when a writer says they are "inspired by the earliest incarnation of a character" it means they intend to do something totally divorced conceptually from what the series is supposed to be. Remember when Frank Miller started saying how DARK KNIGHT RETURNS was inspired by Bob Kane (not Bill Finger, naturally)? You know, I think Bob Kane had Batman do detective work once in a while, Frank.
If somebody can be accused of going back to the Finger/Kane Batman, it would be Englehart, who mentioned - of all people - Julie Madison, Batman's first fiancee,
and had her affect his current characterization. The moment this phenomena crystalized for me was when Chuck Austen (now there's a fish in a barrel target) when he took over ACTION COMICS stated that his chief inspiration was Siegel and Shuster. HUH?
Generally, Chucky, if people are inspired by something, they use aspects of that person in their work. For instance, Roger Stern - the voice of reason in the Mike Carlin nuthouse - was inspired by George Reeves, and wrote Superman with a lot of George's distinctive mannerisms and style. Stern's "Panic in the Sky," despite uneven art and really goofy cameos by Deathstroke the Terminator (!) and the Matrix Supergirl, was one of the few Super-works to emerge from that period that wasn't slightly nauseating, with Superman played accurate to character as resourceful and intelligent, a good general for superheroes.
If we go by
this criteria of determining influence (imitation being the sincerest form of flattery), the single greatest influence on Austen's work is Tomas de Torquemada. :twisted:
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