Write Now! #10

INSIDE: HOW TO WRITE A COMICS STORY!

$ 95

5

In the USA

DAN JURGENS

#10 JULY 2005

DWAYNE McDUFFIE

Characters TM & ©2005 DC Comics

PETER BAGGE

GERRY CONWAY

PITCHING PITCHI SECRETS

The Magazine About Writing For Comics, Animation, and SCI-FI

M AG A ZI N E Issue #10

August 2005

Read Now! Message from the Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 2

Creative Milestones Interview with Dwayne McDuffie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 3

From Peter & Gwen to Law & Order Interview with Gerry Conway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 27

Words and Pictures Man Interview with Dan Jurgens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 37

Feedback Letters from Write Now!’s Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 50

Everybody’s Buddy Interview with Peter Bagge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 51

The Origin of Infamy Ben Raab, co-creator of the new miniseries, Living in Infamy, tells the tale of how his proposal became a published comic . . . . . . . . . . . page 55

A Writer’s Journey to Writing Full Time Paul Benjamin, former editor of Metal Hurlant, talks about how he took the plunge and became a full-time writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 60

Nuts & Bolts Department Plot to Script to Printed Comic: HARDWARE #1

Pages from “Angry Black Man” by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, and Jimmy Palmiotti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 6

Episodic Animation Script: JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED

Pages from “Time Warped,” by Dwayne McDuffie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 10

Episodic Animation Script and Storyboards: JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED

Excerpt from “The Weird, Weird West,” by Dwayne McDuffie . . . . . . . . . . . .page 14

Episodic Animation Script and Storyboards: JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED

Excerpt from “Time Warped,” by Dwayne McDuffie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 15

Script to Finished Art: THE ROAD TO HELL

Pages from the graphic novel by Dwayne McDuffie and Rick Parker . . . .page 18

Episodic Animation Script and Storyboards: STATIC SHOCK

Excerpt from “Jimmy,” by Dwayne McDuffie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 22

Structure: The Skeleton of the Story

John Ostrander talks about Structure and how it affects everything else in a work of fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 43

Plot to Pencils to Script to Printed Comic: GRIMJACK: KILLER INSTINCT #5

A page from the mini-series by John Ostrander and Tim Truman . . . . . . .page 48

Pitch to Script to Pencils to Finished Art: LIVING IN INFAMY

Pages from the mini-series by Ben Raab, Deric A. Hughes, Greg Kirkpatrick and John Lucas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 56

Pitch to Script to Pencils to Finished Art: THE BELIEVERS Pages from a proposed project by Paul Benjamin and Steven Cummings .page 65

Conceived by DANNY FINGEROTH Editor-in-Chief Designers JOHN McCARTHY and RICH J. FOWLKS [with CHRIS DAY] Transcriber STEVEN TICE Publisher JOHN MORROW Special Thanks To PETER BAGGE PAUL BENJAMIN ALISON BLAIRE BOB BRODSKY JOEY CAVALIERI GERRY CONWAY RITA COOPER KIA CROSS CHRIS DAY RICH J. FOWLKS MIKE GOLD GLENN HAUMAN DAN JURGENS DWAYNE McDUFFIE ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON JOHN OSTRANDER RICK PARKER ADAM PHILIPS CHRIS POWELL BEN RAAB BEN REILLY JASON STRANGIS LEAH TRIBBLE VARDA STEINHARDT

Danny Fingeroth’s Write Now! is published 4 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614 USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Fax: (919) 449-0327. Danny Fingeroth, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Write Now! E-mail address: WriteNowDF@aol.com. Single issues: $8 Postpaid in the US ($10 Canada, $11 elsewhere). Four-issue subscriptions: $20 US ($40 Canada, $44 elsewhere). Order online at: www.twomorrows.com or e-mail to: twomorrow@aol.com All characters are TM & © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © the respective authors. Editorial package is ©2005 Danny Fingeroth and All rights reserved. Write Now! is a shared trademark of Danny Fingeroth and TwoMorrows Publishing.

Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING.

READ Now!

Message from Danny Fingeroth, Editor-in-Chief

S

o, we meet again. This issue we’ve got some truly amazing material.

For starters, there’s the awesome interview with Dwayne McDuffie.

Many of you may know Dwayne’s name from the credits boxes of Marvel, DC and Valiant Comics where he wrote such comics as Deathlok, X-O Manowar, Avengers Spotlight, and Legends of the Dark Knight. And, of course, as cofounder and editor-in-chief of the Milestone line, Dwayne co-created Static, Icon, Xombi, and Hardware, the latter of which he also wrote. These days, Dwayne finds himself writing and executive producing the red-hot Justice League Unlimited animated series for Warner Bros. Animation. There, he supervises stories of a wide range of DC Comics characters for a venue that, for better or worse, is far more widely seen than the comics from which the characters emerge.

In this interview, Dwayne talks about the path that led him from the printed to the animated medium and what it’s like to work on a big time animated series.

It’s a fascinating story, told by an insightful—and hilarious—guy. You’ll learn a lot about the twists and turns a creative road can take.

Then, we take a look back and forward with the legendary Gerry Conway.

Gerry started writing comics as a teenager and has written memorable stints on just about every top character at Marvel and DC, including Spider-Man, Daredevil, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Justice League—you get the idea. These days, Gerry is writing and producing for a little TV series phenomenon called Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Along the way, he’s also written and/or produced for series such as Murder She Wrote, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and The Father Dowling Mysteries. Again, here’s a guy who used his comics skills to work in another medium. What are the similarities and the differences? Gerry tells all—or at least, a heckuva lot! Don’t miss this interview!

We also have an awesome interview with Dan Jurgens, who talks about what it’s like to write and draw your own stories. Dan’s the Man on such series as Superman, Thor, Captain America, and Spider-Man. In this interview, he talks about what it takes to come up with the goods month after month.

Then, for a change of pace, there’s DC editor-supreme Joey Cavalieri’s interview with Peter Bagge, auteur of Hate, among many other underground classics. It’s filled with important information any comics creator or person interested in comics creation has got to have!

Then, Paul Benjamin—former editor at Humanoids and development exec at Platinum Studios—tells about the chain of events that led to his decision to become a fulltime freelance writer. Why would someone trade in a secure day job for the unknown frontier of the freelance life? Paul gives you some insights as to why and how he did it.

You want more? Here’s more: Ben Raab, who’s written tales of Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Vampirella, tells us about how he came up with—and sold—the pitch for his new miniseries, Living In Infamy.

Then, in the Nuts & Bolts how-to sections of the magazine, we’re once again bursting at the seams with cool, information-packed material.

John Ostrander, writer of Grimjack, Firestorm, The Spectre, and Star Wars comics tells you, step by step, how to structure a story. This is it. From the brain of one of the top guys who does it: how to write a story. This is information you want, information you need. Plus, John provides us with some script and art from his new GrimJack project!

Dwayne McDuffie provides us with samples of his scripts for comics and animation, including samples of Milestone pencil art and animation scripts and story-

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boards for Static Shock and Justice League Unlimited. Amazing stuff.

Paul Benjamin shows us script and art from his upcoming The Believers project.

Ben Raab shows us the pitch that got greenlit for Living in Infamy, as well as the first batch of script and pencil art (by Greg Kirkpatrick) for the premiere issue.

But what’s going on in the next Write Now!, you ask? Only our special PROFESSIONAL SECRETS issue! In it, 25 top comics and animation writing and editing pros tell you the most important things you need to know—creatively and businesswise—to get in the door—and to survive and thrive—as a professional writer.

Some of the folks sharing their secrets will be: Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Waid, Peter David, J.M. DeMatteis, Tom DeFalco, Dennis O’Neil, Chuck Dixon, and Dan Jurgens.

But that’s not all. Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz—longtime collaborators on such series as Amazing Spider-Man, Thor, and now Spider-Girl—will tell you what it’s like to work so closely with someone that you almost become one creator! Tom and Ron will share insights they’ve gathered from their many highprofile successes—as a team and on their own—that can help you figure out what to look for in a creative partner!

And Ron and Sal Buscema’s all-new Spider-Girl cover for the issue is worth the cover price all by itself!

All in all, Write Now! #11 will be a magazine you won’t want to be without.

SHAMELESS PLUG DEPARTMENT: The How to Draw Comics From Script to Print DVD that DRAW! Editor-in-Chief Mike Manley and I did (based on the Write Now!–DRAW! crossover)—it covers writing, too, although its emphasis is art—is still available at comics shops, from the TwoMorrows website, and from amazon.com. While it focuses on art, there’s a section devoted to writing.

We’ve had nothing but great feedback on it!

My book Superman On the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us about Ourselves and Our Society (Continuum) is still exciting a lot of attention. You might want to check it out.

There are a bunch of other Danny-centric projects on the horizon, including a new book and a couple of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon episodes I’ve scripted, that will be airing in the near future. More details next issue!

Now it’s time to really have fun: read this issue before someone else does and uses the info to get that writing gig before you do!

Write Away!

Danny Fingeroth

Creative Milestones:

The Dwayne McDuffie Interview Conducted March 2005 by Danny Fingeroth via e-mail and phone Phone segments transcribed by Steven Tice Copy-edited by Dwayne McDuffie and Danny Fingeroth

D

wayne McDuffie is best known as the co-founder and creator of Milestone Media. He is a Story Editor on the Kids WB’s Emmy Award-nominated animated series Static Shock, which he co-created. He is also a Producer and Story Editor on Cartoon Network’s Justice League. He was Editor-In-Chief of Milestone Media’s award-winning line of comic books, managing an editorial operation which boasted the best on-time delivery record in the industry for nearly four years running. He has also worked as an editor for Marvel Comics and Harvey Entertainment. As a writer, Dwayne has created or co-created more than a dozen series, including Damage Control, Deathlok II, Icon, Static, Xombi, The Road to Hell, and Hardware. He has also written stories for dozens of other comics, including, Spider-Man, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, The Tick, Captain Marvel, Avengers Spotlight, Back to the Future, Hellraiser, Ultraman, (The Artist Formerly Known As) Prince, and X-O Manowar.

Dwayne won the 2003 Humanitas Prize for “Jimmy,” a Static Shock script about gun violence in schools. He has also been nominated for two Emmy Awards for the TV series Static Shock, a Writers Guild Award for the Justice League episode “Starcrossed,” and three Eisner Awards for his work in comic books. His comic book work has won eleven Parents’ Choice Awards, six “Best Editor” awards, and a Golden Apple Award for his “use of popular art to promote and enhance human dignity.”

Dwayne was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and attended The Roeper School. Before entering comics, he studied in undergraduate and graduate programs at The University of Michigan, then attended film school at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He also co-hosted a radio comedy program, while moonlighting pseudonymously as a freelance writer for stand-up comedians and late-night television comedy programs. He has written scripts for an animated feature, episodes of Static Shock!; Justice League; What’s New, Scooby-Doo? and Teen Titans.

I did a “hybrid” interview with Dwayne, the first half done via e-mail, the second over the phone. But whether in written or spoken form, Dwayne’s got a lot of intriguing thoughts on the comics and animation industries. Read on and see for yourself…

—DF DANNY FINGEROTH: Let’s start with some background, Dwayne.

Where’d you grow up, go to school? Were there any creative influences in your childhood? Family? Friends? Teachers?

DWAYNE McDUFFIE: I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. I went to The Roeper School, a very strange and wonderful private

school, then attended college at The University of Michigan and New York University.

Thinking back on it, my father was an extraordinarily creative man, although he worked for the Federal Reserve. He was a gifted storyteller and I have to assume I picked up a lot from him, but it wasn’t conscious. As far as teachers go, I was a handfuland-a-half, absolutely bored in classes and generally making life difficult for whoever was trying to teach them. Both Mrs. Timar in fifth grade and Dick Tobin in, what, 10th grade encouraged me to write and kindly indulged me in pursuing whatever interested me at any given moment. Both of them allowed me to turn in work that often didn’t have a lot to do with what they assigned.

DF: Did anybody try to actively encourage—or discourage—you from pursuing a creative career?

DM: Not friends, teachers or family. My mother was an incredible trouper when I announced I was leaving a post-graduate physics program to go to film school. Her poker face was perfect, I wouldn’t have suspected a thing if her fingers hadn’t left indentations in the marble coffee table she was gripping. I did get some discouragement, however, notably a dramatic-writing teacher at NYU who told me I was “terrible, not a writer” and a couple of years later a Marvel Comics editor who told me I was illiterate, and refused to even read pitches from me (this was after I’d made several sales to Marvel, but before anything saw print).

DF: Did you know or hang out with other Detroit comics people?

(Keith Pollard, Al Milgrom, Jim Starlin, others?) Was there a Detroit comics “scene”? Were you a part of it?

DM: I wish. I’m a bit younger than those guys, but when I was growing up I bought work by all of them. It was a real thrill to meet them years later after I broke in. I was a pretty serious comic book reader as a child, second in my crowd only to my best friend Alan Thompkins, but working in comics never occurred to me; I was only dimly aware that real people actually made that stuff.

DF: What have been influential books, movies, TV shows in your life, past and present?

DM: This is one of those awful questions where I just know I’m DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 3

going to forget something important. I was a voracious reader from a frighteningly early age. I still read five or six books a week. The mother lode for me was a science fiction collection of a couple thousand books passed on to me by a family friend. I had pretty much everything that had been done in the field going back to the beginning and I read it all indiscriminately. Over time, I leaned to discriminate, and I was particularly fond of Heinlein, Asimov, and especially Robert Sheckley. When I was around 12, I read Dune, which was good enough to make me crave real novels, although I didn’t realize that yet. In my teen years, I discovered Robert Silverberg and Harlan Ellison. I kept reading them, particularly Ellison, even as my interest in science fiction waned. By then I’d moved on to Fitzgerald (I re-read Tender Is The

Night almost every year), Faulkner, and a brief but intense flirtation with Sherwood Anderson. Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man blew my head off, influencing my work perhaps more that any other single thing I’ve ever read. I was beginning to realize the possibilities of metaphor and metatext. I spent a lot of time thinking about Lajos Egri’s books, The Art of Dramatic Writing and The Art of Creative Writing. I pretty much formulated my own theories on dramatic structure by arguing with his. The Signifying Monkey by Henry Louis Gates was very important to me. I’d been working in a vacuum until I read this book and was totally unaware that I had been working with ideas that were firmly rooted in the traditions of African American literature.

A page from Milestone’s Blood Syndicate #1. Written by Dwayne McDuffie. Art by Trevor Von Eeden. Inks

by Andrew Pepoy. [©2005 Milestone Media ] 4 | WRITE NOW

DF: Who were your favorite comics characters and creators as a kid?

DM: I read almost everything, but The Fantastic Four was my favorite comic, hands down. The Thing probably tied with Spider-Man as my favorite character, both sharing an intensely human quality that I try to give to all my characters. Their influence is pretty explicit in some of my work. Deathlok was my take on the Thing, and Static was my take on early Spider-Man. I came late to the game on Little Lulu, which I worshiped from that day in college I read a reprint in the Smithsonian Comic Book collection. I’ve been trying to collect them all ever since.

Not only is it a great comic, but it’s a comic creator’s handbook. Little Lulu is the Rosetta stone of the language of comics. It contains solutions to every comic book storytelling problem imaginable. And John Stanley makes it all seem so effortless that, unless you make a point of studying his work, you never even notice the sophistication and elegance of his use of stor ytelling tools.

I was a pretty odd comic book reader, in that I followed writers as ardently as I followed characters.

Steve Gerber’s work on the Defenders, Man-Thing and Howard the Duck, Steve Engelhart’s runs on Avengers and Dr. Strange. Oh, I remember really liking Gerry Conway’s Spider-Man, and I’ve read the Essentials reprints recently, and they hold up. I’ve spoken at length about the powerful impact Don McGregor’s Black Panther had on me and the formation of the ideas that led to my approach to my own Milestone comics line. Who else?

Geez, Stan, obviously. Shooter’s Legion of Superheroes. I remember running to the comic store to buy

Giant-Size X-Men #1, and staying with Chris’ version of that title well into my twenties. Miller’s Daredevil. And I already mentioned John Stanley’s Little Lulu, which I’m willing to argue is the best ongoing run of anything, ever. Where do I stop?

DF: Who were your favorite movie and TV writers and/or directors as a kid?

DM: Paddy Chayefsky is like a god to me, a cruel god so unique in his voice that I haven’t ever quite figured out how to steal from him, but I’m still inordinately fond of monologue. I taught myself to write by transcribing Woody Allen stand–up routines and analyzing them, trying to work out what he was doing and how he did it. The exercise left me with a pretty impressive writer’s toolbox. Allen’s still my favorite filmmaker. I never missed anything by Francis Ford Coppola or Stanley Kubrick.

Preston Sturges is the best pure writer I’ve ever read. I learned more from studying a compilation of his screenplays than I learned in two years of film school. Ah… TV, I was probably in college before I started noticing writers’ names, but Roy Huggins was the first one I remember being able to pick out by ear.

Susan Harris and Diane English can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned, either. I adored The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Hill Street Blues, Taxi. I learned stuff from Wiseguy that I use probably every day. Probably more directly influential on my work is more recent stuff like Homicide, Sports Night and the Aaron Sorkin era of The West Wing. The Wire is so well-written it makes me weep with despair. Not only can’t I do what they do but I can barely figure out how they’re doing it.

They’ve taken series television someplace entirely new. Genius.

DF: Who are your favorite novelists?

DM: Mark Twain, Ralph Ellison, Fitzgerald, Toni Morrison, Ishmael Reed. I’m currently reassessing James M. Cain, who upon rereading I’ve decided is more than just a good noir writer, he’s a first-rate novelist.

DF: Comedy seems an important component of your work. Who and what were your comedy influences?

DM: Richard Pryor, a brilliant storyteller with rare insight into the human condition. He created fully-rounded characters with just a few words, a change of posture, a tone of voice. He’s a funny motherf*cker, too. As I mentioned before, Woody Allen. Whether it’s stand-up, his exquisite comic essays or his feature films, his ability to integrate fantastic elements into naturalistic settings is astonishing. He can create the willing suspension of disbelief better than anyone, dropping you into absurd worlds that still ring true with our experience (good skill set for me to emulate, as my job is often convincing people of the “human” part of superhuman characters). Fran Lebowitz, who besides making me laugh harder than anyone is perhaps the best essayist writing in English (when she writes at all). Harold Ramis, who understands how to do stupid and smart simultaneously. SCTV, The Firesign Theatre, Monty Python—I can do this list longer than I can do comic books.

DF: You have a couple of degrees. What are they in?

DM: Physics and English Lit. I washed out of film school, where I was working on a degree in Dramatic Writing.

DF: Have the degrees been useful in your career as a writer?

DM: Probably not, outside of the general exercise of learning to think. [Fellow Justice League writer] Stan Berkowitz always jokes

that he has a degree in pseudoscience. That’s a lot more useful in our line of work. I have to bite my tongue all the time in writers’ meetings. I’m the killjoy who’s always telling people things like, that if you shoot a gas tank, it won’t explode.

Alternately, I’m wrecking perfectly good action sequences by figuring out the rate of fuel consumption in the Justice League’s space shuttles.

DF: You did super-8 movies in high school. What were they like?

DM: High-school and college. Awful comedies with surprisingly sophisticated dialogue. These were 20-40 minute epics, including a mocumentary about the growing menace of Bic disposable lighter-worshipping religious cults, a sad attempt at aping a Woody Allen romantic comedy, and probably of most interest to this magazine’s audience, an elaborate parody of the old live-action Batman TV series, wherein Batman and Robin go undercover at Gotham University to find out who’s stealing all the pizzas. I saw this again about five years ago, and astonishingly, it’s still funny. Please don’t tell DC Comics about the Batman thing, they’re mad enough at me already.

DF: What made you decide to go to film school in general, and to NYU in particular? Why not a West Coast school?

DM: Probably because I didn’t know any better. I was looking to make a big change in my life, New York held a certain romance for me and it wasn’t as far from my family as California. Also, NYU admitted me on a partial scholarship off of one of my super8 epics. Film school was a bad fit for me, though. I think if you’ve got 80 grand to spend, you may as well make a movie with the money, rather than blow it on tuition. Keep in mind though, I’m bitter. Your film school experience might be wonderful.

DF: You co-hosted a radio comedy program and wrote for standup comedians and late night comedy programs. Can you talk a little about those experiences and how they helped shape your creative voice and your career?

DM: Writing for stand-ups, at least my approach to it, had a lot to do with the way I approach fiction. I could turn out jokes with the best of them—okay, with the second best of them—but where I excelled was in helping stand-ups shape their personas, or in the case of those guys who already had a clear vision of their persona, shape material so that it was appropriate to that persona. To me, the best jokes are so tied to a specific character that they wouldn’t quite work coming from a different performer. That made it pretty tough to resell jokes that the guy I wrote them for didn’t want, but I got by. Likewise, I hate adventure plots that would turn out the same if you had different characters in it. For instance, a great Daredevil pitch shouldn’t make a great Batman story (and vice versa). There should be an inevitability to the proceedings that is so tied to the individual characteristics of the protagonist that if he were replaced with a different character, even a different hero, the story would stall or go in an entirely different direction. Much like my comedy writing, this means when I don’t sell a pitch, I generally don’t have anywhere else to take it. I sometimes salvage bits and pieces, sure, but the center of the things I pitch are all pretty much married to the character I pitch them for.

DF: Can you talk a little about the magazine job you hated that you worked at before Marvel?

[McDUFFIE continues on page 8.]

DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 5

Dwayne McDuffie Plot For 22 Pages HARDWARE #1 First Draft, 10/1/92

The Denys Cowan and Jimmy Palmotti cover to Hardware #1. [©2005 Milestone Media ]

HINE

THE MAN IN THE MAC Chapter One

"Angry Black Man" Page 1

K. Please o are a FLASHBAC Pages one and tw e border to ur at gn si some sort of give these pages RAKEET in a bird ose on a small PA indicate this. Cl at about eight Y (Curt Metcalf, BO LE TT LI A . ge d, ca "When I was a ki ening the cage. op is d) ol s ar ye is parakeet."

I used to have th s out of the parakeet flie The Boy reacts as cage to s hi en imes, when I'd op the cage. "Somet clean it..." of reach of wildly, just out The bird swerves ." cape arms, "...he'd es the boy's waving rking class wo (A OM RO 'S Wide to show CURT on, except for a Light on decorati , child's bedroom. ll.) Curt reacts lky Way on one wa e poster of the Mi th s rd and towa ay from the cage the bird flies aw the backyard e se d ul le bird wo WINDOW. "The litt ." and make his move and fast. The bird, flying hard e th Tight on y, he'd head blur. "Invariabl background is a he could." as window, fast straight for the infully off of pa bounces Wider as the bird crack his head on "And inevitably, . ne pa ow nd wi e th ." the windowpane..

Page 2

Here’s the first part of Dwayne’s plot for the premiere issue of Milestone’s Hardware. Dwayne here works “Marvel style” (plot first). [©2005 Milestone Media ]

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For 22 Pages • "Angry HARDWARE #1 • Plot

Black Man" • McDuffie

the rd bounces off of Tighter as the bi unseen s, as gl "...A barrier of windowpane again. ible to him..." and incomprehens the bird d more painful, Tighter still, an n, over and ai ag y ass. "So he'd tr SLAMS into the gl over..." the om the glass to The bird falls fr spent and nscious. "Until, windowsill, unco dn't try again." defeated, he coul e ntly picks up th The little boy ge on error." mm co a de ma rd . "The bi unconscious bird e cage. "He bird back into th The boy puts the t of his cage..." mistook being ou boy slams pitifully as the The bird looks up g free." ut. "...for bein the cage door sh Page 3

o, without ed a long time ag "The parakeet di yard." e freedom of the ever enjoying th ent many years to a man, who sp "The boy grew in ier: A ceiling on a similar barr bumping his head ible to him." and incomprehens of glass, unseen impossibil ear: Escape is an "The lesson is cl iers." rr ba ves all of the until one percei

ity,

HARDWARE, e, dawn. Tight on Exterior Warehous rsting his jet pack, bu zooming up with ylight, sending rough a glass sk spectacularly th . flying everywhere shards of glass "My name is Curt

Metcalf."

"But you can call

me Hardware."

2

Along with the plot pages, we see the first pages of the issue, as printed. After penciler Denys Cowan broke Dwayne’s plot into pages, Dwayne then wrote the captions, dialogue and sound effects for the story. (The inks are by Jimmy Palmotti.) [©2005 Milestone Media ]

DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 7

[McDUFFIE continues from page 5.]

becoming a regular writer on an ongoing series, but as time passed, it became increasingly clear that neither of those things were ever going to happen. I left staff in 1990 to go freelance DM: After leaving NYU because I ran out of money, a friend set because, in my opinion, I had hit my ceiling at Marvel. I was me up as a copyeditor at Investment Dealer’s Digest, a weekly certain I wasn’t ever going to be promoted from assistant editor magazine for institutional investors. In practical terms, this meant despite the fact that, in my opinion, people a great deal less that I copyedited pages and pages of numerical tables, which is I gifted were being promoted past me. Similarly, think, the same job you get in the fifth circle Deathlok, a book co-written by Greg Wright of hell as punishment for being and myself was selling very well. sullen, so I guess it was approBased on that, Greg got several priate. Not only was the well-deserved opportunities work painstaking and I hate adventure plots that would turn to write solo books. I boring, but if you out the same if you had different wouldn’t get hired to made a mistake, write a monthly comic which I was prone characters in it. . .There should be an for another ten years, to do, people inevitability to the proceedings that is so when Fabian Nicieza noticed. They tied to the individual characteristics of and Evan Skolnick put were actually me on X-O Manowar at reading the little the protagonist that if he were replaced Acclaim. To date, this type in the with a different character, even a is still the only monthly tables. Anyway, I different hero, the story would stall or comic I’ve ever been the was making a pretty regular writer on, aside from good living but I was go in an entirely different direction. the Milestone comics I hired miserable. myself to do. Fortunately, the market back then was such that DF: What role did Greg Wright play between fill-ins and mini-series, I could get in your career? three or four comics a month to write. Post-Milestone, that DM: Greg Wright attended NYU at the same time as was no longer the case. I’ve written only a handful of comics I did. He lived in the dorm where I was an RA [resident assistant]. since. The assignments just aren’t there for me.

We became friendly, and not just because he was also an intern at Marvel and would let me pick through his bundles of free DF: How did Damage Control come about? comics. As a lark, I co-wrote some 11-page stories for Mark DM: In college, I was fiddling around with an idea for a sort of Gruenwald’s Solo Avengers with Greg. We’d stayed friendly after I “Time Police” series, about two undercover officers who would left NYU. (Greg was even kind enough to take a series idea of travel in time to trouble spots and correct damage caused by mine, Damage Control, into Marvel for me.) As I remember it, one unlicensed time travelers. One of the bits I had for it was the idea night at dinner I was bitching about my awful job at the financial that, after the main guys completed a mission, a “clean-up crew” magazine and Greg mentioned Marvel was looking for an would come in and recover anything they might have left behind in assistant editor. The next day he called and told me if I came in the course of their duties, like an unbreakable plastic pocket that day, editor Bob Budiansky would give me an interview. I took comb during the Civil War, or a calculator that Isaac Newton a long lunch, came in for the interview and, unaccountably, Bob pinched from one of them during an adventure. I pretty much was kind enough to hire me. I was so glad to get away from the stole the whole bit from the old Batman TV show. I dimly financial magazine that I accepted the Marvel job for considerably remember an episode where the Batmobile has to make a highless than half the money I’d been making. In retrospect, I think speed U-turn and uses a drag chute to do so. The turn the feeling was mutual. When I gave the financial magazine two completed, Batman jettisons the chute and drives away. A beat weeks notice they said, “that’s okay, can we help you pack?” I later, a van pulls up, marked something like “Bat-Drag Chute Pickstarted at Marvel the following Monday. up and Laundry Service,” and a couple guys get out and retrieve the chute. I loved the notion that these guys’ full time job was to DF: Did you enjoy being on staff at Marvel? Did you ever want to be on call, just in case Batman needed his drag chute picked up “rise in the ranks” there or at any other company besides one out of the street. It was a pretty short trip from this idea to that you owned yourself? wondering about the service economy that had to exist in the DM: It was a mixed experience. It was a fun and creative place to Marvel Universe. That is to say, who does clean up the rubble work. I was fortunate to be a part of just about the last class of after the Hulk and Thor wreck midtown Manhattan in a slugfest? assistant editors who were formally trained in how to do the job, as opposed to the later tactic of dropping them into the job and DF: What made you want or need to “think outside the box” with waiting to see if they can dope it out before the train derails. Bob Damage Control? It certainly wasn’t a standard superhero comic.

Budiansky was a great editor to work for, an easygoing guy who DM: I don’t think I was thinking outside the box. Marvel has a was a talented writer and artist. He could speak knowledgably tradition of applying naturalistic reactions to absurd, superhero about any aspect of the process of creating comics. He was tropes. Spider-Man needed money and had girl troubles, Iron Man meticulous in every aspect of his work and almost obsessively had an alcohol problem, et cetera. All I did was think through how detail-oriented in a manner that irritated the hell out of me before the infrastructure of a world with superheroes in it might work. I I figured out that it was necessary in order to do the job right. He also spent a lot of time thinking about how regular guys would taught me stuff that I still use every day. react to these larger-than-life forces in their world. If the Thing I’d had hopes of moving up in the ranks of Editorial and even 8 | WRITE NOW

comes in complaining about his insurance premium, on the one hand, he’s a celebrity who has to be handled, on the other, he’s a monster made of stone who can smash steel in his fingers, and he’s upset and someone’s got to give him the bad news that he’s stuck with the high premium.

Damage Control is a logical extension of Marvel’s tradition of naturalistic storytelling.

“What would happen if this fantastic event were real?” I always played the superheroes straight in Damage Control. I always wrote them within the established boundaries of their characters. What was funny was the absurdity of the world that they inhabit. Come to think of it, that’s what’s funny about our world, too.

DF: What role did Sid Jacobson play in your career?

DM: I love Sid. He’s best known for editing the Harvey Comics line, Casper, Richie Rich all that stuff. He was editing Marvel’s “Star Comics” children’s line when I first started working at Marvel, and I was lucky enough to have him as the editor of Damage Control for the first couple of runs. The short version is that Sid taught me how to make comics. He’s a passionate advocate for the power of the form, even among casual and mainstream audiences. He makes comics that always keeps the intended audience, whoever that may be, in mind. Sid taught me how to use the tools of the medium to communicate my creative ideas as clearly and powerfully as possible. He was also great at managing creative people, often not an easy task. To the extent that I’m any good at it, it’s when I’m smart enough to follow Sid’s example.

DF: What’s the status of the Damage Control movie? As it currently exists, does it feature Marvel superheroes and villains as well as the Damage Control crew?

DM: There were several drafts of a script done for Village Roadshow several years ago. They were funny and remarkably faithful to the source material; all of the deviations from the comic were smart ones. The superheroes of the movie’s world were Marvel’s Squadron Supreme, a thinlyveiled parody of DC’s Justice League.

Unfortunately, the movie stalled after 9/11.

I don’t know it for a fact, but I suspect that a comedy with lot of jokes about skyscrapers falling over suddenly didn’t seem like a particularly good investment anymore. Still, I have hopes that with the success of all the superhero movies the past few years, someone will see the possibilities of a smart comedy in that genre and dust the project off. I’d love to see it happen.

Covers to the first Damage Control limited series, written by Dwayne. Pencils and inks by Ernie Colon. [© 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

[McDUFFIE continues on page 12.]

DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 9

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED “The Once And Future Thing, Part 2: Time, Warped” 5/06/04 #257-463 CAST LIST BATMAN GREEN LANTERN WONDER WOMAN GUEST CAST “CHRONOS” (DAVID CLINTON): From Part One. ENID CLINTON: David’s wife. From Part One. BATMAN BEYOND: The “Batman” from the series. Called “Batman Beyond” for the purposes of this script.

Justice League Unlimited

WARHAWK: Previously appeared in Batman Beyond episode, “The Call.”

STATIC: Adult version, from the Static Shock episode “Future Shock.”

OLD BRUCE: Bruce Wayne from Batman Beyond GHOUL: From “Return of the Joker. Christopher Walken.

"The Once and Future Thing, Part Two: Time Warped"

BONK II: From “Return of the Joker.”

(Script)

THE DIDIS: From “Return of the Joker.”

#257-463

CHUCKO: From “Return of the Joker.”

Written by Dwayne McDuffie (5/6/04)

WOOF: From “Return of the Joker.”

HAL JORDAN: Yet another Green Lantern. White male. Test pilot.

Note how the writer indicates all the characters who will appear in the episode. This is a handy reference for all the other people involved in

Here are the first pages of Dwayne’s script for

making the episode, so they know what characters

the JLU animated episode “Time Warped.” [©

will have to be designed.

2005 Warner Bros. TV Animation]

The asterisks indicate which characters have speaking roles that will have to be recorded by the regular voice actors and guest-actors. [© 2005 1

Warner Bros. TV Animation] 2

TEASER Ghoul throws his JACK-O-LANTERN into the air, it spills glowing ENERGY CONFETTI from inside.

FADE IN: RECAP

WARHAWK Incoming!

BATMAN Previously, on Justice League Unlimited...

David Clinton being henpecked; He tries to steal the utility belt and escapes through a time slide; Batman, Wonder Woman and GL follow; battle with Tobias in the old west; Clinton shocks Batman and escapes; Heroes follow and are ambushed by Jokerz; JLU arrives; and Warhawk looks at Green Lantern and says, "Dad...?"

FADE OUT: ACT ONE FADE IN: EXT. STREETS OF NEO GOTHAM - DAY This is the Gotham we know from "Batman Beyond" but even more bizarre. In addition to the sprawling futuristic architecture are anachronistic buildings from throughout history, including The Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World. There is a postapocalypse feel to the proceedings.

As at the end of part one, hovering heroically in the air is the JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED; "BATMAN BEYOND" (as opposed to our “Batman,” capeless, with a red bat symbol,) STATIC (an adult, fit but well into his sixties) and WARHAWK (the winged, armored hero from "The Call." WONDER WOMAN, BATMAN and GREEN LANTERN are still on the street at the feet of several technologically enhanced JOKERZ: BONK II, the DIDI'S, GHOUL, WOOF and CHUCKO. Green Lantern and Warhawk continue to gape at each other for a beat. Batman Beyond breaks it up.

BATMAN BEYOND No time for a family reunion, we need to get out of here.

GHOUL Leaving so early? You didn't even take any party favors.

10 | WRITE NOW

The confetti falls like glowing embers, BURNING through everything they touch. Green Lantern throws up a shield to protect Batman. Batman is beginning to come to consciousness.

BATMAN (awakening GROAN) WARHAWK (to GL) That's not going to hold!

Warhawk's right. The Energy Confetti begins to disrupt the shield where it touches. As the shield FAILS, Green Lantern, Batman and Wonder Woman scatter, avoiding the glowing embers.

Chucko, who instead of legs, has a Kirbyesque UNICYCLE below the waist, balances himself with a "pole" made of solid light energy. He blocks Wonder Woman's way.

CHUCKO Where do you think you're going, sugar?

He SWINGS at her, using his pole like a bo staff. She BLOCKS it with her bracele, but gets a powerful energy FEEDBACK from the point of impact.

WONDER WOMAN (CRY of pain) Chucko reverses, STRIKING at her with the other end of the pole, then reverses again in a barrage of strikes, moving forward as Wonder Woman BLOCKS the strikes. She is weakened by each impact.

WONDER WOMAN (CONT'D) (blocking, pained CRIES) Meanwhile, Green Lantern faces off against the Didi's, who have taken up a particularly deadly form of rhythmic gymnastics. The Didi’s hold out their arms and a rhythmic-gymnastic-style "RIBBON" slides out of their wrists in unison, like a hidden derringer. The ribbons are made of glowing energy.

3 DIDI Look Didi, another Green Lantern!

4 THE TWIN RIBBON-WIELDING DIDIS Use their ribbons like a whip, wrapping it around Batman Beyond and YANKING him short. He drops the Didi he’s holding.

DIDI (CONT'D) He's much cuter than the last one we killed, don't you think, Didi?

BATMAN BEYOND (stopping GRUNT, then impact GRUNT)

Didi cracks her energy ribbon at Green Lantern as if it were a whip. He puts up a shield, but the whip SLICES right through.

Green Lantern dives to the side to avoid the energy lash and hits the ground.

Didi hits the ground, bouncing several times on her butt, DIVIDING in two as she does.

DIDIS (DOUBLED) Ow-ow-ow! Ow! Ow!

GREEN LANTERN (impact GRUNT)

Now there are four of them. They’re all fine.

A second Didi TUMBLES towards him as he struggles to his feet.

He fires a BLAST from his ring at her. It catches her in mid air, and drives her to the ground.

WARHAWK Is going toe-to-toe with WOOF, who is cybernetically enhanced with metal parts.

DIDI (two impact GRUNTS)

WOOF (Hyena's CACKLE)

When the Didi hits the ground, she DIVIDES IN TWO. As GL reacts, both Didi’s rise to their feet and stalk forward.

WARHAWK Keep laughing, Scooby.

GREEN LANTERN How’d you…?

WARHAWK launches HIMSELF at Woof.

Green Lantern is blind sided by the third Didi, who tosses her ribbon high in the air, TUMBLES over and plants both feet in Green Lantern’s chest. He falls over on his back.

WARHAWK (CONT'D) (Hawkgirl-like attack CRY)

GREEN LANTERN (impact GRUNT)

WOOF (impact GRUNT)

Didi lands sitting on his chest, grinning. She sticks her hand out to the side without looking. The Energy Ribbon returns to her hand. She's about to decapitate Green Lantern with it when a BATARANG slams into her wrist.

Ow!

Warhawk's talking a good game, drives Woof to the ground but he quickly recovers, rolling to his feet and SLASHING at Warhawk’s armor, BATTERING him steadily backwards.

BONK II

DIDI

Grins as his right arm unfolds into a high-tech, comicallyoversized MALLET. He tries to pound STATIC with it, but Static DODGES. Everywhere the mallet strikes, it DEMOLISHES the ground.

Static DODGES a blow that SHATTERS the pavement.

Batman Beyond JETS in, TACKLING her, his momentum carrying her off of Green Lantern's Chest.

DIDI (CONT'D) (Impact grunt)

STATIC (dodging YELP)

5 BONK II Hold still so's I can pound you!

STATIC (sarcastic) Yeah, that's what I'll do.

Static DODGES back and forth on his flying disk, then FIRES blasts of electricity at Bonk II. The Mallet swivels and rotates like a propeller, creating a shield that DEFLECT the electrical bursts.

BATMAN THROWS a handful of Batarangs at Ghoul. Ghoul SCATTERS a handful of his energy confetti in their path and they disintegrate before they can touch him. His right arm TRANSFORMS into a revving CHAINSAW that, instead of a chain, has a belt of glowing energy.

GHOUL (shouting) The Boogieman'll get you if you don't watch out...

BATMAN BEYOND Writhes in pain under the energy ribbon that Didi has wrapped around him.

BATMAN BEYOND (sustained GROAN of pain) STATIC Still DODGING blows from Bonk II, electromagnetically LEVITATES a metal trash can (an electrical tendril from his hand picks up the can), dumps its contents and DROPS it over Didi's head.

ue the Justice Leag ot of Static and sh l na io ot om pr animated series ation] A Static Shock r Bros. TV Anim . [© 2005 Warne iac ain battling Br

DIDI (muffled, metallic) Hey! What's the big idea?!

As Didi frees herself from the can, Batman Beyond frees himself from the energy ribbon.

BATMAN BEYOND (success GRUNT)

DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 11

[McDUFFIE continues from page 9.]

DF: You’ve spoken of the importance to you of the “meta narrative.” What is that, and why is it important?

[© 2005 Milestone Media.]

DM: Narrative is a recounting of events. In this context, “meta” refers to a second level of meaning to those events, above and beyond the “story.” This idea frees me to talk about events outside the concerns of genre fiction, while still delivering the tropes that the genre’s consumers expect. If there’s any technique that I lean on too much, this is the one.

I guess some examples would help. “Static In Africa” is an episode, written by me, of the Static Shock TV series, where Virgil, the Black, teenaged hero of the show goes to Ghana and teams up with “Anansi,” the greatest hero of West Africa.

It’s a pretty straightforward superhero team up. But in the course of the adventure, Virgil’s unusual experience of being in a country where pretty much everyone is Black creates a context for referencing the larger social meaning of a Black superhero in our society (and Static Shock the TV show’s place in the continuum of heroic fiction). At the end of the episode Virgil, impressed at the great reverence in which the people of Ghana hold Anansi, wishes that there were a Black superhero back home in America that people could look up to.

Anansi tells him there already is one and points at Virgil.

Obviously, on one level this is a straightforward coming of age moment, where the older, established hero tells the youngster, “you’re all right, kid.” But metatextually (and much more importantly), this is a narrative acknowledging and celebrating the show’s own achievement of putting a Black kid at the center of a superhero adventure show.

Deathlok was the story of a pacifist who discovers that his work is being used for weapons of war. It works just fine as a simple and hopefully entertaining science fiction/adventure narrative. However, in the context of the time it was published, “dark and gritty” was the rule of the day. Wolverine and Punisher were at the peak of their popularity and were in what I considered a misguided attempt at bringing “realism” (when people say that, they almost always mean “naturalism”) to what is at its core a wish-fulfillment genre. So I made my Deathlok a pacifist trapped in a war machine. This was a rather obvious mapping of the tension between my own humanistic beliefs and the gestalt of a genre where the heroes’ actions were all but indistinguishable from the villains. On another axis, I used the duality between my Black protagonist and the computer as a metaphor for the “double consciousness” that W.E.B. Dubois pointed out was an inescapable consequence of being Black in America.

Damage Control worked as parody but it also worked as commentary on the increasingly complex structure of Marvel’s “shared universe.” I thought that using a construction firm to deconstruct the Marvel Universe was not only sort of clever, it presented endless possibilities to comment on the “text” of Marvel Comics and comics in general.

I guess my answer is that I do this stuff all the time. It’s the way I like to think about things, and my favorite way of presenting ideas for discussion.

DF: You’ve said that the royalty money from Deathlok gave you the capital to start up Milestone. But what made you want to be an entrepreneur to begin with?

DM: I didn’t really want to be an entrepreneur per se, but I 12 | WRITE NOW

wanted a number of other things that required the creation of a business. I wanted creative and editorial control over my characters; the business structure flowed from the desires of the Milestone partners.

DF: How did Milestone come to be affiliated with DC? Did you consider linking up with Image or even just going on your own?

DM: Image didn’t exist when we started putting Milestone together in 1991, or it least we didn’t know about it, so linking up with Image wasn’t an option. Anyway, we were a story-driven company and Image’s great success was in doing purely visual stuff that I admired as a consumer but had no interest in working on as a creator. (I can’t imagine they would have had the slightest interest in our stuff, either.) We considered going on our own, but the scope of what we wanted to do, multiple monthly titles, et cetera, made hooking up with a large company necessary. Marvel made a couple of more than fair offers, first to buy our characters outright (which would have defeated our purpose) and alternately to do the books under the “Epic” creator-owned line. I was probably the partner who was most interested in that offer. I figured we would do six issues of everything, get cancelled for low sales, and then move into pure self-publishing with the advantage of higher name recognition. One of the other partners had a good relationship with DC, and after meeting Jenette Kahn and Paul

Levitz, I was convinced that their strengths complemented our weaknesses and vice versa.

published anything didn’t help, because we were immediately playing defense before we even had anything out there.

DF: Milestone was famous for its diversity of characters and creators. Beyond that, what was the thinking behind each series in that universe? Was one book the “team book,” another the “conflicted teenager,” etc?

DM: Sort of. The mandate was to present a wide array of multicultural character types within each group, so that no one character had to represent an entire race or ethnicity. This frees the characters to be, well, characters instead of one-dimensional signposts.

DF: Was it ever useful as a marketing tool, to give yourselves an identity, whether you originally wanted it that way or not?

DM: It certainly gave us an identity, although it wasn’t the identity we wanted. Because when I said multicultural, I meant multicultural. I didn’t mean Black. If I meant Black, I would have said Afrocentric—which I don’t have any problem with, there’s a lot of Afrocentric stuff I like. I just wasn’t doing that. So it gave us an identity, but it was an identity that frightened a lot of the retailers.

There are retailers who would buy a lot of copies of Deathlok, which was me and Denys Cowan, and wouldn’t buy Hardware, which was me and Denys Cowan. So that kind of stuff was really, really tough.

DF: How would you do the whole Milestone thing if you were doing it today?

DM: You know, I don’t actually think we’d be able to do it today.

The marketplace was booming then, and the huge need for product created a situation where it was possible for us to do something off the beaten path. I don’t think you could do it that way now. I think you need an entirely different business model.

I’ve spent a couple of years trying to think of one that makes sense in this market, and haven’t really come up with it. But I’m still hopeful.

DF: I bet. Do you own any part of those characters?

DM: Yes, we do. Actually, the company Milestone owns the characters, and Derek Dingle and I own the company.

DF: So anything like Static Shock, you guys have a piece of?

DM: Oh, absolutely.

[McDUFFIE continues on page 16.]

DF: And if you had come up with it, you wouldn’t give it away in this interview, anyway, right?

DM: You know what? I would. Because I have to tell you, I’d like for more stuff like that to happen and I feel like I could compete with anybody else doing it. And if there’s a lot of it out there, that’s good for me.

Covers to various Deathlok issues, written by Dwayne and Greg Wright, with art by Denys Cowan, Mike Manley, and others. [© 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

DF: It’s good for all of us. What are you proudest of from the Milestone books or the Milestone experience as a whole?

DM: A number of things, starting with the large amount of new talent that we were able to work with. I’m very proud of the work itself, that we did achieve almost all of our goals in terms of how characters were presented, presenting a set of humanistic values I believe in, and doing comics that were fun, and comics that were story-driven as well as character-driven. We proved that that was still entertaining, and as much fun as triple-page spreads.

DF: What a concept! Now, you had used the word “aggravating” at one point in reference to the Milestone experience. Was there anything that was particularly aggravating about it?

DM: A lot of it was aggravating. A lot of the racial aspects of it were aggravating. We never presented ourselves as a Black comic book company, ever, and that was sort of painted on us, and I had to spend forty percent of my time explaining what we were instead of explaining what my books were.

DF: I can see how that could be aggravating.

DM: And it went to the creative side. I had friends of mine who I’d worked with for years, who were white, who would make jokes about how, “Oh, I would love to work for your company, but I guess I can’t. Ha, ha, ha.” And I would smile, but it hurt me.

DF: Why do you think that impression was out there?

DM: We live in a world where, most of the time, the creative reins, the financial reins, are held by white people. And when they aren’t, it’s remarkable. People say: “Well, that doesn’t look like everything else looks. What does that mean? I’m not used to being on that side of the equation.” And, of course, the group of Black publishers who took out ads explaining that we weren’t really Black before we DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 13

36

STATIC (O.S.) Maybe so-NEW ANGLE

in the air ering heroically of the blast. Hov ess, with pel rce (ca sou " the OND s BEY eal N Rev UNLIMITED; "BATMA his GUE o LEA int E l TIC wel JUS but is the lt, fit e Call." ,) STATIC (an adu ored hero from "Th a red bat symbol arm , ged win e K (th HAW WAR and s) sixtie STATIC (CONT'D) ing you weren't expect bet I --But us.

Static. rs curiously as Green Lantern pee GREEN LANTERN ? are these people Who ? tic Sta

***

Justice League Unlimited ***

"The Once and Future Thing, Part One: The Weird, Weird West" (formerly, "A Brief History of Time: Part One") (Script) #257-462

***

sses a stud, en Lantern and pre good look at Gre Warhawk is a e. fac Warhawk takes a his ing mask and reveal in sliding back his at Green Lantern ck male. He looks light-skinned bla astonishment.

Written by Dwayne McDuffie (3/24/04)

*REVISED: March 24, 2004 **FINAL: March, 26, 2004 ***REVISED FINAL: March 29, 2004

WARHAWK Dad...?

Lantern's PUSH IN on Green

**

shocked face.

© Warner Bros. TV Animation

FADE OUT.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Here’s an excerpt from the Justice League Unlimited episode “Weird, Weird, West,” written by Dwayne, and the storyboard that was made from it. [© 2005 Warner Bros. TV Animation]

14 | WRITE NOW

10

BATMAN BEYOND t a lot of good It's gone. We los . day t people tha GREEN LANTERN an, erman, Wonder Wom Sup n mea You all the others…?

WARHAWK Yeah. You too.

BATMAN And the Batcave?

New angle rev

Here, we see an excerpt from Dwayne’s script for the JLU episode “Time Warped,” and the corresponding storyboards. It’s the scene where Batman meets his future-self. [© 2005 Warner Bros. TV Animation]

OLD BRUCE (O.S.) a l for over half It served me wel g comes to an hin ryt eve but y centur end.... room.

NE entering the eals OLD BRUCE WAY

Batman stares grim smile.

D) OLD BRUCE (CONT' e left now. hav we all is s ...Thi Deal with it. k, smiling a Bruce stares bac at Old Bruce. Old D) OLD BRUCE (CONT' me? see to sed pri Sur

BATMAN e surprised that A little. I'm mor g. lon so I lived Beyond tries long beat. Batman other down for a They stare each sion. to break the ten BATMAN BEYOND ne. Bruce Wayne?

Batman? Bruce Way met? you e hav Or .

Batman OLD BRUCE AND BATMAN Not now!

BATMAN BEYOND l they used to cal Great. What did ? reo Ste it,

Storyboards are given to an episode’s animators as a guide to how scenes should look and move. [© 2005 Warner Bros. TV Animation]

If you think storyboards have a lot in common with comics pages... you’re right! [© 2005 Warner Bros.

TV Animation]

DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 15

[McDUFFIE continues from page 13.]

DF: Is there any advice you would give anyone trying to launch a comics company or imprint today?

DM: Eat something sweet and wait for the feeling to pass. [laughs] It’s got to be something that you absolutely have to do.

The comic book marketplace is not set up for independents even as much as it was in the late ’80s, early ’90s. It’s a Marvel/DC world in most stores, and I’m not sure there’s a living to be made publishing stuff that doesn’t fit that mold. I mean, I’m doing some self-publishing, but it’s because it’s books I want to do. It has to be a book that you really want to see published, and if you find a way to break out, that’s terrific. But it’s not something to plan on.

DF: You’ve jokingly referred to the fact that it’s hard for you to score comics writing assignments these days. Of course, it’s tough for many people whose names once frequently graced comics credit boxes to get assignments. Why do you think that is? Is it just that comics, like other entertainment media, always looks to the new as being somehow better?

DM: Oh, that’s certainly a piece of it. But I do want to clarify: I was not joking. I started working in, I guess, 1987. I didn’t get a solo assignment on an ongoing monthly title until 1997. I had five issues of X-O Manowar, and that’s my career, in terms of being a regular writer on a comic book. I did Deathlok as a co-scripter. I thought that would lead to other things, but it didn’t.

of finished episodes for reruns. 65 used to be the number of episodes that was considered enough to sell the show into syndication. More recently, I’m told, it’s 52. Warner took the bet and kept making episodes at a loss. It seems to be paying off. Right now the Static Shock reruns are the number one show on Cartoon Network.

DF: Excellent. You’ve had some experience writing for the internet.

Do you think that, as a medium for narrative entertainment, it will ever be viable?

DM: Oh, absolutely. If there’s a way to tell a story in a medium, people will do it. People are at their computers all the time, and soon everybody will have broadband.

DF: But do you think that people will as soon watch a show or a cartoon on their computer as on their TV? DM: I think if you’ve got unique content, if you’ve got something really good on the computer that you can’t get on TV, you’ll watch it on the computer. It seems that any distinctions between computers and TV’s are growing finer all the time, anyway.

DF: Do you find, now that you’re doing the high-profile animation stuff, that people are noticing you in a different way?

DM: You know, I don’t know. The weirdest thing for me about doing the animation stuff is I am really unaccustomed to being treated well. After the Static Shock series sold, producer Alan Burnett called me up and said, “Hey, do you want to try writing an animation script?” It was my first script. He gave me notes.

[Comments on the script.—DF] He said, “Hey, you’re pretty good at this. You should try doing more.” This was a huge compliment, coming from Alan, who is a great writer. So, I did some more, and then they asked me to come out and story edit on Justice League. I worked on that, and it was a completely pleasant experience. I kept getting promoted, I kept getting opportunities, and I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

DF: Well, it’s Hollywood, so I guess it’s more likely than not. But still, it sounds like a pretty good run.

DM: Yeah! If it all goes away tomorrow, I had four really good years of doing this. I’ve been doing it since Static Shock started.

DF: Static Shock’s been on that long?

DM: Yeah, we did 52 episodes of it. That’s a complete run— considered to be enough episodes for syndication. So you’ll be seeing reruns of Static Shock for years, or at least as long as kids keep watching. Because animation series are financed at a loss, the only way they can really show a profit is for there to be a big licensing program—toys, clothing with the likenesses of the show’s characters, that sort of stuff. Warner Bros. Animation was incredibly supportive to keep us on the air. Despite strong ratings from the very beginning, Static Shock has yet to attract significant interest from licensors. No toys, no t-shirts. You can’t even buy a poster. Without that revenue stream, each new episode loses more money. That concern had to be balanced against any potential profit to be made when the studio resells the package 16 | WRITE NOW

Cover to the first issue of Static. Pencils by Denys Cowan. Inks by Jimmy Palmotti. The story inside was written by Dwayne and Robert L Washington III. [© 2005 DC Comics.]

I’m interested in. There are a lot of people who are interested in the kind of work that Milestone did, and the website is a place where they can come to talk about other kinds of entertainment that are in that same pocket. I just like the contact.

DF: What were the properties you worked on for the entertainment website, Icebox, and what’s their status?

DM: I worked on Jim Krieg’s Supermodels. I created this thing called Old School, which I would really like to get back, because I would love to do it somewhere. It would have been their first drama, had they not overpaid everybody like they did me, and gone out of business. I would make them give me the check as soon as I turned a script in, and then go and cash it. Because I didn’t know if they’d be there the next day, you know? [laughs] DF: It seemed like Icebox had an incredible array of properties.

Are those projects, if you’ll pardon the bad joke, frozen?

DM: I don’t know. I actually don’t have an equity stake in Supermodels. I was just a producer on it. But Old School is just up in the air. I have no idea what the deal with that is. Some of the Icebox stuff seems to be loose. I noticed that the abominable Mister Wong is available on DVD. DF: Supermodels, I guess, was models that had superpowers?

DM: Yes. It had, basically, a Bullwinkle and Rocky tone, only more sexy.

DF: Were you actually seeking an animation career, or did it “just happen”?

DM: I wasn’t seeking one at all. I was seeking work.

At the time, I was pitching a lot of comics ideas to comics companies. I was doing a lot of journalism online to pay the bills. The animation thing was sort of a call out of the blue: “Do you want to try writing an episode of this show?” And I just thought it was great. And I really enjoy it.

Static, as he appears in the animated Static Shock series. Special guests in the last image are Batman Beyond and Robin (not Beyond). [© 2005 Warner Bros. TV Animation]

DF: And from there, as you were saying, they just sort of invited you further and further up the ladder?

DM: I had done a few Statics, and I got a call from Rich Fogel, who was the story editor on Justice League, asking me if I wanted to finish a Justice League script that Paul Dini couldn’t finish because of a hand injury. And—my lawyer says that I can’t stress this enough—I can prove I was nowhere near Paul when his injury occurred.

DF: Understood. Did you or do you have an agent? Do you get your own writing assignments?

DM: I have an agent, although so far, jobs like Justice League, I’ve gotten for myself. Not that my agent doesn’t try, but I’m just terrible in the meetings he sets up for me. I go meet people, and then I walk out and they go, “Oh, this guy’s awful!” So it’s not my agent’s fault. [laughs]

I really like to watch TV shows on DVD, and I often watch them on my laptop. And if I could go online and get the shows like that, at that quality, with that ease, I would.

DF: You have a pretty elaborate website yourself. What’s the appeal of that for you?

DM: Mainly I had a lot of free time. [Danny laughs] I was just sort of playing around with it, and it sort of grew out of control. I like having contact with people who are interested in the type of stuff

DF: Anything you want to say about the importance of agents if you’re writing animation—or anything—in Hollywood?

DM: You can’t get in to meet the people who can give you a job if you aren’t represented. In my Story Editor job, I’m not allowed to read scripts if they don’t come through an agent. But, of course, you can’t get an agent unless you already have a job.

DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 17

•"Chapter On e" PERSEPHO NE:

S.Wayne Dwayne McDuffie/Matt Full Script For 8 Pages THE ROAD TO HELL First Draft, 7-10-90

MICHAEL: PERSEPHO NE:

"The Road to Hell" PAGE 1

Panel 3

111111 111111 222333 Panel 1

L BILLINGTON (a tall, shoulders shot of MICHAE pants and a PRIEST'S Extremely tight, head and in black shirt and sed dres d, blon ing thin, average-look us about what he is saying.

COLLAR). He is very serio much I love you. But I Persephone, you know how heart. I've decided that my king MICHAEL: brea keep can't let you next I'm going to settle for the , love your win can't I if best thing.

I've decided to enter the

MICHAEL:

priesthood.

TITLE: Panel 2

, Michael in the doorway g room. Wider angle. dressed Inside a middle-class livin is an attractive blonde, (She in him let just has her PERSEPHONE YABOZ to completely conceal and a tee-shirt that fail rolling her eyes. in white denim overalls is quite irritated, almost She ms). char ical phys considerable

McDuffie/Wayne • The Road to Hell •"Chapter One" PERSEPHONE:

Maybe so. But not on purpose.

POPS:

Michael! How you doin'?

MICHAEL:

Not so great, Pops.

Panel 2 Tighter. Pops has come over to greet Michael. Persephone is climbing under the ship to work.

POPS:

What's with the dopey outfit?

MICHAEL:

Sir, your daughter has rejected me once too often. I've decided to enter the priesthood.

Panel 3

Script and art to the first two pages of the upcoming Road to

This is the lamest and ploy that Pops has heard. and Still,Matt he puts supportive arm Hell, created written by ever Dwayne S. aWayne.

The around Michael. Persephone is hard at work beneath the Handbasket. Only her art is by Rick Parker. Note how the art ended up paced differlower legs are visible.

ently than the script indicates. This often happens when an didn't really think she'd artist interprets a script, even aYou'd fullYou script. [© 1998-2005 by have had a better chance threatening Dwayne McDuffie and Matt S. Wayne. All rights reserved.]

18 | WRITE NOW

That way, when

Persephone is cut out of the frame. Michael is Pops is conspiratorial, speaking with his hand

• The Road

to Hell

Oh, for the lov e of god...

Right. But I'd leave the ch urch if you'd chance. just give me a Michael, yo u're church. I do not even a member of the n't think the y're going to be a priest. let yo No important wo w quit fooling around. W u rk to do. e've

Michael and Persephone head toward abashed. Pe s a doorway rsephone wa across the ro xes poetic. om. Michae PERSEPHO l is NE: I don't even see how you can when finally, after months think about romance of work, we the threshold 're standing of on ever! Michae the greatest scientific ac hievement l, we're abou t to go where ever gone be no one has fore!

MICHAEL: Actually Perse phone, I'd gu have gone to ess that a lot of people hell before.

111111 222333 444555

"The Road to Hell"

McDuffie/W ayne

PAGE 2

Panel 1 Michael and Pe by the HAND rsephone enter a large ch amber. It's BASKET (an a huge GARA front. You dr GE dominated ew one in Da enclosed mole ship, the mage Control prominent. kind with a ) POPS YA big drill bit #3 vo l. 1. Make BOZ is work in overweight, su re the ship's na ing on the immigrant plu me is ship ( He's mber-type. cap). an older, sli He's wearing ghtly blue coveral ls and a base ball

[McDUFFIE continues on page 19.]

[McDUFFIE continues from page 17.]

DF: There you go. Did you have an agent when they offered you the Static Shock script?

DM: I did, because I had worked on a screenplay for [director] Reggie Hudlin. I had to get an agent to do that deal, and it was really supposedly just for that deal. But when I came out here, I sat down and met with Craig Grella at Writers and Artists Agency, and I liked him and I stayed with him.

DF: And he’s the same agent you use for animation as well as for live action?

DM: Yeah. And when Craig left to go to another firm, I went with him.

DF: Let’s switch gears a bit. What’s the process that goes into writing a typical Justice League Unlimited episode or Static Shock episode? How much is group process, how much is individual work?

DM: Well, Justice League and Static are very different. Static is a show where every writer comes in with a bunch of pitches, we send the pitches off to the network, and the pitches the network

likes we give back to the guy who pitched them to turn into a script. So a writer really has a lot more room to sort of put his own stamp on it. Justice League’s a lot different. It’s much more a “writers room” situation, where Bruce Timm and James Tucker and myself and, over the years, Rich Fogel, Stan Berkowitz, Matt Wayne, we all sit in a room, talk about the kinds of stories we’d like to do, or one of us will bring in an idea in and we’ll knock it around and pretty much beat it out verbally.

DF: When you say “beat it out,” you mean each moment, each “beat” of the story?

DM: Yeah. Say, for a teaser—the sequence that’s shown before the title—a guy looks up at the sky and the moon explodes.

That’s one beat.

DF: So you work it out as a group at that detailed a level?

DM: Yeah. We’ll talk through bits we like, everybody throwing dialogue and sequences in the pot, and then it’ll be handed to one of the story editors to turn into an outline. Or, in rare cases on Justice League, the writer that we intend to write an episode will be involved in the beating-out process, and he’ll go off and write an outline. And then we’ll all take the outline and critique that draft, trying to improve it. Then we do a second draft based on those notes. And then the writer goes off with the outline and writes the script. We take his draft of the script and repeat the process. The producers and story editors mark up the draft, argue over whether or how each note needs to be addressed, and give it back to the writer for a second draft. The third, and usually final, draft is done in-house by me or the story editor (sometimes both if the deadline’s tight enough). That one’s usually to incorporate notes from DC Comics, Cartoon Network and/or Broadcast Standards, as well as any last minute tweaks that Bruce, James, Matt or I might come up with.

DF: Do you plan an arc for an entire season? It sounds like you do. Is it the same process, you’re sitting in a room, but instead of beating out a story, you beat out a season?

DM: Very often, if we’re trying to beat out a story and it’s not working, we end up talking about the whole season. I wasn’t here for the Season One plan, I wasn’t here for the planning of Season Two, although I came in around the fourth episode of Season Two, so I had some influence as to how those plans went. But since then, it’s always been, very early, sitting down and saying, “Okay, what’s this season about?” and starting to find a “throughline”—the themes, characters and stories we want to be the spine of the season. Now, we’re pretty flexible, and a lot of times we’ll get four or five episodes into a season and say, “Hey, you know what? This other thing’s really more interesting than what we thought was going to be the interesting part. Let’s go that way.” An actor will break out, or a character will break out, or we’ll notice a plot possibility that we didn’t see.

When they call it Justice League Unlimited--they ain’t kiddin’ around! [© 2005 Warner Bros. TV Animation] DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 19

DF: It sounds similar to the way comics series are planned out.

DM: Yeah! It’s like, okay, Spider-Man’s going to be dealing with the Kingpin for the next six or eight months, and the Kingpin’s associates are going to be these four guys, and we know we want to use the Vulture sometime. And then you’re sort of into it and you go, “Oh, wait! This Vulture thing’s working great, let’s spend more time on that.”

DF: As a producer on JLU, what are your duties, and how are they different or the same from what you did as story editor?

DM: The duties are very similar except that I have a lot of unnecessary input into other aspects of the show, because everybody on this show is so good on their job, basically I’m wasting their time. [laughs] I’m responsible for all the scripts, not just my scripts. If we have an order for, say, thirteen episodes, a story editor will be responsible for six or seven. As producer, I’m responsible for all thirteen, including the six or seven that the story editor part of my job is responsible for.

DF: So you’re also story-editing a bunch of episodes, as well as producing the whole thing.

DM: Oh, yeah. When rewrites are necessary, I do those. That

Character sheet for Control Freak from the Teen Titans animated series. On the left is a guide for how the character looks in terms of colors seen in daylight. The color variations come out as shades of grey as reproduced here. [© 2005 Warner Bros. TV Animation.]

20 | WRITE NOW

kind of stuff.

DF: It sounds very flexible.

DM: I think the producer job is probably different on every show in this studio, and certainly from studio to studio. And there are three other producers on Justice League who have entirely different jobs than mine.

DF: So they’re not involved with story as much as you?

DM: Well, some are. Bruce Timm is a producer. He’s intimately involved with stories. He’s probably the driving force in terms of where the stories are going and what’s going to happen with the characters. He’s the final say. James Tucker is very involved, not as involved as Bruce, although he can be if he wants to. Shaun McLaughlin doesn’t do anything on the stories at all, even though he’s a gifted writer. He concentrates on keeping everything organized.

So there’s a bunch of work to do, and we kind of divvy it up.

DF: A season is considered thirteen episodes, in this case?

DM: In this case. Our first two years we got orders from Cartoon Network for 26 episodes each, and they called each of those 26-episode orders a season. But then we got another order for 26 episodes and they split it and called it two seasons. It’s fairly random. They just order shows and Warner

Animation—of which the staff of Justice League is a part— makes them.

DF: How much input does DC Comics have into the animated series featuring its characters?

DM: As much as they want. They absolutely have final say on how the characters are used. They see story pitches, they see outlines, they see every draft of the script. Marty Pasko is sort of the rep over there for the stuff, and he’ll tell us things like, “this character isn’t available” or “Batman wouldn’t say that,” those kind of notes.

DF: I used to do that kind of thing with the Spider-Man animated series in the ’90s. Did your comics experience prepare you for the animation world? Did you have to unlearn anything?

DM: You know, I don’t think I had to unlearn anything. It’s weird.

Probably running Milestone editorially was better preparation for this job than editing books at Marvel. At Milestone, I had to take into account the different needs of people who were coming to things in different ways, from creators with varying viewpoints, to the business side guys, to executives at sister companies (distributors, retailers, DC Comics). I had to take into account all of their needs as I made creative decisions, whereas at Marvel, my job was pretty much to make sure stuff came in on time and was spelled right.

DF: You have some interesting theories on the differences between writing comics and writing animation. Can you talk about them a little?

DM: I actually find comic books harder to write than animation, because with animation I’m describing events pretty much in real time, while in comics, you’re picking a slice of time that represents time on both sides of the image that’s in there. A panel can be an instant or a panel can be several seconds as you move across that panel. The example I always use is, say, you’ve got a sequence. A guy comes home from work. He takes off his jacket, he’s flipping through the mail. Bill, bill, bill, bill. Then, there it is. The letter. Trembling hands. He opens it up, he looks at it, he reads it, the news is as bad as he thought it was, he balls it up, throws it on the floor. In animation, it would take less time to show that than it took me to tell. In comics, if I did that beat for beat, that’s a page and a half. And nobody wants to see that for a page and a half.

So to show that scene in a comic, you would pick a moment in it that represents the idea of somebody coming home from work and looking at his mail. Panel one, we look over his shoulder as he’s looking at letters. Panel two, he’s reading the letter. Panel three, he drops it to the floor. You have to create a way for the reader to create all that time before and in-between. All that in-between-the-panels stuff has to be considered and worked out and communicated. Whereas, if I’m writing stuff like that in animation, I just write: “here’s what happens.”

DF: And then the director breaks it down into shots and images? Or is that the writer’s job?

DM: It depends. On Static, the writer breaks down pretty much every shot, even though the animators will always do it better than the writer will. I think of myself as a very visual writer. I’m good at it. But the worst director’s better at it than me. And on Justice League, guys like Bruce and James and Dan Riba and Joaquim Dos Santos are so good that, typically, I’m making suggestions in my scripts. If something doesn’t

work, they’ll make it work. If something works, they’ll make it work better. If something’s great, they’ll knock it out of the park.

DF: Many people have spoken of the prejudice against animation writers in the live action arena. Do you think it exists, and if so, how does one get around it?

DM: I’m not sure there actually is a prejudice. I haven’t had trouble getting meetings and pitching, although I haven’t sold anything of note. So maybe that’s that prejudice holding me back. But on the whole, I think that with the current popularity of cartoons and comics, and how well known the cartoon properties are, they sort of give you almost a brand name going into a meeting, in the same way that when I was doing journalism and trying to get journalism assignments, I would say to people, “Yeah, yeah, I used to write for Marvel Comics,” and they’d go, “Oh, really?” And they’d want to talk to me for a minute. It would give me an “in.” These characters are known to pretty much everybody, and if they look down at you a little bit because you’re from animation, you still get into the room because they think that Scooby-Doo is cool. When I try to explain what I do for a living to people, I can say Justice League, they don’t know what I’m talking about, I can say Static Shock, they surely don’t know what I’m talking about. If I say, “I wrote Scooby-Doo,” “Oh, I love Scooby-Doo!” Scooby-Doo is the one credit you name-drop. It’s a way in. So you get in there, and then you get them to consider what you’re pitching. And if they think cartoons are juvenile, but your script is great and they want that, who cares what they think about cartoons?

[McDUFFIE continues on page 24.]

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www.romitaman.com DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 21

"JIMMY" TAG

FADE IN:

EXT. CITY SK YLINE - DAY Static zooms into FRAME an d hovers in looks TOWARD mid-air as he CAMERA. STATIC After Richie was shot I found out so me things about guns yo u should know .

OMIT

Here’s a script excerpt with a powerful message, and the corresponding storyboards, from the Humanitas Prize-winning “Jimmy” episode of Static Shock, written by Dwayne. [© 2005 Warner Bros.

TV Animation]

*****

EXT. SCHOOLYA RD

A teen is ta ken away from campus by po School lice, while Security look s at a gun th ****** ey've confis cated. ****** STATIC (VO) (CONT'D) In one year alone sixthousand kids were expelled for bringing a handgun to sc hool.

EXT. CEMETE RY

A MOURNING FA THER AND MOTH ER stand at SISTER places a gravesite flowers on a as a grave.

BACK TO STAT

He points to

CLOSE ON STAT

22 | WRITE NOW

STATIC (VO) (CONT'D) As many as fi ve thousand kids are kill ed by guns each year.

IC - FULL SH CAMERA.

IC

OT

STATIC (CONT' D) You can do so mething to help stop th is.

STATIC If someone tries to show you a gun, don't stick around. Get away from him. Tell an adult or someone you trust.

******

FULL SHOT STATIC

STATIC Do your part to increase the peace out there, all right?

That said, Static nods to

CAMERA and ZOOMS OFF.

THE END.

***** ****

FADE OUT.

Note: All statistics prov ided by Handgun Control Org. and Entertainment Industri es Council, Inc.

DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 23

[McDUFFIE continues from page 21.]

DF: That’s encouraging. I’ve heard the opposite from some people, but it’s good to hear a counterpoint to that.

DM: I’m probably naïve and about to get beaten down like a whipped dog.

something instead of doing it. And the courses I’ve taken, and this is just my experience, but the courses I’ve taken were a lot of crabs in a basket, people pulling each other down. Anytime somebody starts to get out of the basket, the other crabs come and grab him and pull him down and explain why he’s not good and he’ll never make it either.

DF: You can write a follow-up to the interview if that happens, which hopefully it won’t.

DM: Next time it’ll be “the bitter years.”

DF: [laughs] I teach comics writing, at New York University and other places, and I have to spend some time refereeing.

DM: Do you see that a lot? Do you see them turning on each other?

DF: Well, I certainly hope not. Any tips for people looking to break into comics or animation?

DM: If I knew how to break into comics, I’d be in comics. [laughter] But the animation advice is pretty much the same as what my comics advice would be, which is: write a good spec script in the genre that you want to work in. If you want to write Powerpuff Girls, don’t write a Justice League script, and vice versa. Really study the genre of the show that the spec is about.

Make it a good episode of that. But don’t write a spec for the show you pitch. So if you want to write Justice League, don’t write a Justice League spec. I personally will read those, but a lot of guys just won’t, so why waste your effort that way?

DF: Occasionally. Actually, I think the thing about a comics writing course is that people taking it actually love comics. So if nothing else, the class gives them a place to come once a week and talk about comics with people who don’t look at them like they’re insane or socially backwards. But once in a while there will be sniping, and then I sort of have to step in and go, “We’re talking about the story, we’re talking about the story.”

Anyway, what is the status of Road to Hell, Wu-Tang Clan Versus Marilyn Manson, Chaos and Order?

DM: Wu-Tang Clan Versus Marilyn Manson is Chaos and Order.

That’s completely dead from years ago, but it was the first animated feature I was involved with. It was the weirdest thing in the world. They started with this idea they were going to do a movie with Wu-Tang Clan as superheroes fighting with Marilyn Manson. It sounded goofy, but as I got into it, it was the coolest thing ever. It just got so very, very cool, and then at a certain point, it was like, “Well, Wu-Tang isn’t involved anymore. We want you to take those characters and make us new superheroes.”

Okay, so we did that. This is me and Reggie Hudlin. And then they came back and they said, “Marilyn Manson’s not involved, but we still want to do it. So redo it, make up a different character.” So we did that. And basically, what we were doing was, we were making an Elvis movie without Elvis in it. [laughter] But then the studio decided they didn’t want to make cartoons anymore and that was that. The Road to Hell, I actually have all of the finished pages in my hand as of a week ago. We’re going to self-publish that as a one-off, a 140-page graphic novel.

DF: They won’t read a script for the show they work on because they’re afraid they’ll be too critical, or because they’re afraid they’ll be accused of stealing ideas?

DM: I’ve heard a lot of different arguments. I’ve heard the “accused of stealing ideas” concern, which is silly, because if you give a hundred people ten shots at a Justice League pitch, they’re going to come up with the same ten stories. Smart people will come up with the same solutions when given the same puzzle pieces.

I think a lot of what you’re trying to avoid is an extra level of difficulty. I know Justice League really, really well. There are a lot more chances for you to make a misstep with me reading your Justice League than with me reading your Teen Titans, because I watch Teen Titans, but I don’t live it. And if it’s close and you miss something, I might not even notice. But I’ll notice if your Justice League spec has, say, Hawkgirl take her wings off after work and I might be so irritated with that minor gaffe that I overlook how wonderful your spec is otherwise. Why take a chance? Don’t give anyone an excuse to put your script down.

DF: So once somebody has written that spec, how do they get it to you or to somebody to read? That’s the agent part?

DM: That’s the tricky part, to get an agent. You have to get an agent. You have to be agented to get you in a studio door.

DF: So you would show a spec to an agent first?

DM: You’d show the spec to an agent. I read everything that comes in. Not everybody does. And even for me, it is absolutely the lowest priority among my work responsibilities.

DF: And you only read stuff that comes in agented?

DM: Yeah.

DF: That’s important to note. Any books or courses on writing you recommend?

DM: I think I mentioned Lajos Egri’s books, which I would recommend to anyone. Courses? You know, I had bad experiences in film school. I have this huge bias against writing courses. You get a lot of people sitting around talking about 24 | WRITE NOW

DF: That’s the thing you’re doing with Rick Parker?

DM: Rick Parker did the art. Me and Matt Wayne wrote it.

Originally, we did it for Toxic, which was a magazine in Britain that was to compete with 2000 A.D. And our series started in it and the magazine folded immediately.

DF: What’s the premise of Road to Hell?

DM: There’s a woman who has built a ship to travel to Hell.

She wants to study it for science. Her assistant’s in love with her, but she’s not interested. They get to Hell and she immediately falls for Satan. There’s sort of this romantic triangle. And the problem is that Hell, it turns out, has been coasting on reputation for a very long time. So, like, it’s hot, but it’s only ninety degrees and muggy. But Satan falls in love with the girl and kind of gets his act together and starts torturing people again and everything. I’m hoping to have that out by late summer. We’re doing final touches on it now.

DF: You’re going to publish it yourself?

DM: I’m going to publish it myself. Basically, it was either that or just shoveling money out the window, and shoveling’s too much work.

DF: Do you have a name for your publishing company?

DM: We keep joking that we’re going to call it Brimstone Media. I don’t know what we’re going to call it.

DF: Did you have a fallback plan if writing didn’t work out?

DM: Writing, I sort of just wandered into. My intention—if my life had gone the way I’d planned, I’d be a tenured physics professor by now. That’s where I was going. I was in school for that, I was really interested in it. I became uncomfortable morally with the ramifications of some of the stuff I was working on.

DF: Can you give us a brief example?

DM: The fictional version of it is the Deathlok origin that I did. I thought I was doing one thing. I thought I was doing pure research and it turned out that it wasn’t quite so pure. I had a crisis of conscience and spent a year kind of not doing anything, and decided that the only thing I really enjoyed doing is that I used to make movies for fun. So I thought, “Well, maybe I can do that for a living.” So I took a couple of my super-8 movies and sent them to NYU and they let me in. Went there, promptly ran out of money.

DF: Are there any other media you’d like to work in? Novels, stage plays, anything else?

DM: I would love to do novels. I love stage plays. I really, really love plays. I’d like to do that. I spend a lot of time hanging around with a good friend of mine who’s with the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, and that entire process really excites me. I like the idea of creating something and having people around while you’re creating things, because, as everybody reading this knows, as a writer, you sit in a room by yourself for hours and hours and hours and hours and go slowly mad. There’s something about the theater, something about working with actors, seeing other people bring your stuff to life in front of you, that’s just really gratifying. The show recording sessions—watching [Voice Director] Andrea Romano work with the actors as they interpret the scripts—is my favorite part of the process of making Justice League. I particularly enjoy writing for actors. But, yeah, I would love to work in theater.

chance that maybe she’s alive inside of him. Like I said, kind of blah. John Rozum turned it into this absolutely wonderful, magical-realist, endlessly inventive, endlessly positive and hopeful series, with the weirdest things going on. Not weird for weirdness’ sake, but weird for wonder’s sake.

DF: Who was the artist on it?

DM: J.J. Birch, who is also known as Joe Brozowski.

DF: What’s your take on the state of the comics industry today?

And sort of a sidebar, what can we learn from the popularity of manga and anime? Is their popularity a fad or a permanent part of the pop culture landscape?

DM: Manga’s not a fad. It’s people doing comics that other people want to read, stuff other than superhero comics. It’s here to stay. I’m hoping it’ll influence the big U.S. publishers to go wider in terms of genre. I don’t think the comics distribution system is set up to do anything but feed the addiction of people who have been reading superhero stuff since they were eight, and never stopped. I think the whole medium would be healthier if people read superhero comics for three or four years and then moved on. I think it would be a more lively medium. Am I sounding like Old Crotchety Guy? DF: No. Old Crotchety Guy would say, “Why can’t everything be superheroes? What’s wrong with these people?”

DM: Yeah. On the other hand, I hear myself saying things like, “our audience is aging into Social Security. And the companies are trying to recreate the thrills, that sense of wonder and fantasy comics used to provide by making stuff darker.” That’s where I’m

DF: But you’ve never done it?

DM: I have written fair to bad plays that we will not speak of.

DF: Do you think you might return to it at some point?

DM: I don’t know. When you’re working, like I am now, you kind of get used to the money.

DF: What’s your dream project in any medium?

DM: I think I would get really, really excited—and I don’t even know if I would even get to work on it—I would get very excited about a feature version of one of the Milestone books.

DF: You’ve mentioned that you were particularly fond of Milestone’s Xombi.

DM: I just thought that was brilliant. What’s funny is, I came up with the premise, which is really boring, and brought John Rozum in to work on it, and he turned it into something wonderful. The main character and his girlfriend work in nanotechnology. Some guys come in and shoot the place up.

He dies, she injects him with the nano-stuff to fix him, and falls asleep with him lying across her lap. When he wakes up, his body has ingested her to get the raw materials to save himself. And basically, he has to run around constantly trying to prove he didn’t kill his girlfriend, while there’s this growing DWAYNE McDUFFIE | 25

Old Crotchety Guy, where it’s just like, “Comics were better when I was a kid!” They weren’t better when I was a kid, but when I was a kid, they were comics for me, and now there’s nothing for kids.

DF: Or there are no kids for the comics. It’s a chicken and egg thing.

DM: What I really like, though, is you go to Barnes and Noble or you go to Borders, and you see 13-year-old girls sitting on the floor with a stack of manga. They’re really into it.

DF: It gives you hope for the medium as a whole. What about the relation between anime and say, something like Justice League Unlimited. Is everything going to be anime, or is it just another branch of animation?

DM: I think it’s mixing up genre and medium, which is what we do in comics all the time. We say “comics” when we mean “superheroes.” There’re all different kinds of cartoons for all different audiences.

DF: And there’re a hundred different types of anime, too.

DM: Exactly. And whatever we’re getting is a subset of all the anime being made, a subset that seems to have appeal to people here. So except for the really hardcore anime fanatics, we really have no idea what the general experience of that stuff is, any more than a person would know the general experience of watching American cartoons if they just watched Justice League.

DF: Does it make it hard for people to get animation work, since so many of the cartoons we see here are translated Japanese and Korean stuff?

DM: Oh, absolutely. It’s a lot cheaper to bring that stuff in and dub it, pay somebody a lot less to write a bad translation, than it is to create something whole. And the imported anime doesn’t have to perform as well as a new American series to make a profit.

DF: For the foreseeable future, does that seem to be where a large percentage of cartoons we see are going to come from?

DM: You know, I have actually seen the number of new American cartoons grow here in my very short sojourn in this business.

I’ve been here four years, and there are more new shows now than when I came in. Yeah! You’ve got Cartoon Network that needs all this material, you’ve got Disney, you’ve got Nickelodeon, and they all want new stuff.

DF: Well, that’s encouraging. Just to wrap it up, anything we didn’t cover about writing or whatever, including plugging upcoming projects of yours?

DM: The big plug is Justice League Unlimited on Cartoon Network. The little plug is The Road to Hell is coming soon. It’s not out, but I swear it’s done now.

DF: Well, our readers will be on the lookout for that. And any topics in general, anything you want to get off your chest that I haven’t asked about?

DM: No, no. I just want to stress that anything I said where I look stupid, that’s a mistake that Danny made.

Covers from one of Dwayne’s favorite Milestone titles, Xombi. Art by... lots of talented folks! [© 2005 Milestone Media.]

26 | WRITE NOW

DF: Well, of course. [laughs] Dwayne, thank you.

This was great, a lot of fun.

DM: Thank you, Danny. I enjoyed it immensely.

THE END

Creative Intent:

The Gerry Conway Interview

Gerry Conway in the 1970s...

Conducted April 2004 and March 2005 by Bob Brodsky Copy-edited by Bob Brodsky, Gerry Conway and Danny Fingeroth Transcribed by Steven Tice. With thanks to Lou Mougin, John Wells, and Marifran O’Neil for their much appreciated assistance.

W

hile USA Today and The New York Times eagerly await the next Kevin Smith, J. Michael Straczynski, Joss Whedon, Brad Meltzer, or any number of mass media big shots taking creative respite in the lowly funny book, it’s comforting for comic fans to know that Gerry Conway made the journey in reverse.

After selling his first script to DC Comics at the age of 15 in 1968, Conway went on to write for DC horror line editor Joe Orlando before making the jump to Marvel Comics in 1970.

Conway began at Marvel with the company’s second tier titles, Daredevil and Iron Man, and by 1972 was scripting Amazing Spider-Man. While scripting that title, he co-created the Punisher.

Conway soon progressed to writing much of the early ’70s Marvel line, an eclectic mix ranging from stalwarts Fantastic Four and The Mighty Thor to the more obscure Man-Thing and Ka-Zar. In the mid-’70s, Conway jumped back to DC where he oversaw a fresh line of books ranging from a revival of All-Star Comics to new characters Steel and Firestorm. In an echo of his Marvel career, he was soon writing Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Justice League of America. Conway was also the writer of the 1976 Superman vs. Spider-Man, the first inter-company superhero crossover.

Conway’s solid writing, prolific output, and dependability made him a favorite of fans and editors alike. Using comics as a stepping-stone, in the ’80s he moved into movie and television writing. Starting with co-scripting the films Fire and Ice and Conan the Destroyer, Conway soon found his niche in TV mystery writing. His scripts graced the series Murder She Wrote, The Father Dowling Mysteries, and Diagnosis: Murder.

Now co-executive producer and writer for Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Conway continues to cement his credentials in the TV industry. Recently, he graciously sat down to tell Write Now! just how he did it.

...and today.

comic freebies will be given out at each theater while supplies last.”

GERRY CONWAY: Well, I’m wondering whether I’m going to get any royalties. [laughter] I’m amused and flattered. I’m amused because, as far as I know, that’s the only acknowledgment, officially, that I created the Punisher, because the comic will come out with my name on it, and I’ll be associated with the film in that way. But there’s no other acknowledgment of my contribution, other than after the fact. I’m being interviewed next week for the DVD, which presumes, I guess, that they’re going to want to do a special edition DVD. But it’s flattering, and I do find it amusing. I’ve often thought about the fact that the comic now sells for upwards of three times what I was paid to write it. So it’s kind of bizarre. It’s a bizarre alternate universe.

BB: Did you ever in your wildest dreams think when you were creating this character as a sort of dark, gritty opponent for Spider-Man, that he would turn into a franchise?

GC: God, no. I don’t think any of us had a notion, back in the early ’70s, of the potential for these characters beyond comics.

And even in comics, I don’t think we had a sense we were creating long-term franchises. We were just trying to tell a good story that particular month, respond to our own interests and our own internal demons, I guess. [laughs]

—Bob Brodsky

BB: You broke into comics in 1968, at age 16, initially working at DC, and soon after writing stories for Marvel. How did you break in at such a young age?

GC: I actually broke in, in 1968, at the age of 15. I sold my first story to Murray Boltinoff the summer before I turned 16.

BOB BRODSKY: Gerry, I’d like to begin by reading you an item from yesterday’s USA Today: “Rare Comic Revived to Promote Punisher. Lion Gate Films and Marvel Enterprises will commemorate the release of the Punisher on April 16 [2004] by giving away a special reprint edition of Amazing Spider-Man #129. The 1974 comic book, copies of which are sold for upward of $900, was the first to feature the Punisher as a mortal superhero who hunts Spider-Man. The

BB: And Murray was the guy who supposedly never bought first scripts.

GC: I think he was under the misapprehension I had already become a selling writer. What happened was, in the mid- to late’60s, or maybe the early ’60s—I can’t speak for that time—DC had a summer program in which they gave a tour of the DC offices once a week. I found out about this tour from a friend, and I started going on the tour, I think, the summer I was 14.

GERRY CONWAY | 27

I went every week, along with Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, a fellow named Mark Hanerfeld, and Steve Mitchell. We all showed up pretty regularly that summer.

And what we would do is, as the tour went its way, we would separate off and harangue and harass the different editors. I became friendly with a number of editors, to speak to, to say hello to, during that summer. Among them were Julie Schwartz, Bob Kanigher, and George Kashdan. I actually had my first almostassignment then from Bob Kanigher for an issue of Metal Men. BB: Wow. That’s hard to believe.

GC: Yeah! Well, apparently my script was hard for him to believe, because he didn’t use it! I guess, because I’d shown such interest and was always up there talking to people, talking to Mort Weisinger and all these guys, Bob thought I could write an actual script. And I was 14 years old. I didn’t know you didn’t do this.

Anyway, Bob called my house, and my mother was completely bewildered as to why this man was calling me, and he asked me to spec out a script for Metal Men, because apparently he was behind or he needed some breathing space or something like that. And I think, for a 22page comic, I wrote a 74-page script! It was horrible! Bob said, “No, thank you,” and that was pretty much the end of that.

But during that period, I got into the habit—this was during my sophomore year of high school—of, after school, taking the subway from Queens into Manhattan to talk with Bob, to talk with other editors. I started pitching stories to George Kashdan, who was then very briefly the editor of Hawkman. And George was interested in a couple of the stories. Then I called up one day and he said, “Oh, there have been some changes here. I’m no longer going to be editing this book. It’s being taken over by someone else.” That was when the newcomers came in. Dick Giordano and Joe Orlando were brought in by Carmine Infantino, who’d been hired as editorial director.

So anyway, with the kind of chutzpah only a native New Yorker can have, I told Dick Giordano I had been working on Hawkman scripts with George Kashdan. Dick was polite enough not to laugh at me, and took me under his wing, in a student/mentor way, having me work on specs and helping me understand how to write a comic book. He told me in later years he didn’t have much hope I’d turn out to be a writer, based on the quality of my work. But I was showing up almost every week at Dick’s office, which he shared with Murray Boltinoff and Joe Orlando, and a fourth editor. I think the fourth editor was Jack Schiff, but Schiff was on his way out.

Murray saw me coming in every week, dropping off scripts with Dick, and one day he asked me if I’d be interested in writing a story for him. He assumed I had been selling scripts to Dick!

Well, I ended up spending the entire summer of, I guess, 1968, working on a three-page story for Murray. He’d give me notes, and I would go off and type them up, and he’d give me more notes, and I’d go off. Finally, after about six or eight weeks of this, I guess he got tired. [laughs] So he said, “Well, I guess this is fine.

28 | WRITE NOW

The covers to two classic Gerry Conway stories. [Left] Amazing Spider-Man #122, the aftermath of the death of Gwen Stacy. Art by John Romita, Sr. [Below] Amazing Spider-Man #129, featuring the debut of the Punisher.

Pencils by Gil Kane, inks by John Romita, Sr. [© 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

What’s your page rate?”

I looked at him and said, “I don’t know, I don’t have one.” The color went out of his face. I thought the man was going to pass out, because he realized he had just taken my cherry. [laughter] Professionally speaking.

I think that was the last story I wrote for Murray for about six years, seven years. I ended up finally writing some Superman/Batman stories, I think, or Superman stories, or Lois Lane stories for him, I forget what.

asked if any of us had a story. Since I was always something of a show-off, I raised my hand and said, “I do, I do!” I didn’t, but I made one up on the spot, and the kids apparently liked it.

Afterwards, as we were going back to our tents, the Scoutmaster told me I was a natural storyteller and should try to make that my career. That was my first indication there might be something to this ability of mine.

BB: Who were your influences, Gerry? I know you’ve got a deep background in science fiction. When did you begin to plug into scifi? Were you reading Burroughs?

BB: Do you recall that original story you wrote for Boltinoff?

GC: I read Edgar Rice Burroughs as a kid. Robert Heinlein was my GC: It was a little three-page horror story. It finally was printed, years hero. I think I was 10 years old when I read Have Space Suit, Will later, in the mid-’70s, in a giant-sized DC mystery magazine. Paul Travel, which is still one of my favorite science Levitz discovered the story in the files and fiction novels. I loved science fiction. decided to humiliate me. [laughter] It I think, as a writer, my primary was very much a Murray Boltinoff influences, once I started story. It was very tight, very writing seriously, in the straightforward, kind of science-fiction field, pulp-ish. I don’t I don’t think any of us had a notion, back would have been Chip remember what the in the early ‘70s, of the potential for Delaney—Samuel R. premise was. I was Delaney—Roger just so pleased I got these characters beyond comics. And even Zelazny, and Harlan to do it. in comics, I don’t think we had a sense we Ellison—the were creating long-term franchises. We emotionally available BB: That’s wonderful. science fiction writers I’ve heard Murray was were just trying to tell a good story of the middle to late ’60s. a fantastic editor. that particular month, Among comic book writers, GC: He was one of the old the obvious influences are Stan guard, a guy who got his Lee, Gardner Fox, Denny O’Neil, and to training outside of comics, through a lesser degree but still influential, Bob pulps and through radio. He had been, I Kanigher. Also, Steve Skeates. believe, a story editor for Gangbusters, the radio series, and brought that kind of professionalism to the job. So when you were BB: Now, DC often didn’t provide writer or artist credits during the working for Murray, you knew exactly what the parameters were. early to mid-’60s. Were you able to distinguish a Kanigher script He was easy to work with once you understood what he wanted. from Haney or Broome without the luxury of the writer’s name on the splash page?

BB: So where’d you go from there, Gerry?

GC: Everybody who cared to find out knew who the writers were, GC: After I sold that first script to Murray, Dick Giordano was so because they’d be mentioned in the letters pages, and many of taken aback that I’d sold a story, he decided, maybe he’d give Julie Schwartz’s books did have credits. Julie gave Gardner Fox me a shot. He started buying stories from me for the two mystery and John Broome credit. Haney was mentioned in the letters books he was editing. I guess he was pleased enough with my pages, and Kanigher wrote all the scripts for the books he edited. work to give me the job of writing what was known as the “interYou could also tell through style. Kanigher’s material was stitial material” for House of Secrets. The intros and outros to the emotional, illogical. I don’t mean that in a bad way. There was a stories, that is. I wrote all the Abel material. I created Abel and dream logic to his stories. He would find a refrain, an idea to did all those little interconnecting pieces. repeat, or a phrase, or a sequence, and he would come back to it And that was my job. Eventually, by the next summer, between several times in the course of a story in a very unrealistic way. In my junior and senior years in high school, I was working pretty real life, you wouldn’t have the same sequence of events occurring much full-time for Dick, with occasional stories for Joe Orlando. I the same way every time. [laughs] But in a dream, you had that wrote stories for both of Dick’s mystery books, and for his sense of repetition, of familiarity. It was almost poetic in its way. romance comics—which is bizarre, a 17-year-old boy writing girls’ I’m thinking particularly of his Sgt. Rock stories, where he romance stories. would set something up on the first page or so, for example, “Ice Cream Soldiers never melt.” [laughter] Then the entire story BB: Were you a writing prodigy as a kid? You know, writing would build around that refrain, and it would be very intense. stories, books, working on the school paper?

GC: I started writing stories when I was about nine years old. I BB: Kanigher would build a motif. remember writing a horror story or something for my mother.

GC: It was very poetic. You can look at Kanigher’s stories as She was surprised I wrote this entire thing. She made a great sonnets. They’re structured in a non-logical way. They’re deal out of it. I was always writing and drawing comics, trying emotionally structured. You know, he was for many years the to do my own comics. highest-paid writer at DC. He had a special deal. I think it’s a real When I was about 11 years old, I went on a camping trip with my Boy Scout troop. Every night at the campfire our Scout [CONWAY continues on page 31.] leader would tell spooky stories for the kids. One night he GERRY CONWAY | 29

LOOK! UP IN THE SKY! It’s... You!!

Welcome to modern society, where superhero culture has become the METAPHORICAL prism through which we see--and live--our lives.

& Cover art by Mark Bagley

Scott Hanna.

What is it about superheroes that speaks to us, that cuts across boundaries of nationality, race and gender to entrance us?

Fingeroth; Copyright ©2004 by Danny Lee Stan Foreword ©2004 by

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— Publishers Weekly

[CONWAY continues from page 29.] shame he was dumped as unceremoniously as he was.

BB: I agree. I’m a big fan of Bob’s work. I don’t think he got enough recognition.

GC: He was totally ignored.

The problem was, Bob’s stuff didn’t fit neatly into any of the molds comic books were creating in the ‘60s. You had the Julie Schwartz plot-heavy, logic-oriented stories. You

had the art-driven stories Dick Giordano did, where the visuals were key. You had Stan’s soap operas.

Kanigher’s stuff was just strange. It was very creative, and certainly he was the most important writer at DC, I would say, in the late ‘50s through the early ‘60s. He wrote many, many books that influenced how Murray Boltinoff approached comics. And certainly George Kashdan was sort of “Kanigher Lite.”

Kanigher’s an unsung hero, I think.

Showrunners (HarperCollins, 1999) are “…generally writer/ producers… who are perceived by network or production studios as being capable of steering a weekly sitcom or drama… they come as close to being auteurs as one can in television.”] I was having lunch with some network executives, and one executive, who I guess was in his mid-20s, was talking about how it would be cool to do a Western with a contemporary sensibility, where the characters would be wisecracking and modern and not like old-time Western characters. So I said, “Oh, like Alias Smith and Jones,” a show that had been popular in the early 1970s. He stared blankly at me. And I realized (a) I had embarrassed him by mentioning a show he knew nothing about, thereby showing he was ignorant of his own field and (b) I had reminded him how old I was. [laughter] It was not a happy moment. I’m sitting there thinking, “Ohhh, boy.”

BB: Backtracking to 1970, was this the period you started to hit it big at Marvel?

GC: Yes. I started to write some stories for Marvel around then.

Gerry’s Man-Thing origin appeared in Savage Tales #1 [Above], cover by John Buscema. That story spawned monthly series for the creature [Right]. [© 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

BB: It’s interesting how Bob survived the cut in the late ‘60s. When a lot of the Golden Age guys, Broome and Fox for example, were shown the door, Bob hung in there.

GC: He did hang in, but he was cut back. I think he had a long-term contract, which is why they kept him a little longer. It was sad, what they did to all those guys. Just sad. But it happens all the time. It happened to me. It happened a couple of years ago. I was reading in one of the fanzines, Dan Jurgens was upset, Grant Morrison too, I think, that they were being fired off of Superman because people wanted fresh blood. I just started laughing! Y’know? “Yeah, tell it to Cary Bates!”

BB: The powers-that-be never seem to learn the value that experience brings to the table.

GC: This is the way it is. Every generation gets dumped, and that’s just the way life is.

BB: Just like it must be in Hollywood, there’s this huge insecurity about age. God forbid you don’t have acne.

GC: I’m very fortunate my career’s doing as well as it is right now, because I could just as easily have been done a couple of years ago. I remember the moment I realized I was in deep trouble in Hollywood. I was at the time running a show. [Editor’s note: “Showrunners, “ according to David Wild in his book The

BB: How did you make the transition from your odds and ends work at DC to a full scripting slate at Marvel?

GC: Much the same way I broke into writing science fiction stories and novels. There was at that time a community of comic book writers that somewhat overlapped the science fiction field. These people would get together on the first Friday of the month at somebody’s house, and it would be semi-social, semi-business-related.

You were networking, although I don’t think we used that word. At these first Friday events, I became friendly with Roy Thomas. I had always wanted to write for Marvel. A desire to write for Marvel was the reason I got into comics.

But there was no ready access to Marvel. There was no Thursday tour.

There was only one editor, and if you didn’t make that connection with Stan, you weren’t going to make a connection with anybody. [laughs] It was a very different environment from DC, much harder to break into.

So, in the late ‘60s, early ‘70s, as I was graduating from high school, I went to these First Friday parties and met people, and became friendly with Roy. When Marvel began publishing its own take on mystery comics, Tower of Shadows, I think it was, it opened up the company for freelancers by providing a market for single stories.

BB: An anthology title.

GERRY CONWAY | 31

A sampling of covers of some of Gerry’s DC work. [© 2005 DC Comics.]

GC: An anthology title. Roy used it to bring in different writers and artists that he would not have been able to use on the regular Marvel titles. He gave me some work, and that led to my writing dialogue for scripts he was working on, like “Ka-Zar” [in Astonishing Tales], I think, and a couple of titles like that.

Eventually, as Stan began to do less writing, and Roy took over some of Stan’s books, the company started to expand, and they needed an additional writer. Roy gave me the Marvel writing test.

Stan was not terribly impressed with the results, but didn’t want to be bothered arguing with Roy. [laughs] So I started writing some minor series, and one thing led to another. I was given the chance, this was in ‘70 or ‘71, to come over to Marvel full time. Either I, Len Wein, or Mike Friedrich, was going to be hired. I was Roy’s first choice, but I felt a loyalty to DC. I didn’t know what to do. Dick Giordano had just left the company as an editor, so my options if I stayed at DC were working for Julie Schwartz, whom I think I had done maybe one story for at that point, or Joe Orlando. I was intimidated by the whole situation. DC made a press to keep me.

Carmine Infantino offered me Batman to write. But ultimately I decided Marvel was my dream company, so that was where I went.

BB: By my notes, your first regular series assignments were Daredevil, and “Ka-Zar” in Astonishing Tales. Does that sound correct, to your recollection?

GC: I think Sub-Mariner and Daredevil were almost back-to-back. I didn’t stay on Sub-Mariner very long.

BB: It seemed to me that you never quite gelled with Sub-Mariner.

Was he a difficult character for you to write?

GC: I didn’t know what to say about him. I came onto the book around the time his father was going to be killed or something. I

Covers for some of Gerry’s Marvel oeuvre. (© 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.] 32 | WRITE NOW

was having difficulty with my own dad, and didn’t have a good sense of father/son dynamics, so it wasn’t something I was responsive to. I was never that big a fan of the character, in any event. Namor was too highfalutin’ for me, and wasn’t accessible in the way I thought Thor was accessible when I wrote that character later. But I wrote Sub-Mariner, and I wrote Iron Man, too. I wrote Iron Man for quite a while.

BB: Daredevil really stuck out, in terms of you “building” a book.

I’m thinking of all the changes you made in Matt’s life, like moving him to San Francisco.

GC: Bringing the Black Widow in.

BB: And also all the new supporting characters. It seemed you were very big on bringing in a new cast for Daredevil when he made the move from New York to San Francisco.

GC: Well, one of my motivations in doing comics was to write stories like the stories I read as a kid. I enjoyed the early byplay between Matt, Karen Page, and Foggy Nelson. A lot of that had gone away. There had been a fading of that fresh, will-they-won’tthey sort of interoffice romance. So it was an opportunity, by putting Daredevil and Black Widow in this new environment, to bring in a new cast and basically start over in a way that let me tell my own stories, variations on the stories I’d read when I was growing up.

BB: How did you come up with the idea of bringing the Black Widow into the series?

GC: It falls back to pleasing myself. I read the Black Widow series Roy did in Amazing Adventures. I wrote an issue or two, myself. I was taken by this one scene Roy did, with Natasha changing into the Black Widow in the back seat of her limousine, Ivan in the

[First four covers © 2005 DC Comics. Fifth © 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

front. And she says, “Eyes front, Ivan!” I loved it! The sexiness of that character, the idea, oh yeah, that’s right, if she changed her clothes, she’d be naked ! I was a 17-year-old boy going, “What is she wearing under that black leather outfit? I don’t think she’s wearing anything!” So I loved that character. I loved her, too, because she had this mystique about her. Was she a good guy, was she a bad guy, where did her loyalties lie? And I had this fascination with her hair. She was a redhead, kind of auburn-haired, dark-haired. I have a thing for redheads in comics.

So I wanted to see them together. I thought, not only would it be cool to have a male/female superhero team, with the same kind of abilities, but there’d be a sexual frisson between them. It was fun. Roy jumped on the idea, and eventually we changed the title to Daredevil and the Black Widow. But there was never any longterm master plan. Writing the book was a fly-by-the-seat-of-yourpants sort of thing.

BB: Well, it sure didn’t seem that way reading it at the time. Your characters and plots always went somewhere.

GC: One thing I was pretty good at was creating plot threads I would later try to tie together. I would create a character, create a situation, with no clear idea of how it was going to be resolved, trusting I’d be able to tie it together at some later point.

Sometimes I was able to, and sometimes I wasn’t.

BB: In 1971 you created Man-Thing for Savage Tales with artist Gray Morrow, and now there’s a Man-Thing film.

GC: And I won’t be making anything off that, either. [laughs] BB: You have such a good attitude about your lack of participation, or even a credit, in the film versions of characters you created. You could certainly be bitter and hurt over the reprehensible way the

entertainment industry too often does business.

GC: I loved writing comics, but it wasn’t my life. Certainly when I was 17, my dream was to write comics, but ultimately I wanted to write for film or television. So my emotional investment in the material was pretty intense while I was doing it, but as I’ve moved further away from it, it’s just not as intense.

I like being recognized for what I’ve done. It’s flattering at this point to be getting as much attention as I seem to be getting. It’d be nice, too, if the companies involved would acknowledge my contribution, but it’s not necessary. At least, it’s not necessary from a legal point of view. It might be necessary from a moral or ethical point of view, but not for me to feel good about myself.

BB: Your prolific stack of early to mid-’70s Marvel work included Werewolf by Night, Thor, and, of course, Spider-Man and Fantastic Four. About Werewolf by Night: Do you see Jack Russell, the werewolf, as a prototype for your Spider-Man work? Jack was, I believe, your first creative encounter with a lead character your own age.

GC: All of these books gave me an opportunity to learn how to write serious characters. And, writing Jack Russell as a young guy, he was me, in the same way Spider-Man was me. Peter Parker and I were the same age, so when I wrote about Peter Parker, I was writing about myself.

BB: I’m greatly impressed by how prolific you were, and the quality of your work. Just the idea that here’s this 20-year-old kid running around Manhattan, writing five or six titles for Marvel each month, and also finding the time to produce two very fine early ‘70s science fiction novels, The Midnight Dancers and Mindship.

GC: I don’t know how I did it. I had a lot of energy. As well as a lack of critical perspective. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more

[© 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.] GERRY CONWAY | 33

critical of my work, so I do less of it. When I started out as a comics writer, I didn’t know how unusual it was for someone to be doing what I was doing, so I wasn’t intimidated by the writing.

I thought of it as an extension of what I was already doing in high school, writing for the school newspaper. At the time I began writing comics, I was also writing for my school newspaper. I was making 8mm movies with my friends. I was dating and traveling and briefly going to college. I had a lot of energy and very little self-critical inhibition.

Covers from Gerry’s early and later runs on Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man. Art on all three covers by Sal Buscema. [© 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

BB: For a talented person, those are good traits.

GC: Well, they were at the time. [laughs] BB: Also in 1971, you inherited Thor from Stan himself. How did you go about chronicling the adventures of a mythic Norse god?

GC: Again, I wanted to write stories like the ones I read when I was younger. To me, the best years of Thor were the early Journey into Mystery days. The stories Vinnie Colletta inked, when Hercules came down from Olympus, and Stan and Jack were just introducing their comic-book Thor to Norse mythology. I loved those stories. I loved seeing these characters, these mythic figures, come to life. It was great.

So when I took over the book, what I wanted to write were mythic stories, stories primarily based on these interesting Norse characters. At the same time, I had a science fiction background, so the science-fiction angle was a natural. Thor was a cosmic character, and I had an chance to do some cosmic stories.

BB: You had a long and successful run on Thor, about four-and-ahalf years.

GC: Writing Thor, Spider-Man, and Fantastic Four, those were the longest runs I had at Marvel.

BB: Did you ever feel like you were running out of gas on any of the titles from this period of your work?

GC: I never felt I ran out of gas on Spider-Man or Thor. I felt like I was living inside Spider-Man. And my mind was just expanding with Thor. Ideas were constantly popping up. But on the other hand, writing the Fantastic Four was a strain, working within that dynamic and trying not to change the iconic nature of it.

BB: Was the team format a problem?

GC: No, I liked writing teams. The truth is, The Fantastic Four is one of those comic books that has gravitas, but when you actually look at it and work on it, there’s not a lot going on. [laughs] It was the premier Marvel book at the time, but from a writer’s point of view, there weren’t many places to go with it. Reed Richards is a stick. His relationship with Sue has always been very strained and unreal. This guy is, like, 20 years older than she is. What does she see in him?

Johnny Storm is a cartoon, and the Thing is one of those great tragic heroes that, once you explore the tragedy, where do you go? So there’s not a lot you can do with them. You just keep stirring the pot.

BB: Your “Golden Age” was the Marvel Age. 34 | WRITE NOW

GC: The first time I bought a comic book at a newsstand and knew I wanted to buy more of them was Fantastic Four #4. I was so impressed I went back to the newsstand to see if they had any more, and they had #3! It was still on sale! Can you imagine? And I subscribed to Spider-Man starting with issue #9 or #10. I was a big fan.

BB: As an old-time fan, did you feel any heat when Spider-Man went, aside from a brief run by Roy Thomas, from Stan to you?

GC: I was intimidated. But again, my ego was such that I guess I felt, “Oh, I can do this.” It was so exciting to work on that book, and write those characters, like a dream come true, I didn’t really think about the potential fan reaction.

That’s one of the reasons I was able to write the death of Gwen Stacy the way I did it. It never occurred to me I was screwing with this huge emotional entity other people felt some investment in.

For me, Spider-Man was a character I’d been reading since I was 10 years old. All I wanted to do was write some cool stories.

BB: Gwen’s death was certainly one of the all-time most pivotal comic book moments.

GC: That’s one of the reasons they used a version of it for the first Spider-Man movie.

BB: Only this time, I guess she lived.

GC: Only because Gwen Stacy never existed in the movie universe.

Which suits me fine. [laughs]

Covers to some classic Conway-written issues of Amazing SpiderMan. Art on #121 is by John Romita, Sr. The other two are penciled

by Gil Kane and inked

by John. [© 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

BB: You created a lot of characters, broke a lot of new ground. And I promise not to ask you who killed Gwen Stacy!

GC: I did it. [laughter] BB: Now, wait a minute! Here I thought it was Johnny Romita!

GC: It’s like you’re in a darkened room and a gun goes off. The lights come on, somebody’s lying on the ground, and everybody looks guilty. [laughs] You examine the gun and everybody’s fingerprints are on it.

The truth is, I didn’t get Gwen Stacy. She was something you’d expect to see in an Archie comic, out of Betty and Veronica. Why was she in Spider-Man? After all, the whole point of Peter Parker’s character is, he’s a schlub, right? A sad sack, troubled, alienated.

What is he doing dating a major babe? And in any case, why that particular babe, when Mary Jane was living right next door to him, right in his way? I didn’t get it. Gwen had no personality; there was nothing interesting about her. She was a sweet girl, period. She did no wrong. She had no bad feelings about anybody. She had nothing going on. All she was, was a pretty face.

BB: I see that. She had no dynamics. She was probably hard to work into the story.

GC: Think about this: where would you have gone with Gwen Stacy over the last 25 years?

BB: You warmed-up for the Spider-Man book by writing Spidey in Marvel Team-Up. Did you feel you had a little more room to experiment in Team-Up, as opposed to Spidey’s regular title?

GC: I didn’t take Team-Up seriously as a Spider-Man book.

Some titles, though they were part of the common universe, I couldn’t think of them as being part of the continuity. So while those team-up stories certainly happened, I wasn’t thinking, “I’m writing a Spider-Man story that’s going to affect what’s going to happen in the regular Spider-Man book.”

BB: Gerr y, moving over to The Amazing-Spider-Man, your work on the title was ver y impressive. You and Stan really cornered all modern interpretations of the character, including the film. Your initial run on Amazing Spider-Man began in August, 1972 with issue #111, the completion of Stan’s two-par t Gibbon stor y, and ended with #149, dated October, 1975. How did it feel to be handed Spider-Man? GC: It was literally the best assignment I could possibly have. I thought Thor was the coolest book I was ever going to write. But in those days my appetite for work was insatiable. Whenever a book became available, I immediately said, “Can I write that one? Can I write that one?” I was writing I think, 120 pages of comics a month. It was ridiculous. Maybe it was a macho thing—look how much I can do. I gave up when Doug Moench star ted writing 140 pages a month. [laughs]

BB: Nowhere.

GC: Mary Jane brings so many different things to the book. Her damaged personality, which fits with Peter. He’s a damaged personality. Someone from a bluecollar background, with aspirations, which many readers, especially younger readers, can relate to. She’s a climber. She’s also someone who doesn’t think as well of herself as she should.

BB: Good point. Though Mary Jane’s a major babe, when she looks in the mirror she doesn’t see beauty.

GC: A lot of her stuff is about being “fun.” To me, the most fulfilling moment, the best moment for me in my entire run on Spider-Man, was when, after Gwen’s death, Peter is all broken up, and Mary Jane is being flip. And Peter lays into her. He says something like, “How can you be like that? Nothing matters to you!

You don’t care about anybody! You’re just a bimbo!” And she hesitates at the door, about to leave, but then she stays with him.

Which is a crucial moment. She has her moment to be real. You could never write anything like that about Gwen Stacy, because there’s nothing real about her, there’s nowhere to go with her.

BB: That was a great moment, and a sign of things to come between her and Peter.

GC: Plus, I like redheads! [laughs] BB: How did you approach the supporting cast? You worked in a lot of the old Midtown High School gang: Flash Thompson, Liz Allen, and so on.

[CONWAY continues on page 66.]

GERRY CONWAY | 35

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Words and Pictures Man

The Dan Jurgens Interview Conducted via e-mail January, 2005

By Jason Strangis Copy-edited by Danny Fingeroth

D

an Jurgens has been a mainstay at Marvel and DC Comics for many years. He’s written and/or drawn the adventures of Superman, Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America and countless other characters. Dan is a pro’s pro, known for high quality, innovative work, produced on time.

Jason Strangis was able to electronically interview Dan about some topics of import to Write Now! readers.

—DF

JASON STRANGIS: When did the comic book bug bite you, Dan? What were your favorite titles when you were a kid?

DAN JURGENS: I started reading because of the Batman TV craze.

That was my first exposure to the character. One night, I saw some neighbor kids sitting on their front step reading Batman comics and from that moment, I was hooked. I hadn’t even known they existed before that, but as soon as I saw them, I was entranced.

So I started with Batman, moved onto Superman and the JLA, and was pretty much a DC kid until about 1969, when I discovered the FF and Spidey at Marvel. That’s when the hobby became an obsession.

The cover to the special New Avengers comic done for free distribution to U.S. military personnel. Art by Dan Jurgens and Sandu Florea. [© 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

JS: Were there any teachers or or family members who were influential in your career choice? Did your family actively encourage or discourage creative pursuits?

DJ: My family was quite supportive during the early years of my interests, though

there were a couple of bouts of my mom throwing away my comics (shudder—!) because they were taking up too much room, were deemed inappropriate or whatever.

Later, when I thought perhaps I could make a living at them, they generally smiled and said, “Oh, sure you can,” not realizing many people actually made a living doing them.

JS: At what point did you seriously consider a career in comics?

How were you able to make it happen? Was the business tough to break into?

DJ: I started considering it about the time I was wrapping up high school, in 1977. At the same time, however, the journals which covered the industry were beginning to downplay it as a possibility, pretty much saying that comics were going to disappear within a couple of years. With that in mind, I put the notion on the back burner.

But, by 1982, comics were still around, and seemed to be on a bit of an upswing, so I started to pursue it again. Walt Simonson and Mike Grell were very helpful during this time, and once I got some samples in to DC, I was given The Warlord to draw on a monthly basis.

DAN JURGENS | 37

JS: Did you always want to write and draw your own material?

DJ: It wasn’t so much that I wanted to write as much as I wanted to control the visual pace of the story. But that desire took me more in the direction of writing. Gerry Conway was the first to give me a shot as a writer, for which I am eternally grateful. It was on DC’s Sun Devils, and was the perfect place to make lots of mistakes because no one was looking!

JS: Did you discover a talent for drawing and/or writing at an early age or did it take time to develop?

DJ: I could draw from day one. As long as I can remember, it was a way in which I separated myself from the other kids in class.

As for writing, I was an avid reader in high school and always had that in the back of my mind as well. It’s something I thought I might be able to do, but not at all with the same assurance or confidence as drawing.

But once I got in the business, I realized I wanted to give it a shot. Fortunately, a couple of editors were receptive, so I had the chance to pursue it.

Here’s the famous “Death of Superman” cover from Superman # 75, penciled by Dan Jurgens, inked by Brett Breeding. [© 2005 DC Comics.]

And here’s the cover for the following issue, Superman #76, “Funeral for a Friend,” also

by Dan and Brett. [© 2005 DC Comics]

JS: Did you go to art school and/or college?

DJ: I went to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where I got my BFA. JS: What was good—and bad—about the experience?

DJ: I’d have to say that any education is good. I mean, there’s no such thing as bad in such a case, right?

The benefit is the exposure you get to a variety of different disciplines and approaches. Really, virtually anything and everything you learn can be applied to comics in one way or another.

JS: Were you an avid reader as a kid? What kind of stuff did you read? What other interests did you have as a youngster?

DJ: Yes I was, as I mentioned previously. Of course, there were the classics and some heavy doses of science fiction. Around that time, the old Doc Savage and Shadow pulps were reissued in paperback form and that was a lot of fun, too.

Beyond that, I was and continue to be a sports junkie.

JS: What other media influences were there on you growing up?

DJ: I guess the pop culture of the time was an influence, particularly TV, but I don’t think of it that way because it’s such a distinctly different artform. Maybe in the sense of story structure or artistic design to a certain extent, but I don’t think of it as overt. Intuitive, more than anything, perhaps.

A lot of people draw a direct link between screenplays and comic writing, but I’m not one who does. To me, they are totally different animals.

JS: What were your first comic book assignments?

DJ: Mike Grell was making a personal appearance at a store in the Twin Cities area and I stopped by to meet him. This was late ’81, I think. I showed him some work and we forwarded it to DC, because they needed an artist on Warlord, which he was then writing.

They had me draw a few test pages, and that landed me the assignment. I got the book and was in from then on.

In retrospect, it seems kind of easy, but it sure didn’t seem so at 38 | WRITE NOW

the time. Editors were much more reluctant to try new guys, whereas now they go out of their way to find and try new talent.

JS: How would you compare the challenges a newcomer faces trying to break in today as opposed to when you did it?

DJ: It’s a piece of cake now. If you want to draw comics and can’t get in it can only mean one of two things: Either you’re truly not good enough or you don’t have a pulse.

Every editor is looking for the Hot New Guy. There are portfolio reviews at cons and a general mentality that says, “Hey! Try a new guy!” which didn’t exist earlier.

Now there are numerous visual styles and approaches accepted by DC and Marvel and that certainly wasn’t the case 25 years ago. Back then, it was straight line superhero stuff that was wanted, and not much more.

Now it’s a lot more wide open, and the chances for getting that first shot are much greater.

JS: If you hadn’t been able to break into comics, what were your other career options?

DJ: I had a nice graphic design career going and would have undoubtedly continued with that.

good and bad—from anyone you collaborate with.

Ultimately, that makes me better at both jobs.

JS: Do you prefer writing over drawing? Which is harder?

DJ: I’m asked that all the time, and for me it’s not that simple an answer.

In part, that’s because I don’t see them as two different jobs.

When I write and draw a story, it’s one job to me. It’s part of the whole. To a certain extent, when I don’t do both, I feel a bit more separated from the final work.

But when I do split it out, writing is harder. It really takes more focus and concentration to write a good story than to draw it.

Drawing a good story takes more time and might seem harder because of that, but the truth is, that if I’m having a bad day at the drawing board, I can still produce a good page of pencils.

If I have a bad day at the keyboard while writing, the result is probably going to be far more embarrassing and of far, far lesser quality.

For me, drawing is more intuitive while writing is more work.

It’s odd. I never set out to be a writer but that’s what I turned into. I spent a few years writing four books a month and did very little drawing. It was great fun collaborating with so many great artists and helped me immensely.

Now I’m back to the point where drawing is filling the bulk of my time. I went years and years without drawing material written by anyone but me, and I’m now working with other writers. It’s great fun because it’s kind of refreshing, and you certainly learn—both

JS: Was it hard to get taken seriously as a writer by editors once you had established yourself as an artist?

DJ: Gerry was buried with other things by issue #7 or #8 of Sun Devils, and we always talked about the plots and dialogue so he gave me the shot to finish the series. Like I said, I’m eternally grateful for that.

Around the same time, I sold Dick Giordano on the idea of Booster Gold. They first toyed with the idea of getting someone else to write the book, but Dick always had faith in me and let me run with it. Once again, I made my share of mistakes, which is probably why the book only lasted 24 issues, but I was building a foundation as a writer that would come in handly later.

I’ve often wished I knew then what I know now, as the book would have been far more successful.

JS: Do you write full script (panel descriptions and dialogue written at the same time) or Marvel style (plot first)?

DJ: It depends on the project.

For example, when John Romita Jr. and Andy Kubert were drawing Thor, I wrote a detailed plot and let them run with it. John’s the best “power” artist in the business. Giving him a full script is essentially tying his hands together. But the last fifteen or twenty issues of Thor were written full script. The story was getting so complex and nuanced that I needed to get that kind of management over it. As an artist, I’ll go either way, depending on who’s writing it.

For example, Archie Goodwin’s visual storytelling sense was brilliant. I had the good fortune of drawing a couple of his full scripts and there was never a thing that needed to be changed.

Nothing. It was dead on. Denny O’Neil could do that too.

Full scripts have gotten a lot more common now, in part because it’s all about the dialogue. Break down the actual plot of many comics and there’s not much there. It’s all in the dialogue and pace of the dialogue. Stories don’t move along that fast at all, as it seems we’re more focused on the sizzle as opposed to the steak.

But that helps explain the need for full script. It’s kind of odd, because there’s not much there. Lots of these scripts would have been rejected by virtually every editor in the business not that long ago.

JS: Do you enjoy writing scripts for other artists to draw?

DJ: Oh, yeah. When I write a script or plot, it’s always framed in my mind’s eye as the way I’d draw it. It’s impossible to do otherwise.

But when I write for someone else and get back the pages that take me in a different direction and it really works, it’s great! That opens me to new possibilities and I try to take off on what they’ve provided. That’s what collaboration is all about.

On the other hand, I’ve written stories for other guys who’ve turned in pages that I’ve wanted to take an eraser and jug of whiteout to. Fortunately, that didn’t happen often.

JS: Do you have any interest in editing comics?

DJ: Definitely. I’ve been able to be sort of a de facto editor on a few things—the crossovers I did, the Tangent projects at DC and a few other things—and always enjoyed it. I’d be one of the few editors who both can write and draw and there aren’t many of those out there.

The Man of Steel, penciled by Dan Jurgens, inked by Kevin Nolan. [© 2005 DC Comics.]

JS: Do you have any desire to script movies or TV, or to write novels?

DJ: Somewhat, but comics allow me to do both things I love—write and draw.

DAN JURGENS | 39

JS: What inspires you to write good stories?

DJ: Anything and everything. I always say that I get my best ideas when I’m doing something totally unconnected to comics. It’s like, BOOM!—an idea appears out of nowhere and you’re off and running. Any time I sit down and focus and try to come up with something great, it never seems to work. It’s too forced.

Far better for the subconscious to do the heavy lifting.

JS: Is it difficult to meet deadlines on a story? How tough is it to be self-motivated?

DJ: That has never been a problem for me. I enjoy the process of working. And the more organized I am, the easier it makes my life, which frees me to turn that energy into the page.

JS: Give me an example of a typical work day for you when you’re writing or drawing a story. Do you have music on in the background, etc.?

DJ: I always have noise of some sort on. If I’m writing, it’s lower octane music, sometimes classical. If I’m drawing, it’s often talk radio. It’s a way to plug into what’s going on out there, which you can lose track of in a solitary work environment.

But I tend to start early in the morning and work a fairly average day due to family realities. If I’m writing I don’t answer the phones except for specific blocks of time that I allocate for stuff like that.

JS: How do you get past writer’s block?

DJ: Dreams, man. I always say that I solve some writing problems while sleeping. There are many times when I wake up and The Idea is there.

On a larger scale, I will pull stray elements out of the sky and try to work a story around them, which can be kind of refreshing. Throw a submarine into a space story, y’know? That kind of thing. Anything that gets you off that one way track that’s taking you nowhere.

It might not be the answer, but it loosens the cobwebs and gets you thinking differently.

JS: What are the keys to writing effective, realistic dialogue?

DJ: Wish I knew.

Everyone talks differently. Stand around a group of 15-year-olds and they sure as hell don’t talk like me. Is it right? Wrong?

Realistic? Maybe here, but not in LA or NYC. I go by what feels right. I don’t pretend to have the answers in that department. It’s gut instinct.

[© 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

JS: You had a long stint writing Thor. Were you always a fan of the character? What were the challenges of scribing that book?

DJ: I always enjoyed the character, but never thought I’d be a good writer for him. Beyond the obvious dialogue challenges, it seemed hard to make Thor relevant.

When I was first hired, [then Marvel editor in chief] Bob Harras and I had a discussion in which Bob said he really didn’t think Thor

40 | WRITE NOW

This page and the next: more art from the New Avengers military special.

Art by Dan Jurgens and Sandu Florea. [© 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.] had much to offer today’s audiences. And I could see his point.

But Tom Brevoort and I rolled up our sleeves and went to work and I’m really happy with the run.

JS: Were you overwhelmed by writing the “Death of Superman” storyline? Were you happy with the way it came out?

DJ: Given the constraints at the time, yes. We had a grand time, and when the “Death” is put together as an entire story with the “Return,” I think it holds up well.

I think those who see it as a trick or simple media event are underestimating it, frankly.

JS: Do you have any thoughts on today’s “decompressed” storytelling methods?

DJ: It was cute for a while, but I think it’s time to get back to bigger ideas. It’s okay to construct 22 pages around two characters in a Chinese restaurant having lunch, but once ever yone star ted doing it, it seemed to get old in a hurr y.

Seriously, if you’re writing a book called Banana Man, there is nothing wrong with putting Banana Man in the stor y. Maybe even in costume. And if you get really, really daring and have him hit a bad guy, it might just work. Maybe.

I think we need some of that again.

JS: What can we learn from the popularity of manga and anime, especially among young readers and female readers?

DJ: That comics can work for more than just the Kool-aid guzzling true believers.

Unfor tunately, too many have taken it to mean that any alternative should be manga or anime.

I think it means there’s more out there that can work, we just have to tr y it.

JS: Do you have a “plan B” if the comics business ever doesn’t have a place for you?

DJ: I have worked hard perfecting my burger turning technique.

JS: Do you have advice for aspiring writers and ar tists?

DJ: Work.

It’s that simple. Work.

Write. Draw. Show your stuff to anyone and ever yone you possibly can. Do whatever you can to get published wherever you possibly can, and push it as far as you can.

Right now the industr y is moving toward writers from other

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On a more realistic level though, it’s not an industr y that I can recommend in all good conscience for anyone. In many respects, the industr y offers far less than it did just a few years ago. Medical insurance and the prospect for continued, solid employment are tough for a lot of people.

JS: Are there any books, courses, etc., on writing that you recommend?

DJ: Not really. Different individuals have ver y different reactions to what they’re exposed to, so they kind of have to find out for themselves.

JS: What’s coming up for you that readers can look for ward to?

DJ: I’m drawing a fairly lengthy JLA arc for DC, drawing the Combat Zone project for Mar vel, and will also be drawing The Fantastic Four movie adaptation.

JS: Thanks, Dan. I appreciate your taking the time to give us your point of view.

DJ: My pleasure. Thanks for asking.

Jason Strangis has written for Comics Buyer’s Guide and is currently a reporter for a newspaper in Wisconsin.

THE END

DAN JURGENS | 41

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• GRIMJACK’s JOHN OSTRANDER tells you how to create great characters!

• ROBERT TINNELL (THE BLACK FOREST) tells you how he moves back and forth from movies to comics.

• T. CAMPELL gives you the lowdown on publishing comics on the Internet!

• More NUTS & BOLTS writing examples from top comics pros!

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DEPARTMENT

Structure: The Skeleton of the Story

by John Ostrander

J

ohn Ostrander has been writing comics for twenty years. His many published works include: Grimjack, Legends, Firestorm, Suicide Squad (with his late wife, Kimberly Yale), Hawkworld, Wasteland, The Spectre, Martian Manhunter, The Kents, Blaze of Glory, Star Wars, Apache Skies, Batman: Gotham Nights, JLA Incarnations, and many others.

Born and raised in Chicago, John was in professional theater for a number of years as an actor, playwright, director, and occasionally producer before becoming a fulltime writer in comics. He’s also been a teacher at both the Joe Kubert School and, co-teaching with Dennis O’Neil, at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. I asked John to address an aspect of the writer’s craft that was important to him and he chose to write about Plot. Of course, Plot encompasses many elements of story, so John has ended up giving a crash course in story structure here. Read on and see what this accomplished pro has to say about the basic elements of any story.

You’ll have learned a lot by the time you get to the last paragraph.

—DF

For years, I’ve heard arguments about the relative importance of art and writing in comics. I think that argument misses the point; comic books, first and foremost, are about storytelling. The stories tell us something about the characters and, in doing so, tell us something about ourselves.

The backbone of the story is the plot—how we arrange the events in the story to form a beginning, middle, and end. We look for the emotional intensity of these events to increase as the story progresses until they pay off in the story’s climax.

Personally, I probably spend more time working on the plot of a story than I do on any other story element. If I screw up the plot, there’s very little else I can do to make the story work other than hope the artist draws really purty pictures so that people won’t notice. By the way, that trick almost never works.

One of the questions I get most often from people is “Where

do you get your ideas?” Frankly, getting the idea for a story is not the difficulty; doing something with it is. Ideas come from everywhere—what I see, hear, what I read, a piece of music, a turn of phrase. I once jokingly told an Earnest Young Wannabe that I used a subscription service in Poughkeepsie; they sent me plot ideas once a month and I checked off the ones I wanted.

Earnest Young Wannabe asked for the address of the service. I told Wannabe that you generally got it when you received your Artistic License. It went downhill from there.

The story idea is also called the premise, what Stan Lee refers to as “What If.” For example, what if a nerdy high school kid had been bitten by a radioactive spider and got super-powers? I take the premise as a “given”—I treat it as a fact. I then explore the given for its implications and ramifications. What led up to this moment? What is likely to lead out of this moment? What is “fair extrapolation”? That is— given this moment, what can I fairly assume or extrapolate about the people involved, the setting, the theme, and so on. I like to start with a question rather than a statement; it’s in exploring the question through the plot that I come up with the best Cover to John Ostrander’s GrimJack: stories. I may come up with Killer Instinct #1. Art by Tim Truman. an answer; I may come up [© and TM Nightsky GrimJack Rights with more than one answer; I And Production Vehicle (Four Wheel may come up with no Drive Model) LLC.] JOHN OSTRANDER | 43

excellent book Story, defines the Protagonist as the central character answer. I think it’s more interesting to pose the question through of a given story, the one who drives the story. In the pursuit of the story and let the reader answer it. some need or desire, the protagonist pursues a goal. That goal Before I can come up with a plot, there are lots of key questions should be a conscious desire (although there can be subconscious I have to answer. Is this a character-driven story or an eventdesires that fight against the goal or lead to an even more important driven story? Whose story is it? Who is the Protagonist? Who or goal). The goal should be achievable, but not simple to attain and what is the Antagonist? What are they after? What is the conflict?

How do those needs and wants and conflicts break down into beats, scenes, and acts? What is the climax? What is the coda?

What is the theme? How do I handle the exposition? What is the Inciting Incident? Is there a MacGuffin? What is the story really about? And what the heck do I mean by all this jargon?

Let’s see if I can explain myself. If you already know some or all of these terms, feel free to sing along.

A character-driven plot is where the events derive primarily from the characters’ desires and needs. Event-driven plots generally place the characters in the middle of something and see how they handle it. One is not inherently better than the other. The purpose of either story is to place the main character into a crisis situation that will reveal his or her truest self. What is more important—what a person says or what a person does? It’s their actions. The same has to be true of our fictional characters.

In every story, no matter how fantastic, we‘re looking for what is true, what is real. Every fantasy must have at least one foot firmly rooted in reality. What we know to be true in life needs to be true in our stories.

What we’re looking for in our plots are situations that will reveal our characters as they really are—not who they think the Protagonist should be willing to do whatever themselves to be, not is necessary to achieve that goal. We need who they say they are, to feel for the Protagonist and his or her but how they act. Those struggle, to care whether he or she achieves actions have to be true what they want or not, but we don’t need to enough so that the like them to do so. They also need to change reader will identify with somewhere along the way in some fashion; the characters and their quest to achieve their goal leaves them become emotionally different in some great or small way than involved with them. they were at the beginning.

The two main characThe Antagonist is that which (surprise!) ters are the Protagonist opposes the Protagonist. It can be a person and the Antagonist. but it can also be a force of nature or even an Please note I’m not callobject—a fierce storm, an earthquake, the ing them either the Hero proverbial ticking bomb. If it is a person, then or the Villain. The Joker they should also have their own can be the protagonist in goals/needs/desires but the Antagonist does a given story and the not need to change in the course of the plot.

Batman can be the Everything that happens in the plot stems from Antagonist. It depends the interaction of these two main characters. on whose story this really The Supporting Characters exist to bring out is. I’ve had stories that aspects of the main characters. They may also have not worked until I have story arcs (subplots) of their own that correctly identified the reflect the main story or amplify its theme.

Protagonist. Sometimes I’m a big believer in primal needs and I assume it’s the title The covers to GJ:KI #4 (above) and #3 (below), both by Tim Truman. wants and desires for characters. Not simply character and it’s not. [© and TM Nightsky GrimJack Rights And Production Vehicle (Four what someone “wants”—what do they need?

Robert McKee, in his Wheel Drive Model) LLC.] 44 | WRITE NOW

acter for what he or she truly is. These choices put the character in a crisis. They must be real choices; the character has to choose one thing or another and the choice should be irrevocable. The character cannot have his cake and eat it, too. The choices a character makes should be believable and consistent with their character but they should also be the most interesting choice.

What the character is most interested in and what the reader is most interested in may not be the same thing. There is a plot device that Alfred Hitchcock identified and dubbed the MacGuffin.

In the movie Casablanca, the MacGuffin is the “letters of transit” so many of the characters are vitally interested in. We’re more concerned with who Ingrid Bergman’s character Ilsa is going to wind up with. Even more, we’re concerned with what Humphrey Bogart’s character, Rick, is going to choose to do by the end. The MacGuffin helps drive the story, but it’s not what the story is really about.

Note: not every story has a MacGuffin or needs one.

Structurally, plots take their cue from plays and get divided into

And here are the covers to GJ:KI #5...

It should be stated in simple, clear, active terms. What does a character love? What do they lust for? What would they kill for? What would they die for? What is the most interesting answer?

The flip sides of these are also useful. Knowing what a character hates can be useful. Dennis O’Neil, one of the best writers the industry has known and also a fine editor and teacher, always wants to know what the character fears, since that also drives a lot of our actions. What is not useful is telling me that a character does not love/hate/fear this or that. Defining by negative space works for artists but not for writers; we have to know what a character does need, want, love, hate, fear, and so on, because actions are based on that, and a plot is about what the characters do.

I’m also a big believer in the KISS rule—”Keep It Simple, Stupid.” You can write a complex story without making it a complicated one. My belief is that if you have to spend a lot of time explaining the plot, then it’s too complicated. I see people do it trying to impress everyone with how clever they are. It usually ...and #6. Art on both, of course, by Tim Truman. [© and TM Nightsky GrimJack Rights And means the plot is full of artificial contrivances.

Production Vehicle (Four Wheel Drive Model) LLC.] Water seeks the easiest path down to its own level acts, which are comprised of scenes, which are made up of beats. and the same is true for people; they usually seek the simplest A beat is one action/reaction between two characters. It’s the means by which to achieve their goal, desiring to spend no more heartbeat of the story. Character A starts wanting something and effort than is necessary. It’s what happens when their way is so initiates action. Character B counters, working consciously or frustrated that leads us into conflict, and without conflict there is no story. It’s why the story needs to be about primal desires. The unconsciously from his or her own needs and desires, and blocks Character A’s actions. Character A tries again—this time a bit Protagonist may lose but can’t just quit except as a plot element harder or from a different angle. It’s like a sparring match along the way. He or she must come back to the conflict and between two boxers each trying the other’s defenses. This builds resolve it before the end of the story. in intensity until it is resolved.

Conflict is based on the choices a character makes in a story, Important rule when looking at beats: all dialogue should be both conscious and unconscious. Those choices are based on the treated as action. When we speak, it really is for a purpose—to character’s needs (as we discussed above). They reveal the charJOHN OSTRANDER | 45

attack to defend, to explain, to deny, to confirm, to hide, to reveal--and so on. Some people use words to sort out their own thoughts; some people because they are trying to kill the silence. I have a personal rule: “When in doubt, cut it out.” This applies to plot beats as well as dialogue. Brevity is a definite virtue in writing comics.

The beats gathered together with a climax is a scene, which is also usually continuous in action in time and place. There is always an issue or question of some kind to be resolved in the scene. The scene’s climax is when this issue is resolved or the question answered. However, it’s not the final answer or resolution.

The scenes are gathered together into acts, which lead to a large climax (or, as McKee calls it, a reversal). This will consist of a major turning point in the story, but not the final one. The protagonist learns his/her limitations, or perhaps what they are truly after or what the true cost of what they desire will be.

The first act is generally the longest because it has certain key elements that must be addressed which occur nowhere else.

(The second act may sometimes seem the longest—because it’s where a lot of stories fall apart, especially if there are three

Tim’s cover art to GJ: KI #2. [© and TM Nightsky GrimJack Rights And

Production Vehicle (Four Wheel Drive Model) LLC.] 46 | WRITE NOW

acts—but, according to McKee and others—and I feel this way myself—the first act is generally the longest.) One element is exposition and it needs to answer Who, What, Where and When.

(How and Why will be answered in the story.) Who are the characters? What’s at stake? Where are we? And when are we?

Exposition is very tricky. It boils down to this: what’s the minimum we need to know to understand the story? It’s also easy to give away too much. You, the author, may know a lot, but how much do you have to tell? Think of an iceberg—90% of its bulk is under water. Only the top 10%, the tip, shows. The writer needs to know a lot but should tell only the bare minimum.

I remember Stan Lee would sometimes start a story in the middle of a fight and then promise the reader he would catch them up as they went. He’d do it, too. Del Close, my sometime writing partner, who was a director and teacher for twenty years at Second City, Chicago’s famous improvisational theater, used to say he was bored with exposition. He wanted to “start in the middle and go on past the ending.” He always assumed that intelligent people were watching his shows. I like that assumption. I think readers are generally pretty smart. Trust them, give them what they absolutely need in the exposition, but don’t connect every dot. Let them do that for themselves.

Exposition needs to be shown rather than told. Let’s see the Protagonist in his/her element; show us the status quo. Then comes the Inciting Incident (again, borrowing from McKee). This is when the rock is thrown into the still pond that is the status quo.

It’s what starts the plot rolling. It can be a big thing, it can be a small thing, but it will change everything. And you have to show it.

An extremely interesting example of this is in the movie version of The Fellowship Of The Ring. The true inciting incident of the movie, of the entire story, is when Frodo picks up the Ring that Bilbo has left behind. At that moment, he become the Ringbearer and everything else in the story follows from that. In the movie, it happens in the background with Gandalf’s face in the foreground, facing us. Note the sorrow when Gandalf realizes Frodo has picked up the Ring; it’s what he has to do, but Gandalf is well aware of what it means. It’s such a simple moment, but how important it becomes in its repercussions!

When I’m working on a plot, I’m looking not just at the given beat or scene or act, but at how it works overall. My ideal is that one incident follows another in a seamless and natural pattern. Leonard Bernstein once said of Beethoven’s music that one note follows another in such a way that you can’t imagine any other note in its place. We know from Beethoven’s scores that he crossed out, corrected, and changed, but the overall effect is a seamless one. That’s something I strive to do with my plots. While anything may be possible at any given moment, fewer things are probable. What we’re looking for is a series of events that are believable.

Movie critic Roger Ebert has something he calls the “idiot plot.” It involves the characters not doing or saying something at a given moment, something an audience member might say or do, because if the characters did, the story would be over.

Instead, they must act like idiots, behave in ways that we don’t believe as true, just to keep the story going.

Another rule of thumb: beware of coincidences. You can get away with maybe one or two in a story, but it’s better if you

avoid them altogether.

Theme should be hardwired into the plot, in my opinion. It’s what the story is really about, something that sheds illumination onto our existence. It is drawn from the wells of your experience; it is the difference between what you were taught to be true and what you have learned to be true. The theme must also be appropriate to the story.

GrimJack looking, well, grim. From GJ:KI #5. Story and Shakespeare art by Ostrander and Truman. [© and TM Nightsky used great lanGrimJack Rights And Production Vehicle (Four guage to explore Wheel Drive Model) LLC.] important questions, but the question is always appropriate to a specific character and what is happening in the plot at that moment. He often gives more than one answer. The questions, I think, are usually more interesting than the answers we devise. Use your plots to explore a question—its ramifications and meanings.

The Climax of the story is the most intense moment of that struggle; it’s when the character wins or loses. The struggle is completed and resolved; McKee says it’s the moment beyond which the audience can’t imagine another (sequels or no sequels). I’m not deeply concerned about whether the Protagonist gets what he or she wants. The Protagonist must care, and care with every fiber of their being. As a writer, however, I can play it either way. My concern is what their struggle reveals about the characters and about us. It needs to ring true to life as we know it.

For some writers, the story ends almost as soon as the climax is over. For others, there is the Denouement—that moment when subplots (if any) are resolved if they have not already been. Then comes the final moment—the Coda. This is simply the final beat, the final image, the final phrase with which we leave the reader. What is the feeling with which you want them to walk away? It may be no more than a panel but it is extremely important. It’s the final note played. It will not make a bad story good but it can make a good story great.

I often work backwards from the Climax, Denouement, and Coda. If I know where I’m headed, it’s often easier to figure out the path to get there. Many writers I know actually go over the plot backwards to see if it all works. Some do detailed plot out-

lines or use index cards with a single story element on each one. I tend to work in my journal; I seem to need the pen flowing onto paper to order my initial thoughts. I have story points — I know this will happen here and that will happen there and so on. I then write an overview; I like to leave room for some spontaneity when I write. I call it “word surfing.” However, I always know who the characters are and where I at least think we’re headed.

I’m also always looking for contradictions in my characters and then working those into my plot. I don’t seek to explain them or reconcile them; I merely show them. For example, someone physically brave may be emotionally a coward. And they can go from one to the other in the blink of an eye—from one panel to the next. If you’re aware of it, you see it happen all the time in your own life. Put those kind of moments in your plots. The readers will nod in recognition; they’ll know someone like that—possibly themselves. They’ll trust you and your story and you can then take them anywhere.

I usually write comics in a hybrid version of full-script (where action and text are written simultaneously) and plot-first (a.k.a.

“Marvel style”), giving the artist a description of the story, but not the dialogue. I usually break the action not only into pages but panels. This keeps me—in theory—from overplotting an issue, of putting more into it than can really fit in the number of pages. Each panel description has one major action or beat.

You don’t ask the artist to draw a character who turns around, leaps, hits someone, and goes out the window in the same panel. If I have a very specific image in mind, I try to convey it clearly, knowing that this is a visual medium and the artist, not being able to look inside my mind, will most likely render it differently than I had envisioned it.

I try to make certain the artist has everything needed, including location, time of day, weather (if important), general mood, and maybe a sample of dialogue so they can better draw body language and facal expressions. If some visual is necessary to the plot, I emphasize that. If you don’t clearly communicate what is happening in the story or what you need as a writer to the artist, then you can’t complain about what you get. You can’t collaborate if you can’t communicate.

Remember—theory is good but practice is better. A writer writes. Don’t give me reasons why you can’t; after a certain point, every good reason just becomes another bad alibi. If one of your primal needs is to write, you’ll do it. Learn the rules of plotting until they become second nature and then forget them.

To do this article, I actually had to stop and think about how I do what I do. For me, a lot of it is intuitive these days.

However, I still have to have the skills so that, when I make my Writing 101 mistakes, I can go back and figure out where I went wrong. Every time something doesn’t work, it’s because I’ve neglected one of the basics I’ve just written about.

Shortcuts often wind up as dead ends.

Just keep in mind: we’re all storytellers. We tell stories every day of our lives. A writer sets the stories down. A writer writes.

Know your structure, know your craft, apply what you know of life to your work and you may find out if you have the talent to make it all work.

Now, get busy: go write something.

THE END

JOHN OSTRANDER | 47

PG. 9 g.

PANEL 1 desk, workin oe at his l.

Cut to Rosc om off pane his desk fr PANEL 2 tossed onto is?" ts ge e on st "What is th The kaa at but the doorway. th in S t OW un KN Ga he es PANEL 3 Roscoe says turns and se " e. he on , st up a ka Picking it : "It's a nds. "Gaunt Roscoe dema his desk. inside on g in do lter's kaa what is it has Ilsa Ka ly It al . re ce e en ar also evid PANEL 4 r and CADRE He says it's that Mayfai -- only that ss bo e on CU on Gaunt. and they'll find out r de it and CADRE un of it. Tap y TDP, BCT move to unif behind the how be Mayfair.

KNOWS just boss would lot amazed; he oks pretty uld mean a lo wo d fo an in e on of PANEL 5 st nd p a ki co ka e e at th th th s to er ting tive Roscoe fing t is sugges be apprecia nts for it. uld be. Gaun gton would at Gaunt wa hot that wo Even Seffin wh . s ps er -u nd er wo gh t hi bu P es TD re e ag th to scoe nd that. Ro that. . .fou nothing. s really ys sa t un Ga Roscoe look s, background e pay my debt th ys 6 in wa L al as "I PANE walking out just says, GJ t : un nd Ga ou s? gr ou Fore seri ing? Is he amazed. Noth ." oe Rosc

John wrote panel-by-panel art descriptions for artist Tim Truman, but not the dialogue and captions. [© and TM Nightsky GrimJack Rights And Production Vehicle (Four Wheel Drive Model) LLC.]

48 | WRITE NOW

Here’s a page from GrimJack: Killer Instinct #5. The story was done in a hybrid of “Marvel style” (plot first) and full script (panel descriptions and dialogue written at the same time).

PG. 10 PANEL 1 1 CAP First, I needed to pay a visit to ROSCOE. PANEL 2 2 ROSCOE What the hell is THIS? 3 GJ A kaa stone.

4 ROSCOE I KNOW that, dipwad. What's it doin' on my DESK? PANEL 3 5 GJ It's called EVIDENCE. Kalter's kaa.

6 GJ Proves that MAYFAIR is using Kalter to try to bring the TDP and the BCT under CADRE control.

PANEL 4 7 ROSCOE Cheezus! I come in with this and even Seffington's gonna love me again!

What do you WANT for it?!

Tim penciled the page, then John wrote the dialogue and captions (or in this case, caption), to fit Tim’s pencils. As John notes: “The plot is page 9 and the script is page 10.

It’s not a typo. It’s how the artist was working things out.” [© and TM Nightsky GrimJack Rights And Production Vehicle (Four Wheel Drive Model) LLC.]

PANEL 5 8 GJ Nothing.

PANEL 6 9 ROSOCE You SERIOUS?!

10 GJ I always pay my DEBTS, Roscoe.

You’ve got character, conflict, beats, and several other elements of plotting that John talks about in his article—and some sweet dialogue, too—all on one page! [© and TM Nightsky GrimJack Rights And Production Vehicle (Four Wheel Drive Model) LLC.]

[© and TM Nightsky GrimJack Rights And Production Vehicle (Four Wheel Drive Model) LLC.] JOHN OSTRANDER | 49

Feedback Letters from our readers Issue #9 of Write Now! elicited all sorts of responses from our readers. But here’s a very special letter from none other than Roy Thomas, editor of TwoMorrows’ own Alter Ego magazine, and a man who’s got enough stellar comics credits to cause Google to have a nervous breakdown if you do a search on his name. Take it away, Mr. Thomas: Dear Danny-Nice to see and hear from Neal Adams in your latest issue.

Of course, Neal and I have decidedly different memories on a couple of things... and, without any rancor toward Neal, I would like my own divergent viewpoint aired yet again, as well.

First, I distinctly recall having it in mind from the beginning that, if we ever decided to bring back Prof. X, using the Changeling would be the way to do it. My own theory is that I told Neal that fact, he forgot it, and when he worked hints of the fact into an X-Men issue he drew and co-plotted, he felt it was his own idea alone. I can’t document my memories any more than Neal can his own, alas.

I do wish, though, that I had held on to the copies of the couple or so pages of X-Men #97 that Neal did bring me, and which unfortunately came in so late that I had already been forced to ask John Buscema to pencil the entire issue quickly. Contrary to Neal’s memory, there was no plan for the Kree-Skrull War to last longer. Indeed, the layouts Neal brought me, as I related to folks at the time and have repeated since, were of a framing sequence set in Earth’s far future, with the final “chapter” of that war scheduled to be told, by Neal’s plan, as a flashback... which would have been all that single issue. Neal would hardly have laid out such a sequence if we had meant for the Kree-Skrull War to go on even one more issue. Again, he seems to have forgotten this... I was hoping that perhaps Write Now! #9 might even have printed those layouts, if Neal still has them.

Anyway, nice issue, as usual.

Roy Thanks, Roy. And to return the compliment, you should know that Alter Ego is “must” reading at my house.

Danny: Loved the Batton Lash interview in DFWN! #9! I had the honor of meeting Batton and his lovely wife, Jackie Estrada, at the 1997 Comic-Con International: San Diego. Wolff and Byrd of Supernatural Law is a wonderful creation that has been around for a long, long time. Wolff and Byrd alone have crossed over with many comic book characters from Mr. Monster to the now most recent crossover with Vampirella. Even my own creation, The Legendary Dark Silhouette, says that he has met them a few times in the ever-expanding Multiverse. One of the most talked 50 | WRITE NOW

about crossovers was when Archie met up with The Punisher. To make this storyline work, it took the mind of a genius and that genius was Batton Lash. I love his work on Radioactive Man; the stories have always been hilarious! The man does good work!

Sincerely yours, Paul Dale Roberts, Production Magistrate Jazma Universe Online! http://www.jazmaonline.com/ Thanks, Paul. I really enjoyed Batton’s interview, too. It contained tons of great information, entertainingly delivered.

It’s always great fun to see how talented people like Batton do the things they do.

Dear Danny: I’m still bleary-eyed from repeated viewings of the How to Draw Comics from Script to Print DVD you and Mike Manley were kind enough to put out! (I learn something new from it every time.) Even so, I had to put in some eyedrops so I could read DFWN #9. When I was through, between Neal Adams, Geoff Johns, Batton Lash, Mike Oeming, and Christos N. Gage, I felt like I had taken a crash course in comics creation. Write Now! always gives me important information about the writing life.

Most importantly, it makes me feel like becoming a professional writer is something that can be done by people, like me, who are still on the outside looking in. Reading writers’ personal stories inspires me to persevere with my own writing and take things a step at a time as I build my career.

Thanks for such a consistently great magazine!

Francis Saladino Via the Internet You’re most welcome, Francis. I’m very pleased that what I’m trying to do with Write Now! is meaningful to so many people.

And if it’s inside information about comics and animation writing you’re after, you won’t want to miss next issue’s voluminous PROFESSIONAL SECRETS, as well as John Ostrander’s information-packed article on character development, and the incredible interview with the great Tom DeFalco-Ron Frenz creative team!

Why let everybody else have all the letter-writing fun? Send a letter or e-mail and tell me what you thought of this issue—or about any other writing-related topic. You can send your comments to me at WriteNowDF@aol.com or, via regular mail, to: Danny Fingeroth, Write Now!, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614.

Seeya next issue!

--Danny Fingeroth

THE END

Everybody’s Buddy:

The Peter Bagge Interview Conducted via e-mail February, 2005

By Joey Cavalieri

R

oll down the freeway in Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Beatnik Bandit with Basil Wolverton’s deejay show cranked up on the radio, and once you’ve passed the FoneboneBurger drive-in, you’re bound to hit the exit ramp for Buddy Bradley’s Seattle, courtesy of Peter Bagge, the writer/artist whose works include Neat Stuff, Sweatshop, and most recently, Apocalypse Nerd.

Bagge’s Hate first hit the funnybook racks in 1990, chronicling the life and loves of “Bratus Suburbicanus” Buddy Bradley, a mouthy malcontent who’s as opinionated as he is misanthropic—and he’s the sanest, most stable member of the cast, the hub around which the rest revolve.

A lot like Mad, an early inspiration, Bagge’s work seems chaotic, but only on the surface. Closer inspection reveals more method than madness. His strong command of characterization derives from his acute eye for detail and ear for dialogue.

Buddy and company are often on-panel full-figure, the better to exhibit what creatures of their culture they truly are. Once Buddy appears in flannel and Converse high-tops, you already get where he’s coming from on the pop spectrum. When a prim head nurse in a bow blouse and skirt suit presents him with tickets to a U2 concert during a dinner date (Hate #29, a personal favorite), his utter mortification sends him to the men’s room (to vomit), then makes him dart from the restaurant without finishing the date.

The troupe displays their cultural affiliations proudly and loudly, their clothes expressions of their personalities and pop preferences. Lisa, Buddy’s on-again, off-again, off-her-rocker, on-her-rocker girlfriend, shows up in that same issue in cut-off coveralls and short hair, the latest permutation in a career that’s had more makeovers than Cher and Jane Fonda combined: bad girl, nice girl, caffeinated, medicated, nymphomaniac, and just plain maniac.

Bagge’s talent for dialogue is understated as well. Buddy can demolish all comers in any argument (see Hate #5 for one of the prime examples, in which Buddy bats back his girlfriends’ charges against him like a parlor Perry Mason), and his family and friends dish it out right back. It’s a healthy throwback to the days when comic book characters talked a blue streak, especially back in the ‘30s. A strip like Little Orphan Annie, for example, was readily turned into a radio program, since it was easy to imagine what she’d “sound” like.

When an attempt was made to adapt Peter’s early The Bradleys strips into a play, the transition from page to stage

seemed natural. Current mainstream comics seem to treat tough-guy terseness as a virtue, scaling everything down to hasta-la-vista-make-my day catchphrases, and as many indie comics seem to purport that silence is golden, with soundless sequences the order of the day. Fine, but if there’s a lesson for a wannabe in Hate, it’s that if you want a cartoon character to come to life, let ’im open up!

In this interview, Peter speaks about his creative process, his early forays into the biz, and gives some advice to aspiring writers and artists.

--Joey Cavalieri

Peter’s cover to Hate Annual #5 (2005). [©2005 Peter Bagge] PETER BAGGE | 51

JOEY CAVALIERI: How did your career begin, Peter? Were you selling stuff while you were still in school? Do you recall who your first sale was to? Was there any kind of amateur, ‘zine-type warm-up to making a professional sale?

PETER BAGGE: Ha! I was a useless lay-about in school. I quit art school after three semesters, in part because I knew I wanted to be an “underground” cartoonist by then. Little did I know my chosen field offered next to no money! My first printed piece was in the East Village Eye in 1980 (for no pay), and my first paying piece was for High Times Magazine later that same year.

JC: Who do you consider influences or inspirations? Have you had an opportunity to meet them or to work for them?

PB: As a kid, my biggest hero was Charles M. Schulz, as well as a lot of the Mad artists. Later on it was Robert Crumb. As for non-comic writers, it would be Kurt Vonnegut and Tom Wolfe.

JC: What is it about those authors that you admired?

PB: Besides their being both incredibly smart and funny, I loved the way they would visualize the text at times, with words like “KEEEEEERRRRANG!” –or in Vonnegut’s case, even doodling little drawings to illustrate something absurd, like an asterisk to signify an assh*le.

JC: As someone who makes a living in our field, how do you keep going through fallow periods (if there are any)? Do you typically

have a number of different things going at once? Is making a living through creative work difficult?

PB: The first ten years of my career (the ‘80s) were all fallow, so I just focused on doing my own comics and making a name for myself that way. Then, throughout the ‘90s, I focused almost entirely on my comic book, Hate, which sold well enough to afford me a decent living. These days, I work on a wide variety of projects of all kinds, which I kind of like since I’m easily bored! I’m also lucky that I get enough job offers to keep me busy at all times (knock wood!).

As for making a living off of creative work: You just have to maintain a steady work ethic and not goof off too much. That’s the secret to being your own boss in any profession, I guess.

JC: You have a strong following that looks forward to seeing what you’re going to do next, and they’ll follow you from venue to venue, whether it’s at Fantagraphics, DC, Reason or the Weekly World News. That’s rare among the majority of working cartoonists. How would you say you’ve managed to beat the odds and become someone who people know, recognize and care about?

PB: I’m sure it’s all because of the following I established with Hate over the years. I actually should probably do more to corral my “following” via newsletters and mailing lists and such. I’ve started to do that recently, though not as aggressively as I should.

Peter’s Bat Boy strip appears regularly in the Weekly World News. [© 2005 Peter Bagge] 52 | WRITE NOW

JC: Any insight you can give us into your method of working? Are there many drafts or roughs? Or is your work done stream of consciousness? Do you set some kind of targets—page counts or other parameters—for yourself? What inspires a story?

PB: Now that I do a lot of freelance work-for-hire stuff, a phone call from a client is what inspires me (to paraphrase Cole Porter).

With my own stuff, it’s usually an idea that sticks with me over a long period, thus suggesting it’s something worth writing down.

My “method” is to write down a bare-bones idea or an outline first; then a first, second, etc. draft of the complete text. (I used to do all this on notebook paper—now I type it up and print it out.) Once I start roughing out the strip, however, I start to make a lot of changes to it, since better ways to pace or phrase the story always appear—and I continue to tweak even as I pencil, letter and ink. This is why I rough it out, even if someone else is going to draw the strip, and it’s a huge advantage (I think) that writer/artists have over writers who just hand off their scripts to artists who hopefully aren’t too locked in to drawing it as is.

JC: How much of the writing is in character design? Or in the cultural choices the characters make?

PB: Well, it all starts with the main characters, and what I imagine them doing or saying in any particular situation. So I guess my stories are character-driven, first and foremost.

JC: Do you “test” what you write? Do you have any criteria for keeping the dialogue naturalistic and real-sounding?

PB: You mean do I act it out or read it out loud? Nah. If it sounds funny or “right” I go with it. My biggest problem is keeping it short and sweet! I tend to prattle on too long in my first drafts.

JC: I seem to recall that, with Sweatshop, you pretty much came up with the premise off the cuff (and I went for it immediately).

Would you say that much of what you do is extemporaneous? Do many stories require a lot of planning?

PB: Actually, Sweatshop was born out of both of us making fun of various “old school” cartoonists, and you saying, “You should do a comic about that!” Some ideas of mine are born that way— ”off the cuff,” as you said—but others evolve slowly and involve a lot of research and planning.

JC: Both Hate and Sweatshop have fairly diverse casts. Any thoughts about creating characters who are very much unlike yourself, especially in a time when autobiographical comics were suddenly trendy? Conversely, do you project much of yourself/your point of view into your characters?

PB: As far as the latter goes, yeah! And, in fact, I think there’s a little bit of me in all the principal characters. As for creating characters who are different than myself: well, they’re all based on people I know to some degree.

JC: Can you recall any reaction to a story that was particularly gratifying, or particularly hostile?

PB: To the former: in issue #9 of Neat Stuff (this going back to around 1987), I did an issue-length story—a first for me—that was very autobiographical. I was afraid the readers would hate it, but it was very well received. As for negative reactions, there have been times where people have taken things grossly out of context and gotten all indignant over it just to make some political point. You know, P.C. crap. I try hard not to cave into that nonsense, but it’s hard to keep your head above it all.

JC: Your drawing style is extremely well thought out. It allows for wild, expressive drawings while still being fairly simple, and it’s exclusively your own.

PB: Thanks! Your check is in the mail, Joey!

JC: I liked it on Hate but really grew to admire it while I was scrutinizing it all day as editor of Sweatshop. Can you speak about developing it, or about style in general? Is it important?

PB: The roots of my drawing style have always been there, even

Panels from Peter’s Buddy Does Seattle. [© 2005 Peter Bagge]

PETER BAGGE | 53

in my high school days. It’s very much like a signature for me. A “signature style”! I’ve always tweaked and experimented with it, and still do a wee bit, but what I concern myself with, mostly, is to just get the story across as clearly as possible, and to try to draw it accordingly.

JC: And the inevitable: Any advice for aspiring writers and artists?

PB: Yeah, think mostly about what it is you want to say. Always do your own stuff, even if you’re lucky enough to be making money writing Tarzan’s Spring Break or some other work-for-hire nonsense. Of course, this is all moot if you have nothing to say. My biggest pet peeve (and I have many) is when people say: “I want to be a writer,” since all you have to do is grab a pen and a piece of paper and start putting words down to in order to be one. What’s all this “want to” crap? It’s like saying, “I want a banana,” but not bothering to go into the kitchen to grab one. The same goes for being an artist as well.

People who talk about “wanting” to be an artist or writer never will be either, I’m afraid. Otherwise you’d be doing it and not talking about wanting to do it.

JC: Could there be a better note to end on? You heard the man, get busy!

Peter’s cover to his Buddy Does Seattle trade paperback. [© 2005 Peter Bagge]

54 | WRITE NOW

Joey Cavalieri is one of the most esteemed and accomplished editors in comics today. He is regarded as an expert in both mainstream and alternative comics. Currently an editor at DC Comics, where he helms titles as diverse as The Flash, Bizarro and Peter Bagge’s Sweatshop, Cavalieri was also the founding editor of Marvel Comics’ 2099 line, and longtime group editor of DC’s Superman line. A highly-respected teacher, Cavalieri gives courses in various aspects of comics at the School of Visual Arts.

THE END

A Series is Born

The Origin of INFAMY

by BENJAMIN RAAB F

honestly wasn’t even thinking of this as a comic book. I figured we’d write it for television or as a feature film spec. I should’ve known better…

Never one to let good ideas go unmentioned to someone in the entertainment industry, t all started with the title, “Living In Infamy.” There was some- Deric presented it to our friend Ashley E. Miller. Ash was one thing compelling about that phrase. Something sinister… of the writer/producers on the something, I dare say, infamous (ba-dum bum!)… So much first two seasons of Gene so, the implicit connotations kept me up all night. But it was Roddenberry’s Andromeda and worth the loss of sleep. By morning, all the necessary pieces the co-writer of the film Agent had fallen into place: Cody Banks. If I remember corInfamy, Arizona… Witness Protection Program town… For rectly, the word he used—after reformed super-villains!

I told my writing partner, Deric A. Hughes, about it the next day. cursing our names for beating him to the punch with such a simple, obvious concept—was “genius”… But, anyway…

Since striking up a friendship at a local comic book store in As fate would have it, Ash was working with a company called 2001, Deric and I had been working on original screenplays and Ludovico Technique (www.ludovicotechnique.com) on developing TV pilots. Our credits included a draft of a feature script called Jet original feature film and TV content. He passed the idea along and a short film called Kiss Me Dirty. Which is why, at the time, I to Ludovico’s founder and CEO, Robert Meyer Burnett. The writer/director of the cult classic Free Enterprise, Rob instantly saw the series’ multimedia potential and green-lit the project on the spot.

First order of business was to determine the tone of the series. It was a unanimous decision to “lose the costumes”— both literally and figuratively—and focus on our characters as people. We wanted this book to read as much like a one-hour TV drama as a comic book.

Super-powered or not, the characters in Living In Infamy would be ordinary people who suddenly find themselves in an extraordinary situation when one man’s past comes back to haunt them all…

Some high-profile names are doing Infamy’s covers. On the left, issue #2, cover by Howard Chaykin. On the right, Chris On the surface, Living In Bachalo’s pencils for the cover to #3. [© 2005 Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes and Ludovico technique, LLC.] rom Green Lantern to Union Jack, from Wonder Woman to Vampirella, Benjamin Raab has written many of comics’ greatest characters. In addition to Living In Infamy, his current projects include Vampi Vicious: Gemini Effect for Harris, The Phantom for Moonstone Books and The Human Race for DC Comics. Here, Ben tells us how a new project he has high hopes for came to be.

--DF

I

BENJAMIN RAAB | 55

Here’s the pitch document that sold Benjamin and Deric’s publisher on Living in Infamy.

And here’s the John Cassady cover to Living in Infamy #1.

56 | WRITE NOW

and Wildstorm. And who better to handle the fontography than those purveyors of fine lettering and design, Comicraft?

For covers, we brought in the really big guns… Astonishing XMen’s John Cassaday did #1. The legendary Howard Chaykin was kind enough to do #2. Visual sensation Chris Bachalo is handling #3. And rounding out our all-star lineup, on #4, is yet another fan favorite who must remain nameless for the time being.

Living In Infamy is a 4-issue, full color miniseries debuting at Comic-Con International ‘05 in San Diego this July.

THE END [©2005 Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes and Ludovico Technique, LLC.]

Infamy is about villains seeking redemption for their sins. A chance to right their wrongs. But at its heart, this is a story about secrets. The devastating truths we keep from our family and our friends. The ones that can hurt, maim, and even kill...

Once the first script was finished, we assembled our creative team. With his modern take on classic Silver Age storytelling, upand-comer Greg Kirkpatrick (Savage Dragon) proved the best penciler for the project. Complementing him on inks is John Lucas (Detective Comics’ “The Barker”). Colorist Allen Passalaqua came highly recommended with his pedigree as a colorist for DC

bearing a a PLACARD T: We open on ENS”.

GH EV NI – ST CE ER OFFI me “ROG STEVENS’S tion. rty) and the na INT. ROGER a soldier at atten Statue of Libe e the lik s la nd (a sta H RC OTCH BURNING TO TTLE OF SC BO NK RU -D LF Beside it, a HA .P.) 1-ROGER (O 25th, 2005. ort. Date: May rep tus sta al Semi-annu

PAGE 1: 1.1:

1.2:

Here’s Benjamin’s script for the first issue of Living in Infamy. As you can see, he’s working full script here, with each panel described, and the captions and balloons written before the art is done.

.P.) 2-ROGER (O CE. e to PLAY NI nu nti co ren The child owy office, lit sk in his shad g back at his de kin commands kic he , S ow EN ad EV k sh l… ROGER ST loosened tie and five o’cloc en on the op is OP PT Widen to revea his LA lamp. Despite great power. A ing eld wi to d only by a single me a man accusto the presence of him. desk in front of t how good 3-ROGER ir lesson abou LLY learned the NA FI e’s on ery Think ev they got it here. t if word ever go 4-ROGER M that’d erupt ALLY are? e SHITSTOR RE Th . od too , rho ng bo Good thi in their neigh of the people out who some

1.3:

k.

5-ROGER SALUS, chec TAS, check. ain… SECURI ag ce on ay, Anyw IUM, check.

SANCTUAR “SEND”.

FINGER hits RD as Roger’s OA YB KE Angle on the 6-SFX tek

.P.) 7-ROGER (O er and out. ger Stevens, ov Ro t en Ag is This . es for the bottle top and reach ss door… he closes his lap gla as d ste ER fro LD the de SHOU standing outsi er ROGER’S LHOUETTE 1.4: POV ov m, we see a SI Across the roo 8-ROGER MONTHS… X SI in ll y’a See shis identity a my ough the door, GURE, seen thr FI D TE ET OU IN on the SILH 1.5: ZOOM tery.

TION 9-TOM/CAP ions. LAWS... lat gu Re . les Ru

Once the pencils are done, the spots where the balloons should go are indicated on photocopies of the art. Later the inked and colored pages are combined with the lettering, which has been designed for the spots indicated by the balloon placements.

[©2005 Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes and Ludovico Technique, LLC.] BENJAMIN RAAB | 57

mid-swig. uor FREEZES, cking, as the liq PAGE 2: cra , LE TT on the BO 2.1: Angle TION odthirsty cul1-TOM/CAP st vicious, blo m. Even the mo the s ha ty cie …Every so precepts. rned by certain tures are gove TION inside the 2-TOM/CAP eprint. Color . Follow the blu EY OB le op Average pe y’re told. lines. Do as the

2.2:

R Curious, ROGE TH. see his BREA

Here’s page 2. Notice how Benjamin indicates in CAPITAL LETTERS the most important things in the shot, so the artist and editor know what should have visual prominence.

TION 3-TOM/CAP ildren. ch le litt , od go Just like n and that he ca ol is FROZEN tices the alcoh no He . ttle regards the bo

TION TSIDE the 4-TOM/CAP r, choose life OU that-be. rspeople, howeve E we po AG the ER th AV wi NOT-SOFRICTION ually leads to law. Which us a the middle of o-story box in erican suburb. nondescript tw A Am T: st we GH uth NI DING – your average So SURANCE & OFFICE BUIL at appears to be 2.3: EXT. REEDOM IN ript boxes in wh t designates “F tha GN row of nondesc SI a ishing feature, Its sole distingu ”.

CASUALTY TION ose too danger5-TOM/CAP ND BARS. Th ht end up BEHI ug ca t . ge nd o ou wh Those X in the gr end up in a BO ous for prison corner office. in the top floor LIGHT flashes TE HI W nt llia l as a bri previous pane 2.4: STAT TION ATES’ EVI6-TOM/CAP s by turning ST E for their sin ers?

ON AT oth o to wh un il se ev But tho se who do delivering tho DENCE and

[©2005 Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes and Ludovico Technique, LLC.] 58 | WRITE NOW

t of the road winds ou width of T: A two-lane E 13 – NIGH – spanning the UT ST RO PO T. GN EX SI … t 150 shed GE ou wa ab PA ite ks SH wh loo , t LA old SP E – tha st an FARM FENC t, stretching pa c ser sti ru De a ve of s oja M o halve and linking tw the pavement reads: years old and TO INFAMY WELCOME , 1862 GUST 13TH AU D ARIUM. FOUNDE S. SANCTU LU SA S. TA SECURI across dull LINE painted DED WHITE WN, its lights FA TO D, KE NG LI AC CR SPRAW npost we see a tance, we see dis the o Under the sig int nues the road conti IZONA… blacktop. As is INFAMY, AR the dark. This shimmering in TION 1-TOM/CAP ...

RE HE up We end TION t suburbs in 2-TOM/CAP e of the sleepies sert oasis is on de le litt s thi r, On pape the Southwest.

PAGE 3: 3.1:

The lettering, in this case by Comicraft, is done on a computer, as is most comics lettering these days.

fied TION 3-TOM/CAP deniable classi s of plausibly CRET. ck ink of dozen SE bla pt the ke stath be ne But be partment’s the Justice De documents, it’s al TION 4-TOM/CAP med extra-norm unity for refor otected comm pr d an ed oll A “patr hostiles”.

TION OTECTION 5-TOM/CAP L WITNESS PR PER VILms, a FEDERA ter ‘SU ll n’s ca me s ok lay Or in mic bo at my kid’s co wh for M RA PROG LAINS’…

Notice how some words in the script’s captions and dialogue are CAPITALIZED, and some are italicized. This means, as you can see in the finished comics pages, that those words are handled differently by the letterer.

Each dif ferent style or size of lettering is intended to evoke a different sort of response in the reader.

It’s all part of the magic of comics, where words convey language, but lettering, which is a graphic design component, adds to the emotional impact of the words--and of the pictures, too.

BENJAMIN RAAB | 59

A Writer’s Journey to Writing Full-Time

by Paul Benjamin

I

met Paul Benjamin while I was working on projects for Platinum Studios when he was working there. We kept in touch while Paul went through various other phases of his career. I kept meaning to interview him for Write Now! while he was editing at Humanoids Publishing, but we never quite got around to it. When Paul decided to take the plunge and become a full-time writer, I figured it was the perfect time to have him write an overview of his career and how he came to this momentous juncture. While no two writers’ journeys are exactly the same, there’s always something that can be learned from someone else’s experiences, so I asked Paul to tell the Write Now! readers how he got to where he is professionally. The article’s very existence demonstrates a couple of key points about writing and editing. By having Paul write an article, I saved time I would have spent coming up with questions for him. And now, instead of talking or e-mailing answers to my questions for free, Paul gets paid for writing an article.

--DF

It’s a scientific fact that breaking into comics as a writer is a gajillion times harder than breaking in as an artist. Okay, maybe the exact mathematical ratio hasn’t been proven and perhaps there is no such number as a “gajillion,” but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist altered by cosmic rays to figure this one out.

An editor can look through an artist’s portfolio in seconds and know if that artist is working at a professional level. Editors have a much more difficult time evaluating a writer. First, the editor has to take the time to actually read something. Ideally, an editor should read an entire script to see how the writer handles pacing, characterization and dialogue straight through to a (hopefully) smashbang perfect ending.

Unfortunately, most editors have far too much on their plates just meeting their regular deadlines and simply don’t have time to read every submission that comes in. So, how the heck does a person looking to break in as a writer ever get an editor’s attention? It can be a longer road for some than for others. My personal road to freelance writing covers nearly ten years as a professional. I can’t make any guarantees, but perhaps my story will help at least a handful of readers figure out the best way to cut a few years off of that time, or at least teach them how to make the most of all of the years they put into their journey.

I was in college during the heyday of Image, when guys not much 60 | WRITE NOW

older than me were making millions of dollars creating their own comics. So as an avid comics fan with aspirations towards writing, I tooled my degree towards something that would help me enter the comics field. Of course, there aren’t a lot of colleges teaching Comics Writing 101, so I took a major in Communications and a split minor in Media Arts and Creative Writing, with a whole bunch of Sociology classes thrown in for good measure.

I figured that if I wanted to work in comics, I either needed to live in Los Angeles or New York. I wasn’t a big fan of the weather and cost of living in New York, plus the only time I had ever visited was during a garbage strike when the whole city had smelled like Jabba the Hut’s bedpan. In LA, Malibu Comics was going strong and Image had Rob Liefeld’s Extreme Studios and what would eventually be Marc Silvestri’s Top Cow. In addition, there was always the possibility of other creative work in the entertainment industry.

I moved to LA and worked at a summer camp in Malibu overlooking the Pacific, which is not a bad way to get acclimated to life on the left coast. I landed a job as a teaching assistant through one of my friends at camp, which gave me enough money to pay the rent.

Now, I need to make a brief aside here. One thing I’ve realized over the years is that no matter how good a writer you are or how much potential you have, honing your writing craft is only half of the work you need to do to become a full-time writer. The other part is building relationships. As in any other business, who you know can be just as important as what you know. This doesn’t mean you have to schmooze everyone at all times. A good rule of thumb is simply to be yourself and treat other people the way you’d like be treated.

That’s a good way to live your life, but from a purely mercenary standpoint, you never know who might be in a position to help your career somewhere down the road.

I mention this now because, when I was a teaching assistant, part of my job was watching a hundred screaming sixth graders while they went completely Arkham on the playground. Some played handball, others tetherball, while others just hung out in cliques. However, one kid usually hung out with me. He was one of the brightest kids in his class and loved to talk about comics and movies. Yes, at the age of

made more deals and built more relationships hanging out with 23 I had more in common with a sixth grader than with many of my peers. Well, that kid disappeared from my life after I changed jobs, but people at conventions than anywhere else. I’m always exhausted by the time the convention is over and I’ve lost my voice at the San his life went on. He graduated from high school, got an internship at Diego Comic Con several times, but there is no better place than Dimension Films, skipped college and is now a producer/manager the bar of a convention hotel for getting to know people who could making movies and television shows based on comic books. When become both good friends and invaluable partners in your career. he was a kid, I always treated him with respect and talked to him as While I worked day jobs and submitted too few stories, I was conan equal. I didn’t do so with any kind of ulterior motive or goal in mind, stantly looking for full-time job opportunities with the comic book but all these years later, he and I are talking about finding a project to companies around Los Angeles. I left the teaching job after a year work on together. and, thanks to some help from a friend of the family, went to work for During that time, I did whatever I could to break into comics as a writer. I came up with ideas and wrote sample scripts. I sent pitches Movieline Magazine. For those readers who are unfamiliar with Movieline, I believe that it is now known as Movieline’s Hollywood to publishers. I even took a class on writing for comics at a Life and it’s basically a magazine community college taught by two professional comics writers who best known for its highly provocahad not yet become the names that they are today: tive celebrity interviews and proJames Robinson and Steven files. I still remember the day I Seagle. I got notes from them on answered a call for one of our my short story script featuring editors from a very irate John Nova and Namorita at the height Malkovich, sounding a little too of The New Warriors’ popularity, much like his U.S. President– and partnered with an artist to killing character from In the submit an illustrated story to Line of Fire. I was primarily in Marvel. It was rejected, but I know charge of billing our advertisers now that I shouldn’t have stopped and filling orders for back there. I should have kept submitissues. I promised myself that ting. The bottom line is that I wrote I’d work for the magazine for far too many original ideas and too one year and that if I couldn’t few featuring existing characters. I get a job in comics by then, didn’t do enough actual script I’d leave Los Angeles. Two writing and failed to submit as days before the end of my frequently as I should have. year at Movieline, I landed a In my defense, this was at a time job at Malibu Comics as when I was sidetracked by another executive assistant to the publishing venture. I met a guy by president of the company, the name of Steve Rogers who was Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. putting together his own line of Scott tells me that it was comics with a team of unpublished my excellently written writers and artists. After a few “thank you” letter that months, a few of us began to suspect clinched the job for me. that Mr. Rogers didn’t actually have I worked hard to impress the finances necessary to publish Scott as an assistant so these books and we struck off on our that I would have the opporown. Long story short, his real name tunity to impress him with was not Steve Rogers (What a shock! my writing skills as well.

Truthfully, he looked more like Brian Scott was very open-minded Dennehy than Captain America) and he about giving me a chance never published any of the books he to write various types of had us working on before he blew town. non-story material, including However, the rest of us put together an A page from “The Second Son,” published in Metal Hurlant #13, written by Paul Benjamin (as Brian Robertson), with art by Fred Beltran. [THE SECOND the introduction (for which I ashcan and sold it at some local SON © 2004 Humanoids, Inc., Los Angeles (USA)]. got credit) to the Ultraverse/ conventions. Writers and artists are X-Men crossover “The always embarrassed looking back at Phoenix Resurrection.” That crossover occurred because Marvel had their first work and I’m no exception. However, during those days I purchased Malibu a year before I joined the company. After a mere four met a lot of writers and artists and I’ve worked with many of them months at Malibu, Marvel laid off almost the entire Malibu staff, includas their own careers have grown. ing my boss and me. They kept one editor, Mark Paniccia, to oversee I developed an important habit during this time: convention the books that were already in progress and they kept the coloring camaraderie. I met and hung out with a lot of talented people at department as well. About a year later, the entire company was gone. conventions large and small. Some of those people remain close However, during this brief period, I got my first chance to write friends and important business contacts to this day. I think I’ve PAUL BENJAMIN | 61

something for Marvel. Mark was also put in charge of a handful of Marvel books including The Wolverine Encyclopedia. He knew that I had a wide and deep knowledge of the X-Men, so he hired me as one of the writers on the book. Unfortunately, Marvel never released the third and final issue of the series.

While I was working on The Wolverine Encyclopedia, Hank Kanalz, another Malibu editor, went to work at Warner Bros. in the Consumer Products department. They were looking for people who knew the DC characters well enough to do licensing quality control and Hank recommended me for the job (another check mark in the “who you know” box). One of the people already on staff in that depar tment got a promotion by taking the DC-related quality control job, but I was hired to take over his job approving the use of Looney Tunes characters on products since I knew those characters just as well as the DC characters. After a little less than a year at Warner Bros. I got a call from my former boss at Malibu. Scott Mitchell Rosenberg was starting a new company called Platinum Studios with plans to turn international comic book properties into movies and television shows and he wanted me to help him get the company started. I left a stable job at Warner Bros. and took a chance that I could help his start–up find success. Over the course of four years at Platinum Studios, I worked my way from being the one and only assistant to being a vice president and from being the guy behind the scenes to being in the room, pitching producers and film executives.

Platinum introduced me to the wider world of European comics and I learned that, in many countries, comics are just as mainstream as novels. I also honed my writing skills by working on pitches with Scott and especially with our creative VP, Gregory Noveck. I learned how to analyze comics and break them down to a core concept, then how to build a pitch around that concept.

An effective pitch has to give a sense of the property’s breadth without giving so much detail that a producer might get confused, or worse, bored. I also worked with many screenwriters and directors to come up with a specific vision for a property so that we could then pitch it to Hollywood. I learned a lot about story development working with such talented storytellers. During my four years with Platinum, I also met tons of agents, managers, producers and film executives.

While Platinum was having success setting up existing comics properties from around the world, we were also busy creating our own comic books. (I’m told they will be published soon.) This was another important part of my career, because it gave me a chance to work with a lot of skilled comic book writers and artists. I also worked closely with former DC editor Lee Nordling, who has contributed a few of his own articles to Write Now! I learned a lot about editing comics and visual storytelling from Lee and he continues to be a mentor to me even today (whether I’m looking for advice or not…). Because I was developing film and television pitches based 62 | WRITE NOW

on comics that didn’t exist yet, I had to learn to give direction to artists to achieve a single image that encompassed an entire concept in one shot that we could show around. Working to achieve that effect over and over again helped me develop a visual style of writing. I try to give the artist very clear descriptions of the action in each panel and some amazing shots that they’ll love to draw.

After four years at Platinum, I took a step back and looked at what I had been doing. I had enjoyed having such a creative job and the company had made deals with every major studio in Hollywood.

I had even developed some projects based on characters I had created, which was very exciting. However, only one project had made it into production (Showtime’s Jeremiah). By the way, that’s not bad for the world of film/television development. They don’t call it “development hell” for nothing. [And it looks like Platinum’s Cowboys and Aliens movie will be in theaters before too long. --DF] I left Platinum and went to work for a dot-com, thanks to yet another friend from Malibu Comics, Dave Olbrich. The company was called AirTight Planet and it was a partnership between filmmakers Ridley and Tony Scott, Renny Harlin and Humanoids Luke Perry, Sean Astin, and Malcolm Jamal-Warner, stars of the Showtime series Jeremiah. [© 2005 MetroGoldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc.]

Publishing. I produced a number of webisodes (short cartoons) based on Humanoids properties, but with the dot com bust, they never made it online. Still, I got to know some of the people at West End Games, a roleplaying game company that had been purchased by Humanoids. They held the license for the DC Universe roleplaying game and had started an RPG based on the Humanoids graphic novel series, The Metabarons. I wrote a couple of RPG adventures for the Metabarons line, an entirely different kind of writing and a real challenge.

When Airtight Planet folded, Humanoids hired me. By then, we had worked together on the webisodes and they were looking for a new editor. I knew their properties, I had relationships with tons of writers and artists, and I had experience in film development to boot. It was an excellent match.

Editing for Humanoids was a whole new challenge. Humanoids has a very high bar for its artists and was looking for a wide variety of stories featuring just about anything other than superheroes. I worked closely with editors in Europe and started pairing talent from American comics with talent from Europe. Once again, I learned more about the craft of writing, this time by working with writers and artists from all over the world. Some writers worked closely with me and we developed major parts of their stories together. Others simply turned in exactly what they promised. Even though I was barely involved in developing the latter type of script, I still learned a lot just from reading them. I also had the opportunity to talk to different

artists about their craft. Learning how an artist does layouts, or goes from pencils to inks, or how a colorist uses the computer to achieve certain effects, can only benefit an editor or writer.

Knowing what your artist can and cannot achieve can make your script a pleasure or a nightmare for them. Likewise, knowing where to ask them to push themselves from time to time can make their job a little harder, but can result in work in which they take great pride.

I was able to exceed Humanoids’ goals for the number of new books they wanted in production, which led to an even greater workload.

Despite that, I did my best to treat everyone who submitted a story or artwork with respect.

That said, I’m sure that there are one or two people who got lost in the shuffle, people who didn’t hear back from me and didn’t follow up. I think I’ll always regret that, because I do strive to treat others as I would like to be treated myself. However, even that experience taught me an incredibly important lesson. Every editor is overworked and it doesn’t necessarily mean anything if you don’t hear back from them. You might even try to call or email two or three times and still not hear back, but it doesn’t always mean they aren’t interested, just that they are busy. I can think of several occasions when it took me a long while to get around to reviewing a submission, but once I evaluated it, I ended up buying it or hiring the person for something else.

As a freelancer, I track what I’ve proposed to editors and when, then I follow up on a regular basis. Even if I don’t hear back as quickly as I might hope, I make sure that I call or email every once in a while to see where things stand. This can be a tough line to walk, even for a former editor. I juggled many responsibilities at Humanoids, so I appreciated freelancers who checked in around once a week. That kept them on my radar and reminded me that I still hadn’t gotten back to them, which eventually motivated me to carve a few minutes out of my day to review their submission and respond. However, I know some editors who would get annoyed at having someone checking in that frequently because they have different time management strategies. I have found that the best tactic is to ask the editor directly when I should follow up. That way, at least I’ll know where to start.

Another important skill I gained as an editor is a knowledge of contracts. Before Humanoids, I had very little experience negotiating contracts. However, now that I’ve negotiated hundreds of them, I have a strong sense of what to look for in the contracts I sign as a writer. I also know what is standard contractual fare for the comics industry and have an ability to recognize a red flag when I see one.

About halfway through my three years at Humanoids came my first opportunity to write a script for a sequential story. Humanoids was publishing Metal Hurlant, a bi-monthly anthology comic combining talent from the international comics business with talent from the US market. I came up with an idea for a short story and pitched it to Humanoids’ Chairman, Fabrice Giger, suggesting that perhaps

Covers to various Humanoids publications edited by Paul. [THE METABARONS and THE INCAL TM and © Les Humanoides Associes S.A., Geneva (Switzerland).]

we could hire a “hot” writer to pen the script. That way he or she wouldn’t have to put in the time trying to get a concept approved and could go straight to work.

Fabrice surprised me with a fabulous vote of confidence by suggesting that I write it myself. While I was flattered, my first concern was that it wouldn’t really be fair to other writers if I, the magazine’s editor, put my own story into the magazine. Fabrice’s solution to this potential conflict of interest was that I pitch the story to the editors in France using a pseudonym. After all, I was constantly sending them pitches from writers they didn’t know.

I did as he suggested and the editors in Paris liked my pitch. I think I received the most honest story notes any writer has ever received because they didn’t pull any punches, assuming that I would be polishing their notes to massage the writer’s ego. I rewrote the script several times based on their notes, always to the benefit of the script. Once it was done, I was shocked to learn that they had given my script to Fred Beltran, one of Humanoids’ top artists. Beltran not only drew the story, he even illustrated the cover for that issue (Metal Hurlant #13, if you want to check it out).

When I saw Beltran’s rendering of my story, I truly realized just how much I wanted to write. More importantly, I realized that I could do it. Over the years I had become comfortable with thinking of myself as someone skilled at helping others create stronger stories.

Now I knew that I could write more of my own material if I wanted to do so. By the way, the editors in Paris recently learned about my “secret identity” when I left Humanoids. They were a little surprised PAUL BENJAMIN | 63

that one. Tokyopop is interested in an original manga series I’ve but mostly excited to learn that they had been working with me all pitched in collaboration with an artist, and the Superman spec along. They had already accepted another story from me under my script I wrote for DC was enough to get my foot in the door to pseudonym, so now we’re working on that one without pretense. send pitches directly to the editors there. I’m also working with While Beltran was still illustrating my short story, I had the pleasArcana Studios to find an artist for my supernatural crime ure of working with another of Humanoids’ biggest stars, Alexandro series, The Vessel. In addition, I’m working with my former stuJodorowsky, aka “Jodo.” Jodo is a truly inspiring man who approachdent to take a pitch out to the Hollywood community. With any es life looking for risks and taking chances. He’s lived an incredible luck, I’ll be able to look back on my first year as a freelance life as a result. Jodo and I talked about my love of writing and he writer and have at least a few books under my belt and maybe suggested that I make sure I write something creative every day. It even a project or two in Hollywood’s development hell. could be a whole script or a single line, but it had to be a habit. I’ve So what does my long and winding road mean to done exactly that since that day and it has quite literally you? Based on my own experiences, my advice is changed my life. that if you want to learn to write (or even if you’re During my time at Humanoids, we went from already writing professionally), you need to conpublishing on our own to publishing through a stantly seek out opportunities to improve your licensing deal with DC Comics. Just to go back to craft. Read as much as you can, including a wide my point regarding building and maintaining relationvariety of books and comic books, as well as ships, by coincidence the person in charge of that books on writing and comics writing. I also highly partnership for DC was Hank Kanalz, my editor friend recommend reading books on writing and directfrom Malibu Comics who recommended me for the ing for movies. Some of the rules are different job at Warner Bros. all those years ago. The fact that between the media, but most of them apply to he and I had worked together in the past and any form of visual, shot-by-shot storytelling. remained friends made building a production system Most importantly, write something creative between Humanoids and DC a whole lot easier. every day. Write story ideas and develop them In late 2004, a series of circumstances brought up into scripts. Write a sentence or a paragraph or the possibility of moving away from Los Angeles and an entire novella, but if you write something closer to family. I immediately saw an opportunity. A every day, you’ll be developing a writing habit lower cost of living would allow me to take some time and a commitment to your writing. to build up a workload as a freelancer. Most comic Whenever possible, learn from other people in book writers don’t make a lot of money, which made the business. Talk to writers and artists about their this a tough decision. However, I had writing samples crafts so that you can understand their abilities and thanks to Metal Hurlant and contacts throughout the their limitations. Talk to people at various comic industry. I realized that this was the time to follow book shops and learn about that side of the busiJodo’s example, to take a chance with my life and ness. You’ve read this entire article in Write Now!, dive into the unknown, hoping for the best. so you’re obviously interested in learning more about I believe I have a few other factors in my favor. writing. Stick with it!

Over the last eight years I’ve gotten used to havAnd while you’re honing your craft, never forget ing a crushing workload and I’ve developed a the importance of making contacts. It doesn’t have strong work ethic. I’m proud to say that while I to be about schmoozing to get something, you just enjoy the flexibility of working from home, I still have to treat people well and keep in touch. You’re put in at least eight hours a day either writing or sure to make friends, and you never know, dealing with the business of writing. Also, I’ve maybe one day that sixth grader from the playlearned from many talented comic and screenwrit- Covers to Metal Hurlant #11 and #13, both edited by Paul. [© 2004 ground will be looking for a writer with a great ers, I know how to pitch a story, and I have an Humanoids, Inc., Los Angeles (USA)] idea for the next Hollywood blockbuster! insider’s view of the daily life of an editor. I can only hope that these things will help me become a Paul Benjamin has worked in the comics and comics-to-film useful tool in any editor’s arsenal. industry for 10 years. He worked for Malibu Comics, then So here I am, at the beginning of my new career, hoping that Platinum Studios where he developed Jeremiah, the J. all of the things I’ve listed above will translate into actual work, Michael Straczynski series for Showtime. As Managing Editor publications and paychecks. So far, things have been going well. for the Humanoids line in the US, published through DC I’ve sent pitches directly to many editors at both major and minor Comics, Paul paired talent from the American comics industry publishing houses. I’m developing original properties with several with writers and artists from around the world, editing books artists I’ve gotten to know over the years, so hopefully our comsuch as I Am Legion with John Cassaday, Olympus with Geoff bined skills will translate into setting up some new series.

I’m exploring the possibility of an original graphic novel series Johns, Kris Grimminger and Butch Guice, and Redhand with Kurt Busiek. Paul is now a full-time writer whose credits with Humanoids based on a short story I wrote for Metal include The Wolverine Encyclopedia and Metal Hurlant. I’ve pitched some ideas to Mark Paniccia (my first ediHurlant. tor, from The Wolverine Encyclopedia) who is now an editor at Marvel. He liked one concept enough for us to focus on developing

THE END

64 | WRITE NOW

PAGE 1

THE BELIEVERS: SAMPLE PAGES

by Paul Benjamin

Panel 1: Establishing shot of the Hercules High School parking lot.

This is like the parking lot of any high school populated by rich kids. There are BMW’s and Mercedes, sports cars, and SUV’s. However, this is a high school for demi-gods, so there are also winged horses, Norse chariots drawn by goats with flaming hooves and dragons with saddles.

CAPTION Hercules High, Magnet School for Demi-gods.

Panel 2: Aziza Ra has just exited her ride: a floating Egyptian barge/gondola that hovers on clouds. Aziza is the focus of the panel, talking on her cell phone.

AZIZA Sounds divine, I’ll see you in class.

Panel 3: Looking up over Aziza’s shoulder, we see the silhouette of a looming figure. His left hand is massive.

Aziza Ra.

JAKE SMITH

PAGE 2 Panel 1: This panel is a tight, claustrophobic two shot of Aziza and Jake Smith. Jake is big for a teenager. He’s not very attractive and has a distinct Cro-Magnon look about him.

He is practically cornering Aziza, leaning over her with his prominent left hand against her floating gondola. Now we can see that his hand is actually a massive metal prosthesis, a cross between highly advanced robotics and a mystical Greek artifact. It was a gift from Jake’s father, Hephaestus.

JAKE SMITH You’re looking hot today.

AZIZA Isn’t your dad, like, Zeus’ mechanic or something?

Panel 2: Close up on Aziza giving Jake the brush off. her eyes.

The first two pages of script (done full-script) and ar t from Paul’s proposed series, The Believers. Ar t is by Steven Cummings.

[True Believeres TM & © 2005 Paul Benjamin and Steven Cummings.]

She’s rolling

JAKE SMITH Hephaestus isn’t a mechanic! He forges Zeus’ lightning bolts!

What-ever.

AZIZA He’s totally lame.

Panel 3: Aziza ducks out from under Jake’s arm to get away from him.

AZIZA You know who my dad is. I’d be out of your league even if we were in the same pantheon.

Panel 4: We’re looking at Aziza as she walks away from Jake. She has a look of surprise on her face. Behind her, Jake has a lascivious look as he grabs her behind with his metal hand.

From this angle we can’t see his hand actually grabbing her, but his hand is so big it should be very clear what is happening.

JAKE SMITH Baby, you look just as good walking away.

GRAB

SFX

Panel 5: Close up on Jake, holding up his hand in anguish. His metal hand is smoking and melted from grabbing Aziza’s superheated ass.

AZIZA (OFF PANEL) Maybe when your dad fixes your hand, he can add a "vibrate" setting to keep you from getting lonely.

PAUL BENJAMIN | 65

[CONWAY continues from page 35.]

GC: I stopped reading the book around the time Peter graduated from high school, another reason I felt no connection with Gwen. I liked the old characters. Those were the characters I understood. I wanted to redo the stories I read when I was a kid, so I had to bring them back!

BB: Just like in Daredevil, you changed the scenery. You moved Peter to Chelsea and you introduced him to characters like Glory Grant, a young black woman. You made the series contemporary.

GC: I knew New York. I loved New York. Different parts of the city were so cool, I wanted to use those places, and ground SpiderMan in the real New York. So, again, I was trying to put myself into the material, and my experiences were reflected in Spider-Man’s.

BB: You also have that great line, when Peter met his future landlady, she said “A great view of the river if you just lean your head out a little bit.”

GC: That happened to me! [laughter] That was my apartment! You could see the river if you leaned out and looked to the left.

BB: He repeats it after she leaves, a very funny moment.

GC: I was using my experiences. The things that were funny to me or meant something to me showed up in the comic.

BB: I have to ask you: was your Peter Parker Catholic?

GC: If he wasn’t, he certainly acted Catholic. [laughter] I was Catholic, and I recognized Catholic guilt in Peter’s M.O. Guilt and retribution—

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66 | WRITE NOW

and redemption—are very much parts of my personal mythology, so all of that would have to show up in the stories I wrote.

BB: Does your opinion regarding the Punisher film carry over to Spider-Man 2?

GC: No. With Spider-Man 2, I have more distance from that material.

I don’t think there’s much that will have been influenced by what I wrote. It looks as if they’re taking from the middle period of Stan’s run on the book, specifically the “Spider-Man No More” sequence, which is a great sequence to use, a terrific story.

BB: I disagree with you regarding your influence on the cinematic Spider-Man. The first film was infused with the spirit of your work.

GC: As far as the first film goes, I agree. As I understand it, Sam Raimi has said the period of Spider-Man that was most influential for him was the period when I was writing the book. That’s not to say my stuff influenced the final product, but that’s the Spider-Man he grew up with, so that’s the frame of mind he would come into it with.

BB: I’ve heard that Marvel’s decision to bring Gwen “back to life” as a clone was based largely on the heat Stan was receiving from fans as he traveled to college campuses and such as Marvel’s chief spokesperson. This “edict from above” must have devastated you.

GC: I wasn’t so much devastated as bewildered. I didn’t understand how it could be possible for Marvel to do that. One of the best aspects of the Marvel universe, as opposed to DC’s, up ‘til the ‘70s, anyway, was a sense of real life. If a character died, they stayed dead! I mean, if you bring Gwen back, why not bring back Uncle Ben? BB: It was one of those few times, I think, where the company’s hand really came down on you.

GC: There was a laissez-faire attitude, for the most part, in that period of time at Marvel. The writers were given a very long leash, which was both good and bad. If you had a talented writer, or one whose writing was in sympathy with the general mindset, everything was fine. But, if you had somebody who went off in a totally wrongheaded direction, there was no way to rein him or her in.

That laissez-faire attitude pretty much ended within the next year or two after I left, when Jim Shooter became editor-in-chief.

Shooter, probably rightfully, felt the situation was too chaotic for a growing company, there had to be a stronger editorial presence. If you’re going to have 40, 50 titles a month, or more, there has to be some strategy, some overarching editorial plan. But that was after my time at the company.

BB: You left Marvel, did a lot of work for DC again, and then you and Roy came to L.A. and things were happening on the film side.

You parlayed it into a very, very successful career in television. I’m wondering, why did you decide to return to Spider-Man in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s? You were a successful screenwriter and producer.

Wasn’t there some opportunity in L.A.?

GC: Well, in the mid-to-late 1980s, I was going through a personal crisis. My marriage broke up, my writing partnership with Roy Thomas broke up. All this coincided with a major writer’s block that hit me while I was winding up my writing career at DC Comics.

I was working far too much. I was writing something like six books a month, and writing films as well. I just burned out.

From about 1984 to about 1987, I was pretty crippled, writingwise. I was still writing, but some of what I wrote, I did with Carla, my ex-wife, or with Roy, or with other people I would bring in to work with me. It was just a mess. And after that crisis passed, I got divorced, my relationship with Roy broke up, and I retrenched. All I wanted to do was calm down. As a result, I went back to Marvel. I was persona non grata at DC. I had gone from being the bulwark of DC’s writing staff, the guy they could always turn to for a script, to being someone they wanted to get rid of. They fired me off of JLA, a book I’d written for ten years. They fired me off of Firestorm.

like most screenplays, even the ones that sell, it never went anywhere. On the basis of that, and the fact we had familiarity with comics, and director Ralph Bakshi was a comic book fan, we got the assignment to write Fire and Ice. And then, because we wrote Fire and Ice, Ed Pressman hired us to write a draft for the second Conan feature. And on the basis of that script, we went on to other things, and so on, and so forth.

BB: Let’s talk some more about what you’re doing today. You’ve gone from writing comics in the 1970s to writing movies to writing many successful mystery shows on TV, currently the hit show Law and Order: Criminal Intent, but also Diagnosis: Murder, The Father Dowling Mysteries, and Matlock, among others. What tips do you have for writBB: A character you created. ers who might want to break out of comics and into television?

GC: My character. I was given no new books. The only editors willing to work with me were at Marvel. Don Daley saved my career by GC: Well, it’s very difficult. It’s amazing to me that I did it. But the first thing is, you have to live in California. You have to live in the giving me a shot at writing Thundercats, of all things. Then after Los Angeles area. So if you’re not here, get ready to move. that, Jim Salicrup brought me in to write two Spider-Man books, The second thing you need to do is watch a lot of television. It’s and I got to do some Conan stories. like writing for comics. Find the shows you are passionate about, and that are successful, and write spec scripts. Write a sample BB: Where exactly did Thundercats fit in? Was that when you were episode of a show, and try to hit all the notes of the show, and at still partnered with Roy? the same time, showcase your own writing style.

GC: I think so. It was after DC fired me. I was writing TV animation From there, it comes down to, who do you know? Who can you with Carla. I don’t think I ever wrote the Thundercats TV series, but call up? What contacts do you have? And by contacts, I mean anyit was an easy segue. I don’t remember how or why I got in touch body, anywhere, with whom you’ve had even remote contact— with Don Daley, but he was such a good guy, very open to working that’s the person you call. And if you have no contacts, make with me. Given where I was, career-wise, I was really grateful! some. Socialize, meet people, join groups, take classes, hang out, write plays. Whatever it takes, do it. That’s the career advice.

BB: How about Fire and Ice? Where was that in the chronology?

Now, as for technical advice: from a story point of view, writing a GC: Roy and I wrote that in 1979, ‘80, something like that. In television script is not that different from writing a comic book 1979, Roy and I sold our first feature script, and Fire and Ice was script. Both are episodic, series-oriented stories, in which you our second, but that’s the one that really opened doors for us. can move the character a bit, but can’t fundamentally change him.

BB: That was produced?

So in your GC: Right. spec script, you cannot BB: Was break the your first rules for that feature film character. You Conan the can’t say, Destroyer?

“Gee, wouldn’t GC: No, we it be great if wrote our first [the X-Files’] feature for a Mulder and company that I Scully had an think only made affair? I’ll start a handful of the episode with films. Roy had them in bed togeththis idea to adapt er!” That might a science fiction make great fan ficnovel he’d read in tion, but it won’t get the 1950s, about you a job. You have snow that eats peoto ask, “What do the ple. It was a great producers expect from pitch. “Jaws in the their characters? What winter.” We had a lot would they like to see of fun with it. I think their characters do we did a pretty decent Two covers from Conway’s run on his co-creation, Firestorm. Art by Pat that’s within the context job on the script, but Broderick. [© 2005 DC Comics.]

GERRY CONWAY | 67

back together was a process of incrementally bringing back those parts of my personality I’d shoved away. I re-created myself in my personal relationships, I re-established myself in my professional relationships.

I had to come back to comics in the late ‘80s pretty much the way I started in the first place, which was to prove myself, to be grateful for the work, to respect the material, and not spread myself too thin. That’s what I did, and it re-inspired me.

of what’s actually happening in the show?”

Beyond that, write well. Study, study, study, and pay attention to what’s hot in the field.

BB: Would you recommend any books on the craft?

GC: There’s a book by a friend of mine named Larry Brody. Television Writing from the Inside Out: Your Channel to Success. It just came out, and it’s a pretty thorough overview of the television market.

BB: When did you start writing Matlock?

GC: I started writing Matlock in 1990. I did two episodes. But my television career actually began in ‘89. By 1989, while I was having some success writing Web of Spider-Man and Spectacular Spider-Man, I was looking to open new doors, and perhaps get back into writing film or television. So I reconnected with some people I’d met while writing feature films. One of those people was Dean Hargrove, who was producing Matlock and some other shows. And as a result of that connection, I started writing for Father Dowling and Matlock and Jake and the Fatman and the Perry Mason movies. And somehow I became known as a mystery writer. God knows how that happened! [laughs] I’d never written a mystery in my life before Father Dowling. And now, 16 years or so later, I’m a television writer in the mystery field. [laughs] I can’t figure that out!

BB: As far as your specific journey, how did you break in? How did you get your tool kit back together, so that you could make that move into Father Dowling and the TV work if you were still burnt out on comics?

GC: It took time. It began with my emotional collapse as a writer in 1984, when the Conan the Destroyer film came out.

Roy and I worked on that picture for a year, doing eight, nine, ten drafts, I forget how many. We were very involved, working with three or four different directors. Then, at the very end, the producer, Dino Di Laurentiis, who’d taken over the project from Ed Pressman, decided he wanted something else. As they say, he “went another way.”

He and the latest director, Richard Fleisher, hired another writer and that writer ended up getting screenplay credit.

We lost the Writer’s Guild arbitration for screenplay credit, and I was devastated. This is wrongheaded, but it felt as if I had been slapped down by my peers. Adding to that was being overwhelmed by too much work, and having a crisis in my personal life, in my relationships. It was the last straw. I fell apart. Putting myself 68 | WRITE NOW

BB: Oh, yeah. It was kind of like going home, I would think. You were writing Spider-Man again.

GC: Being taken back into the bosom of your family, in a sense.

It encouraged me to have more confidence in myself. I approached the work then, as I do now, with an attitude of gratitude, glad to have the job, grateful for the assignment. All I want is to do the best work I possibly can.

BB: It’s like that Dylan line, “I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.” You sort of have to backtrack a little bit.

GC: Sure. You can get lost. For me, the period of my writing from about 1977 to about 1983, ‘84, was not the best period. I took on far too much work, writing too much and too fast. That took its toll. I’ve learned my lesson. I am now probably the slowest writer on the Criminal Intent staff.

BB: That’s hard to believe!

GC: Yeah! I was writing 140 pages a month for DC Comics in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Now I’m down to writing three scripts a year for tel-

This page: scenes from the various Law & Order series.

Gerry is co-executive producer on Law& Order: Criminal Intent. [© 2005 Universal Studios.]

evision. And frankly, it’s enough. [laughs] BB: Well, you’ve got other duties, right?

GC: I’m not sleeping on the office sofa. But there’s more percolation time for every script. There’s more time to think things through and play with story ramifications and do better work.

BB: How did you come to be involved with Law & Order: Criminal Intent, working your way up from writer to become a co-executive producer?

GC: A series of fortunate events. Anyone, if they look at their present situation and try to trace the steps that brought them to that place, will find a lot of chaos along the way. There’s never a direct, “Well, this happened because I planned to do that, and then, following through on that, this happened,” and so on.

In my case, I came out to L.A. in the late ‘70s intending to break into writing film. Roy Thomas and I used Roy’s connections and credibility, because of his association with the Conan comic book, to get some assignments. In the process, I made a number of connections with people in the business who would later turn out to be important to me.

Our writing partnership broke up in the mid-’80s—around the time my marriage broke up. Roy and I went our separate ways, and I spent a few years floundering about, trying to figure out what I wanted to do, what direction I wanted to go in. I started writing for Marvel again.

I was also, at the same time, trying to figure out whether and how I would get back into writing films. So I got together with some friends, and we formed an informal kind of support group, to help each other pursue our careers. At their urging, I got in touch with people I had met in the film business and asked their advice. I find that’s a useful technique. If you want to make a change, the best thing to do is to ask people who might know whether that change is feasible, or what you have to do to accomplish it, and so on. That’s why I got in touch with Dean Hargrove. Dean supervised a project Roy and I did for Showtime, and, at that time, he and I sort of hit it off. But he was just another name on the list of people I was asking for advice. I also got in touch with Joe Straczynski, and with a story editor I’d met while writing a script with Roy for Interscope, Ted Field’s company, and various other people.

So, I called Dean and told him I’d like to ask his advice about something. I went in to meet with him, and he gave me an assignment before I even had a chance to ask him for advice. [laughs] As a writing test, I suppose, he had me rewrite an episode of a show he was doing, called Loose Cannon or something like that. I did a rewrite on an episode, and he liked what I did and offered me a script on Father Dowling Mysteries. He liked that script and brought me on staff for the next season of Father Dowling. That was around 1989, 1990. I wrote about 10 episodes for the series over the year-and-a-half I was on the show, and established myself, in a bizarre turn of events, as a mystery writer. [laughs] Now, I’d never written mystery at all, in any context, in any part of my previous career, unless you count Batman, and

the only reason I’m considered a mystery writer today is because I called up this guy for advice and he gave me a job.

I wrote a number of shows for Dean, including some Perry Mason movies. That led to a job as a supervising producer on a mystery show called Under Suspicion. That was around 1994, and while I was on Under Suspicion, I met a co-exec producer named Steve Smith. Steve is a talented writer who’s been in and out of television for about 20 years. He worked on Tour of Duty in the mid-’80s and various other shows including Under Suspicion. We hit it off. A couple of years later, Steve was working for Dick Wolf, running a show called New York Undercover. Dick asked him to do a polish—a rewrite—on a pilot Dick had been trying to get off the ground, featuring Ice-T and some other characters as con men working for the FBI. This wasn’t Steve’s thing, and he was pretty tied up on New York Undercover. But he remembered me as a guy who knew how to write mysteries. [laughs] He told Dick, “Oh, you should get in touch with Gerry Conway.” So I did the rewrite on the script, we ended up getting an order for episodes. The show was called Players, and I was supervising producer. Maybe you’re beginning to see how, “This happened, then that happened.”

There’s not a lot of obvious planning involved here.

I worked on that show with a writer-producer named Ed Zuckerman. Ed Zuckerman was the show runner for Players. Ed had been with Dick Wolf’s company for a number of years, working on Law & Order, and Players was his chance to prove himself as an executive producer, which he did. Like Dean and I, and like Steve and I, Ed and I hit it off.

After Players went away, I got a job on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. While I was on Hercules, I got a call from Ed Zuckerman, who was now back on Law & Order. Ed asked me to write an episode of Law & Order. So I signed a deal to write an episode of Law & Order with Ed. A few weeks after that, Ed left the show.

I still had an assignment to write an episode of Law & Order. I ended up collaborating with a guy named Bill Fordes, writing for Rene Balcer, who was showrunning Law & Order. Rene liked my

Kevin Sorbo, star of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, a show on which Gerry worked as writer. [TM and © 2005 Studios USA.] GERRY CONWAY | 69

work well enough that the following season he gave me a deal to write three episodes.

So I wrote three episodes of Law & Order, and then I got a job running a show myself, The Huntress. While I was working on The Huntress, Rene called to say, “Listen, I have this new show coming out called Law & Order: Criminal Intent. I’d like you to work on it.” I wasn’t available, so I didn’t come on the first season. When the second season came around and I was available, Rene hired me. I’ve been on the show ever since.

That’s how that happens. One thing leads to another. You can trace a continuity looking back, but if you had asked me in 1989: “What steps do you need to take to become a co-executive producer on a show like Law & Order: Criminal Intent?,” I wouldn’t have had a clue. What I will say now is: “Be open to things, use every possible connection you have. Trust in luck.” My talent helped me because I was able to deliver when I was given the opportunity. But there was no master plan.

I will also say this: I knew in 1989, when I was looking at my options, that writing films again was not what I wanted to do. I had a conversation with a friend who’s an attorney, and he asked, “What do you want? Do you want to be independent, or do you want a career path?” I said, “Well, what’s the difference?” And he said, “Writing films, you’ll be independent, but you’ll never have any authority as a screenwriter. And there’s no career path. You write a movie, and that means maybe you get to write another movie. Eventually you might be able to leverage that into producing a movie or directing a movie, but unless you want to direct movies, there is really no career path for a film writer.

“However, in television, if you begin by writing scripts, and you’re good, you can eventually find a staff position. Once you’re on staff, you can then begin on the career path towards producing. And then ultimately, hopefully, you may get to a point where you can run your own shows and create your own shows.”

So there’s a definite career path for a writer in television, while there isn’t one in film. That’s why I threw my efforts primarily into television.

BB: Like most television viewers, I’m confused by the multitude of producer credits found on a given show. You’re listed as a co-executive producer. I’m wondering what a co-executive producer does, and also, in terms of your writing, if you’re now primarily working on your own scripts or mainly supervising other writer’s work?

GC: It depends on the show, and upon what the showrunner needs for a particular show. On this show, as a co-executive producer, I collaborate with Rene on scripts, while helping produce the episodes I write. Rene and I break the story together. That is, we do a detailed outline. Then I write the teleplay. After that, Rene polishes the script so it feels more like an episode of the series, because it’s his writing voice the audience tunes in to hear, just like on West Wing you were tuning in for Aaron Sorkin’s voice.

So at that point—I’m actually in the middle of finishing a script right now—what’ll happen is, after Rene does his polish, we go into pre-production. I’ll go back to New York to be part of that. Then as the show is filmed, I’ll go through the dailies and then, when we get the cut, I’ll go through the cut. I have input into how things should go, but Rene has the final say, because he’s the showrunner.

Each show is an organic entity, and has a life of its own. The relationships on a show are in constant flux, and sometimes you 70 | WRITE NOW

have more authority or less authority, and it doesn’t matter what your title is. It’s more a matter of what you are perceived to be bringing to the mix, or what the showrunner wants you to bring to the mix. You can’t look at the credits on any given television show and know what they mean. Except this: the person whose name comes last on the main credit run—either comes last or comes first, depending on how it works on a particular series—that person is the person who is in charge of the show.

BB: How do you interact with other Law & Order: Criminal Intent writers? Are you a liaison between the writer and Rene?

GC: Not directly. Again, different shows have different techniques.

BB: Do you write at home, or because of your executive producer responsibilities, are you more in the office?

GC: I go into the office because I’ve always had a problem with discipline, as a writer. When I need to, I can focus, but if I’m at home, I’m going to get up, I’m going to wander around, I’m going to have a sandwich. I might turn on the TV, I might talk to my wife, we might talk to the kids, we get the dogs, we’ll let the dogs out.

There’s all this stuff going on. When I’m at the office, my choice is to sit here and work, or stand in the doorway of some other writer’s office and keep him from working.

BB: You basically have this Dick Wolf Law & Order “universe.” Do you perceive different missions for the original show and each of its three spin-offs?

GS: Dick made a conscious effort not to repeat the formula of Law & Order for each show. There’s a certain style reflected in all

Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Destroyer, a film on which Gerry and Roy Thomas worked. Dino Di Laurentiis (inset) was the exexutive producer. [© 2005 The Di Laurentiis Corporation.]

the shows. There’s a particular editing technique, a certain directing technique whereby the stories are broken down in a fast-paced way. There’s an emphasis on current events. But if you look at the three shows and now the fourth show, Trial by Jury, each deals with a different area.

Law & Order: the Mothership, as it’s known to those who work here, is the purest, in that it is very procedural. You watch the cops catch the bad guy. This happens, and then this happens.

And then you follow the prosecution: this happens, and then this happens. It’s a procedural show.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is more of an emotional show. You get into the trauma of being victimized, and the trauma of dealing with victims. So in that sense, even though it’s paced like a Dick Wolf show, it has a different emotional arc than Law & Order, because Law & Order’s stories are not overtly emotional, though there’s an emotional core to them.

Then you come to our show, Criminal Intent, and this is a classic mystery show. You solve the crime and ultimately break down the villain, forcing him to admit his guilt. We do a classic detective story. We’re recognized for that. The Edgar Award nominations just came out, the Mystery Writers of America awards, and out of five teleplays nominated as Best Mystery Teleplay, four were from Law & Order: Criminal Intent. I think we’ve got this market to ourselves, in a sense.

Finally, from what I understand, Trial by Jury is a maneuvering show. You see behind-the-scenes maneuvering on the parts of the defense and the prosecution. It’s an intellectual wrestling match, in which each side tries to get hold of the other side and beat them into submission.

So there’s a thematic continuity between the four shows, but— and I think this is why they are creatively more successful than the CSI shows—each is a different show. You know you’re going to get a Law & Order, but you’re getting a different flavor of Law & Order.

With CSI, you have the same show every time, and some people obviously like that. CSI is the same show no matter where it’s set. The difference between CSI and Law & Order, to quote Dick Wolf, is that CSI is a franchise, and like McDonalds, you get your same burger no matter what branch you go to. And Law & Order is a brand, and like Kellogg’s, it makes a lot of different kinds of cereals. [laughs] You know you’re getting a good cereal, and you know it’s going to be a Kellogg’s cereal, but the Raisin Bran doesn’t taste like the Rice Crispies.

BB: Do you base the Criminal Intent shows on current events?

GC: Yes, we do. A story I’m working on now starts off with an apparent suicide attempt. A car parks in front of a train and gets smashed, similar to what went on here in L.A. a few weeks ago. And there’re other elements about suicide clubs and Internet websites that pander to people contemplating suicide. We pull all that from the events of the day, but we don’t necessarily use legal twists to the same degree they would on, say, Law & Order or Trial by Jury.

BB: Do you do a lot of research for the episodes?

GC: Yes. And in addition to the research we do ourselves, we have consultants. One of our consultants is a psychiatrist named Park Dietz. Dr. Dietz is an expert witness in criminal cases, fairly famous. He was the psychiatrist who determined whether Jeffery Dahmer was sane. He testified at the Hinckley trial. He’s a wellknown forensic psychiatrist. We also work with a couple of doctors in the New York medical examiner’s office. And, as we work on individual shows, we reach out to experts in different fields. I did a show recently that involved fashion, and spent an hour talking to a woman at the Cooper Union Fashion Institute in New York. We also have a research assistant, Jasmine Roberts, who helps a great deal. But while we try to do our research, we don’t let research determine the dramatics of the story.

BB: Along similar lines—and this seems to be true for most detective dramas, not just Law & Order—why do you limit the glimpses into the personal lives of the main characters?

GC: Well, part of the reason is the teasing effect. We want you to want to know more. So we’ll give you some sense of who these people are, but not a full, detailed backstory. You need to know how they will react or what their responses might be in a given situation, because you have to think of them as real people, you have to be vested in their involvement in the story. But at the same time, this is not a show about their personal lives. This is not the West Wing, a soap opera in addition to a policy show. It’s not ER, where it’s a soap opera about a hospital.

You knew who Philip Marlowe was, you knew who Sam Spade was, and their characters influenced their behavior, but you didn’t have a lot of back-story about them. You knew Spade had a partner named Archer, you knew Philip Marlowe apparently had been in World War I, stuff like that. But you didn’t follow them home, and we don’t follow our guys home.

GERRY CONWAY | 71

that District Attorney Carver from our show BB: How did—or didn’t—your comic book probably has an office down the hall from background prepare you for working in televiSam Waterston’s character in Law & Order. sion and, specifically, Criminal Intent?

We know it, but we’ve never actually acknowlGC: It prepared me well for television in genedged it. eral. Comics are an episodic medium. You have to come up with original stories on a BB: Have you thought about perhaps doing a big regular basis, involving a continuing group of crossover involving all four Law & Order shows? characters. Each issue has to feel like a new GC: At various times. I don’t remember if story and, at the same time, provide the there ever actually was a Law & Order same satisfaction as every other story. A kid crossover, but one was being planned, crosswho picks up an issue of Green Lantern ing over all three shows, right before 9/11. wants to read about a guy with a power ring The story that they were working on was a and how he does his thing, what happens. terrorism story, and then 9/11 happened, so There’s an arc to that kind of material. they decided no, we’re not going to go there.

There’s an arc to a Spider-Man story. There’s a formula. You need to both work within the BB: Do you ever feel constrained by the strucformula and make each story feel fresh. ture of the show? It’s pretty highly structured.

Television is the same deal. We do 22 Or is that a strength, in terms of knowing that episodes a year, as opposed to 12 issues of a Arnold strikes a Conan the Destroyer pose. you have a particular sort of motif? comic book, but in a sense, we’re doing 22 [© 2005 The Di Laurentiis Corporation.]

GC: Every television show is structured. If you “issues” of a series. We’re trying each week to wanted to, you could analyze, minute-by-minute, any television series fulfill the formula, but in a way that’s fresh. So my training in comics is on the air and discover they hit the same beats almost at exactly the important on many different levels. One is the idea of working within a same moment in every episode. So it’s like working within a particular formula, making it fresh. The other is the ability to think on my feet. I probably wrote far too many comic book stories in my career, and at vari- form. Say, if you’re writing sonnets, you’re going to end up doing 14 ous times I was writing a story-and-a-half a week, sometimes two stories lines with a couplet ending it. You might feel that’s constraining, but on the other hand, you’re writing a sonnet, and that’s what a sonnet a week. The only way to do that is to tap into that part of your brain that is. If you want to write a free-form poem, you write a free-form poem. responds quickly to pressure. So my comic book background gave me Commercial television is a particular form, and it’s evolved over the the ability to be a very flexible writer in the TV field, which you need to be last 50 years to be a certain thing. Now, if you’re writing for a differin order to survive, to be able to do this week in and week out. ent medium within the medium, like a show for HBO, for example, you would write to a different form. But you will find, if you analyze the BB: That’s a good point, especially about thinking on your feet. shows for HBO, say The Sopranos, you will discover they have the GC: It also means you’re not so enmeshed in your material. If you’re same beats at the same point in every episode. Their format might a good writer, you care about what you do, but you’re not so entanbe different from a commercial television four-act format, but there’s gled in it you can’t let it go. An example would be when Roy and I still a format. And you have to have it. Just from a practical point of were working on our screenplay for the second Conan film. We wrote view, it would be impossible to keep any standard of quality if you an outline for the original story, and Ed Pressman, the producer at the tried to create 22 episodes a year that were different from each other time, didn’t like it. He took us out to breakfast and he was filled with in terms of structure and pacing. It would be chaotic, and the audianxiety. We were thinking, “Oh my God, he’s going to fire us.” [laughs] ence wouldn’t like it. The audience tunes in to an episode of Criminal But instead he said, “Well, listen. I have some real problems with this Intent because they liked the previous episode and they want to see story, and I think we need to go in a new direction.” We said, “Oh, it again. They just don’t want to see it again with the same story. okay.” And he was astonished, [pause] “You’re—you’re okay with They want to feel the same experience. There’s a rhythm in every telthat?” “Yeah, yeah,” we said. “Here’re some other ideas we have.” evision show, and one of the things I did early on that has helped me We began bouncing ideas around. Ed couldn’t believe it. He said, was to internalize that rhythm. I was able to, without thinking about it “Boy, you guys are so reasonable, you’re so flexible about this!” We consciously, know when and where to put the beats in a story. started laughing, we said, “We come from comic books, for God’s sake, where every month you have to come up with a new story, and BB: We could go on all day, but my head is exploding with information. sometimes you have to take it in a new direction, or things don’t work Thank you very much, Gerry! and you’ve got to jump, and you’ve got to move.” So working in comics GC: Thank you, Bob. We sure covered a lot of was really a benefit, because now I’m flexible. Some people would ground. say I have no spine. [laughs] I do have a spine, it’s just flexible.

THE END

BB: You’ve worked in the Marvel Universe, the DC Universe, and now you’re now working in the “Law & Order Universe.” Is that shared universe concept a big part of the shows?

GC: We’re aware of what the other shows are doing, but we don’t really have a whole lot of cross-pollination. We operate in the same universe, but we don’t do crossovers. We don’t really acknowledge 72 | WRITE NOW

Bob Brodsky edits and publishes The O’Neil Observer, a fanzine dedicated to the storytelling of Denny O’Neil and the craft of comic book writing. He is proud to announce a summer 2005 launch for his newest ’zine, The Yancy Street Gazette, dedicated to the Marvel Age of Comics, 1961-1975. For further info, please e-mail Bob at: brodskybob@comcast.net.

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Looking for something really scary? Check out Pete Von Sholly’s spoof of old monster mags, CRAZY HIP GROOVY GO-GO WAY OUT MONSTERS! We’ve published two 48-page issues to date (#29 and #32), and they’ve had fans laughing their pants off—right after they soiled themselves from sheer terror!

Add to that the 136-page trade paperback MR. MONSTER, HIS BOOKS OF FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, VOLUME ZERO, featuring 12 tales of Doc Stearn, plus 30 all-new pages by Michael T. Gilbert, the lost Mr. Monster newspaper strip, and a new 8-page FULL-COLOR STORY by Keith Giffen and Michael T. Gilbert, and you’ve got one scary bundle! Normal price is a frightening $36, but with this exclusive bundle, all this horror is yours for only $19 US POSTPAID!

All three items: $39 US Postpaid WRITE NOW! #8 and DRAW! #9: $8 Each Postpaid HOW TO DRAW COMICS, FROM SCRIPT TO PRINT DVD: $34 US Postpaid

All three items: $19 US Postpaid CHGGGWOM #29 and #32: $8 Each Postpaid or both for $12 Postpaid MR. MONSTER VOL. ZERO: On Sale for $14 US Postpaid (Regularly $20)

MR. MONSTER/CHGGGWOM BUNDLE: $19 US POSTPAID (SAVE $17!)

THE CBA CHARLTON/HARVEY BUNDLE: $18 US POSTPAID (BUY 2, GET 1 FREE!)

Mark Evanier’s been writing his weekly “POV” column for years, and we’re proud to offer all three collections as an exclusive bundle! COMIC BOOKS & OTHER NECESSITIES OF LIFE, WERTHAM WAS RIGHT!, and SUPERHEROES IN MY PANTS! collect Mark’s best essays and commentaries about the comics industry and its practitioners, plus new essays and new illustrations and covers by Mark’s GROO collaborator and MAD artist SERGIO ARAGONÉS! Normally $17 each, you can get all three volumes as a bundle for only $34 US POSTPAID (that’s getting ONE FREE when you buy two)!

Eisner Award-winning magazine COMIC BOOK ARTIST devoted two separate issues to the history of CHARLTON COMICS; #9 and #12, featuring art by and interviews with DICK GIORDANO, PETER MORISI, JIM APARO, JOE GILL, FRANK MCLAUGHLIN, SAM GLANZMAN, JOE STATON, JOHN BYRNE, DON NEWTON, TOM SUTTON, MIKE ZECK, NICK CUTI, and other Charlton greats!

The two issues document the complete history of the comics company who brought us CAPTAIN ATOM, BLUE BEETLE, and a host of other characters who inspired the groundbreaking WATCHMEN graphic novel. Then, in issue #19, CBA tackled a retrospective of HARVEY COMICS, with interviews and features on SIMON & KIRBY, WALLACE WOOD, AL WILLIAMSON, GIL KANE, and others. In this exclusive “BUY 2, GET 1 FREE” bundle, you get all three mags— normally $27—for only $18 US POSTPAID.

All three items: $34 US Postpaid Each book separately: $17 US Postpaid

All three items: $18 US Postpaid Each magazine separately: $9 US Postpaid

MARK EVANIER “POV” BUNDLE: $34 US POSTPAID (BUY 2, GET 1 FREE!)

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3

THE SUMMER HEATS UP WITH THESE NEW MODERN MASTERS VOLUME 5:

JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍA-LÓPEZ

Possibly the finest draftsman in comics, spotlighted with a comprehensive career-spanning interview, tons of rare and unseen work, and an extensive gallery of eye-popping art!

128-page trade paperback • $19 US Postpaid

Secrets In The Shadows: The Art & Life Of

GENE COLAN! Ultimate retrospective of the Silver Age legend, with extensive biography, reams of rare Colan pencil art, new collaborations with BYRNE, KALUTA, PÉREZ, & more!

168-page softcover: $26 US Postpaid 192-page Deluxe Hardcover (1000 copies): $49 US Postpaid (with 16 extra B&W pages and 8 extra color pages)

CBA COLLECTION VOL. 3

Reprinting the Eisner Award-winning COMIC BOOK ARTIST #7 and #8 (‘70s Marvel and ‘80s independents), featuring a new MICHAEL T. GILBERT cover, plus interviews with Gilbert, Rude, Gulacy, Gerber, Don Simpson, Chaykin, Scott McCloud, Buckler, Byrne, Denis Kitchen, plus a new section featuring over 30 pages of previously-unseen stuff! Edited by Jon B. Cooke.

224-page trade paperback • $29 US Postpaid 4

All characters TM & ©2005 their respective holders.

TITLES FROM TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING: BRUCE TIMM COVER!

JUSTICE LEAGUE

COMPANION

A comprehensive look at the Silver Age JLA’s history, with vintage and allnew interviews with the creators, an index of the 1960–1972 issues, neverseen artwork, and more! With O’Neil, Anderson, Giella, Friedrich, Adams, Ross, Infantino, Cardy, and many others!

224-page trade paperback • $29 US Postpaid

MUCK-MONSTERS OF THE COMICS:

SWAMPMEN!

The definitive tome detailing the macabre history of Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, It, the Bog Beast, Marvin the Dead Thing, the Swamp Lurker, and The Heap!

Featuring unpublished artwork and interviews by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, Steve Gerber, Mike Ploog, Rick Veitch, John Totleben, Val Mayerik, & more!

New Frank Cho cover!

200-page trade paperback • $29 US Postpaid

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS

The ultimate book on Wallace Wood’s super-team of the 1960s, featuring interviews with Woody and other creators involved in the T-Agents over the years, plus unseen art, a rare 28-page story drawn by Paul Gulacy, unpublished stories by Gulacy, Paris Cullins, and others, and a Jerry Ordway cover! Edited by CBA’s Jon B. Cooke.

COMPANION

192-page trade paperback • $29 US Postpaid 5

GET BACK ISSUES OF

T H E U LT I M AT E C O M I C S E X P E R I E N C E !

TM

Edited by MICHAEL EURY (former DC and Dark Horse editor/writer and author of books on CAPTAIN ACTION and DICK GIORDANO), BACK ISSUE celebrates comic books of the 1970s, 1980s, and today through recurring (and rotating) departments.

SUBSCRIBE TO BACK ISSUE!: Six issues in the US: $30 Standard, $48 First Class (Canada: $60, Elsewhere: $66 Surface, $90 Airmail).

#5: HOLLYWOOD ISSUE! ALEX ROSS AND ADAM HUGHES FLIP-COVERS!

• WONDER WOMAN: A new LYNDA CARTER interview and WW art gallery

by GEORGE PÉREZ, DICK GIORDANO, PHIL JIMENEZ, and others!

• MARVEL ON TV: The Hulk, SpiderMan, Captain America, and Dr. Strange, & a new interview with LOU FERRIGNO! • GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: TEEN TITANS, FLASH, METAMORPHO, and other cartoons you didn’t see!

• ROUGH STUFF: ORDWAY pencil art!

• BEYOND CAPES: Marvel’s & DC’s STAR TREK overview by MIKE W. BARR, with art by COCKRUM, SUTTON, & more!

• OFF MY CHEST: JOHN ROMITA SR. on Marvel’s cinematic adaptations!

• COVERS by HUGHES & ALEX ROSS!

100 PAGES! SINGLE ISSUES: $8 POSTPAID US 6

#1: DC VS. MARVEL! GEORGE PÉREZ COVER!

#2: TOTALLY ‘80s!

ADAM HUGHES COVER!

#3: LAUGHING MATTERS! #4: MARVEL MILESTONES! BRIAN BOLLAND COVER! JOHN BYRNE COVER!

• PRO 2 PRO INTERVIEW: A dialogue between GEORGE PÉREZ and MARV WOLFMAN), with rare Pérez artwork!

• GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: The original JLA/AVENGERS crossover, with unseen PÉREZ art!

• ROUGH STUFF: JACK KIRBY’S ‘70s and ‘80s DC and Marvel PENCILED art!

• BEYOND CAPES: An evaluation of DC’s and Marvel’s TARZAN series with artwork by JOE KUBERT and JOHN BUSCEMA, and interviews with KUBERT, CARMINE INFANTINO, and ROY THOMAS! • OFF MY CHEST: Guest editorial by former DC editorial director CARMINE INFANTINO, recalling DC’s 1970s’ battle plan to challenge Marvel’s dominance!

• PRO 2 PRO INTERVIEWS: ADAM HUGHES and MIKE BARR, plus MATT WAGNER and DIANA SCHUTZ, with Hughes & Wagner art!

• GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: STEVE RUDE’s Space Ghost vs.

Herculoids, plus ARTHUR ADAMS art!

• BEYOND CAPES: BRUCE JONES’ Twisted Tales and Alien Worlds series, with art by DAVE STEVENS! • OFF MY CHEST: MIKE BARR on the DC Implosion! Art by STEVE DITKO, JIM APARO, & JOE KUBERT! • ROUGH STUFF: Pencil art by ADAM HUGHES! • PLUS: A look at the history of the COMICO comics company!

• BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: The Joker’s history, with DENNY O’NEIL, NEAL ADAMS, STEVE ENGLEHART, MARSHALL ROGERS, JIM STARLIN, & BRIAN BOLLAND! • PRO 2 PRO INTERVIEW: KEITH GIFFEN, J.M. DeMATTEIS, and KEVIN MAGUIRE on their JUSTICE LEAGUE series, with art by Maguire and Giffen!

• GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: Two never-seen PLASTIC MAN movies, plus Schwarzenegger as SGT. ROCK! • ROUGH STUFF: Pencil artwork and rare sketches by SERGIO ARAGONÉS, MIKE MANLEY, RAMONA FRADON, SCOTT SHAW!, JACK KIRBY and others!

• OFF MY CHEST: MARK EVANIER on why writing “funny” books is hard work!

• PRO2PRO INTERVIEWS: BYRNE and CLAREMONT on WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN, and WALTER SIMONSON and JOE CASEY on the 20th anniversary of Walter’s run on THOR! • GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: Wolverine’s creator LEN WEIN on the TEEN WOLVERINE you never saw!

Plus, unseen Wolverine art by DAVE COCKRUM! • ROUGH STUFF: Wolverine’s 30th anniversary is celebrated with pencil artwork by JOHN BUSCEMA, JIM LEE, ADAM HUGHES, ROB LIEFELD, MARC SILVESTRI, & others!

• PLUS: Spotlights on the PUNISHER’s 30th birthday and the 20th anniversary of SECRET WARS!

#6: HALLOWEEN ISSUE! GENE COLAN COVER!

#7: SUPER-TEAMS OF THE ‘70s & ‘80s! SWAN & ANDERSON COVER!

#8: ‘70s & ‘80s BLACK SUPER-HEROES! KYLE BAKER COVER!

#9: ‘70s & ‘80s COSMIC COMICS! RUDE COVER!

• BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula series, with MARV WOLFMAN and GENE COLAN! • PRO2PRO INTERVIEWS: LEN WEIN and BERNIE WRIGHTSON on Swamp Thing’s roots, plus STEVE BISSETTE and RICK VEITCH on their ‘80s series!

• GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: “Swamp Thing & Man-Thing: Who Came First?” with Wein, Wrightson, GERRY CONWAY, ROY THOMAS, VAL MAYERICK, and JOHN BYRNE! • ROUGH STUFF: Pencil artwork from FRANK BRUNNER, PAUL SMITH, CARL POTTS, MIKE PLOOG, plus Bissette, Wrightson, and Colan!

• OFF MY CHEST: ROY THOMAS on his unfinished Dracula adaptation at Marvel, with rare DICK GIORDANO art!

• BEYOND CAPES (x2): Marvel’s Godzilla series with HERB TRIMPE artwork, and a behind-the-scenes study of Charlton Comics’ 1970s horror line!

• PLUS: Go on the presidential campaign trail with HOWARD THE DUCK, PREZ, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and others!

• THE BRAVE & THE BOLD: A history of the team-up book, including a JIM APARO interview and a tribute to writer BOB HANEY! PLUS: Fantastic Four contributors from STAN LEE to MARK WAID share their FF insights!

• DNAgents: MARK EVANIER and WILL MEUGNIOT on their ‘80s series!

• GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: TEEN TITANS SWINGIN’ ELSEWORDS and Marvel’s SANTA CLAUS, with art by JAY STEPHENS, NICK CARDY, KIERON DWYER, & JOHN ROMITA! • ROUGH STUFF: Pencil art by ALEX ROSS, ALEX TOTH, DAVE COCKRUM, DON HECK, FRANK ROBBINS, DON NEWTON, CARMINE INFANTINO, and JOHN BYRNE (his FF tryout)!

• OFF MY CHEST: DENNY O’NEIL’s editorial on super teams!

• PLUS: Art by GIORDANO, FRADON, ADAMS, CARDY, SIMONSON, AUSTIN, SIENKIEWICZ, RUDE, MOEBIUS, PÉREZ, and more!

• PRO2PRO INTERVIEW: DENNY O’NEIL and Justice League Unlimited voice actor PHIL LaMARR discuss GREEN LANTERN JOHN STEWART, plus NEAL ADAMS’ GL insights and art!

• ROUGH STUFF: NEW X-MEN art by NEAL ADAMS, ARTHUR ADAMS, LARRY STROMAN, BOB McLEOD, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, ALAN DAVIS, JIM LEE, ADAM HUGHES, and more!

PLUS: STORM’s 30th birthday history!

• BACKSTAGE PASS: Animated TV’s black heroes, from BLACK VULCAN to the BROWN HORNET, with TOTH art!

• OFF MY CHEST: TONY ISABELLA on BLACK LIGHTNING, plus an all-new interview with TREVOR VON EEDEN! • PLUS: Interview with writer DWAYNE McDUFFIE, a history of AfricanAmericans in comics, and commentary and art by COWAN, ROMITA, BYRNE, COCKRUM, CLAREMONT, TERRY AUSTIN, COLAN, ENGLEHART, PÉREZ, ZECK, and more!

• PRO2PRO INTERVIEW: Writer MIKE BARON and artist STEVE RUDE revisit the early days of their landmark NEXUS! • ROUGH STUFF: GIL KANE pencil art gallery, featuring GREEN LANTERN, THE MICRONAUTS, CONAN, SPIDER-MAN, SUPERMAN, and a few surprises!

• BEYOND CAPES: Examination of Marvel’s STAR WARS comics, with interviews with and art by HOWARD CHAYKIN, ROY THOMAS, AL WILLIAMSON, CARMINE INFANTINO, WALT SIMONSON, TOM PALMER, RON FRENZ, and more!

• GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: An exposé of DC’s unrealized Crisis on Infinite Earths sequel CRISIS OF THE SOUL, with art by JERRY ORDWAY! • OFF MY CHEST: Guest editorial by First Comics’ MIKE GOLD! • PLUS: MIKE MIGNOLA and JIM STARLIN’s COSMIC ODYSSEY; TRUMAN and OSTRANDER’S GRIMJACK, then and now; TIME WARP revisited; and more!

THE LATEST ISSUES OF BACK ISSUE!:

BACK ISSUE #10 (NOW SHIPPING)

BACK ISSUE #11 (JULY)

BACK ISSUE #12 (SEPT.)

Gemstone/Diamond’s Scoop e-newsletter selected BACK ISSUE as the #1 “Best Publication About Comics for 2004”! Here’s your chance to discover why in BACK ISSUE #10 (100 pages, $8 US Postpaid), our “Pulp Fiction Issue!” “Bring on the Bad Guys” explores the history of Batman-foe RA’S AL GHUL, with commentary by NEAL ADAMS and DENNY O’NEIL (and rare art by Adams)!

O’Neil returns to join artist MICHAEL W. KALUTA for a “Pro2Pro” interview about THE SHADOW, and ROGER STERN and RON FRENZ go “Pro2Pro” about their muchloved “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man.” Plus: MIKE GRELL’s JON SABLE, FREELANCE (including a “Backstage Pass” look at the SABLE TV show); a HOWARD CHAYKIN interview; MIKE W. BARR’s examination of DOC SAVAGE in comics; a spotlight on THE HUMAN TARGET; a speculative look at why DC bypassed the B&W boom of the 1970s; a BATMAN “Rough Stuff” art gallery, featuring BILL SIENKIEWICZ, WALTER SIMONSON, PAUL SMITH, BRIAN BOLLAND, ED HANNIGAN, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, and others; and a “New in Print” look at Batman: Dark Detective, reuniting STEVE ENGLEHART, MARSHALL ROGERS, and TERRY AUSTIN! With an eye-popping RA’S AL GHUL cover by NEAL ADAMS! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

Diamond’s “Best Publication About Comics” lets “Gods and Warriors” muscle their way into BACK ISSUE #11 (100 pages, $8 US Postpaid)! And who better to headline the ish than CONAN? ROY THOMAS, KURT BUSIEK, and JOE JUSKO spill their guts in a meaty retrospective of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian series, with tons of rare and classic art by JOHN BUSCEMA, BARRY WINDSORSMITH, NEAL ADAMS, Jusko, and others. SERGIO ARAGONÉS and MARK EVANIER chew the fat about GROO THE WANDERER in a “Pro2Pro” interview, and Heavy Metal artist extraordinaire ARTHUR SUYDAM shares his insights and illustrations in an exclusive interview. Plus: “The Greatest Stories Never Told” investigates DC’s never-published KING ARTHUR series by GERRY CONWAY and NESTOR REDONDO, unveiling for the first time several of Redondo’s glorious pages from the series; a Gods and Warriors “Rough Stuff” art gallery by JACK KIRBY, MOEBIUS, GEORGE PÉREZ, JOSÉ LUIS GARCIALOPEZ, DON HECK, and others; the scoop on the secret artist who contributed to the 1976 clash of titans SUPERMAN VS. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN; and a spotlight on BRIAN BOLLAND’s covers for 1980s British Annuals!

With a striking painted CONAN cover by JOE JUSKO, recreating JOHN BUSCEMA’s frontispiece to Savage Sword of Conan #17! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

BACK ISSUE #12 (100 pages, $8 US Postpaid) examines comics revamps of the ‘70s and ‘80s in our “Extreme Makeovers” issue! Pulitzer Prize-winner MICHAEL CHABON, DAVE GIBBONS, ROY THOMAS, KURT BUSIEK, and other insiders explore the history of the postmodern super-hero—from Squadron Supreme to Watchmen to today—with rare Gibbons Watchmen art! TOM DeFALCO and RON FRENZ go “Pro2Pro” to unravel the true story behind Spider-Man’s 1980s costume change, while DENNY O’NEIL and friends unlock the secrets of Superman’s 1970 revamp (with art by CURT SWAN and MURPHY ANDERSON)! BOB ROZAKIS and MARSHALL ROGERS plug us in to the Calculator, recently rebooted in DC’s Identity Crisis, and “The Greatest Stories Never Told” spotlights JOHN BYRNE’s aborted SHAZAM! Plus: MIKE FRIEDRICH’s “Off My Chest” editorial reminds us of how Star*Reach changed the comics world; TONY DeZUNIGA draws bead on Jonah Hex, the anti-hero that reinvented the Western comic (with JOHN ALBANO’s never-beforepublished roughs for the first Hex story); a look at how STEVE GERBER and JACK KIRBY’s Destroyer Duck took a stand for creator rights; a “Rough Stuff” pencil-art gallery featuring FRANK MILLER’s Elektra, LEE WEEKS’ Daredevil, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI’s Batman: Year One, CHARLES VESS’ Spider-Man, and more; plus extra surprise features!

With an all-new SPIDER-MAN cover by RON FRENZ and JOE RUBINSTEIN! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

(100-page magazine) $8 US

(100-page magazine) $8 US

HEROES & VILLAINS: THE WILLIAM MESSNER-LOEBS TRIBUTE SKETCHBOOK (JULY) (100-page magazine) $8 US

Award-winning artist/writer WM. MESSNER-LOEBS (JOURNEY, THE FLASH, WONDER WOMAN) has fallen into financial ruin, landing the beloved comics creator in a Salvation Army shelter. To make matters worse, his wife is chronically ill and there’s no medical insurance and no work or funds coming in. In response, TwoMorrows Publishing has joined forces with leading comics creators to produce HEROES AND VILLAINS, a gorgeous sketchbook and tribute shipping in July, the proceeds of which will directly benefit Messner-Loebs. Edited by CLIFFORD METH, the book will include art from MIKE ALLRED, BRENT ANDERSON, CHRIS BACHALO, MARK BAGLEY, JOHN CASSADAY, TRAVIS CHAREST, DAVE & PATY COCKRUM, GENE COLAN, ALAN DAVIS, MIKE DEODATO, CULLY HAMNER, DEAN HASPIEL, GREG HORN, RAFAEL KAYANAN, ANDY KUBERT, STEVE LIEBER, STEVE MCNIVEN, TOM PALMER, JOE QUESADA, DARICK ROBERTSON, WALT SIMONSON, HERB TRIMPE, BILLY TUCCI, SAL VELLUTO and a host of other top pros! PLUS: Written contributions from NEIL GAIMAN, PETER DAVID, and BEAU SMITH, and a new cover by NEAL ADAMS! Don’t miss your chance to help a worthy comics veteran; with more names being added daily, this powerhouse collection of talent will be unparalleled!

96 pages, $29 US POSTPAID

Prices Include US Postage. Outside the US, Add $2 Per Item Canada, $3 Per Item Surface, $7 Per Item Airmail

7

Prices include US Postage. Outside the US, Per Item Add $2 Canada, Elsewhere: $3 Surface, $7 Airmail.

Edited by ROY THOMAS The greatest ‘zine of the ‘60s is back, all-new, and focused on Golden & Silver Age comics and creators with articles, interviews, unseen art, plus FCA, Mr. Monster, and more!

AE #2: (100 pgs.) All-new!

EISNER “SPIRIT” story, KANE, FOX & SCHWARTZ on The Atom, L. LIEBER & JACK BURNLEY intvs., KANIGHER, FCA, new color BURNLEY & KANE covers, more! $8 US

AE #3: (100 pgs.) ALEX ROSS cover & interview, JERRY ORDWAY, BILL EVERETT, CARL BURGOS, Giant FAWCETT (FCA) section with C.C. BECK, MARC SWAYZE, & more! $8 US

AE #4: (100 pgs.) 60 years of HAWKMAN & FLASH! ROY THOMAS remembers GIL KANE, intvs. with KUBERT, MOLDOFF, LAMPERT, FOX, FCA with BECK & SWAYZE, KUBERT covers, more! $8 US

AE #5: (100 pgs.) JSA issue!

Intvs. with SHELLY MAYER, GIL KANE, MART NODELL, GEORGE ROUSSOS, FCA with BECK & SWAYZE, NEW INFANTINO / ORDWAY wraparound cover, more! $8 US

AE #6: (100 pgs.) GENE COLAN intv., how-to books by STAN LEE & KANIGHER, ALLSTAR SQUADRON, MAC RABOY section, FCA with BECK & SWAYZE, COLAN & RABOY covers, more! $8 US

AE #7: (100 pgs.) Companion issue to the ALL-STAR COMPANION! J. SCHWARTZ intv., JLA-JSA teamups, MAC RABOY, FCA with BECK & SWAYZE, BUCKLER & BECK covers, more! $8 US

AE #8: (100 pgs.) Bio of WALLY WOOD, ADKINS & PEARSON intvs., KUBERT intv., FCA w/ BECK, SWAYZE, & ORDWAY, MR. MONSTER, WOOD & KUBERT covers, more! $8 US

AE #9: (100 pgs.) JOHN ROMITA intv. & gallery, plus ROY THOMAS’ dream projects! FCA with BECK, SWAYZE, & TUSKA, MR. MONSTER, ROMITA & DICK GIORDANO covers! $8 US

AE #10: (100 pgs) CARMINE INFANTINO intv. & art, neverseen FLASH story, VIN SULLIVAN & MAGAZINE ENTERPRISES, FRED GUARDINEER, AYERS, FCA, MR. MONSTER, more! $8 US

AE #11: (100 pgs) Interviews with SYD SHORES, MICKEY SPILLANE, VINCE FAGO, MAGAZINE ENTERPRISES Part Two, FCA with BECK, SWAYZE, DON NEWTON, MR. MONSTER, more! $8 US

AE #12: (100 pgs) GILL FOX on QUALITY COMICS, neverseen PAUL REINMAN Green Lantern art, origins of ALLSTAR SQUADRON, FCA, MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD, more! $8 US

AE #13 (100 pgs.) TITANS OF TIMELY/MARVEL Part Two! JOE SIMON & MURPHY ANDERSON covers, Silver Age AVENGERS section (with BUSCEMA, HECK, TUSKA, & THOMAS) & more! $8 US

AE #14 (100 pgs.) JSA FROM THE ‘40s TO THE ‘80s! MIKE NASSER & MICHAEL T. GILBERT covers, intvs. with ORDWAY & LEE ELIAS, neverseen 1940s JSA pgs., ‘70s JSA, & more! $8 US

AE #15 (108 pgs.) JOHN BUSCEMA TRIBUTE ISSUE! BUSCEMA covers & interview, unseen art, ROY THOMAS on their collaborations, plus salute to KURT SCHAFFENBERGER, & more! $8 US

AE #16: (108 pgs.) COLAN, BUSCEMA, ROMITA, SEVERIN interviews, ALEX ROSS on Shazam!, OTTO & JACK BINDER, KURTZMAN, new ROSS & FRADON/SEVERIN covers, more! $8 US

AE #17: (108 pgs.) LOU FINE overview & art, ARNOLD DRAKE & MURPHY ANDERSON interviews, plus EISNER, CRANDALL, DAVIS & EVANS’ non-EC action comics, FCA, LOU FINE cover, more! $8 US

AE #18: (108 pgs.) STAN GOLDBERG interview & art, plus KIRBY, DITKO, HECK, ROMITA, BUSCEMA, EVERETT, WALLY WOOD’S Flash Gordon, FCA, KIRBY & SWAYZE covers, more! $8 US

AE #19: (108 pgs.) DICK SPRANG interview & art, JERRY ROBINSON on FRED RAY, BOB KANE, CARMINE INFANTINO, ALEX TOTH, WALLY WOOD, FCA, SPRANG & RAY covers, more! $8 US

AE #20: (108 pgs.) TIMELY/ MARVEL focus, INVADERS overview with KIRBY, KANE, ROBBINS, BOB DESCHAMPS intv., panel with FINGER, BINDER, FOX, & WEISINGER, FCA, rare art, more! $8 US

AE #21: (108 pgs.) IGER STUDIO with art by EISNER, FINE, MESKIN, ANDERSON, CRANDALL, CARDY, EVANS, “SHEENA” section, THOMAS on the JSA, FCA, DAVE STEVENS cover, more! $8 US

AE #22: (108 pgs.) EVERETT & KUBERT interviewed by GIL KANE & NEAL ADAMS, ROY THOMAS on Sub-Mariner, COLAN, BUSCEMA, SEVERIN, WOOD, FCA, BECK & EVERETT covers, more! $8 US

AE #23: (108 pgs.) Two unseen Golden Age WONDER WOMAN stories examined, BOB FUJITANI intv. Archie/ MLJ’s JOHN ROSENBERGER & VICTOR GORELICK intv., FCA, rare art, more! $8 US

AE #24: (108 pgs.) NEW X-MEN intvs. with STAN LEE, COCKRUM, CLAREMONT, WEIN, DRAKE, SHOOTER, THOMAS, MORT MESKIN profiled, FCA, covers by COCKRUM & MESKIN! $8 US

AE #25: (108 pgs.) JACK COLE & PLASTIC MAN! Brother DICK COLE interviewed, Cole celebrated by ALEX TOTH, THOMAS on All-Star Squadron #1, JERRY BAILS tribute, FCA, cover by TOTH! $8 US

AE #26: (108 pgs.) JOE SINNOTT interview, KIRBY and BUSCEMA art, IRWIN DONENFELD, Superman art by SHUSTER, BORING, SWAN, FCA, Mr. MONSTER, covers by SINNOTT & BORING! $8 US

#20:(108 (108pgs.) pgs.)

AE #27: VINTIMELY/ SULLIMARVEL focus, KIRBY INVADERS VAN intv., “Lost” HULK overview the with1948 KIRBY, covers, NY KANE, CON, ROBBINS,Unknown” BOB DESCHAMPS “Great artists, intv., panel FCA, withALEX FINGER, KURTZMAN, TOTH, BINDER, FOX, & WEISINGER, MR. MONSTER, covers by FCA, rare art, more! $8 $8 US US BURNLEY & KIRBY!

AE #28: (108 pgs.) JOE MANEELY spotlight, scarce Marvel art by EVERETT, SEVERIN, DITKO, ROMITA, extra-size FCA, LEE AMES intv., covers by MANEELY & DON NEWTON! $8 US

AE #29: (108 pgs.) FRANK BRUNNER intv., EVERETT’s Venus, Classics Illustrated adapting Lovecraft, LEE/KIRBY/ DITKO prototypes, ALEX TOTH, FCA with GENE COLAN, BRUNNER cover! $8 US

AE #30: (108 pgs.) SILVER AGE JLA special, ALEX ROSS on the JLA, MIKE SEKOWSKY, DICK DILLIN, GOLDEN AGE SIMON & KIRBY scripters speak, FRENCH HEROES, ROSS & RUDE covers! $8 US

AE #31: (108 pgs.) DICK AYERS intv., HARLAN ELLISON’S Marvel work (with Bullpen artists), LEE/KIRBY/ DITKO prototypes, Christmas cards from cartoonists, AYERS & RAY covers! $8 US

AE #32: (108 pgs.) Golden Age TIMELY ARTISTS intv., MART NODELL, MIKE GOLD on the Silver Age, art by SIMON & KIRBY, SWAN, INFANTINO, KANE, GIORDANO & GIL KANE covers! $8 US

AE #33: (108 pgs.) MIKE SEKOWSKY tribute, intvs. with wife PAT SEKOWSKY and Golden Age inker VALERIE BARCLAY, art by ANDERSON, ANDRU & ESPOSITO, INFANTINO, FRENZ covers! $8 US

AE #34: (108 pgs.) QUALITY COMICS, intvs. with ALEX KOTZKY, CHUCK CUIDERA, DICK ARNOLD, TOTH, KURTZMAN, art by FINE, EISNER, COLE, CRANDALL and NICHOLAS covers! $8 US

AE #35: #20: (108 (108pgs.) pgs.)STAN TIMELY/ LEE, MARVEL focus,DICK INVADERS JOHN ROMITA, AYERS, overview with KIRBY, KANE, ROY THOMAS, & AL JAFFEE ROBBINS, BOB DESCHAMPS on the 1940s & 1950s Golden intv., FINGER, Age at panel Timely/with Marvel, FCA, BINDER, FOX, & ROMITA WEISINGER, MR. MONSTER, and $8 US FCA, rarecovers! art, more! $8 US JAFFEE

AE #36: (108 pgs.) JOE SIMON intv. & cover, GOLDEN AGE HEROES of Canada, ELMER WEXLER, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on MR. MONSTER’S ORIGINS, FCA, ALEX TOTH, and more! $8 US

AE #37: (108 pgs.) BECK & BORING covers, SY BARRY intv., Superman “K-Metal” story, FCA with C.C. BECK, MARC SWAYZE, DON NEWTON, and Shazam!/Isis!, MR. MONSTER, and more! $8 US

AE #38: (108 pgs.) JULIUS SCHWARTZ tribute & interviews, art by INFANTINO, ANDERSON, KUBERT, KANE, TOTH, SWAN, SEKOWSKY, FCA section, INFANTINO and HASEN covers, more!! $8 US

AE #39: (108 pgs.) Full issue JERRY ROBINSON spotlight, with comprehensive interview and unseen Batman art, AL FELDSTEIN on EC, GIL FOX, MESKIN, ROUSSOS, & ROBINSON covers! $8 US

AE #40: (108 pgs.) JULIUS SCHWARTZ memorial issue with tributes by pros, GIL KANE interview, comprehensive interview and unseen art

by RUSS HEATH, GIL KANE and HEATH covers! $8 US

8

ALTER EGO #41

ALTER EGO #42

ALTER EGO #43

ALTER EGO #44

ALTER EGO #45

Covers by WRIGHTSON & MARC SWAYZE, WRIGHTSON on his ‘70s FRANKENSTEIN, art by KALUTA, BAILY, MANEELY, PLOOG, KUBERT, BRUNNER, COWAN, BORING, OKSNER, TUSKA, CRANDALL, SUTTON, and others! Plus FCA #100, ALEX TOTH, MICHAEL T. GILBERT—and more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

Covers by FASTNER & LARSON and ERNIE SCHROEDER, a celebration of DON HECK, WERNER ROTH, and PAUL REINMAN, rare art by KIRBY, DITKO, AYERS, Hillman & Ziff-Davis remembered by SCHROEDER, HERB ROGOFF, and WALTER LITTMAN, FCA, ALEX TOTH, & more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

Flip covers by TUSKA and STEVENS, yuletide art by SINNOTT, BRUNNER, CARDY, TOTH, NODELL, and others, interviews with Golden Age artists TOM GILL (Lone Ranger) and MORRIS WEISS, exploring 1960s Mexican comics, FCA, MR. MONSTER, ALEX TOTH, & more! Edited

by ROY THOMAS.

Interviews with JOE KUBERT, IRWIN HASEN, MURPHY ANDERSON, JERRY ORDWAY, 1940s Atom writer ARTHUR ADLER, art by TOTH, SEKOWSKY, HASEN, PEDDY, MACHLAN, BUCKLER, OKSNER, INFANTINO, FCA, MR. MONSTER, cover

by ORDWAY, & more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

Interviews with Golden Age Sandman artist CREIG FLESSEL and 1940s creator BERT CHRISTMAN, MICHAEL CHABON on researching his Pulitzer-winning novel Kavalier & Clay, art by EISNER, KANE, KIRBY, & AYERS, FCA, MR. MONSTER, ALEX TOTH, & more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

(108-page magazine) $8 US

(108-page magazine) $8 US

(108-page magazine) $8 US

(100-page magazine) $8 US

(100-page magazine) $8 US

ALTER EGO #46

ALTER EGO #47

ALTER EGO #48

ALTER EGO #49

ALTER EGO #50

The VERY BEST of the 1960s-70s ALTER EGO! EVERETT/SEVERIN cover, classic 1969 BILL EVERETT interview, art by BURGOS, GUSTAVSON, SIMON & KIRBY, and others, 1960s gems by DITKO & E. NELSON BRIDWELL, FCA, TOTH, & more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

MATT BAKER, Golden Age cheesecake artist of PHANTOM LADY, plus art from AL FELDSTEIN, VINCE COLLETTA, ARTHUR PEDDY, JACK KAMEN & others, FCA, BILL SCHELLY talks to BUD PLANT, MR. MONSTER, ALEX TOTH, and more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

The late WILL EISNER discusses ‘40s Quality Comics with art by FINE, CRANDALL, COLE, & CARDY! EISNER tributes by STAN LEE, GENE COLAN, & others! ‘40s Quality artist VERN HENKEL interviewed, FCA, MR. MONSTER, TOTH, & more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

Interview with CARL BURGOS’ daughter!

Unused 1941 cover layouts by BURGOS and other Timely titans! The 1957 Atlas Implosion, MANNY STALLMAN, and the BLUE FLAME! Also, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER and more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

ROY THOMAS covers his 40-YEAR career in comics, with ADAMS, BUSCEMA, COLAN, DITKO, GIL KANE, KIRBY, STAN LEE, ORDWAY, PÉREZ, ROMITA, and many others! Also, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER and more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

(100-page magazine) $8 US

(100-page magazine) $8 US

(100-page magazine) $8 US

(100-page magazine) $8 US

(100-page magazine) $8 US

SUBSCRIBE TO ALTER EGO! Twelve Issues in the US: $60 Standard, $96 First Class (Canada: $120, Elsewhere: $132 Surface, $180 Airmail).

NOTE: IF YOU PREFER A SIX-ISSUE SUB, JUST CUT THE PRICE IN HALF! (The cover price of Alter Ego increases by $1 as of #52, but the subscription price remains the same.)

ALTER EGO #51 (AUG.)

ALTER EGO #52 (SEPT.)

ALTER EGO #53 (OCT.)

Golden Age Batman artist/Bob Kane ghost LEW SAYRE SCHWARTZ interviewed, the Golden & Silver Ages of AUSTRALIAN SUPER-HEROES, Mad artist DAVE BERG interviewed, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on WILL EISNER, ALEX TOTH and more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

JOE GIELLA on the Silver Age at DC, the Golden Age at Marvel, and JULIE SCHWARTZ, with rare art by INFANTINO, GIL KANE, SEKOWSKY, SWAN, DILLIN, MOLDOFF, GIACOIA, SCHAFFENBERGER, and others, JAY SCOTT PIKE on STAN LEE, MARTIN THALL, and more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

GIORDANO and THOMAS on STOKER’S DRACULA, never-seen DICK BRIEFER Frankenstein strip, MIKE ESPOSITO on his work with ROSS ANDRU, Halloween art

by COLAN, WRIGHTSON, MIGNOLA, BRUNNER, BISSETTE, KALUTA, HEATH, MANEELY, EVERETT, DITKO, and others!!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $8 US

NOMINATED FOR A 2004 EISNER AWARD FOR BEST COMICSRELATED MAGAZINE!

Single Issue Prices Include US Postage. Outside the US, add $2 Per Item Canada, $3 Per Item Surface, $7 Per Item Airmail

9

BACK ISSUES

Prices include US Postage. Outside the US, Add $2 Per Item Canada, $3 Per Item Surface, $7 Per Item Airmail (except Hardcover Books: add $14 Airmail)

DRAW! (edited by MIKE MANLEY) is the professional “How-To” magazine on comics, cartooning, and animation. Each issue features in-depth interviews & step-by-step demos from top comics pros on all aspects of graphic storytelling. NOTE: Contains nudity for purposes of figure drawing. Intended for Mature Readers.

DRAW! #11 (JULY)

WRITE NOW! #11 (OCT.)

STEVE RUDE demonstrates his approach to comics & drawing!

ROQUE BALLESTEROS on Flash animation! Political cartoonist JIM BORGMAN on his daily comic strip Zits! Plus DRAW!’S regular instructors BRET BLEVINS, ALEBERTO RUIZ and more! Edited by MIKE MANLEY.

BENDIS, WAID, DAVID, DEMATTEIS, DeFALCO, O’NEIL, DIXON, ALONSO and 17 others reveal PROFESSIONAL WRITING SECRETS, plus DeFALCO and FRENZ on working together and an all-new SPIDER-GIRL cover by FRENZ and SAL BUSCEMA! Edited by DANNY FINGEROTH.

(96-page mag with color) $8 US

2005 EISNER NOMINEE!

(80-page magazine) $8 US

SUBSCRIPTION RATES:

DRAW! OR WRITE NOW! SUBS: 4 issues: $20 Standard, $32 First Class (Canada: $40, Elsewhere: $44 Surface, $60 Airmail).

HOW TO DRAW COMICS, FROM SCRIPT TO PRINT DVD: DRAW’s MIKE MANLEY and WRITE NOW’s DANNY FINGEROTH create a new character created from scratch, and create a story drawn from script to roughs, pencils, inks, and coloring— even lettering! It’s 120 minutes of “howto” tips, tricks, and tools of the pros, plus bonus features! $34 US Bundled with WRITE NOW! #8 & DRAW! #9: $39 US

DRAW #3: (80 pgs.) “How-To” DRAW #4: (92 pgs.) “How-To” DRAW #5: (88 pgs.) “How-To” DRAW #6: (96 pgs.) “How-To” demos & interviews with DICK demos & interviews with ERIK demos/intvs. with BENDIS & demos & interviews with BILL GIORDANO, “Action” by BRET LARSEN, KEVIN NOWLAN, OEMING, MIKE WIERINGO, WRAY, STEPHEN DeSTEFANO, BLEVINS, CHRIS BAILEY, DAVE COOPER, “Figure MARK McKENNA, “Hands” by CELIA CALLE, MIKE MANLEY, MIKE MANLEY, new column Composition” by BRET BRET BLEVINS, PAUL “Light & Shadow” by BRET

by PAUL RIVOCHE, reviews of BLEVINS, PAUL RIVOCHE, RIVOCHE, color section, prod- BLEVINS, ANDE PARKS, color art supplies, more! $8 US color section, more! $8 US section, and more! $8 US uct reviews, more! $8 US

DRAW #7: (96 pgs.) “How-To” DRAW #8: (96 pgs.) “How-To” DRAW #9: (96 pgs.) Pt. 2 of DRAW #10: (96 pgs.) “Howdemos & interviews with DAN demos & interviews with crossover with WRITE NOW!, To” demos & interviews with BRERETON, PAUL RIVOCHE, MATT HALEY, ALBERTO RUIZ, showing a comic created from RON GARNEY, GRAHAM ZACH TRENHOLM, MIKE TOM BANCROFT, ROB script to print (with full-color NOLAN, Lettering with TODD MANLEY, “Sketching” by CORLEY, “Drapery” by BRET comic insert), plus BRET KLEIN, step-by-step with BRET BLEVINS, color section, BLEVINS, color section, BLEVINS, ALBERTO RUIZ, ALBERTO RUIZ, BRET product reviews, more! $8 US product reviews, more! $8 US SCOTT KURTZ, & more! $8 US BLEVINS, and more! $8 US

WRITE NOW! (edited by DANNY FINGEROTH), the mag for writers of comics, animation, & sci-fi, puts you in the minds of today’s top writers and editors. Each issue features writing tips from pros on both sides of the desk, interviews, sample scripts, reviews, and more.

WN #1: (88 pgs.) MARK WN #2: (96 pgs.) ERIK WN #3: (80 pgs.) DEODATO BAGLEY cover & interview, LARSEN cover & interview, JR. Hulk cover, intvs. & articles BRIAN BENDIS & STAN LEE STAN BERKOWITZ on the by BRUCE JONES, AXEL interviews, JOE QUESADA on Justice League cartoon, TODD ALONSO, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, what editors really want, TOM ALCOTT on Samurai Jack, LEE KURT BUSIEK, FABIAN DeFALCO, J.M. DeMATTEIS, NORDLING, ANNE D. BERN- NICIEZA, STEVEN GRANT, more! $8 US DENNY O’NEIL, more! $8 US STEIN, & more! $8 US

WN #4: (80 pgs.) Interviews WN #5: (80 pgs.) Interviews WN #6: (80 pgs.) Interviews WN #7: (80 pgs.) Interviews WN #8: (80 pgs.) Pt. 1 of WN #9: (80 pgs.) NEAL WN #10: (80 pgs.) Interviews and lessons with WARREN and lessons by WILL EISNER, and lessons with BENDIS and and lessons by JEPH LOEB & crossover with DRAW!, show- ADAMS on his writing (with and lessons by Justice League ELLIS, HOWARD CHAYKIN, J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI, OEMING on POWERS, MARK TIM SALE, JIM LEE, CHUCK ing a comic created from lots of Adams art), plus inter- Unlimited’s DWAYNE McDUFFIE, PAUL DINI, FABIAN NICIEZA, BOB SCHRECK, FABIAN WAID on FANTASTIC FOUR, DIXON, JOHN JACKSON script to print, plus interviews views and lessons by GEOFF “Hate’s” PETER BAGGE, comics KURT BUSIEK, TOM DeFALCO, NICIEZA, PAUL DINI, JOEY BOB SCHRECK continues, MILLER, MARK WHEATLEY, and lessons by STUART JOHNS, MICHAEL OEMING, scripter/editor GERRY CONWAY, STEVEN GRANT, DENNY CAVALIERI, DIANA SCHUTZ, DIANA SCHUTZ, SCOTT M. DENNY O’NEIL, YVETTE MOORE, DON McGREGOR, & BATTON LASH, secrets of writer/editor PAUL BENJAMIN, O’NEIL, more! $8 US DENNY O’NEIL, more! $8 US ROSENBERG, more! $8 US KAPLAN, more! $8 US Indy creator secrets! $8 US pitching ideas, & more! $8 US & more! $8 US

10

1 ST SERIES BACK ISSUES! CBA is the 2000-2003 Eisner Award winner for BEST COMICSRELATED MAG! Edited by Jon B. Cooke, it features in-depth articles, interviews, and unseen art.

Back issues are ONLY AVAILABLE FROM TWOMORROWS!

CBA #9: (116 pgs.) CHARL- CBA #10: (116 pgs.) WALTER CBA #11: (116 pgs.) ALEX TON COMICS: PART ONE! SIMONSON, plus WOMEN OF TOTH & SHELDON MAYER! DICK GIORDANO, PETER THE COMICS! RAMONA TOTH interviews, unseen art, MORISI, JIM APARO, JOE FRADON, MARIE SEVERIN, appreciations, checklist, & GILL, MCLAUGHLIN, GLANZ- TRINA ROBBINS, JOHN more. Also, SHELLY MAYER’s MAN, new GIORDANO cover, WORKMAN, new SIMONSON kids, the real life SUGAR & more! $9 US SPIKE! $9 US cover, & more! $9 US

WARREN COMPANION The ultimate guide to Warren Publishing, the publisher of such mags as CREEPY, EERIE, VAMPIRELLA, BLAZING COMBAT, and others. Reprints COMIC BOOK ARTIST #4 (completely reformatted), plus nearly 200 new pages: • New painted cover by ALEX HORLEY! • A definitive WARREN CHECKLIST! • Dozens of NEW FEATURES on CORBEN, FRAZETTA, DITKO and others, and interviews with WRIGHTSON, WARREN, EISNER, ADAMS, COLAN & many more!

(288-page unsigned Hardcover) $44 US

CBA #12: (116 pgs.) CHARL- CBA #13: (116 pgs.) MARVEL CBA #14: (116 pgs.) TOWER CBA #15: (116 pgs.) LOVE & TON COMICS OF THE 1970s! HORROR OF THE 1970s! Art/ COMICS! Art by & intvs. with ROCKETEERS! Art by & intvs.

Rare art/intvs. with STATON, interviews with WOLFMAN, WALLY WOOD, DAN ADKINS, with DAVE STEVENS, LOS BYRNE, NEWTON, SUTTON, COLAN, PALMER, THOMAS, LEN BROWN, STEVE BROS. HERNANDEZ, MATT ZECK, NICK CUTI, a NEW E- ISABELLA, PERLIN, TRIMPE, SKEATES, GEORGE TUSKA, WAGNER, DEAN MOTTER, MAN strip, new STATON MARCOS, a new COLAN/ new WOOD & ADKINS covers, new STEVENS/HERNANDEZ cover, more! $9 US PALMER cover, more! $9 US more! $9 US cover, more! $9 US

COMIC BOOK ARTIST COLLECTION, VOL. 3 Reprinting the Eisner Award-winning COMIC BOOK ARTIST #7 and #8 (‘70s Marvel and ‘80s independents), featuring a new MICHAEL T. GILBERT cover, plus interviews with GILBERT, RUDE, GULACY, GERBER, DON SIMPSON, CHAYKIN, SCOTT McCLOUD, BUCKLER, BYRNE, DENIS KITCHEN, plus a NEW SECTION featuring over 30 pages of previouslyunseen stuff! Edited by JON B. COOKE. (224-page trade paperback) $29 US

EXCLUSIVE BUNDLE! GET CBA #9, 12, AND 19 TOGETHER FOR $18 POSTPAID! SAVE $9!

CBA #16: (132 pgs.) ‘70s CBA #17: (116 pgs.) ARTHUR CBA #18: (116 pgs.) COSMIC CBA #19: (116 pgs.) HARVEY CBA #20: (116 pgs.) FATHERS CBA #21: (116 pgs.) THE ART CBA #22: (116 pgs.) GOLD ATLAS/SEABOARD COMICS! ADAMS & CO.! ART ADAMS COMICS OF THE ‘70s! Art by COMICS! Art by & intvs. with & SONS! Art by & intvs. with OF ADAM HUGHES! Art, inter- KEY COMICS! Art by & intvs.

Art by & interviews with interview & gallery, remem- & intvs. with JIM STARLIN, SIMON & KIRBY, WALLY the top father/son teams in view & checklist with HUGH- with RUSS MANNING, WALLY ERNIE CÓLON, CHAYKIN, bering GRAY MORROW, ALAN WEISS, ENGLEHART, WOOD, AL WILLIAMSON, GIL comics: ADAM, ANDY, & JOE ES, plus a day in the life of WOOD, JESSE SANTOS, ROVIN, AMENDOLA, HAMA, GEORGE ROUSSOS, GEORGE AL MILGROM, LEIALOHA, KANE, SID JACOBSON, FRED KUBERT & JOHN ROMITA SR. ALEX ROSS, JOHN BUSCEMA MARK EVANIER, DON GLUT, new CÓLON & KUPPERBERG EVANS, new ART ADAMS ‘60s Bullpen reunion, new RHOADES, MITCH O’CONNELL & JR., new ROMITA & tribute, new HUGHES cover, new BRUCE TIMM cover, cover, more! $9 US covers, more! $9 US STARLIN cover, more! $9 US cover, more! $9 US KUBERT covers, more! $9 US more! $9 US more! $9 US

CBA #23: (116 pgs.) MIKE CBA #24: (116 pgs.) COMICS CBA #25: (116 pgs.) ALAN MIGNOLA SPOTLIGHT, plus OF NATIONAL LAMPOON with MOORE’S ABC COMICS with JILL THOMPSON: Sandman to GAHAN WILSON, BODÉ, NEAL MOORE, KEVIN NOWLAN, Scary Godmother! Mignola ADAMS, FRANK SPRINGER, GENE HA, RICK VEITCH, J.H. INTERVIEW & ART GALLERY, ALAN KUPPERBERG, BOBBY WILLIAMS, SCOTT DUNBIER, extensive CHECKLIST, new LONDON, MICHAEL GROSS, JIM BAIKIE, and NOWLAN & cover, & more! $9 US WILLIAMS covers! $9 US more! $9 US

COMICOLOGY (edited

by BRIAN SANER LAMKEN), the highlyacclaimed magazine about modern comics, recently ended its four-issue run, but back issues are available, featuring never-seen CC #2: (100 pgs.) MIKE CC #3: (100 pgs.) CARLOS CC #4: (116 pgs., final issue) art & interviews.

ALLRED interview & portfolio, PACHECO interview & portfolio, ALL-BRIAN ISSUE! Interviews 60 years of THE SPIRIT, 25 ANDI WATSON interview, a look with BRIAN AZZARELLO, years of the X-MEN, PAUL at what comics predicted the BRIAN CLOPPER, BRIAN GRIST interview, FORTY future would be like, new color MICHAEL BENDIS, BRIAN WINKS, new color ALLRED & PACHECO & WATSON covers, BOLLAND, huge BOLLAND GRIST covers, & more! $8 US & more! $8 US portfolio, & more! $8 US

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Prices Include US Postage. Outside the US, Add $2 Per Item Canada, $3 Per Item Surface, $7 Per Item Airmail

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The KIRBY COLLECTOR (edited by JOHN MORROW) celebrates the life & career of the “King” of comics through interviews with Kirby & his contemporaries, feature articles, & rare & unseen Kirby artwork. Now in tabloid format, the magazine showcases Kirby’s art at even larger size.

KIRBY UNLEASHED: (60 pgs.)

New, completely remastered version of the scarce 1971 portfolio/biography, with 8 extra B&W and 8 extra color pages, including Jack’s color GODS posters. $24 US

COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, VOL. ONE: (240 pgs.) Reprints TJKC #1-9, plus over 30 pieces of NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED KIRBY ART! $29 US

COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, VOL. TWO: (160 pgs.) Reprints TJKC #10-12, plus over 30 pieces of NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED KIRBY ART! $22 US

COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, VOL. THREE: (176 pgs.) Reprints TJKC #1315, plus over 30 pieces of NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED KIRBY ART! $24 US

COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, VOL. FOUR: (240 pgs.) Reprints TJKC #1619, plus over 30 pieces of NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED KIRBY ART! $29 US

JACK KIRBY CHECKLIST (100 pgs.) Lists all of Jack Kirby’s published comics in detail, plus Portfolios, unpublished work; even cross-references reprints! Filled with rare Kirby artwork! $7 US

CAPTAIN VICTORY: GRAPHITE EDITION (52 pgs.) Kirby’s 1975 Graphic Novel in original pencil form. Unseen art, screenplay, more! Proceeds go to preserving the 5000-page Kirby Archives! $8 US

TJKC #20: (68 pgs.) KIRBY’S WOMEN! Interviews with KIRBY, DAVE STEVENS, & LISA KIRBY, unused 10-page story, romance comics, Jack’s original CAPTAIN VICTORY screenplay, more! $8 US

TJKC #21: (68 pgs.) KIRBY, GIL KANE, & BRUCE TIMM intvs., FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE (LEE dialogue vs.

KIRBY notes), SILVER STAR screenplay, TOPPS COMICS, unpublished art, more! $8 US

TJKC #22: (68 pgs.) VILLAINS! KIRBY, STEVE RUDE, & MIKE MIGNOLA interviews, FF #49 pencils, FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE, KOBRA, ATLAS MONSTERS! Kirby/Stevens cover. $8 US

TJKC #23: (68 pgs.) Interviews with KIRBY, DENNY O’NEIL & TRACY KIRBY, more FF #49 pencils, FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE, unused 10-page SOUL LOVE story, more! $8 US

TJKC #24: (68 pgs.) BATTLES! KIRBY’S original art fight, JIM SHOOTER interview, NEW GODS #6 (“Glory Boat”) pencils, FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE, more! Kirby/ Mignola cover. $8 US

TJKC #25: (100 pgs.) SIMON & KIRBY! KIRBY, SIMON, & JOHN SEVERIN interviews, CAPTAIN AMERICA pencils, unused BOY EXPLORERS story, history of MAINLINE COMICS, more! $8 US

TJKC #26: (72 pgs.) GODS! COLOR NEW GODS concept drawings, KIRBY & WALTER SIMONSON interviews, FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE, BIBLE INFLUENCES, THOR, MR. MIRACLE, more! $8 US

TJKC #27: (72 pages) KIRBY INFLUENCE Part One! KIRBY and ALEX ROSS interviews, KIRBY FAMILY Roundtable, all-star lineup of pros discuss Kirby’s influence on them!

Kirby / Timm cover. $8 US

TJKC #30: (68 pgs.) ‘80s WORK! Interviews with ALAN MOORE & Kirby Estate’s ROBERT KATZ, HUNGER DOGS, SUPER POWERS, SILVER STAR, ANIMATION work, more! $8 US

TJKC #31: (84 pgs.) TABLOID FORMAT! Wraparound KIRBY/ ADAMS cover, KURT BUSIEK & LADRONN interviews, new MARK EVANIER column, favorite 2-PAGE SPREADS, 2001 Treasury, more! $13 US

TJKC #32: (84 pgs.) TABLOID! KIRBY interview, new MARK EVANIER column, plus Kirby’s Least Known Work: DAYS OF THE MOB #2, THE HORDE, BLACK HOLE, SOUL LOVE, PRISONER, more! $13 US

TJKC #33: (84 pgs.) TABLOID ALL-FANTASTIC FOUR issue!

MARK EVANIER column, miniinterviews with everyone who worked on FF after Kirby, STAN LEE interview, 40 pgs. of FF PENCILS, more! $13 US

TJKC #34: (84 pgs.) TABLOID! JOE SIMON & CARMINE INFANTINO interviews, MARK EVANIER column, unknown 1950s concepts, CAPTAIN AMERICA pencils, KIRBY/ TOTH cover, more! $13 US

TJKC #35: (84 pgs.) TABLOID! GREAT ESCAPES with MISTER MIRACLE, comparing KIRBY & HOUDINI, Kirby Tribute Panel with EVANIER, EISNER, BUSCEMA, ROMITA, ROYER, & JOHNNY CARSON! $13 US

TJKC #36: (84 pgs.) TABLOID ALL-THOR issue! MARK EVANIER column, SINNOTT & ROMITA JR. interviews, unseen KIRBY INTV., ART GALLERY, FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE, more! $13 US

TJKC #37: (84 pgs.) TABLOID HOW TO DRAW THE KIRBY WAY issue! MARK EVANIER column, MIKE ROYER on inking, KIRBY interview, ART GALLERY, analysis of Kirby’s art techniques, more! $13 US

TJKC #38: (84 pgs.) TABLOID KIRBY: STORYTELLER! MARK EVANIER column, JOE SINNOTT on inking, SWIPES, talks with JACK DAVIS, PAUL GULACY, HERNANDEZ BROS., ART GALLERY, more! $13 US

TJKC #39: (84 pgs.) TABLOID FAN FAVORITES! EVANIER column, INHUMANS, HULK, SILVER SURFER, tribute panel with ROMITA, AYERS, LEVITZ, McFARLANE, TRIMPE, ART GALLERY, more! $13 US

TJKC #40: (84 pgs.) TABLOID “WORLD THAT’S COMING!” EVANIER column, KAMANDI, OMAC, tribute panel with CHABON, PINI, GOLDBERG, BUSCEMA, LIEBER, LEE, ART GALLERY, more! $13 US

TJKC #41: (84 pgs.) TABLOID! 1970s MARVEL, including Jack’s last year on FF, EVANIER column, GIORDANO interview, tribute panel with GIBBONS, RUDE, SIMONSON, RYAN, ART GALLERY, more! $13 US

TJKC #42: (84 pgs.) TABLOID! Spotlights Kirby at ‘70s DC Comics, from Jimmy Olsen to Spirit World! Huge Kirby pencil art gallery, covers inked by KEVIN NOWLAN & MURPHY ANDERSON! $13 US

TJKC SUBSCRIPTIONS! 4 tabloid issues: $36 Standard, $52 First Class (Canada: $60, Elsewhere: $64 Surface, $80 Airmail).

12

THE TWOMORROWS LIBRARY !

INNER W D R AWA EISNER

Top creators discuss all aspects of the DESIGN OF COMICS:

DICK GIORDANO

CHANGING COMICS, ONE DAY AT A TIME MICHAEL EURY’s biography of comics’ most prominent and affable personality!

• Covers his career as illustrator, inker, and • WILL EISNER • SCOTT HAMPTON editor, peppered with DICK’S PERSONAL • MIKE WIERINGO • WALTER SIMONSON REFLECTIONS on his career milestones!

• MIKE MIGNOLA • MARK SCHULTZ • DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI • MIKE CARLIN • Lavishly illustrated with RARE AND NEVER SEEN comics, merchandising, and • DICK GIORDANO • BRIAN STELFREEZE advertising art (includes a color section)!

• CHRIS MOELLER • MARK CHIARELLO • Extensive index of his published work!

If you’re serious about creating effective, • Comments & tributes by NEAL ADAMS, innovative comics, or just enjoying them DENNIS O’NEIL, TERRY AUSTIN, PAUL from the creator’s perspective, this guide is LEVITZ, MARV WOLFMAN, JULIUS must-reading!

SCHWARTZ, JIM APARO & others!

(208-Page Trade Paperback) $26 US • With a Foreword by NEAL ADAMS and Afterword by PAUL LEVITZ! (176-pg. Paperback) $24 US

STREETWISE

TOP ARTISTS DRAWING STORIES OF THEIR LIVES An unprecedented assembly of talent drawing NEW autobiographical stories: • Barry WINDSOR-SMITH • C.C. BECK • Sergio ARAGONÉS • Walter SIMONSON • Brent ANDERSON • Nick CARDY • Roy THOMAS & John SEVERIN • Paul CHADWICK • Rick VEITCH • Murphy ANDERSON • Joe KUBERT • Evan DORKIN • Sam GLANZMAN • Plus Art SPIEGELMAN, Jack KIRBY, more!

Cover by RUDE • Foreword by EISNER (160-Page Trade Paperback) $24 US

CAPTAIN ACTION

THE ORIGINAL SUPERHERO ACTION FIGURE CAPTAIN ACTION debuted in the wake of the ‘60s Batman TV show, and could become 13 different super-heroes. With over 200 toy photos, this trade paperback chronicles his history (including comic book appearances), with historical anecdotes by the late GIL KANE, JIM SHOOTER, STAN WESTON (co-creator of GI Joe, Captain Action, and Mego’s World’s Greatest Super-Heroes), and others, plus never-seen artwork by GIL KANE, JOE STATON, CARMINE INFANTINO, JERRY ORDWAY, and MURPHY ANDERSON! Includes a color section! Written by MICHAEL EURY!

“I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS GUY!” Explore the lives of the partners and wives of the top names in comics, as they share memories, anecdotes, personal photos, momentos, and never-before-seen art by: • ALAN MOORE • WILL EISNER • STAN LEE • GENE COLAN • JOE KUBERT • JOHN ROMITA • HARVEY KURTZMAN • DAVE SIM • HOWARD CRUSE • DAN DeCARLO • DAVE COOPER and many more!

(208-Page Trade Paperback) $24 US

(176-Page Trade Paperback) $20 US THE

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

TOP ARTISTS DISCUSS THE DESIGN OF COMICS

ART OF GEORGE TUSKA

THE LEGION COMPANION • A history of the Legion of Super-Heroes, with DAVE COCKRUM, MIKE GRELL, JIM STARLIN, JAMES SHERMAN, PAUL LEVITZ, KEITH GIFFEN, STEVE LIGHTLE, MARK WAID, JIM SHOOTER, JIM MOONEY, AL PLASTINO, and more!

• Rare and never-seen Legion art by the above, plus GEORGE PÉREZ, NEAL ADAMS, CURT SWAN, and others!

• Unused Cockrum character designs and pages from an UNUSED STORY! • New cover by DAVE COCKRUM and JOE RUBINSTEIN, introduction by JIM SHOOTER, and more!

(224-page Trade Paperback) $29 US

COMIC BOOKS & OTHER NECESSITIES OF LIFE WERTHAM WAS RIGHT! SUPERHEROES IN MY PANTS! Each collects MARK EVANIER’S best essays and commentaries, plus new essays and illustrations by Mark’s GROO collaborator and MAD artist SERGIO ARAGONÉS! 200-page Trade Paperbacks • $17 US EACH ALL THREE BOOKS: $34 US POSTPAID

BEST OF THE LEGION OUTPOST Collects the best material from the hardto-find LEGION OUTPOST fanzine, including rare interviews and articles from creators such as DAVE COCKRUM, CARY BATES, and JIM SHOOTER, plus neverbefore-seen artwork by COCKRUM, MIKE GRELL, JIMMY JANES and others! It also features a previously unpublished interview with KEITH GIFFEN originally intended for the never-published LEGION OUTPOST #11, plus other new material! And it sports a rarely-seen classic 1970s cover by Legion fan favorite artist DAVE COCKRUM! (160-page trade paperback) $22 US

ALL-STAR COMPANION VOL. 1

HERO GETS GIRL!

ROY THOMAS has assembled the most thorough look ever taken at All-Star Comics:

THE LIFE & ART OF KURT SCHAFFENBERGER

• Covers by MURPHY ANDERSON! • Issue-by-issue coverage of ALL–STAR COMICS #1–57, the original JLA–JSA teamups, & the ‘70s ALL–STAR REVIVAL! • Art from an unpublished 1945 JSA story!

• Looks at FOUR “LOST” ALL–STAR issues!

• Rare art by BURNLEY, DILLIN, KIRBY, INFANTINO, KANE, KUBERT, ORDWAY, ROSS, WOOD and more!!

MARK VOGER’s biography of the artist of LOIS LANE & CAPTAIN MARVEL!

(208-page Trade Paperback) $26 US

• Covers KURT’S LIFE AND CAREER from the 1940s to his passing in 2002!

• Features NEVER-SEEN PHOTOS & ILLUSTRATIONS from his files!

• Includes recollections by ANDERSON, EISNER, INFANTINO, KUBERT, ALEX ROSS, MORT WALKER and others!

A comprehensive look at Tuska’s personal and professional life, including early work with Eisner-Iger, crime comics of the 1950s, and his tenure with Marvel and DC Comics, as well as independent publishers.

The book includes extensive coverage of his work on IRON MAN, X-MEN, HULK, JUSTICE LEAGUE, TEEN TITANS, BATMAN, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS, and many more! A gallery of commission artwork and a thorough index of his work are included, plus original artwork, photos, sketches, previously unpublished art, interviews and anecdotes from his peers and fans, plus George’s own words!

(128-page trade paperback) $19 US

(128-page Trade Paperback) $19 US

REVISED EDITION! T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS COMPANION The definitive book on WALLACE WOOD’s super-team of the 1960s, featuring interviews with Woody and other creators involved in the T-Agents over the years, plus rare and unseen art, including a rare 28-page story drawn by PAUL GULACY, UNPUBLISHED STORIES

by GULACY, PARIS CULLINS, and others, and a JERRY ORDWAY cover.

Edited by CBA’s JON B. COOKE. (192-page trade paperback) $29 US

13

COMICS ABOVE GROUND

SEE HOW YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS MAKE A LIVING OUTSIDE COMICS

TRUE BRIT

CELEBRATING GREAT COMIC BOOK ARTISTS OF ENGLAND A celebration of the rich history of British Comics Artists and their influence on the US with in-depth interviews and art by: • BRIAN BOLLAND • ALAN DAVIS • DAVE GIBBONS • BRYAN HITCH • DAVID LLOYD

• DAVE MCKEAN • KEVIN O’NEILL • BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH and other gents!

(204-page Trade Paperback with COLOR SECTION) $26 US

BEST OF DRAW! VOL. 1 Compiles material from the first two soldout issues of DRAW!, the “How-To” magazine on comics and cartooning!

Tutorials by, and interviews with: DAVE GIBBONS (layout and drawing on the computer), BRET BLEVINS (drawing lovely women, painting from life, and creating figures that “feel”), JERRY ORDWAY (detailing his working methods), KLAUS JANSON and RICARDO VILLAGRAN (inking techniques), GENNDY TARTA-KOVSKY (on animation and Samurai Jack), STEVE CONLEY (creating web comics and cartoons), PHIL HESTER and ANDE PARKS (penciling and inking), and more!

(200-page trade paperback) $26 US

COMICS ABOVE GROUND features top comics pros discussing their inspirations and training, and how they apply it in “Mainstream Media,” including Conceptual Illustration, Video Game Development, Children’s Books, Novels, Design, Illustration, Fine Art, Storyboards, Animation, Movies & more! Written by DURWIN TALON (author of the top-selling PANEL DISCUSSIONS), this book features creators sharing their perspectives and their work in comics and their “other professions,” with career overviews, neverbefore-seen art, and interviews! Featuring: • BRUCE TIMM • BERNIE WRIGHTSON • ADAM HUGHES

• LOUISE SIMONSON • DAVE DORMAN • GREG RUCKA & MORE!

MR. MONSTER, HIS BOOKS OF FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, VOLUME ZERO • 12 Tales of Mr. Monster, with 30 ALL-NEW pages by MICHAEL T. GILBERT! • Collects hard-to-find stories & the lost NEWSPAPER STRIP! • New 8-page FULL-COLOR STORY by KEITH GIFFEN & MICHAEL T. GILBERT! (136-pg. Paperback) $14 US

(168-page Trade Paperback) $24 US

CALL OR WRITE FOR OUR NEW CATALOG, OR DOWNLOAD IT NOW AT www.twomorrows.com

G-FORCE: ANIMATED

THE OFFICIAL BATTLE OF THE PLANETS GUIDEBOOK The official compendium to the Japanese animated TV program that revolutionized anime across the globe! Featuring plenty of unseen artwork and designs from the wondrous world of G-FORCE (a.k.a. Science Ninja Team Gatchaman), it presents interviews and behind-the-scenes stories of the pop culture phenomenon that captured the hearts and imagination of Generation X, and spawned the new hit comic series! Cowritten by JASON HOFIUS and GEORGE KHOURY, this FULL-COLOR account is highlighted by a NEW PAINTED COVER from master artist ALEX ROSS! (96-Page Trade Paperback) $20 US

MODERN MASTERS SERIES Edited by ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON

AGAINST THE GRAIN: MAD ARTIST

WALLACE WOOD

WARREN COMPANION

The definitive biographical memoir on one of comics’ finest artists, 20 years in the making! Former associate BHOB STEWART traces Wood’s life and career, with contributions from many artists and writers who knew Wood personally, making this a remarkable compendium of art, insights and critical commentary! From childhood drawings & early samples to nearly endless comics pages (many unpublished), this is the most stunning display of Wood art ever assembled! BILL PEARSON, executor of the Wood Estate, contributed rare drawings from Wood’s own files, while art collector ROGER HILL provides a wealth of obscure, previously unpublished Wood drawings and paintings.

The ultimate guide to Warren Publishing, the publisher of such mags as CREEPY, EERIE, VAMPIRELLA, BLAZING COMBAT, and others. Reprints COMIC BOOK ARTIST #4 (completely reformatted), plus nearly 200 new pages:

(336-Page Trade Paperback) $44 US

WALLACE WOOD CHECKLIST

• New painted cover by ALEX HORLEY! • A definitive WARREN CHECKLIST! • Dozens of NEW FEATURES on CORBEN, FRAZETTA, DITKO and others, and interviews with WRIGHTSON, WARREN, EISNER, ADAMS, COLAN & many more!

(288-page unsigned Hardcover) $44 US

FAWCETT COMPANION THE BEST OF FCA Presenting the best of the FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA newsletter!

• New JERRY ORDWAY cover!

• Index of ALL FAWCETT COMICS! • Looks inside the FAWCETT OFFICES! • Interviews, features, and rare and previously unpublished artwork by C.C. BECK, MARC SWAYZE, KURT SCHAFFENBERGER, MAC RABOY, DAVE BERG, ALEX TOTH, BOB OKSNER, GEORGE EVANS, ALEX ROSS, Foreword by MARC SWAYZE, and more!

(160-page Trade Paperback) $20 US

MODERN MASTERS: IN THE STUDIO WITH GEORGE PÉREZ DVD

Lists Wood’s PUBLISHED COMICS WORK in detail, plus FANZINE ART, ADVERTISING ILLUSTRATIONS, UNPUBLISHED WORK, and more.

Illustrated with rare and unseen Wood artwork!

This DVD companion to the Modern Masters book series gives you a personal tour of George Pérez’s studio, and lets you watch step-by-step as the fan-favorite artist illustrates a special issue of Top Cow’s Witchblade! Also, see George as he sketches for fans at conventions, and hear his peers and colleagues—including Marv Wolfman and Ron Marz—share their anecdotes and personal insights along the way!

(68 Pages) $7 US

(120-minute DVD) $34 US

A new series of trade paperbacks devoted to the BEST OF TODAY’S COMICS ARTISTS! Each volume contains RARE AND UNSEEN ARTWORK direct from the artist’s files, plus a COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW (including influences and their views on graphic storytelling), DELUXE SKETCHBOOK SECTIONS, and more!

VOL. 1: ALAN DAVIS

VOL. 3: BRUCE TIMM

(128-Page Trade Paperback) $17 US

(120-Page TPB with COLOR) $19 US

VOL. 2: GEORGE PÉREZ

VOL. 4: KEVIN NOWLAN

(128-Page Trade Paperback) $17 US

(120-Page TPB with COLOR) $19 US

Prices Include US Postage. Outside the US, Add $2 Per Item Canada, $3 Per Item Surface, $7 Per Item Airmail

14

KIRBY UNLEASHED (REMASTERED)

COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, VOLUMES 1-4 See for yourself what thousands of comics fans, professionals, and historians have discovered: The King lives on in the pages of THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR! These colossal TRADE PAPERBACKS reprint the first twenty sold-out issues of the magazine for Kirby fans. Volumes 1-3 are now back in print after several years (sporting a new cover design), while Volume 4 is a new volume due to popular demand!

• VOLUME 1: Reprints TJKC #1-9 (including the Fourth World and Fantastic Four theme issues), and includes more than 30 pieces of Kirby art never before published in TJKC! • (240-page Trade Paperback) $29 US • VOLUME 2: Reprints TJKC #10-12 (the Humor, Hollywood, and International theme issues), and includes a new special section detailing a fan’s private tour of the Kirbys’ remarkable home, showcasing more than 30 pieces of Kirby art never before published in TJKC! • (160-page Trade Paperback) $22 US • VOLUME 3: Reprints TJKC #13-15 (the Horror, Thor, and Sci-Fi theme issues), plus 30 new pieces of Kirby art! • (176-page Trade Paperback) $24 US • VOLUME 4: New volume, reprinting TJKC #16-19 (the Tough Guys, DC, Marvel, and Art theme issues), plus more than 30 pieces of Kirby art never before published in TJKC! • (240-page Trade Paperback) $29 US

COMIC BOOK ARTIST COLLECTION, VOL. 3 Reprinting the Eisner Award-winning COMIC BOOK ARTIST #7 and #8 (‘70s Marvel and ‘80s independents), featuring a new MICHAEL T. GILBERT cover, plus interviews with GILBERT, RUDE, GULACY, GERBER, DON SIMPSON, CHAYKIN, SCOTT McCLOUD, BUCKLER, BYRNE, DENIS KITCHEN, plus a NEW SECTION featuring over 30 pages of previouslyunseen stuff! Edited by JON B. COOKE. (224-page trade paperback) $29 US

SWAMPMEN: MUCK MONSTERS OF THE COMICS The definitive tome detailing the macabre history of the muck monsters of the comics, including SWAMP THING, MANTHING, IT, THE BOG BEAST, MARVIN THE DEAD THING, THE SWAMP LURKER, and the one who started it all, THE HEAP! Featuring unpublished artwork and interviews by ALAN MOORE, STEVE BISSETTE, STEVE GERBER, MIKE PLOOG, RICK VEITCH, JOHN TOTLEBEN, VAL MAYERIK, & more! All behind a new Swamp Thing cover by FRANK CHO! Edited by CBA’S JON B. COOKE! (200-page Trade Paperback) $29 US

The fabled 1971 KIRBY UNLEASHED portfolio, COMPLETELY REMASTERED! This scarce collectible spotlights some of JACK “KING” KIRBY’S finest art from all eras of his career, including 1930s pencil work, unused strips, illustrated World War II letters, 1950s pages, unpublished 1960s MARVEL PENCIL PAGES AND SKETCHES, and FOURTH WORLD PENCIL ART (done expressly for this portfolio in 1970)! We’ve gone back to the original art to ensure the best reproduction possible, and Kirby’s assistants at the time—MARK EVANIER and STEVE SHERMAN—have updated the extensive Kirby biography from the original printing, and added a NEW FOREWORD explaining how this portfolio came to be! PLUS: We’ve recolored the original color plates, and added EIGHT NEW BLACK-&-WHITE PAGES, plus EIGHT NEW COLOR PAGES, including Jack’s four GODS POSTERS (released separately in 1972), and FOUR ADDITIONAL KIRBY COLOR PIECES! It’s all presented at the KIRBY COLLECTOR tabloid size!

(60-page Tabloid) $24 US

MODERN MASTERS VOL. 5: GARCÍA-LÓPEZ

JUSTICE LEAGUE COMPANION VOL. 1

SECRETS IN THE SHADOWS: GENE COLAN

Latest in our series of trade paperbacks devoted to the BEST OF TODAY’S COMICS ARTISTS, this time spotlighting arguably the best draftsman in comics, JOSÉ LUÍS GARCÍA-LÓPEZ! Features RARE AND UNSEEN ARTWORK direct from the artist’s files, spotlighting his immense talent! Features a COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW, never-seen DC promotional and merchandising art, DELUXE SKETCHBOOK SECTION including color plates, and more!

A comprehensive examination of the Silver Age JLA written by MICHAEL EURY (author of the critically acclaimed CAPTAIN ACTION and co-author of THE SUPERHERO BOOK). It traces the JLA’s development, history, imitators, and early fandom through vintage and all-new interviews with the series’ creators, an issue-byissue index of the JLA’s 1960-1972 adventures, classic and never-before-published artwork, and other fun and fascinating features. Contributors include DENNY O’NEIL, MURPHY ANDERSON, JOE GIELLA, MIKE FRIEDRICH, NEAL ADAMS, ALEX ROSS, CARMINE INFANTINO, NICK CARDY, and many, many others. Plus: An exclusive interview with STAN LEE, who answers the question, “Did the JLA really inspire the creation of Marvel’s Fantastic Four?” With an all-new cover by BRUCE TIMM (TV’s Justice League Unlimited)!

The ultimate retrospective on COLAN, with rare drawings, photos, and art from his nearly 60-year career, plus a comprehensive overview of Gene’s glory days at Marvel Comics! MARV WOLFMAN, DON MCGREGOR and other writers share script samples and anecdotes of their Colan collaborations, while TOM PALMER, STEVE LEIALOHA and others show how they approached the daunting task of inking Colan’s famously nuanced penciled pages!

Plus there’s a NEW PORTFOLIO of neverbefore-seen collaborations between Gene and such masters as JOHN BYRNE, MICHAEL KALUTA and GEORGE PÉREZ, and all-new artwork created specifically for this book by Gene! Available in Softcover and Deluxe Hardcover (limited to 1000 copies, with 16 extra black-and-white pages and 8 extra color pages)!

(224-page trade paperback) $29 US

(168-page softcover) $26 US (192-page trade hardcover) $49 US

(120-Page Trade Paperback) $19 US

NOW SHIPPING!

SHIPS AUG. 2005!

AND COMING SOON:

SHIPS JULY 2005!

HOW TO DRAW COMICS FROM SCRIPT TO PRINT DVD See a comic created from scratch, as the editors of DRAW! and WRITE NOW! magazines create a new comic, step-by-step, before your eyes!

(120-minute DVD) $34 US Bundled with Write Now! #8 & Draw! #9: $39 US

BRAVE & BOLD ART OF JIM APARO, OCTOBER 2005

THE TITANS COMPANION NOVEMBER 2005

ALL-STAR COMPANION V2 MARCH 2006

ACTING WITH A PENCIL SPRING 2006

15

COMING IN AUGUST: MUCK-MONSTERS OF THE COMICS:

SWAMP MEN!

The definitive tome detailing the macabre history of Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, It, the Bog Beast, Marvin the Dead Thing, the Swamp Lurker, and The Heap! Featuring unpublished artwork and interviews by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, Steve Gerber, Mike Ploog, Rick Veitch, John Totleben, Val Mayerik, & more! New Frank Cho cover!

200-page trade paperback • $29 US Postpaid Swamp Thing TM & ©2005 DC Comics

SEE A COMIC CREATED FROM SCRATCH!

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TwoMorrows. Bringing New Life To Comics Fandom.

TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Dr. • Raleigh, NC 27614 • 919/449-0344 • FAX 919/449-0327 • e-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com

th & Mik Fingero

It starts in WRITE NOW! #8, when comics industry pros DANNY FINGEROTH and MIKE MANLEY document the steps they take to create an all-new comic, as ideas are proposed, tried out, and modified, until a character’s look and origins are arrived at! Then in DRAW! #9, the creative process continues, as storylines are ironed out and Mike and Danny produce an adventure starring their new creation! The result of their labors is a pullout, full-color, printed comic inserted into DRAW! #9! PLUS: Mike and Danny show you how it’s done in the feature-filled How To Draw Comics, From Script To Print DVD! See a new character created from scratch, and watch a story drawn from roughs, to pencils, inks, and coloring—even lettering! It’s 120 minutes of “how-to” tips, tricks, and tools of the pros, plus Bonus Features!

MAGAZINES: $8 EACH US PPD. • COMPANION DVD: $34 US PPD.

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Don’t miss the GROUNDBREAKING CROSSOVER in WRITE NOW! #8 and DRAW! #9, and the COMPANION DVD!