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Sun Oct 19, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Interview: Bryan Talbot on 30 Years of 'Luther Arkwright', Part Two
Yesterday, we began chatting with British creator Bryan Talbot about the creation of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, now celebrating its 30th anniversary. Today, we look at the remastered edition and more.
CMix: You actually went back after 20 years and did a sequel, Heart of Empire, but that doesn't seem to resonate in the same way. How do you view it today?
BT: I'm very proud of the story and the way I told it. I wasn't interested in repeating Arkwright. I wanted to use the sequel to tell a different story in a different way. Perhaps, if I do another Arkwright, I'll go back to experimental mode and just let rip. Any sophistication in the storytelling techniques of Heart of Empire is beneath the surface, not in your face. It shouldn't be consciously visible.
CMix: Luther Arkwright has endured and you even adapted it for BBC radio with a Pre-Doctor Who David Tennant as the lead. Was it easy to adapt?
BT: I didn't adapt it. They used their own scriptwriter. I sent a list of suggestions as to how they could make it work better as audio but when I eventually met the writer, after it was produced, they hadn't passed the suggestions along. I still quite enjoyed it though. David Tennant and the other actors were great, the music and sound FX were fine. My only criticism is that it was too faithful to the original. Most of the dialogue was my speech balloons word-for-word. While these work fine on the comic page I feel that they should have made them more naturalistic for the spoken word.
Big Finish have also bought the rights to adapt Heart of Empire and Tennant has agreed to reprise his role as Arkwright but they'rehaving to fit into his now busy schedule.
CMix: There's been talk for years about a film adaptation. What's taking so long?
BT: That's the film industry for you. Things seem to move at a glacial pace.
There's always something supposed to be just about to happen, some big name writer's become involved or a big production company is desperately interested but nothing seems to actually happen. Hollywood people seem to suffer from verbal diarrhea. About a year ago a producer got in touch with me to say how passionate he was about The Tale of One Bad Rat and how he had a director on board who loved it and so forth. I've never heard a thing from him since.
Continue reading Interview: Bryan Talbot on 30 Years of 'Luther Arkwright', Part Two ›
Sat Oct 18, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Interview: Bryan Talbot on 30 Years of 'Luther Arkwright', Part One
Bryan Talbot emerged from Britain’s underground comix to become one of the most innovative creators in the UK. He’s the creator of the critically acclaimed graphic novels The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and A Tale of One Bad Rat. He remains a creative force, most recently producing Alice in Sunderland, a graphic novel released last year form Dark Horse and Cherubs!, with Mark Stafford, which Desperado released this summer.
Warren Ellis said, “Luther Arkwright is probably the single most influential graphic novel to have come out of Britain to date.” This month, Bryan Talbot’s seminal work is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary. It was first serialized in Near Myths, a British title, before being collected as a miniseries and graphic novel through the years. A new edition, using digitally remastered pages from the Czech edition, is being released by Dark Horse.
Talbot graciously agreed to chat with us about the work and its influence on graphic novels. Part one will focus on Luther Arkwright and tomorrow’s second part will explore Talbot’s career.
CMix: Bryan, thanks for taking the time to sit with us.
Bryan Talbot: Thanks for inviting me.
CMix: Do you agree with Warren's assessment?
BT: Er...yes, it probably is the most influential UK graphic novel as I can't think of another that's comparable in that respect. Most of the "Brit pack", including Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, were fans of it years before they started writing comics professionally. Writers such as Warren, Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison and Rick Veitch have acknowledged its influence. According to Steve Bissette and Michael Zulli, it inspired them to want to draw comics.
CMix: He went on to say, "He took from everywhere - the films of Nick Roeg, head shop culture, 19th Century magazine illustrated, medieval woodcuts, classical portraiture, Sixties collage, Mal Dean and the New Worlds illustrators, anything and bloody everything, and adapted it all to work in the special environment of comics." Was there one element that started the process?
BT: Two years before starting on the graphic novel I wrote and drew a one-off eight page strip called "The Papist Affair" in my Brainstorm Comix series of underground comics. It was an excuse to do a Richard Corben-style line and wash strip and I invented the character of Arkwright for that, inspired by Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius novels. Mike created Cornelius and offered him as a template hero. So that was the starting point. After finishing the strip I started to think about fulfilling a long-standing desire I had to produce what we now call a graphic novel and started to develop it based around Arkwright.
Continue reading Interview: Bryan Talbot on 30 Years of 'Luther Arkwright', Part One ›
Sun Oct 5, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Interview: Jeff Kinney
'Wimpy Kid' Author Chats About Life and Fame
Nine years ago, game developer Jeff Kinney started to write the diary of a boy named Gregg Heffley. A few years after that, he began to publish the story on the website FunBrain.com. Charles Kochman picked it up for the Harry N. Abrams imprint, Amulet Books, and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid phenomenon was on.
Since then, Kinney published a sequel, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules and, this month, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do it Yourself Book. A third story, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Last Straw is due in January.
The series has a passionate following. Like Harry Potter, the books attract kids (who may be too young for Rowling’s longer novels) who can’t wait to read them. Bookstores plan parties around new volumes.
Jeff was in Baltimore for the recent Comic-Con, where Abrams sold advance copies of the new Do It Yourself book. We spoke with him at the Harvey awards, where he was nominated in eight categories, including Best New Talent, Best New Series, Best Writer, and Special Award for Humor. He lost in every category, but he had the longest lines at the show, as kids waited an hour and more for his autograph.
ComicMix: I read your books this week. Sorry I’m a little late, but my kid is grown. They’re really fun. I met your mom today. I saw the line for your signing, which was thrilling.
Jeff Kinney: Thank you very much. I had no idea if it was long or short. I just sat there and signed.
CMx: Was this your first comic convention? I know you’ve done book conventions.
JK: I’ve done a few others. Actually, I got my book picked up at New York Comic-Con two years ago. And I just wandered around with a manuscript and lucked into meeting Charlie Kochman, who picked it up on first sight. He took a look at it for maybe 30 seconds and said, “This is what we want. This is why we came here.”
Sun Sep 28, 2008 — by Jeff Ayers
David Mack Talks 'Destiny'
'Star Trek' Author Shakes up the Universe
David Mack, not the Kabuki David Mack, is no stranger to the Star Trek writing universe, having written several well-acclaimed novels solo and also a couple of televison episodes with former Star Trek book editor John Ordover. He dipped a toe into the Marvel Universe with his excellent Wolverine novel, Road of Bones (with a cover from the other Dave Mack). His latest work, the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy, spans several storylines that will change Trek literature forever. The first volume of the trilogy is just now hitting bookstores so we thought it was a good time to catch up with Mack who was kind enough to discuss his career and future writing endeavors with ComicMix.
CMix: How did you get your start in Star Trek?
David Mack: Long story. I first set my sights on writing for Star Trek while I was a sophomore in college. That was when Star Trek: The Next Generation announced its open-door policy for script submissions. I collected many fine rejections but never succeeded in breaking through at The Next Generation.
I continued submitting scripts through the same venue for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and I collected many more fine rejections. I finally got my break when a college friend of mine introduced me to Star Trek fiction editor John J. Ordover. John had the connections to bypass the slush-submission process and pitch ideas to the producers; what he lacked was scriptwriting experience, for which I had been trained at film school. So we teamed up.
Working together, John and I made a sale during our first pitch session to Star Trek: Voyager, and another a few weeks later, to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The Voyager story was bought but never produced; the DS9 story became the fourth-season episode “Starship Down.”
We figured the floodgates would open after back-to-back sales. They didn’t. It was three years before we sold another story to Deep Space Nine (the seventh-season episode “It’s Only a Paper Moon”). In the interim, to earn freelance money to help pay off my mountain of college-loan debts, I did editorial scut work around the Star Trek books office: reading slush submissions, compiling reference materials for the authors, organizing photo files, etc.
Sun Sep 21, 2008 — by Andrew Bergstrom
Interview: D.J. Coffman on Politics and Webcomics
Artist Discusses Life Post-Platinum
On D. J. Coffman’s blog website George Washington stares at me from behind a "star-spangled" bandana, almost daring me to challenge him. Below is a quote from another founding father John Adams "An honest man will never have any other." Our founding fathers were real hell raisers that defied the British Empire, the legal government at the time, and we should all respect these hooligans for giving birth to our nation.
The 32-year old Coffman has come a long way since 1998 when he first self-published Yirmumah, with his own brand of slapstick humor to kick his sometime collaborator Bob in the nuts and our funny bone.
In June, Coffman allied himself with the Flobots while at the same time publically estranged himself from Platinum Studios over non-payment for his Hero by Night webcomic. He suddenly became a highly public figure in the struggle between creators and the company.
Today Coffman also shows a very serious side of himself; a sequential artist, a thinker to be reckoned with, and a dreamer with a lot of fans. I caught up with Coffman recently:
CMix: How did you hook up with the politically active Flobots musical group?
DJ: Fate I suppose, and it all started with a sign. I don't consider myself in anyone's party per se, but I found myself agreeing with [Barack] Obama’s ideas of change. His quote "We are the ones we've been waiting for" made me think about hard work, and if you want something done you have to do it yourself. Back in April I created my own yard sign encouraging people to VOTE. I had seen a lot of pickups go by with rebel flags, and some even shouting out racial slurs. The ignorance I was surrounded with, and that my kids might witness, made me sick. I felt like I was the only one that was thinking about the future. Before they took off, I downloaded the Flobots’ Fight with Tools album, which I listened to continuously on the trip to and from the New York Comic-Con. While I was away that sign was stolen and my yard was trashed, right before the Pennsylvania primary. I painted another sign, and I would have continued just to exercise my freedom of speech, and not to have it silenced by any "Hillbillies." The album’s politically charged lyrics stuck a chord inside me, so I emailed the band to inquire about making a webcomic or graphic novel based on their positive lyrics. I quickly received an email reply from Stephen "Brer Rabbit" Brackett, who had heard of my work, and conversations grew from there. I told him about my sign and he replied, "It's time to paint those signs!"
Continue reading Interview: D.J. Coffman on Politics and Webcomics ›
Wed Sep 10, 2008 — by Alan Kistler
Interviews: Peter David and Mike Perkins
Creators talk 'Dark Tower: Treachery', 'X-Factor' and 'The Stand'!
Last night, Peter David and Mike Perkins did a midnight signing at the prestigious Midtown Comics in Time Square. Despite the late hour, there were several fans in attendance and
each had the opportunity to be among the very first to purchase the debut issue of the new miniseries Dark Tower: Treachery and the premiere of the first miniseries based on Stephen King's other major work, The Stand: Captain Tripps.
The Dark Tower book series is Stephen King's very popular opus. The Dark Tower comics, plotted by King's aide Robin Furth (who also wrote The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance) and scripted by Peter David (X-Factor, She-Hulk, Fallen Angel), have been serving as prequels to the series, showing the Gunslinger hero Roland when he was a young man and revealing other secrets of his home. Treachery is the third mini-series.
The Stand is perhaps Steven King's most famous book, depicting how the last survivors of humanity cope with the forces of good and evil after a plague wipes out most of the planet. It is also a part of the Dark Tower series in that the demonic villain Randall Flagg makes an appearance in both. In fact, Flagg (also known as "The Dark Man", "The Walking Dude", and "The Man with no Face") appears or makes his presence felt in several other books and stories, earning him the title of King's "super-villain." Mike Perkins (Union Jack, Captain America) is handling the art for The Stand.
Also on this occasion was the birthday of Kathleen David, Peter's wife. Midtown Comics, being the classy people they are, were only too happy to hook up the party with a massive cake, sodas and many cupcakes.
When the signing and fan greeting was done, I sat down with Peter and Mike to ask them a few questions.
Tue Sep 9, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Harvey Pekar Interviews Collected
New Book Spans 25 Years of Observations
Harvey Pekar: Conversations is a new collection of interviews with the celebrated graphic novelist. Now available from the University Press of Mississippi, the book spans 25 years of interviews that have been drawn from a wide variety of places, from fanzines and radio to The Washington Post. The book was assembled by Mike Rhode who is editor International Journal of Comic Art and blogs about comics.
The creator American Splendor and subject of a biopic, Pekar has a lot of conversations about life in this country that make for fascinating reading. The 240-page book comes with 20 illustrations and is available in a $50 hardcover or $22 paperback.
Sun Sep 7, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Interview: Harry N. Abrams' Charles Kochman
Editor has new Imprint and Fresh Approach to Comics Material
Charles Kochman was recently named Executive Editor of Abrams ComicArts, a new imprint at Harry N. Abrams. The publisher rewarded Kochman with the promotion and imprint in recognition of his successful efforts to celebrate comic books and graphic storytelling with best-selling books. Kochman, a former book editor at DC Comics, joined Abrams several years back and has published a wide variety works that have garnered reviews and award nominations starting with Mom's Cancer. His Diary of a Wimpy Kid has earned a place atop The New York Times best seller list and merited national acclaim.
Recently, Kochman sat dfown with ComicMix to review his career and where things are headed next.
CMix: How did you first get involved with publishing?
Charles Kochman: After an internship at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, my first paid job in publishing was at PlayValue Books, the licensing division of the Putnam Publishing Group. I started there right after graduation from Brooklyn College, in July 1985, working with my mentor and now friend Michael Teitelbaum. Everything I know about editing, and being an editor, I learned working at his side. Besides being a great guy, Mike and I shared a lot of common interests in music and movies and comics. Together we created a modest publishing program for our parent company, MCA Universal.
The first book I edited with Mike was a Back to the Future movie storybook, adapted by Bob Fleming. In addition, we published books on licenses like Photon, The Bionic Six, and An American Tale. I also got to write many coloring and activity books, including ones on dinosaurs, unicorns, and the Universal monsters. It was good training. The dinosaurs coloring book actually hit the B. Dalton bestseller list for some reason, which shocked all of us, including our president. I still have the note he sent me where he wrote “Holy shit! Bravo!” on a copy of the list.
After PlayValue I worked at Bantam Doubleday Dell [from 1987–93], where I edited the Choose Your Own Adventure series. There I also edited books with LucasFilm on Star Wars and Young Indiana Jones, Encyclopedia Brown, and a great karate series called Dojo Rats. Given the complexity of the Choose Your Own Adventure books, which I edited on a monthly schedule for five years, I got to sharpen my editorial skills in a way that I otherwise couldn’t have had I been working on other less “interactive” titles. The books were also successful, so it raised my profile in the industry, attracting the attention of some executives at DC Comics.
Continue reading Interview: Harry N. Abrams' Charles Kochman ›
Mon Aug 25, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Interview: Elizabeth Genco of 'Comic Book Tattoo' and 'Blue'
Music inspires comic book writer
The past few months have brought a swell of attention to indie comics writer Elizabeth Genco, who scored a coup by having a story included in the Tori Amos Comic Book Tattoo collection from Image Comics, and then her graphic novel Blue -- a modernization of the Bluebeard legend -- sold well in part thanks to a plug from Brian Wood.
Genco took the time out of her busy schedule to chat with ComicMix about her music-infused projects and what it was like to work with an idol in Amos.
ComicMix: Let's talk about the Tori Amos project first, since it's the book of the moment. How did you get connected to that gig? Were you a fan of Amos previously?
Elizabeth Genco: I've been a fan of Tori's for almost 15 years. Both she and her music have been hugely influential, especially in my creative life. Tori is very smart about how to create a creative career while staying true to your vision, and I learn from her. Of course, like many of her fans, her music has helped me through some dark times.
As for how I got involved, a few years ago, editor Rantz Hoseley and I got acquainted via Warren Ellis' old board, The Enginge; he and I have been pals ever since. When he extended the invitation, I jumped onboard immediately.
CMix: How did you approach the assignment? Comics is such a visual medium, it's not that common to hear creators be inspired by sound.
EG: I want to say that I'm not inspired by sound so much as I am by words -- that is, lyrics. But the interesting thing about lyrics, of course, is that they take on a completely different meaning when you add the music. I would even go as far to say that 99 percent of the time, song lyrics are incomplete without the music. (Music is a huge influence on me, and I've aspired to be professional musician at several points in my life, especially when I was very young. So I've thought about this a lot, actually.)
Music inspires my writing quite often, and the process is usually the same. A line will capture my attention, and I'll start noodling -- following the thread, seeing where it goes. In this case, I decidedon the song and then went looking for that line.
As for the song itself ("Here. In My Head"), well, I spent all this time going through Tori's catalog trying to find the right one before going, "Duh!" It's been my favorite Tori song for years, so it wasthe obvious choice.
Continue reading Interview: Elizabeth Genco of 'Comic Book Tattoo' and 'Blue' ›
Thu Aug 21, 2008 — by Karl Cramer
Interview: "Gears of War" Writer Josh Ortega
The writer of the Gears of War comic book and Gears of War 2 videogame talks with ComicMix
Gears of War is one of the bona fide hits of this generation of high-end videogames. When you want to show your friends (or justify the cost to your significant other) the difference between your Xbox 360 and your last game system, this is the disc you pop in.
Taking place on the planet Sera, Gears of War tells the story of how the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COGs) had just ended a world war when subterranean monsters emerged from the ground. Called the Locusts, the monsters have guns and weapons that rival the COG's arsenal. The plot centers on the experiences of Marcus Fenix, a military prisoner released to join a war that is not going well.
Veteran comic writer Josh Ortega (Necromancer, Frequencies) was brought onboard by developer Epic Games to work on the story and deepen the Gears universe. He’s become an integral part of the Gears of War 2 team and DC Comics has announced that he’ll be writing the Gears of War comic for their WildStorm imprint. He took a few moments to let us know how the war effort was going.
COMICMIX: For our readers who are not up on all things COG and Locust, can you tell us in your own words whom you are and your involvement in building up the Gears of War universe?
JOSH ORTEGA: I’m the lead writer for Gears of War 2, I write the comic book for DC/WildStorm, and I also consult on the Gears of War franchise. I work closely with Mike Capps (Epic President), Cliff Bleszinski (Design Director), Rod Fergusson (Senior Producer), and the crew at Epic Games to make sure everything that I write fits in with what’s going on in the rest of the Gears universe, and vice-versa.
CMix: Why is the story set on the planet Sera? Why not Earth? Is this some sort of past, future, or just an unrelated world with humans on it?
JO: Setting it on a different planet allows for a lot of storytelling freedom. If it was set on Earth, many people would draw parallels where there weren’t any, and by the same token, certain parallels that we do want to draw might feel a bit forced or obvious if we set the story on our own planet.
It also allows us to have freaky creatures like the Locust, which, to the best of my knowledge, do not actually exist on Earth.
Continue reading Interview: "Gears of War" Writer Josh Ortega ›
Tue Aug 19, 2008 — by Alan Kistler
Interview: Greg Weisman on "The Spectacular Spider-Man" Animated Series
The "Gargoyles creator talks about his approach to the new Spidey cartoon
Early in July, I spoke with Greg Weisman about the acclaimed Gargoyles animated series he created and the new comics that continue the storyline of that project (and feel free to check out that interview, by all means). Afterward, I had the opportunity to speak with him about the Kids WB animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. Weisman developed this new cartoon series for television along with Victor Cook (Hellboy: Blood and Iron, Darkwing Duck) and which features voice talents such as Josh Keaton, Lacey Chabert, Josh Lebar, John Dimaggio, Phil Lamarr, Robert Englund, Clancy Brown, Jeff Bennett and Vanessa Marshall.
Taking place a few short months after Peter has gained his powers and learned that "with great power there must also come great responsibility," the cartoon showcases a 16-year-old superhero who is still learning the tricks of the trade when folks like the Green Goblin, Electro and Dr. Octopus start showing up. When he's not web-slinging, Peter spends his days trying to change how people at his high school view him, since his super-abilities have given him the confidence to stand up for himself rather than just be the nerd who's picked on. But it's not easy -- and even when he's surrounded by people who love him, like longtime friend Gwen Stacy and his doting Aunt May, Peter still feels alone, unable to trust anyone with the secret of his double-life.
Here's what Weisman, the series' Story Editor and Supervising Producer, had to say about the first season of the series.
COMICMIX: As Story Editor, how did you approach the development of the series and the character himself?
GREG WEISMAN: When I got the job, I went and bought the first seven volumes of The Essential Spider-Man and re-read them. I’d read them as a kid, I grew up on Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr. and later went back and read the original Stan Lee, Steve Ditko stories. So, I re-read them and took copious notes and tried to get the voice of those early stories.
COMICMIX: Of course, you're still putting your own spin on some of the origins and the costume designs.
GREG WEISMAN: Right. With the new series, we wanted to create something that was coherent, cohesive, contemporary and classic. Those are the four Cs we always go back to. We're retooling and redesigning things for the modern day but we want the characters to still be iconic. We want you to see our updated version of the Vulture and still say “yep, that’s the Vulture” and “yeah, that’s the Green Goblin.” It’s a contemporary version but the changes aren’t there just for the sake of making changes. It's still true to what Lee, Ditko and Romita did.
Continue reading Interview: Greg Weisman on "The Spectacular Spider-Man" Animated Series ›
Wed Aug 6, 2008 — by Rick Marshall
Interview: Dirk Schwieger on "Moresukine"
Online comic puts the creator's fate in the hands of readers... in Japan!
Dirk Schwieger's Moresukine is different from other series I've focused on in these weekly webcomic creator interviews for a few significant reasons -- first and foremost of which being that it's no longer updated. The last comic was posted more than two years ago, back in in June 2006. However, when I saw that the German creator was a guest of NBM Publishing at this year's Comic-Con International, I jumped at the chance to include a Q&A with him in this series.
For anyone unfamiliar with Moresukine, the 24-part webcomic chronicled a year's worth of "assignments" Schwieger undertook at the request of readers while living abroad in Japan. Fans would send him tasks to accomplish -- anything from "meeting a traditional swordsmith" to "spending a night in a pod hotel" -- and he would write, illustrate and post a new comic each week based on his experience trying to complete that mission. The aim of the project, according to Schwieger, was to make the most of his time in Japan by offering himself up as someone through which his readers could live vicariously. The title of the series, Moresukine, came from the Japanese pronunciation of "Moleskine," the type of notebook he used to record his experiences.
A few months ago, NBM Publishing announced that it would be collecting Schwieger's online comic and publishing it in print form, complete with extra material contributed by webcomic veterans James Kochalka and Ryan North. Now that the paperback Moresukine collection has hit shelves, I spoke to Schwieger about the origin of the series, his favorite assignments and what we can expect to see from the talented creator in the future.
COMICMIX: Can you start from the beginning, Dirk? How did this project happen and what did you want it to be when you first conceived of it?
DIRK SCHWIEGER: Well, I was in Japan for one year. You could say that it was a travel-logue kind of thing, but the catch is that it's not just about what I deem is important or what i want to tell, but people were invited to send in emails with requests of places that i should go to in Tokyo, where I lived, or certain people I should get in contact with. And I couldn't refuse. I had to do all of the submissions in the order of their arrival.
It started very mundane. There is a webcomics portal in Germany, where I come from originally, and it's called Electrocomics.com. I had some stuff up there and they said, "Oh, you're going to Tokyo. Maybe you should do some sketches regularly." So they created this blog. I never had a blog before, and never intended to have one. I was kind of naive about the whole thing... but now I know. There are interesting blogs.
At that time, it was very important to me to get around the navel-gazing thing. This was one of the reasons to invite others and have this community effort of exploring the country -- to have me sort of remote-controlled from outside the city.
Continue reading Interview: Dirk Schwieger on "Moresukine" ›
Tue Aug 5, 2008 — by Chris Ullrich
Interview: Jamie Bamber on the End of "Battlestar Galactica" and "Pulse 2"
"Apollo" speaks!
Actor Jamie Bamber has had a diverse and successful career, gaining noteriety playing Lt. Archie Kennedy in the Hornblower series of TV movies, working in HBO's Band of Brothers and guest appearances on the series Cold Case and Ghost Whisperer. However, Bamber's career rocketed into the spotlight when he took the role of Lee "Apollo" Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series -- which is soon to broadcast its final season on the Sci-Fi Channel.
During the recent San Diego Comic-Con, I had a chance to speak to Bamber about his upcoming direct-to-DVD feature film Pulse 2: Afterlife and Battlestar Galactica. We discussed what made him interested in Pulse 2, how he feels about the end of Battlestar Galactica and what moments from the show were his favorites.
COMICMIX: Jamie, what can you tell us about Pulse 2: Afterlife?
JAMIE BAMBER: It's like Kramer vs. Kramer in an armageddon backdrop, featuring a dad who is trying to put his life back together. He's working on his relationships and putting them back together in the aftermath of an Internet-fueled apocolypse zombie scenario.
CMix: What made you take on this film?
JB: I had time. I liked the character and I could relate to what he's going through. I can understand and empathize with a dad and his fear for his child in a dangerous world.
CMix: Having been on such a strong ensemble show like BSG, playing the lead in a film must have been appealing...
JB: I liked the idea of fronting a movie on the quiet, which as an actor is quite a useful thing to do without it being everywhere. This is also a straight-to-DVD project, which also appealed to me.
CMix: You've finished shooting on Battlestar now, right?
Continue reading Interview: Jamie Bamber on the End of "Battlestar Galactica" and "Pulse 2" ›
Mon Aug 4, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Duane Swierczynski Interviews Ed Brubaker
Writers talk crime
Talk about impossible to pass up: Here's an interview between two pretty brilliant crime writers, Ed Brubaker and Duane Swierczynski.
It originally ran in Crimespree magazine, issue 22. Here's a sample:
DS: Since Scene of the Crime, many of your regular series have been infused with this great crime/noir vibe—Sleeper was pure noir, Gotham Central was hardcore police procedural, and so on. Is “crime” the lens through which you view much of life?
EB: Yeah, and espionage, a bit. My dad and his brother (who I’m named after) were both in the intel field. My uncle was a big mucky-muck in the CIA and my dad was in Naval Intelligence. Not that either of them were ever forthcoming with details about what they did, but it probably accounts for my interest in that genre. And when I was a teenager, I was kind of a thief and a drug-addict. I did a lot of things I'm not proud of, and lived in a really ugly world of speed-freaks and scumbags for a few years. Nearly going to prison straightened me out, though. Scared the shit out of me at 18, basically. But you never forget sitting in the felony tank with 50 other guys fighting over sandwiches.
So, when I started writing stories for other people to draw, I just always thought of crime stories. Just before my first paying work, in 1991, I had read a lot of the Jim Thompson reissues from Black Lizard and had been on a real true crime binge, so that probably played into it a lot. But I think on some level, I identify with criminals, even though now that I'm older and a home-owner, I hate them. I never liked any of the ones I knew, really, it was just the life I fell into. I like the ones I make up, but they’re much more romantic than the criminals in real life
Fri Aug 1, 2008 — by Jami Philbrick
Interview: Geoff Johns on "Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds" and his Favorite Projects
Bringing back the Legion and thinking about the past...
Back in June, I spoke to superstar writer Geoff Johns about the return of Brainiac in Action Comics and all things Superman. With this month's release of the first issue of Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds, I spoke to the writer about bringing back one of DC's most beloved superteams, The Legion of Super-Heroes, as well as some of his favorite projects.
COMICMIX: What can you tell us about the Final Crisis: Legion Of Three Worlds miniseries?
GEOFF JOHNS: It’s a really complex, big story. But the simple premise is that it’s Superboy-Prime and The Legion Of Super Villains vs. Superman and The Legion Of Super-Heroes. Superboy-Prime is foreign to the future and through what happens when he first gets there he makes an attempt to destroy everything that Superman has inspired while utilizing the Legion Of Super Villains. So the Legion Of Super-Heroes, who are struggling to come back together, who are almost obsolete at this point in the eyes of a lot of the United Planets, have got to come back and rally together for this challenge.
I’m trying to focus in on character here. I’m trying to introduce these characters to people that don’t know them and for those that do, to see them go through new experiences and new challenges. My main goal in this series is to tell a gigantic, epic story that centers on Superman and The Legion Of Super-Heroes. It’s just like when I worked on Sinestro Corps War, I wanted to do an epic Green Lantern story. There is a lot of emotion behind everything in this. That’s what I’m trying to focus on: the emotion of the characters and what they’re going through. Why should you even care about a character like Lightning Lad, Sun Boy or Dawnstar? What makes these characters compelling? Why are they worth following? Why are they worth learning about? My main goal is to, by the end of it, have people say, “I love Dawnstar! I love Sun Boy! I like Lightning Lad" or "I like Cosmic Boy!"
