Smallville Comic Books

Before the start of season two, DC Comics published a one-shot comic based on the television series. Simply titled Smallville: The Comic, the issue featured two stories. The first, written by Mark Verheiden and Roy Martinez, was titled "Raptor" and featured an abused boy who is mutated into a Raptor, thanks to kryptonite, and decides to seek revenge on the Luthor family. Michael Green and John Paul Leon wrote the second story, "Exile and The Kingdom", which provides insight into why Lex chose to stay in Smallville, after his father offered him a position in Metropolis, at the end of season one. Eventually, DC Comics began publishing a bi-monthly comic featuring various stories involving the characters from Smallville. Writer and script coordinator Clint Carpenter describes the comic book line as a companion piece to the show, instead of a non-canon version of the characters. As Carpenter describes it, the comic book line expands on events occurring in the show, like showing what happens after season ending cliffhangers. Carpenter sees the comics as providing "additional depth" to those characters who receive limited screen time on the show, or whose storylines need additional explanation.
Carpenter was not the first person asked to oversee the comic. Mark Verheiden, who co-wrote the one-shot comic, was originally going to be in charge of the bi-monthly series. Verheiden's commitment to the television series kept him from taking on the comic books, so he asked Carpenter if he would take on the responsibility. Although the series is meant to expand on the events of the show, occasionally there are continuity errors created because of the differences in production schedules between the comic and the show. One such instance occurred when the comic book showed Clark robbing an ATM; then the season three premiere showed him robbing multiple ATMs. The series not only ties into the television show, but also the Chloe Chronicles webisodes, and the various Smallville-related webpages. In addition, the comics feature interviews with the cast and crew, as well as information on the production of the episodes.