The Big Question with Mark Waid: 7-13-00
The Big Question with Mark Waid
Interview with: Troy Brownfield
Whenever you write columns and do interviews, you make a mental list of who you would ultimately like to have as a guest. I’ve always wanted to be able to ask questions of personalities like Warren Ellis, Kevin Eastman, and Matt Wagner, and fortunately, I’ve been able to do so. However, there was one writer that I really wanted to track down, based on his obvious work ethic, affection for certain characters, creativity, and all-around insight.
And here he is.
Our guest this time has written The Avengers, X-Men, and Captain America. He did The Flash for eight years and co-created its spin-off, Impulse. With Alex Ross, he did the magnificent Kingdom Come. He’s one of the forces behind the new Gorilla Comics and writes Empire there. He writes Gatecrasher for Black Bull. And he’s just taken over as the writer of nothing less than the JLA. Ladies and gentleman, he’s Mark Waid.
THE BIG Q&A
Q1. You just ended a remarkable run on “The Flash” (98 regular issues?). If you would, please tell us how you feel about departing a book that obviously means a lot to you personally?
A1. It’s no secret that Wally and I dovetailed enough for me to (I think) seamlessly overlay my own personality, speech pattern, and personal goals and dreams onto him. If ever I had an alter ego, Wally was it. We had similar upbringings–small-town boys who wanted to move faster, fathers we couldn’t connect with, a real desire to find outside the standard family dynamic that which family gives you. And the day early on when I first wrote, in Wally’s voice and my own, “Time is the enemy,” I knew I’d found a vehicle for my own self-expression for as long as I liked.
However.
Eight years later, Wally and I were in different places. Through him, I’d worked out a lot of my own issues with romance, with women, with impatience and with self-image…and one day, I woke up to realize that our roads had finally diverged, that we’d maybe learned all we could from one another at this stage in my life. The issues I now have to work out nearly a decade later are probably things for which Wally’s not an appropriate vehicle. Maybe Golgoth is. Maybe Gatecrasher. I’m not sure yet. Stay tuned.
Q2. By now, you’ve taken over JLA. Perhaps the greatest thing Grant Morrison did with the book was to give it a consistent iconographic tone. What would YOU most like to bring to the book?
A2. Without losing Grant’s scope, I’d like to bring a lot more character intensity to the book. The standard line on a team book is that you can’t do anything substantive to characters who have their own books. Baloney. If you don’t think what’s about to happen between Batman and Superman isn’t substantive and far-reaching, you’re wrong. And wait until you see what’s coming with Aquaman and Wonder Woman.
Q3. This is the semi-obligatory JLA line-up/bad guys question. Will we get to see old favorites like Zatanna, The Ray, Firestorm, and, dare I say it, Amos Fortune and the Royal Flush Gang, during your tenure on the book?
A3. For the LAST TIME, I HATE FIRESTORM! Seriously, Firestorm’s better left to the Jay Faerbers or Ben Raabs of the world who have the same nostalgic affection for him that I do for, say, Robby Reed or Mr. Terrific. Better for me to work with characters I have a passion for. Zatanna. Atom. Adam Strange. And, yes, eventually even Amos Fortune and the staggeringly unfortunately named Royal Flush Gang.
Q4. Who are some of the other writers and artists that you believe are elevating the field of comics?
A4. Grant Morrison. Devin Grayson. Grant Morrison. Tom Peyer, when he gets his damn work in. Scott McCloud. Grant Morrison.
Q5. What advice would you give to young writers wanting to break into the field?
A5. Speak kindly of me when I’m a burned-out hack and you’ve just stolen my last regular assignment.
Q6. Gorilla Comics. Tell us what we need to know.
A6. Eight creators with proven track records doing dream projects with 100% editorial control. If that’s not a recipe for good comics, it’s all hopeless.
Q7. You’re one of the top writers in the field. Still, you’ve faced some editorial obstacles from time to time. What’s the single most difficult thing to deal with as a high-profile comics writer?
A7. Not allowing it to make you fat and lazy when it comes to challenging yourself. It would be so, so, so easy to write nothing but amusing, vaguely entertaining super-hero comics for the rest of my life, and I could probably have a relatively long career, but eventually everyone would catch on that I was just repeating myself endlessly, using the same old tricks and schticks. Denny O’Neil once told me that my responsibility as a writer is to force yourself to learn new habits by reaching into that bag of tricks every four or five years and throw out half of ‘em whether they still work or not. Wise words.
Q8. How cool is it to see a character you co-created (Impulse) and another you reinvigorated (Max Mercury) being released as DC Direct figures?
A8. Immeasurably. Now, if only Warner Bros. had allowed Nickelodeon to pick up the live-action option like they wanted to a few years ago…but the toys are keen.
The staff of Shotgun Reviews would like to thank Mark Waid for taking the time to be our guest here. Be sure to read Mr. Waid’s monthly work, especially Empire and JLA. If you’re a Flash fan, you’ll also want to check out the recently released Dead Heat trade paperback. As always, if you have any guests that you’d like to see us get, or have an indie comic that you’d like to promote yourself, let Troy know at psikotyk@aol.com.
Troy Brownfield is the Editor-In-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. You can read his review of Empire #1 over in the Comics section.
