Earth and Sky

Zine
Title:	Earth and Sky
Publisher:	sasha_anu
Editor:
Author(s):	Jen in Japan
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):	d0wn_on_paper
Date(s):	2006
Series?:	yes
Medium:	eBook/e-zine
Genre:
Fandom:	Superman/Batman
External Links:	online here
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Earth and Sky is a slash Batman and Superman fiction anthology by Jen in Japan. It was published in 2006 and has 156 pages.

Author's summary

Do I contradict myself?

Very well then....I contradict myself;

I am large....I contain multitudes.

(Walt Whitman, "Leaves of Grass")

"Earth and Sky" is a series that explores the possibility that Superman and Batman had a romantic relationship in the AU world shown by Jeph Loeb in the "Absolute Power" story arc, and the effects that would have on the canon versions of the characters."

Author's Notes

The stories were born from a fascination/frustration with Jeph Loeb's run in Superman/Batman, specifically the "Absolute Power" arc, in which Clark and Bruce are kidnapped at a young age by time travelers and become rulers of the world (and to the slash-sensitive, clearly bedmates). I really wanted to see more of this world, so obviously I had to do it myself.

Then I found myself wondering about the effects of that relationship on the canon versions of Batman and Superman, so I had to write that as well! So the stories tend to go back and forth between the canon and the AU."

Contents

• Playing with Fire (Canon, PG)
• Broken Wings (AU, PG)
• A Model Airplane and a Comic Book (AU, G)
• Grass, Wind, Clouds (AU, R)
• January: Hero (Canon, PG)
• A Locked Door and an Open Window (AU, PG-13)
• February: Wish You Were Here (Canon, PG-13)
• St. Elmo's Fire (AU, R)
• March: Shadows and Sunlight (Canon, G)
• A Bent Piece of Metal (AU, PG-13)
• April: Approximations (Canon, PG-13)
• An Excerpt from an Incredibly Dull History Textbook (AU, R)
• May: Simple Things (Canon, PG)
• The Earth Like a Jewel, Glittering, Falling... (AU, R)
• June: Now or Never (Canon, NC-17)
• A Handprint on Glass (AU, G)
• July: A Spot of Tea and Conversation (Canon, PG)
• The Crown and Scepter (AU, PG-13)
• August: Need (Canon, NC-17)
• My Own Eyes Looking Back at Me (AU, PG-13)
• September: Manipulation (Canon, PG)
• Still Life With Pearls and Corpses (AU, PG)
• October: Cristo Redentor (Canon, NC-17)
• Nobody (AU, PG-13)
• November: The Art of War (Canon, PG)
• The Sun and the Moon (AU, PG-13)
• December: Earth and Sky (Canon, PG-13)

Arc Two: Nightwing & Flamebird

• Prologue
• Chapter One: Falling
• Chapter Two: Landing
• Chapter Three: Reconnoitering
• Chapter Four: Planning
• Chapter Five: Assisting
• Chapter Six: Recruiting
• Chapter Seven: Speaking
• Chapter Eight: Launching
• Chapter Nine: Clashing
• Chapter Ten: Confessing
• Chapter Eleven: Shattering
• Chapter Twelve: Pledging
• Chapter Thirteen: Explaining
• Chapter Fourteen: Escaping
• Chapter Fifteen: Rescuing
• Chapter Sixteen: Returning
• Afterword: The Saga of Nightwing and Flamebird [Translated and Abridged from the Kryptonian]

Reactions/Reviews

• "It took me over a week and a half to read this story. I had to stop a lot, and close my eyes to it because of the pain, and the inherent beauty of it. It’s left me utterly speechless, and usually in my reviews I meta a lot about different theories I have, but this time I think you got everything so perfect there is nothing left to be said. This is a beginning, a middle, and a closure, if not really an end, because they’re going on to do greater things. This story held so much hurt in it, so much pain, but in the end it’s just pure happiness. A greater happiness because the pain is still there, just bearable because Bruce and Clark finally have each other in their lives. All of their lives. This is the ultimate soulmates story, and yet it wasn’t corny or cliché at all. It was just them. You did so much justice to their characters, and your style read so beautifully. It was easy to read, and yet so hard to see happening. I loved every minute of it, even the painful ones."Jan 28, 2007 comment.