Joe Casey is no stranger to the world of comics and animated entertainment. Forever etching a place within the hearts of children and the young at heart, Casey is the mind responsible for the creation of the fan-favorite Cartoon Network television show Ben 10 and has an impressive career writing for several publishers, including Marvel and DC. Casey has received an Eisner nomination for his work on the independent comic Godland, and he created the characters seen in Disney's Academy Award-winning animated feature film Big Hero 6.
Although Joe Casey started his professional career writing for Marvel Comics, he has since done work for DC -- most notably turning in an impressive run on Adventures of Superman. It was recently revealed at SDCC 2023 that Casey is returning to the world of the Man of Steel to take on a new series that focuses not on the Last Son of Krypton but rather on one of his greatest foes: General Zod.
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CBR: Your new DC series, Kneel Before Zod, was just announced at SDCC 2023. What can you tell us about this project?
Joe Casey: I've been gifted with the task of taking Zod back to his villainous roots and making him a badass again. He's got a family (which I really can't believe,) and he's on a planet that he rules with an iron fist. He essentially has everything he wants -- but you should never ever give a bad guy exactly what he wants. That's a recipe for disaster, and it's certainly true for this book.
How is your rendition of Zod different than what we've seen before?
When I read up on what Zod's been doing lately, he seems to have gone a bit soft. He has a family, and he's casually hanging around with Superman, actually engaging in normal conversation. One time, he showed up like a farmer and welcomed Superman to make himself at home on his planet. That is not my Zod. So when they told me that they wanted to take him back to the savage Zod who wants nothing but to kill Superman, I knew I was the man for the job.
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Will Superman show up at some point in Kneel Before Zod?
This series is mostly focused on Zod, although Superman may pop up here and there. Not necessarily in a continuity capacity, mind you, but more like a ghost that haunts Zod's mind. In that respect, Jor-El will make an appearance as well. But there's a razor-sharp focus on Zod, and we're going to tear up the cosmic DC Universe. I'm really looking forward to doing it.
It sounds like the Zod we're going to see in your series may have some serious psychological issues.
Like I said, he's gotten everything he thought he wanted, and it's just not working out for him. He's meant to be a soldier. Violence is his language, and when he can't speak, he doesn't know what to do with himself. Kneel Before Zod will give him an opportunity to speak his own language.
Is there a particular moment in Kneel Before Zod that you can't wait for fans to see?
In the first issue, Zod does something that, in my opinion, is horrific, evil, and emotionally bankrupt. I'm looking forward to readers seeing this play out. I don't want to give away too much, but I will say it has to do with his family. But that's just the first issue! It gets worse. But yeah, the sort of heel turn that he makes in the first issue is really going to be impactful.
I also want to mention that the artist on Kneel Before Zod is Dan McDaid. It's his first work for mainstream DC, and he's the biggest Superman fan you'll ever meet. His art is like Jack Kirby meets Keith Giffen, and he's so excited about this. It's rare these days to get a consistent artist on six issues, let alone 12, but Dan will be there for every issue. It's gonna be great and very cool.
Can you tease any other characters who are going to appear in Kneel Before Zod?
We're going to see some cosmic DC characters and a lot of different classic alien races. That's all I want to say because those happen in the back half of the first year. The first six issues are dealing with Zod, his home world, and his family and setting him up for the degradation of the narrative.
What can you tell us about the first story arc we'll be seeing in Kneel Before Zod?
The first section of the story basically dismantles everything previous writers have set up for Zod. His entire status quo is going to be remastered. It's a deconstruction of Zod, and I'm tearing his ass down. It's great fun and couldn't happen to a nicer guy. You know, that's the best part about writing a villainous character -- the worst you can do to him is not half as bad as what he deserves.
Kneel Before Zod is expected to release in 2024 from DC.
