The Death of Superman: Enjoyed it? Buy it.

Written by Gregg Katzman

The upcoming DC animated movie The Death of Superman has leaked way before its official release. I'm seeing a lot of positive tweets - some fans are even saying it's their new favorite DC animated movie - and that's not surprising since the movie's written by Peter J. Tomasi (Superman Rebirth, Batman and Robin New 52) and co-directed by Sam Liu (Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract) and Jake Castorena (storyboard artist for many great animated projects, like Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Batman: Assault on Arkham, and Beware the Batman).

On one hand, I'm really happy to see such enthusiastic comments about The Death of Superman. Taking on such an iconic story, especially within the confines of a relatively new animated universe's continuity (it started in Justice League: War), is no easy feat. But on the other hand, I'm concerned that people won't add a digital or physical copy of The Death of Superman to their movie collection when the animated film's officially released. After all, if they got a copy for free, why spend extra cash on it, especially when so many fans are working with such a tight budget?

Positive word of mouth ahead of The Death of Superman's official release is great. It reassures fans who may have not been won over by the trailer, gets others fans even more excited, and makes more people aware of the upcoming movie. Odds are The Death of Superman will have a presence at San Diego Comic-Con, and that's sure to build even more hype for it. Positive reactions are terrific, but sales are so much more important. In this case, money speaks louder than tweets. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is a business, and in order to keep producing a product, that product has to justify its existence by bringing in money. Where's the incentive to keep creating quality movies if they aren't flying off the digital and physical shelves? If you truly want to support this DC animated movie, you'll buy a copy when it goes on sale. It'll show that consumers are interested in this product (and the people who created it), and we'd happily welcome more animated projects like this one with open arms.

Buying The Death of Superman is also important because it continues to show that a DC animated movie can thrive without having Batman as the main draw. I regularly see people saying DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation needs to push for more movies that don't focus on Gotham's classic vigilante, but that's exactly what they've been doing. The Dark Knight didn't steal the spotlight from John Constantine and Zatanna in Justice League Dark. The Caped Crusader wasn't seen in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (then again, he is incredibly stealthy). The World's Greatest Detective played no role in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay. Now, the next Justice League animated movie is clearly focusing on Superman instead of adapting one of Batman's storylines.

How will it look if these movies sell poorly compared to Batman: Gotham by Gaslight or Batman Ninja? "Thanks for trying to highlight other DC characters, but Batman simply sells better - stop taking risks, focus on Batman." I want more Batman animated movies (I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a Knightfall two-parter), but I also want to one day see animated projects inspired by the Sinestro Corps War or Red Son, and the best way to make projects like that happen is to keep supporting these movies with our hard-earned money. 

If you've already watched The Death of Superman and enjoyed it, sing its praise (spoiler-free, please) and tell your friends to check it out in August. But please, don't forget to buy it, too. And if you haven't watched it yet, just remember that good things are worth waiting for.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter and like the Comic Book Conversations Facebook page for site updates. The Death of Superman will be available to purchase digitally on July 24; the Blu-ray/DVD goes on sale August 7.