THE KURT BUSIEK AVENGERS INTERVIEW (Page 3 of 3)
--A WONDER MAN: COOLER THAN SUPERMAN EXCLUSIVE--
INTERVIEWER: MIKE McDERMOTT
40 -What is your favorite Wonder Man writer from the
past? Artist from the past?
I've always been most fond of David Michelinie's
Wonder Man, I guess, and for artist -- I liked Byrne's, I liked Buscema's, I like Pérez's, but I'll give the nod to Kerry Gammill.
41 -Name 4 artist that have never drawn Wonder Man
that you would like to see try him.
Off the top of my head: Leonard Kirk, Gary Chaloner, Scott McDaniel and Mike Mignola.
42-Besides yourself, who do you think could write a Wonder Man Icons series? An ongoing series?
I'm sure there are plenty of people who could do it --Michelinie, Englehart, Peter David, Jo Duffy, Geoff Johns, Chuck Dixon, Mark Waid, Karl Kesel ... I could keep going. If there was going to be one, I'd sure like to get the job first, though.
43 -Why do you think Wonder Man writers never have matched him
against old Thor foes, they seem like a perfect match, The Destroyer, the Absorbing Man, Cobra and Mr. Hyde, the Wrecking Crew, Mephisto. I'd love to see him square against each of these.
You'd have to ask those writers. I seem to recall him being with the Avengers when they took on both the
Absorbing Man and the Grey Gargoyle, though.
44-How do you feel about Millar's derogative comments about many of the Avengers long standing members including Wonder Man?
I don't worry about it. Mark's entitled to his opinions, and I learned a long time ago that not everyone's going to share my tastes.
45-Would you be interested in writing a Wonder Man solo series, a mini series? If not you, who would you like to see writing a Wonder Man series? Drawing?
Sure, I'd be interested. If I could do it, I'd love it if Steve Epting was available, too...
46-Do you think Perez would ever be interested in a Wondy solo series? In writing the Avengers?
You'd have to ask George. But he was offered the writing gig on AVENGERS, and chose just to draw it instead, because he's not familiar enough with the present-day Marvel Universe to juggle it all. That's how I wound up with the job.
47-Don't you think of all the Avengers, Wonder Man is the one George Perez had more creative input with?
I don't know. He designed a number of costumes for him, but I have no idea how much plot input he had when working with Englehart, Conway, Shooter, Michelinie and others.
48-How was it to work with George Perez? Alan Davis? How does it compares?
Both were great -- I had a lot more communication with George, but the work was just wonderful in both cases,
and a treat to script.
49- What were your favorite comics growing up?
I wasn't actually allowed to read most comics, growing up -- my parents were among those who thought that comics were evil mindrot that would ruin kids' sensibilities, so they banned them from the house. American comic book, anyway. They did have POGO and PEANUTS and such in book collections, and ASTERIX and TINTIN albums in a variety of languages, to encourage us kids to be interested in learning languages. I liked POGO and ASTERIX a lot -- and I liked the BATMAN Sunday strip in the newspaper. I'd see other comics at friends' houses and barbershops, and even occasionally buy one and read it on the way home, but get rid of it before I got into the house. I didn't start buying them regularly and saving them
until I was 14, and old enough to ignore the rules. At that point, I was holding down three paper routes, and had plenty of disposable income, so I was buying back issues as fast or faster than the new stuff. Favorites then included the Lee/Colan DAREDEVIL and the original run of X-MEN.
50- Who's work do you really enjoy currently?
Lots of stuff. What comes first to mind are Stan
Sakai's USAGI YOJIMBO, Paul Grist's KANE and JACK STAFF, Rachel Hartman's AMY UNBOUNDED, Erik Larsen's SAVAGE DRAGON and Chuck Dixon and Jeff Johnson's WAY OF THE RAT. Ask me tomorrow and I expect it'd be a different list.
51- If you could write any comic currently, what would it be?
ASTRO CITY.
52- What projects can we all look for in the near future from you?
At the moment, I'm working on THE POWER COMPANY, ASTRO CITY, JLA/AVENGERS, a new Cliffhanger series called ARROWSMITH with Carlos Pacheco, and a couple of thing that haven't been announced yet. All of those start coming out next year, except POWER COMPANY, so I guess what I've got in the "near future" is just the one series.
53- Will you ever make a follow up to Marvels?
ASTRO CITY is my follow-up to MARVELS. There was a sequel planned at one point, with a different artist, but it fell apart over creative differences. So I took the story material back, and it'll eventually turn up in ASTRO CITY, much modified. Marvel kept the project going with a different writer, and the result was CODE OF HONOR.
54- Which titles would you like to write but haven't had the chance to yet?
There's lots of them. I'd like to write CAPTAIN
AMERICA, THOR, FANTASTIC FOUR, GREEN LANTERN, KAMANDI, WARLORD, CONAN, MACHINE MAN, INVADERS, and lots more.
55- Who are your favorite characters to write and why?
I like writing the vivid, "loud" characters -- and by that I don't mean guys that shout a lot, but characters with very clear attitudes, very distinctive manners and speech patterns. Hawkeye's a ball to write, as is the Vision, to pick two -- they're very much "themselves," and aren't interchangeable with someone else. In almost any situation, they'll do something very individual, rather than just go along with the crowd.
56- Which characters do you dislike to write or just find difficult to write for and why?
I don't much like writing characters I don't "get," like Gambit. I don't have much empathy for him, so I find he doesn't come to life for me in my mind -- he's lines on paper to me, not alive. So he's just not someone I enjoy dealing with. Plus, I don't like characters with weird speech patterns that I don't do well. I can write Batroc Ze Leapair's cheesy French accent up one wall and down the other, but Gambit's is one that just bugs me. Then again, I can like a character and still find them hard to write. I did a whole issue of UNTOLD TALES OF
SPIDER-MAN narrated by Mary Jane Watson, while she was still in her full-on hyper-goof Stan Lee ditz-gal
mode. Stan can write that stuff in his sleep, but for me, I had to start each day, while I was scripting the issue, by typing out all the MJ dialogue from ten issues of Stan's Spidey run, just to get her voice into my head, so I could duplicate that wacky speech pattern for my story.
57- Who are your favorite heroes?
Off the top of my head: Hawkeye, Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, Iron Man, Terry Lee (of TERRY AND THE PIRATES) and Kamandi.
58- Who are your favorite villains?
Again, just winging it: Magneto, Kang, Ultron, Baron Zemo and Kobra.
59- If you could go back in time and re do a project that you weren't satisfied with, which one would it be and why?
Ordinarily, I'd say none of them. It's not that I'm satisfied with it all, it's just that I'd rather leave it as is, for good or ill, let it be what I could do at the time and spend my time doing new stuff, instead of re-polishing something that's already done. That said, I'd love to go back and re-do THE REGULATORS, which I did at Image, simply because I'd like to finish the story. And I've just been offered a chance to do a project that would involve re-doing another old project, largely to re-do the art and expand the story -- but I can't say what that is yet.
60- What advice do you have for writers or artists
trying to break into comics?
Practice. Write all the time. Finish the stories you
write -- you've got to practice endings as well as
beginnings. All the books, all the classes, all the
information on how someone else does it won't help you anywhere near as much as doing it yourself, and finding your own voice and what works best for you. Also: Keep in mind that you're a small businessman selling something -- your stories. Nobody will give you a gig simply because you really really want it. They'll only hire you if you can supply something they need. So look around, try to figure out who needs stories (and knows it -- it's not enough if you just think their books are all crummy), and what kind of
stories they need. Then pitch stuff to the ones who need the kind of thing you can do.
61- Are there any other artists that you'd like to work with but haven't had the chance?
Sure. Among them would be: Walt Simonson, Leonard Kirk, Alex Toth, Steve Leialoha and anybody named Kubert.
62- What is your dream project?
ASTRO CITY.
63- What work are you most proud of and why?
ASTRO CITY #1/2. I think it's the single best-realized story I've ever done -- it captured the mood, the ideas, the tone I was going for, and it's the closest I've ever gotten to getting what was in my head down on the paper.
64-In Wonder Man's own judgment who gets the 10 as a lover Tigra or Wanda?
I'm not writing him at present, so I don't think I get to say. I imagine both women are quite different, but quite an experience.
65 -Who would win an arm wrestling match Byrne or Perez? Davis vs. Hitch? Millar vs. Busiek?
Between John and George, I think my money would be on George. I've never met Bryan or Mark, but Alan's a sturdy fellow and I'm a feeb, so depending on how the competition stacks up...
66- If you were going to cast Simon Williams in a movie, what role would it be?
I think it'd be fun to give him a role he'd find awkward because he was playing someone he knew. So I'd cast him as Tony Stark, or as Captain America, and see how he dealt with it.
67- What are the chances of a Busiek written Avengers Icons mini?
We've talked about it from time to time, but no current plans.
Thank you for allowing us this interview and for these past wonderful years of Avengers reading!