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Interviews
ComicMix Interviews.
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Tue Jul 1, 2008 — by Karl Cramer
Interview: Hugh Sterbakov on 'Freshmen' and the 'Summer Vacation Special'
Series writer talks superheroes in school, on summer vacation and beyond...
When Freshmen was first solicited by its publisher Top Cow, the series was promoted as "The adventures of college freshmen with extraordinary powers."
And while many writers might respond by rolling their eyes, smirking and claiming that their characters were a bit more serious and tackled deeper social issues, Freshmen creators Seth Green and Hugh Sterbakov embrace that tagline for their popular series. When the series kicked off, their heroes were naive college freshmen making the same mistakes any other freshmen might, but on a much larger, action-packed scale.
Majoring in outrageous situations with a minor in young adult drama, the original Freshmen: Introduction to Superpowers miniseries passed its first semester with honors. The second volume, Freshmen II: Fundamental of Fear, is currently wrapping up -- soon to be followed by a Freshmen: Summer Vacation Special in July.
While actor, writer and producer Seth Green gets a lot of the spotlight because of his involvement with movies, the Family Guy TV series and co-creating Robot Chicken, co-writer Hugh Sterbakov is very much the heart and soul of the series.
COMICMIX: For new readers who haven't studied the Freshmen curriculum, what do they need to know for the test? Let's hear the CliffsNotes version of the series...
HUGH STERBAKOV: It's a whole dramatic and comedic saga with a crapload of characters and relationships, but if we're cramming, I'd say that a bunch of college freshmen have been given superpowers by the explosion of a special machine, and the powers are based on whatever they were thinking at that moment.
So one guy can burp at anyone and make them drunk, one girl can make everyone fall in love with her, another guy is totally sticky, that dude can talk to plants, this girl can jump into people's minds... and they're (sort of) led by a comic book geek who didn't get any powers and a talking beaver obsessed with building dams.
Continue reading Interview: Hugh Sterbakov on 'Freshmen' and the 'Summer Vacation Special' ›
Mon Jun 30, 2008 — by Chris Ullrich
WWC Interview: Brian Azzarello on 'Batman: Gotham Knight'
The 'Batman' and '100 Bullets' writer talks all-things 'Gotham Knight'
On his way to becoming one of the most sought-after writers in comics today, Brian Azzarello has achieved a great deal of success and notoriety with his series 100 Bullets, which garnered him multiple Eisner Awards. In addition, his work on Hellblazer, Johnny Double, Batman/Deathblow and Lex Luthor: Man of Steel continues to cement his reputation as a writer and creator of comics.
Along with Brian's many accomplishiments in comics, he's also one of the six writers contributing stories to the upcoming animated feature film Batman: Gotham Knight. Brian's segment, "Working through Pain," shows us a somewhat non-violent side of the Dark Knight and showcases a story in which Bruce Wayne learns techniques from a mysterous woman that will serve him well and help him deal with the physical toll exacted upon him during his years as Batman.
I caught up with Azzarello at Wizard World Chicago to ask him a few questions about writing his segment, how he feels about Batman as a character and how he thought the film turned out.
COMIX MIX: Brian, what is it that makes Batman such an endearing character?
BRIAN AZARELLO: Well, he's not realy endearing to me.
CMix: You don't like him?
BA: I think he's a tragic character. Maybe that's why he's more compelling than endearing. He's all about his flaws.
CMix: But you're a fan?
BA: Oh, yeah, but I like his villains a lot, too. Almost more than I like him. I think his villiains are all different pieces of him. That's something that makes him really interesting.
CMix: How did you get involved in the Batman: Gotham Knight film?
BA: I was asked. They explained the film to me, how it would be structured with six stories, and asked me to come up with an idea. I chose to focus more on Bruce Wayne, and they liked my pitch. That's pretty much it.
CMix: Is there a difference between writing something for print and for a movie?
BA: Not for me. My comic scripts are pretty sparse in terms of art direction, the blocking and such. I don't get into a ton of detail and more leave it up to the artist in a lot of ways. So it was a pretty easy transition for me to make.
CMix: How do you think the film turned out?
BA: I liked it. I thought it turned out well considering it was six different stories. I thought it held together very, very well. As a writer, I really try to trust the people I work with. I try to leave them plenty of room so they can bring their strengths to the work.
I think that happened in this film, and definitely for my segment – the animation is just amazing.
Batman: Gotham Knight is scheduled for a July 8 release on DVD.
Sun Jun 29, 2008 — by Chris Ullrich
'Wanted' to Hit $50 Million Opening Weekend
Some thoughts on the opening weekend numbers from the 'Wanted' publisher
According to Variety, Wanted
As this is Wizard World Chicago weekend and Top Cow, the publisher of the original Wanted graphic novel, is at the show, I decided to check in on them and bring their VP of Marketing, Mel Caylo, the good news about the film's perfomance and get his reaction.
COMIC MIX: Hey Mel, I just heard that Wanted may do over $50 million this weekend at the box office. How do you feel about that?
MEL CAYLO: Really? Where did you hear that? If its true, we're obviously thrilled.
CMix: Variety is projecting it. Wanted will be number two behind Wall-E.
MC: Well, that's great. And I think we're on fewer screens, too, so that's great.
CMix: Those are pretty good numbers. What do you think is responsible for them?
MC: Well, Universal did some really great marketing for the film so that's a big part of it. They really pushed it hard and got the word out beyond those people that just knew the comic.
And, of course, Angelena Jolie is a big draw. Also, some of it comes from the comic as well, of course. And, the director Timur Bekmambetov did a great job.
CMix: Where you a fan of the director's other films?
MC: Yeah, I really liked Nightwatch
CMix: So, if the film continues to do this well, should we expect a sequel?
MC: It's too early to say, but I would think if it becomes a huge success than a sequel could happen.
CMix: Can you tell us if any of the creative team has signed up for multiple films?
MC: Not really. I did read that the writers of the film had signed up for a sequel but I can't comment on that. Or, on who else might have signed up.
CMix: So, some people have signed up but not others?
MC: Again, I can't really say for sure but obviously, some people wouldn't be back because they didn't make it through the film.
CMix: I'm just going to guess and say that probably James McAvoy would be coming back?
MC: I can't confirm that at all but if there was a sequel, that would make sense.
CMix: Okay, Mel, I won't put you on the spot any more. Thanks and congratulations.
Sun Jun 29, 2008 — by Chris Ullrich
WWC Interview: 'World War Z' Writer Max Brooks
The "World War Z' author talks about his books, a potential movie and his new graphic novel
To some, it may seem unusual to find Max Brooks, the author of the very popular novels The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z at a convention devoted mostly to comic books. But really, it isn't that hard to understand. Both of Brooks' books deal with zombies, a very popular creature among comics and pop culture fans.
Recently, Brooks' novel World War Z was optioned by Paramount Pictures for actor Brad Pitt's company Plan B to produce. He's also hard at work writing the graphic novel adaptation of the historical zombie attacks featured in The Zombie Survival Guide -- which is being packaged by Avatar Press.
I sat down with Brooks on Saturday to talk about zombies, his love of history, his latest project and why translating his work into a graphic novel was one of the hardest things he's ever done.
COMICMIX: So Max, you're a writer of two successful novels. What are you doing at a comic book convention?
MAX BROOKS: I have my first comic book, a graphic novel based on the reported attacks in the Zombie Survival Guide, that I'm doing with Avatar. That's what I'm doing here at this convention.
CMix: How did you hook up with Avatar Press?
MB: i was stalked by William Christensen, who heads Avatar Press. He cornered me at another show and said he really wanted to work with me and i said "i would really love to work with you, too. Who are you?" But then we talked and he gave me some samples of artists and i really liked what i saw and thought we could work together.
I ended up going with this one artist because i liked his work the most and i thought it looked the most realistic, which was important for me.
Continue reading WWC Interview: 'World War Z' Writer Max Brooks ›
Sat Jun 28, 2008 — by Rick Marshall
WWC Interview: Josh Blaylock on 'Vampire Hunter D'
DDP announces new miniseries based on popular anime/manga
During a late-afternoon panel at Wizard World Chicago, Devil's Due Publishing announced today that it would be producing a Vampire Hunter D miniseries (titled "American Wasteland") based on the popular anime/manga character. While the full creative team, length of the series and release date haven't been finalized, DDP president Josh Blaylock will be serving as co-writer for the series, with new DDP staffer Jim Demonakos serving as editor.
I spoke with Blaylock about the project earlier today.
COMICMIX: So why did you target the Vampire Hunter D property?
JOSH BLAYLOCK: I think there's something cool about him that transcends. It has a very hardcore fan following who are very faithful to the manga and the anime. In the '80s there were only a few anime you could get ahold of, especially edgy animation. As a comic book fan, you craved that type of content but there was only so much you could get. There was Vampire Hunter D, Fist of the North Star... and D was this crazy, short cut-and-dry story that I got into way back when. It just seemed like it would be a lot of fun to do a Westernized take on him. I'm not talking about changing the look of the character drastically or anything like that, though.
CMix: What do you mean by "westernizing" the character?
JB: It has to do more with the art style more than anything else.
CMix: So will it be following the traditional format of manga with regard to reading direction and such?
JB: No, it will be done in the standard, Americanized style. I think it's the kind of thing casual comic book fans who still follow manga titles still have a lot of interest in, because there's a wider love for Vampire Hunter D than people seem to have for a lot of other manga titles. But we want to stay true to the character enough so that the hardcore fans will still still have an interest in the story, too.
CMix: what can you say about the story?
JB: The ink is just dry on this deal, but it's along the lines of a typical D story: Lone wanderer winds up having to help some people, and so on. It's very "Conan the Barbarian"... that sort of thing.
CMix: How closely are you going to work with Vampire Hunter D creator Hideyuki Kikuchi?
JB: Well, with Digital Manga Productions, we had been talking to them about doing some things for a while, and that was one of the properties we thought would be cool to do something with. I just threw the idea at them, and expected the creator to be a lot more protective of it, but he was all about it and wanted to go forward with it. Apparently, he loves to see the character played with and to see new things happen to him.
Wed Jun 25, 2008 — by Rick Marshall
Interview: Mark Wheatley and Robert Tinnell on 'EZ Street'
The comics biz is rarely easy - just ask the brothers of 'EZ Street'
For the last few months, I've spotlighted webcomic creators from all around the 'Net in my weekly interview series here on ComicMix. This time around, I'm staying a bit closer to home and chatting with the creators of EZ Street, the Harvey-nominated webcomic from creators Mark Wheatley and Robert Tinnell, published here at ComicMix, which concluded its 38-issue run last week.
EZ Street first kicked off in October 2007, and promised readers a look inside the lives of two brothers, Scott and Danny Fletcher, who were trying to make a go of it in comics after heading their separate ways earlier in life. One brother had turned his love of the graphic arts into a career in design, while the other decided to try his luck in the film industry. EZ Street chronicled their return into each other's lives and the ups and downs of collaboration, their personal relationships and the comics scene. Just prior to publication of the final episode of EZ Street, it was announced that Wheatley and Tinnell's series had been nominated for a Harvey Award in the category of "Best Online Comic" for 2008, joining popular webcomics such as Perry Bible Fellowship, Penny Arcade and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
I spoke with the creative duo about the series' roots, working in an online medium and Lone Justice, the project that will soon jump from the pages of EZ Street and into a series all its own. Wheatley and Tinnell were also nice enough to provide the cover image for the first issue of Lone Justice. A full-size version of the image is available at the end of the interview.
COMICMIX: In stories like EZ Street, which use the creative process as subject matter and make the comics industry a central part of the plot, readers are often privy to a lot of the creators' personalities and experiences in the biz. How much of your personalities are in EZ Street? What parts of you and your experiences can readers see in Scott, Danny and their lives?
MARK WHEATLEY: Well, I think we got a lot of the real Mike Oeming, Neil Vokes and Todd Livingston into these pages. But the rest is fiction -- fiction that is true in the same way as any story I tell. Everything comes from my own life experience -- and in this case, Bob's life experience. Each of us has either experienced something damn close to what goes on in EZ Street, or we have been close to people who have gone through these moments of glory, loss and redemption. For me, since I've been running a comic art studio for over a quarter of a century, I've had a lot of close-up views of careers that almost made it, and careers that have self-destructed. There is really no shortage of people who have dreams, and people who lack the resources to follow their dreams, be it the courage, the finances or the support of people who believe in them. So yeah, EZ Street is the result of decades of personal research. That's why we called it "EZ Street" -- it isn't!
ROBERT TINNELL: I like to think that there's a lot of all creators present in both of them. As for me personally, I think they represent different elements of my personality as well as some commonalities. There were also instances where I took elements of Mark's passions and personality and wove those in as well -- as did he, of course. At the risk of repeating myself, I do hope we've tapped into some universal emotions on the part of creators.
To be more specific, I could -- but won't -- name very specific instances of EZ Street that were pretty much word-for-word recreations of real moments.
Continue reading Interview: Mark Wheatley and Robert Tinnell on 'EZ Street' ›
Tue Jun 24, 2008 — by Chris Ullrich
Interview: Neil Kleid on 'Worlds of Dungeons and Dragons'
The award-winning writer talks all-things D&D plus past, present and future projects
Writer and Xeric Grant winner Neil Kleid has come a long way since he wrote his award-winning improvised comic Ninety Candles. Since that time, he's managed to have a diverse and interesting writing career tackling various comic book titles such as G.I. Joe and X-Men Unlimited.
Recently, he's signed on to help bring Devil's Due Publishing's upcoming series The Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons to eager comics fans. ComicMix caught up with the busy author to get the latest info on Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, his other upcoming projects and his love of axes.
COMICMIX: How much did you know about Dungeons & Dragons before you started writing the comic book? Did you ever play the game growing up?
NEIL KLEID: Once or twice, as a kid. I was mostly into the Bard's Tale videogame and the early Dragonlance books. When I did play, I was always a dwarf. I liked the axes.
I'd stopped reading the DL books years ago, but my pal Andrew Dabb's been adapting them for Devil's Due for a while now and so, to check out his work, I'd flip through them at the store and I kind of got hooked again. I'm mostly into the books that focus on the characters from the War of the Lance.
CMix: What attracts you to a project like Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons in the first place?
NK: Intriguing characters, creepy monsters, short, condensed stories. Also, free rein and choice. Good editors. Stories I liked when I was younger that strike a chord inside.
CMix: How did this project first come about and how did you get involved?
NK: I'd been talking to the folks at Devil's Due for a while now, trying to set something up with them - specifically with the G.I. Joe license. I had a meeting with former editor Mark Powers a few years
back and then traded several emails with current editor Mike O' Sullivan. We always talked about the possibility of doing something together.
Then, Dabb mentioned they were looking for new D&D writers just as Mike emailed asking if it was something I'd be interested in. He hooked me up with editor James Lowder and we ran through the types of stories I wanted to do, narrowing it down to "The Legacy." It's been a lot of fun so far.
CMix: This is your first time doing something in the sword-and-sorcery genre, right? This comic seems like new territory for you based on your previous work.
Continue reading Interview: Neil Kleid on 'Worlds of Dungeons and Dragons' ›
Sun Jun 22, 2008 — by Rick Marshall
Original Hulk Concept Art, Character Designer Interviewed
Hulk smash puny design preconceptions!
The Incredible Hulk is still smashing away in theaters, but that doesn't mean we can't keep playing the "What If?" game with the Green Goliath's latest big-screen rampage.
Over at XSI Base, Incredible Hulk character designer Aaron Sims discusses some of the creative decisions made while conceiving the look of the latest Hulk -- as well as his nemesis, Abomination. Here, Sims addresses the difference between Abomination of the comics world and his big-screen counterpart:
The Abomination went many different directions. Some at the beginning were closer to the comic, but everyone felt it didn't make sense to what happening in the movie. They wanting it to look like it was growing from within and the bones and muscle would break through the skin.
While it's a fun read, the real treat in this article is the gallery of early designs for both characters, including the frightening Hulk seen here:
Head over to XSI Base for more design images and the rest of the interview.
(via Cinematical)
Sat Jun 21, 2008 — by Rick Marshall
Matt Keeslar, Mexican Wrestlers and the 'Middleman' Interview
The Middleman himself answers some questions about the new series
Previously, I told you about the first episode of The Middleman that was available as a free download on iTunes. For those who didn't take advantage of the offer, you're missing out -- the series premiere lived up to my lofty expectations, and now I can hardly wait until Monday for the second episode.
As part of the marketing push for the series, "Middleman" Matt Keeslar recently participated in a conference call with various news outlets about the series. While the interview provides a great behind-the-scenes look at the series and its move from comics to screen, the best part just might be the final response from Keeslar.
"In one of the episodes we battle trout craving zombies, people who have been bitten by Peruvian flying pike and have turned into zombies who crave the flesh of trout. Natalie and I were covered in fish gore and then tracked down by these trout zombies, so that was an odd thing.
"I had a scene where I had to fight 100 Mexican wrestlers in a sandy Aztec pyramid set, which was a lot of fun, kind of hard work, but also pretty silly. The fighting styles ranged everywhere from WWF to Kung Fu. In general, The Middleman's naiveté also beats him to make a lot of unintentional double entendre about sex, sexuality, and his own lifestyle choices, and those have been probably some of my sillier utterances throughout the show."
Not only does this response confirm fans' hopes that a certain scene from the comic involving Mexican wrestlers will indeed be included in the TV series, but it just sounds, well... excellent.
Head over to The Deadbolt for other highlights from the conference call, and be sure to check out the Middleman Monday on ABC Family.
Sat Jun 21, 2008 — by Rick Marshall
New 'Wanted' Clips and Interviews Hit the 'Net
It's all about curving the bullet, buddy...
Wanted, the film based on Mark Millar and J.G. Jones' six-issue 2003 miniseries, will hit theaters at the end of this month, and the Universal Pictures marketing machine is chugging along in anticipation of the big day.
Just in case you lost track of this one in all of the Iron Man
Yahoo Movies has collected all of the various trailers and previews for the film on a single page, including the latest: a a wild scene that takes place aboard a train in mid-derailment.
Comics2Film has put together a pretty decent list of interviews with the cast of the film, including star James McAvoy, director Timur Bekmambetov and hip-hop musician Common.
For the audiophiles, you can view samples of music from the Wanted soundtrack over at CineMusic.
Finally, we posted links to a Wanted "Making Of" featurette a while back that's available online, as well as the Wanted viral marketing website that inducts users into the film's mysterious "Fraternity." (Note: I submitted my email address to the site when I posted that article and haven't heard anything thus far.)
Fri Jun 20, 2008 — by Rick Marshall
'Dark Knight' Interviews and Set Visit Report
It's bat-tastic!
As The Dark Knight's release date looms ever closer, studio-arranged embargoes on coverage of the film appear to be lifting and the set visits, interviews and other coverage that have been kept out of the public eye for the last year or so are arriving on the 'Net.
Over the last few years, some of my favorite "official" coverage of comics-themed films has arrived via the crew at SuperHeroHype and ComingSoon.net. Their recent Dark Knight package is no exception.
Along with a comprehensive report on their visit to the set of the film, there are also interviews with actors Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman, as well as director Christopher Nolan and the film's production and costume designers.
From their analysis of the Bat Suit:
Also notable was the neck. Rather than being big and bulky like the "Begins" costume, it was very thin and made of several pieces. As the costumer would later tell us, they actually had to scale down the Bat mask so it wouldn't look so huge on the smaller neck. Also noteworthy was the bat logo being significantly smaller and split in two pieces. When I asked the costumer about it later, he said there was actually some debate for a time whether to even have the logo or not.
. . .
I also got to see what was under the cape. It was laced up in the back and there was no bat butt. (I knew you were wondering.) All in all, the costume looked great, and very functional, in person.
So there you have it: There will be no "bat butt" in the sequel.
Head over to SuperHeroHype for the rest of the Dark Knight set visit, as well as other items from their on-location coverage.
The Dark Knight hits theaters July 18.
Thu Jun 19, 2008 — by Rick Marshall
Interview: Jon Rosenberg on 'Goats' and the Art of the Reboot
Woody Allen and Space Hitler... 'nuff said.
There aren't many people who have been in the webcomics business longer than Goats creator Jon Rosenberg.
After more than a decade creating comics in the online scene (and doing so as his sole source of income for the last few years), the popular creator has certainly earned "veteran" status -- especially by the "here one day, gone the next" standards of Internet fame. In the time that countless other comics have enjoyed celebrated beginnings, mediocre runs and quiet dismissals into digital limbo, Goats has persevered, evolved and gone so far as to develop a rich, complex history that continues to develop to this day.
Yet, as both the series and its creator have grown, so have the elements providing the series' foundation from the start. Minor and major characters have come into their own and prompted various spin-offs and memes that carve out an even greater niche for the series in webcomic history. Whether experimenting with subscription-based content or new hardware for illustrators, Rosenberg's longtime readers have been privy to an ongoing experiment with the Internet's ability to support webcomics. Heck, one might even go so far as to say that the evolution of Goats is a pretty darn good model of the evolution of webcomics as a whole, with many of the trends, pitfalls and successes of the online model represented by different points in the series' history.
And to think it all began with a couple of guys in a bar.
For this week's webcomic interview, I spoke with Rosenberg about Goats, his creative process, the art of the relaunch and the big announcement he has planned for Comic-Con International in San Diego next month.
Oh, and we also found some time to talk about beer, too.
COMICMIX: What are you up today, Jon?
JON ROSENBERG: Today was one of those rare non-comicking days where I did a couple hundred small businessy-type tasks. "Taskettes," really. Customer service email, product design, paying bills, that sort of thing. From the sorts of things I've heard lately, print cartoonists all have assistants and butlers to do that sort of thing for them since they're all so rich, but us webcomics folk sometimes have to get our hands dirty.
Lately I've been working on banging out as good a story as possible and learning to use my new Cintiq at peak efficiency. Electrons is where it's at, I'm never going back to ink on paper. Most of my mental bandwidth has been taken up by a large project which I can't talk about until July, unfortunately.
Continue reading Interview: Jon Rosenberg on 'Goats' and the Art of the Reboot ›
Wed Jun 18, 2008 — by Chris Ullrich
Battlestar Galactica Interview: Mark Verheiden on Cylon Amnesty and Finding Earth
The 'BSG' co-executive producer talks about the mid-season finale
Welcome to the latest installment of Battlestar Galactica Weekly, our recurring Q&A with Mark Verheiden, co-executive producer of the hit Sci-Fi Channel series Battlestar Galactica. Each week, we'll interview Verheiden about the events of the week's episode, what those events might mean for both the season and the series, and hopefully unearth some clues about what to expect as the final season of Battlestar Galactica nears its conclusion.
Along with posing our own questions to Verheiden, we're also taking questions from fans -- so be sure to send your questions to me, your official BSG Weekly interviewer, after each episode airs at chris [at] comicmix [dot] com. New episodes of Battlestar Galactica can be seen every Friday at 10 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel. You can read previous interviews via our BSG Weekly Archive or the links at the end of this article.
This week, Mark is answering questions about Episode #10 of Season Four, "Revelations," which aired June 13, 2008 and is BSG's mid-season finale. Note: These answers may contain spoilers, so read at your own risk.
COMICMIX (from reader Erica): Is it true that the online streamed version of the episode is longer than the one that aired on Sci-Fi?
MARK VERHEIDEN: As usual, I have to plead ignorance, I simply don’t know, and guess whose TiVo went to the wrong channel when the episode actually aired Friday night? I’m sure the eagle-eyes in the audience will let us know soon enough!
CMix (from reader Erica): Are we to assume that, in the show's final shot on Earth, that is Caprica Six who walks up to Tigh and reaches for him? Was she freed from the brig as part of the amnesty policy Lee announced?
MV: That is Caprica Six and yes, Lee’s amnesty encompassed her as well.
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica Interview: Mark Verheiden on Cylon Amnesty and Finding Earth ›
Tue Jun 17, 2008 — by Rick Marshall
Interview: Adam Freeman on 'Genius' and Top Cow's Pilot Season
The future of duo's new series will lie in the hands of fans
Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman's first big comics project, last year's five-issue miniseries The Highwaymen
Despite a massive marketing push by the series' publisher, Wildstorm, as well as fairly positive reviews of the first issue, in the end the series was widely regarded as a commercial disappointment. After all was said and done, the series' performance left many figures in and around the industry, including Bernardin himself, wondering what the difficulties experienced by The Highwaymen say about the industry as a whole.
Nevertheless, the pair has persevered, and this week marks the release of Genius, their original story about a 17-year-old girl in South Central Los Angeles who unites the region's gangs in a war against the L.A. Police Department.
From the Top Cow solicit for the project:
Alexander, Hannibal, Napoleon, Patton. What if the greatest military mind of OUR generation was born in strife, surrounded by violence and combat since birth? When the gauntlet is dropped, the question isn't "How did 17-year-old Destiny Ajaye unite the gangs of South Central into a killer army and declare war on the LAPD?" No, the question is, "Can anyone stop her?"
This Wednesday, Genius will hit shelves as one of the titles in Top Cow's "Pilot Season" program, and readers will eventually be able to vote on which of the "Pilot Season" projects becomes an ongoing series with the publisher.
I spoke with Adam Freeman about Genius, where the idea for the story originated and the Top Cow program that once again puts a story he co-created with Bernardin at the mercy of comics fans everywhere.
COMICMIX: Can you tell me about the genesis of Genius? What was the spark that developed into this story?
ADAM FREEMAN: It was an idea that Marc had swimming in his head for a while, but I responded to instantly. I have always been fascinated with prodigies and savants. I am not a religious or spiritual person by any means, but the idea that someone -- regardless of their walk of life -- could be "chosen" to be the best at something is incredibly cool to me.
Continue reading Interview: Adam Freeman on 'Genius' and Top Cow's Pilot Season ›
Fri Jun 13, 2008 — by Chris Ullrich
Interview: Scott Allie on Shepherd Book's 'Serenity' Spin-Off and 'Solomon Kane'
The Dark Horse Editor chats up all things Whedon and his new MySpace/DHP series
Previously on ComicMix, I spoke with Dark Horse Comics' Editor Scott Allie about a variety of subjects including Buffy: Season Eight, Joss Whedon, the Dark Horse/MySpace Comics project and the rise of digital media.
This time around, we revisit a few old topics (because there's always something new going on with Dark Horse projects in the Joss Whedon universe), discuss who might be handling the Serenity spin-offs and talk a bit about the origin of Shepherd Book.
COMICMIX: Okay, Scott, we talked about Serenity spin-offs before, like the one featuring Shepherd Book. Will it be old Buffy and Serenity writers on that one or...
SCOTT ALLIE: No. Joss [Whedon] will still have his role as co-writer, plotter, all that, but the rest of this is changing up. This one is such a different thing. It's a flashback with a single character, before the television show, so we figured it was an opportunity to go in a real different direction.
CMix: There's a story about the Shepherd Book comic's origin, right? Something about Ron Glass (who plays the character in both the tevelvision series and feature film) going on a cruise?
Continue reading Interview: Scott Allie on Shepherd Book's 'Serenity' Spin-Off and 'Solomon Kane' ›
