Exclusive Interview: Greg Cox Talks Man of Steel: The Official Movie Novelization and More

Man of Steel: The Official Movie Novelization (read our review here) is now available from Titan Books. We recently had the chance to chat with the book's author Greg Cox about the release, why fans should pick it up and much more. If you don't want to fight the crowds at the theaters to watch this blockbuster release than picking up Man of Steel: The Official Movie Novelization is the next best thing. Read on to learn more and check out our interview with Greg Cox.

AMANDA DYAR: First off, tell us a little about yourself and how your writing career got started.

GREG COX: I started out as a full-time science fiction editor who did some writing on the side, but gradually segued to being a full-time writer who still does a little book editing just to keep my hand in. At this point, I've been writing novelizations and media tie-in novels for over twenty years (gulp!), ever since I sold DC Comics a couple of Batman prose stories back around the time of the second Tim Burton BATMAN movie. I like to joke that I've been writing this stuff ever since Michelle Pfeifer was Catwoman!

AMANDA: How did you become involved with writing the official novelization for Man of Steel?

GREG: I had already written the novelization for The Dark Knight Rises, as well as various DC comics miniseries, which seemed to have gone smoothly for all concerned. I've always had good relationships with the folks at DC Comics, Warner Bros., and Titan Books, so I was delighted to move on from the Dark Knight to the Man of Steel. More specifically, it all began with a phone call from my editor, Steve Saffel, asking me how soon I could get on a plane to Los Angeles to read the script!

AMANDA: What can you tell us about Man of Steel: The Official Movie Novelization and why fans should pick it up?

GREG: The plot of the book is the same as the movie, but I had room to flesh things out a bit more and even include a few scenes from the script that didn't make it into the final cut of the movie--like baby Clark's first visit to a pediatrician in Smallville.

AMANDA: Were you a Superman fan growing up and do you have a favorite comic, show, movie, etc?

GREG: I honestly can't remember a time when I wasn't a Superman fan. I watched George Reeves as a kid, Christopher Reeve when I was in college, and have been reading the comics since they were only twelve cents apiece. (Yes, I'm that old.) As a lifelong comic book fan, I couldn't possibly pick an all-time favorite character--although I'll confess to a special fondness for spooky comics characters like the Spectre and Doctor Fate.

AMANDA: If you could be a superhero, what type would you be and what special powers would you have?

GREG: I don't know about fighting crime, but I would love to be able to teleport from place to place--and not have to worry about traffic, jet lag, or getting to appointments on time!

AMANDA: What do you like best about working on movie tie-ins versus other types of novels?

GREG: Once in a while, it's nice to let the screenwriter do all the heavy lifting when it comes to working out all the plot and dialogue, as opposed to having to invent everything from scratch. And I'm still enough of a movie buff and a fanboy to be thrilled at the prospect of being involved, even peripherally, with a big new movie.

AMANDA: Who do you think would win in a fight between Superman, Batman and Spiderman? And why?

GREG: Why does there have to be a winner? Everyone knows superheroes only fight until they figure out that they're on the same side--and team up to defeat the real bad guy!

AMANDA: Do you have any other upcoming projects you would like to mention or what do you hope to work on next?

GREG: Thanks for asking! I have three other new books out, a STAR TREK novel, a LEVERAGE novel, and RIESE: KINGDOM FALLING, a young-adult book based on a popular web series. Beyond that, I have a few other irons in the fire, but nothing I can talk about yet! 

To learn more, check out the Man of Steel: The Official Movie Novelization page on the Titan Books website.



About Man of Steel: The Official Movie Novelization
The movie, from director Zack Snyder and slated for release on June 14, 2013, stars Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, Amy Adams as Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane, and Michael Shannon as General Zod. Also starring are Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Ayelet Zurer, Lawrence Fishburne and Russell Crowe.

A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers, and that he is not of this Earth. As he approaches adulthood, he journeys to discover where he came from, and what he was sent here to accomplish. But then the world faces an unimaginable threat--an invading force the likes of which has never been encountered before. When this occurs, the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation, and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.