Good Comic Books | The Day of Chaos is fast approaching, what can we expect? Apart from there being some sort of chaotic day… Will it be a good place for new readers to cut their teeth on Judge Dredd?

John Wagner | I’d like to think so.  It does involve characters regular Dredd readers will be familiar with, but it’s important to make any story accessible to new readers. Not perhaps if you jump on in the middle, but if you’re there from the start. In this the format of Day of Chaos should help – a lot of shorter stories, some of which may seem at first only obliquely connected to the bigger picture – building up to an electrifying and violent conclusion (at least, that’s what my PR guy is saying). A similar structure to Tour of Duty, in fact, though the matter at hand is totally different.

GCB | What exactly constitutes a mega-series? Has there been pressure to write stories that can compete with DC & Marvel ‘events’?

John | Matt Smith (2000AD editor) never pressures me in that way. I’m sure he’s happy to be having another mega-series, if that’s the word, but he didn’t hassle me or get on my back about it, though I could, I suppose, sense an unstated preference from him. And I was pleased to go along, though it took a lot of time and no little agonising to come up with. I’ve done so many short Dredds now that I feel a bit played out on them. A multi-part story makes my task more difficult in some ways, of course. Putting all the pieces together is always testing. That’s what it is, though, a multi-part story. I don’t think I’d call it a mega-series.

Image ©Rebellion A/S www.2000adonline.com

GCB | How easy do Dredd story ideas come to you after so many years of writing the character?

John | Like I said, not that easy. Think of an idea and it’s probably been done. It’s best when they just pop into your head – and you have the presence of mind to write them down. I’ve probably forgotten more good ideas than I’ve written.

GCB | Do you ever start a story before realising you’ve done it before?

John | On at least one occasion I wrote the complete story before I realised in all essential details I’d written it before… How I laughed.

GCB | You’ve been an incredibly influential figure in the comics industry for years, what is your view on how the market is changing? What are your thoughts on DC’s big reboot thing?

John | I have no idea what Marvel are up to but from what little I’ve heard about the latest DC stunt I can’t say I’m that enthused. Maybe readers will love it, what do I know? I used to take more of an interest but these days I know nothing about comics.

Image ©Rebellion A/S www.2000adonline.com

GCB | How do you feel about the guys working on the new Dredd film? Are they up to it? How does it feel having strangers let loose on a character you created, like… Sylvester Stallone?

John | Alex, the writer, has been determined to keep Dredd true to character. The Mega-City One he portrays is one side of the multi-faceted city we know, a frightening, dystopian view of the future. Stallone I won’t criticise. The first movie wouldn’t have been made if it hadn’t been for him. Many would say that would have been for the best, but – if you exclude the script – there were a lot of good things about it. And at least it has set the stage for next year’s film.

Image ©Rebellion A/S www.2000adonline.com

I’ve never felt that possessive about Dredd. So many writers and artists have added detail to the city and the judges that it was no wrench when the movie guys got hold of it. A character like Button Man, that’s different. That’s only ever had my hand on it, mine and Arthur Ranson’s. It feels more personal. But when you sign away film rights there’s not generally a lot you can do about what comes out the other end. All you can do is hope they understand what makes the story tick and get it right.   Dreamworks, I’m glad to say, are being very particular about getting the right screenplay.

GCB | What inspires you to tell these stories?

John | Beats working.

GCB | Does Judge Dredd sleep with his armour on?

John | He usually only gets ten minutes in the sleep machine, hardly time to disrobe.

Make sure to check out 2000AD on the 29th July to catch Dredd in the first bit of the mega-series, and keep checking back at Good Comic Books for updates on the Dredd film, which I’m now incredibly excited about…

© Hergé/Moulinsart 2011

We here at GCB are pretty exciting about the new Tintin film coming out later this year, which you can see the trailer for HERE. So in preparation for the film’s release, GCB managed to grab a quick chat with tintinoligist and all round Hergé buff Michael Farr about Tintin, Spielberg and the abominable snowman.

GCB | Hi Michael, Have you seen the new Tintin trailer yet?

Michael | Yes I have, I’m actually speaking about it on the BBC tomorrow. Its quite interesting isn’t it, quite exciting and as action packed as you would expect, a lot more to it than any of the snippets we have previously seen. Captain Haddock’s nose has never looked more bulbous!

GCB | Will you be seeing the film in 3D?

Michael | Yes absolutely, I actually spoke to someone on the production team today and they said it would really add something when watching the film. Hopefully the film will also spread Tintin further and introduce him to places where the books are not so widely read.

GCB | Like in America?

Michael | Yes just like in America, you and I know and love Tintin but there are those out there who do not know him so well, so hopefully this film will catch their attention.

GCB | Tintin has never been as popular in America as he is in Europe, why do you think this is?

Michael | Hergé’s work is very much rooted in realism and this is different to American comics, you can’t have people flying around or climbing up buildings like you do in America, although Hergé did say to me himself that he did go a little too far on one occasion.

GCB | Oh really, which book did Hergé see as going too far?

Michael | He felt that looking back Flight 714 went a little too far with the aliens at the end and the flying saucer, although the book is still highly enjoyable up until that point. But who knows Hergé might be prophetic about Aliens, I certainly think he will be about the abominable Snowman.

GCB | That Tintin meets in ‘Tintin in Tibet’?

Yes, I do believe we will find the Abominable Snowman one day and it will look just like it did in Tintin.

GCB | When the Tintin books were first published they contained images of exotic locations that children and young adults might not of otherwise have seen, but with more resources readily available now do you think this can change the way Tintin could be read now by a reader for the first time?

Michael | That’s a very interesting question, I first read Tintin in French when my father was stationed in Paris, this was in 1957, and I remember waiting eagerly for the next Tintin book, for all the adventure and fun. If you felt the need, you could buy the magazine it was printed in weekly at two pages a time, but I always preferred to wait and get the nicely printed book, I only purchased the magazine out of desperation.

Like you say though, children weren’t exposed to all the things they are now so it might have been more exciting back then. The marvellous thing about Tintin is that you can enjoy the books endlessly even as an adult, when I am asked to speak at schools the children I am talking to see things even I haven’t seen! In fact, it was talking to children that guided me to writing another of my books, Tintin and Co.

GCB | This was a collection of characters?

Michael | Yes my first book sold quite a few copies and I was asked if I wanted to write another, the problem was my first book was Tintin, The Complete Companion, there wasn’t much else to write about! I noticed that when I was talking in schools all the children’s questions were about the characters, so I thought why not take a closer look at them. It was inspired by young people wanting to know why Captain Haddock, why Professor Calculus.

GCB | Do you still own your old Tintin books?

Michael | I do yes, and they are very well thumbed. My father was recalled to London in 57/58 when the books first came out in England so I could also read them in English.

GCB | What do you think makes Tintin so well loved across different continents, countries and languages?

Michael | I love the universal appeal of Tintin and what strikes me is how multicultural Tintin can be. There is a misconception that Tintin is all white and middle class, but that really isn’t the case, at book signings I see many people of different backgrounds and nationalities sharing their enjoyment of Hergé’s work. Tintin is also huge in Africa; they love seeing themselves in the book just like we do when Tintin comes to England in The Black Island.

GCB | You mentioned earlier that you met Hergé, what was he like?

Michael | He was delightful and terribly modest, when I first met him he was very young for 71, you would have thought he was 20 years younger. We first had lunch when I was supposed to be interviewing him but it was a disaster, he kept turning around and interviewing me, he hated talking about himself. He didn’t really care for celebrity he was just so terribly modest, he was most interested in other people and other things; he asked me what I thought about Pink Floyd! Can you imagine, how hip can you get at 71.

GCB | So he had a wide range of interests outside writing and comics?

Michael | Certainly yes, he had a passion for the cinema. You see, he lived in Brussels during the First World War and his mother took him to the cinema, it was one of the few forms of entertainment. He was terribly interested and influenced by the early Hitchcock films; you can really see that influence in his work, like in The Black Island. It’s really very good that Stephen Spielberg is directing the new Tintin film since Hergé was also a great admirer of his work.

GCB | I never knew Hergé was a secret Spielberg fan, do you know which Spielberg films he had seen?

Michael | The first Spielberg film he saw was an early one called “Duel” and he was very struck by it, he made a note 3 months before his death saying ‘if one person can bring Tintin to the screen it’s this young American director’ he didn’t actually name Spielberg, but he meant him.

GCB | What are you reading? Do you still read many comics?

Michael | Well I do keep up with many new titles, I often see them when I go to comic conventions, like the one in Barcelona or Copenhagen, and I find that very interesting as a learning process, very exciting. My passion though is for Hergé and he really is an influence on many artists. For me he is the pinnacle, I enjoy seeing how he has influenced both late artists and contemporary artists.

GCB | Do you think there is still an interest for Tintin in new readers?

Michael | Well I went to Brussels after Hergé had only passed away a few months previously, and everyone in the studio was waiting to find out what his will said about the future of Tintin, but I’m not sure if you know that the will said no one could continue producing Tintin past his death, and people were devastated and worried that everyone would forget about Tintin in 5 years time, but look at it now 30 years later we are still talking about Tintin and more and more books are being sold in an increasing number of languages.

Thanks for talking to us today Michael, it’s been a blast.

Egmont Press (who also publish Tintin) will be releasing Michael Farr’s ace ‘Tintin, The Complete Companion’ with loads of cool new stuff in the autumn.

Good Comic Books | What (or who) was the inspiration for Chloe Noonan?

Marc Ellerby | The character of Chloe Noonan is made up of many girls I have known throughout my life. It seems I’ve known a lot of scowly girls and so a little bit of each has made it into Chloe. I have a friend called Tara Noonan (who has starred in a couple of Ellerbisms in her time - click HERE) so that’s where the name came from, and visually – well she’s not too far removed from the Chloe aesthetic.

The story came together when watching Buffy one night. You know how Buffy usually arrives in the nick of time to save the day, like she’ll run across Sunnydale and then BAM! Starts taking down vamps left right and center. I was okay with that because she has powers and stuff, but in those early seasons, her mates Willow and Xander would always be just behind her. I was like “they’re not even out of breath! They don’t have powers, how’d they get across town in pretty much the same time?” So I thought, wouldn’t it be funny to reverse the roles, have the “bit character” take center stage and strip her of any super ability. And I guess you know the rest…

GCB | What are your plans for her? Will she be the object of your attention for many years to come? Is there any sort of overarching story for the character?

Marc | There’s definitely a bigger story in place, but I haven’t even begun to hint at it yet. My plan is to do a four volume graphic novel series that would act as “the first season” as it were. So we have bits that are individual in their own books but slowly the bigger picture starts to emerge where volumes lead into one another.

I really love making Chloe comics so I don’t see her going away any time soon. I think last year I was in this massive rush to get them out, but now I’m going to take my time, try and find the right publisher (or actually the web is looking more and more likely nowadays) and do it properly. She isn’t going to go anywhere.

GCB | What is your process for writing the comic? Do you head to pretentious book launches on purpose to gather inspiration?

Marc | That bit you’re referring to was actually taken from the second year of my illustration course. I enrolled in a book making class and we pretty much did the complete opposite of “making books”, and someone did actually make a book of smelly plastic pouches, it was a total ‘Art School Confidential’ moment, haha. I was pissed off about it for weeks (read: years). “It’s not even a book!”

My process is a little chaotic, I guess. I haven’t refined it at all, it’s usually scrawled plot points in a notebook with tiny little thumbnails to give myself an idea of where my head is at. Then I try and write the script but it’s usually only dialogue and I try and piece that together with what’s in my head and then go straight into proper thumbnails.

Saying that though, I wrote a few drafts of the first Chloe graphic novel earlier this year like a film script, which I maybe did just to make myself feel like a “proper writer”.

GCB | The stuff about being in a band seems right on the mark, is it based on personal experience?

Marc | Nah, I have no musical talent whatsoever. Pretty much everyone I hung out with at uni was in a band and so I just took stuff that they did as a starting ground. Being in a band seems really boring for the most part.

GCB | Did the Moomins freak you out as a kid as much as they did me?

Marc | No, but I’ll tell you what did. Short Circuit! I can’t even remember what it was that scared me, I think I had bad feelings towards anything robotic or animatronic in the late 80′s early 90′s. What were those two mutant bad guys at the end of the second Turtles film? Jeez, I couldn’t even make it through to the end of the film I was so freaked out. Absolutely terrifying!

GCB | How hard was it to get the comic off the ground? When was it you learned how to be a comics creator and publisher?

Marc | Oh I don’t consider Chloe off the ground yet. I’ve started pitching it around, but it’s a struggle trying to place it at a publisher, one publisher who will remain nameless said it was “too funny” which knocked me back for a good month I think. “Is that bad? Is funny a bad thing? How can funny be bad? People love funny! Shall I make it less funny?” but then I realised it was more to do with the fact that the publisher and the project wasn’t a good match.

Not to get all ranty, but I reckon some UK publishers should be looking at genre pieces as well as the highbrow books they’re chugging out. “Pop” isn’t a dirty word. Not that there’s anything wrong with serious comics or thought provoking narratives, but entertaining comics should have a place in the publishing field, I mean, people like to be entertained, guys. And just because something has humour in it doesn’t mean it’s not as “good”, y’know? I would argue that the writing in 30 Rock is equal to the writing in The Wire, you obviously can’t compare the two shows together but in relation to what they bring to their respected genres, they’re at the top of their game.

(Not that Chloe Noonan is near 30 Rock’s brilliance but you get what I mean, right?… Right?)

I’ve self published Chloe because I felt the story wasn’t ready to be a graphic novel straight away. The idea wasn’t all there yet. The three issues I’ve done so far have been practice runs for me to get to know the character, to try out stuff I hadn’t drawn before (monsters, action, chase scenes) and see what wasn’t working.

I’ll be honest, I don’t want to self publish any more just due to the sheer effort it takes in doing it all yourself and I’m not in a position where I can give up my day job to replace that with full time comic drawing, let along publishing. There’s only so many hours in the day. But, I believe in the character and the story and if I can’t find the right fit, I’m sure the web will play an important part in getting the story out there. But then I have issues with the web too. Gah, it’s so complicated, haha.

GCB | You recently tweeted drawings you had done in your childhood, would you trace your craft back that far? When did you know it was something you wanted to do when you grew up?

Marc | Yeah sure. I knew I wanted to draw for a living when i was a kid, I knew who Jim Davis was, Eastman and Laird, who Matt Groening was y’know? I was like “someone is drawing these comics and making a living off of them so why can’t I?” I haven’t escaped that mind frame I guess, haha.

GCB | Are you working on anything now that we should know about?

Marc | I’m trying to get a collection together of my webcomic Ellerbisms, but I don’t want to rush it or anything. Personally, this year’s not been a great one, so I’m going to take my time with the book and get myself in order before I try and add anything else to an already complicated mess. Health > art, right?

Other than that I drew a comic for the band Art Brut which I guess is coming out soon. I don’t really know much about it other than it’s an anthology and has some awesome people in it (Bry O’Malley and Hope Larson, Jeffrey Brown, Jamie McKelvie etc) but I don’t know how you can get a copy or whatever.

GCB | What comics would you recommend for us to read?

Marc | Ooof, what a question! Save doing a massive list, I’ll just go on about the lovely comics I’ve read recently…

Liz Prince’s last couple of mini comics have been so good, and if anything have made me want to get back into doing autobio. Alone Forever and More Squares are especially fugging good and deserve your Paypal monies. She’s one of my favourite autobio creators – click HERE

I love Joe Decie’s comics, a true original in the field. Full of half truths all rendered in lovely ink wash, his book The Accidental Salad should be in all of your hands – HERE

Loving what Louis Roskosch is doing at the moment. I picked up Leeroy and Popo at the last MCM Expo and it was easily the best thing I picked up. His stuff is kind of what like Taiyo Matsumoto meets Nintendo – HERE

Have you seen the books published by Koyama Press? Ohhhhh boy are they a treat. Not just brilliant comics, but lovely production values. It’s probably the one line that I love everything they bring out. On one hand you have Dustin Harbin’s wonderful autobio strips and in another you have Michael Deforge’s kitchen-sink-drama-esque comics drawn in this…”vomit” of styles. You’ve got art comics, kid’s comics, but mostly they’re just really bloody good comics. I love ‘em, just wish they were slightly easier to get hold of over here – HERE

GCB | Where can people find Chloe Noonan as well as other awesome stuff you’ve made?

Marc | On the interweb! You can find links to Chloe, Ellerbisms and to my store HERE

But if you live near any of these fine comic establishments then you can buy a copy of Chloe in real Life!

Gosh! Comics – London
Orbital Comics – London
Page 45 – Nottingham
OK Comics – Leeds
Dave’s Comics – Brighton
Plan B Books – Glasgow
Comic Guru – Cardiff
Travelling Man – Manchester, Leeds, York and Newcastle

We were lucky enough to get some questions answered by the creator Jack Lawrence, who both writes and draws and colours and all that stuff, and Adam Lawrence (no relation) who uses his 3D modelling skills to design all the starships. It’s really cool stuff, and we advise you to check out the website www.tinpothobo.com because it’s incredibly entertaining in its own right.

Good Comic Books | This is your first creator owned project in 7 years, has it been gestating for all that time?

JACK LAWRENCE | To a certain extent, yes. I wrote the first two issues all that time ago, then my career sort of went crazy and Hobo had to sit and wait for me to find the time to do it. It’s been ever-present in my mind for the last 7 years though. When I decided I was going to the Kapow Comic con, I really wanted something of my own to show, and saw that as the perfect opportunity to finally realise Tinpot Hobo.

GCB | How did the the two of you get together on the project?

JACK | Adam and I went to the same school, then later on worked together for a few years before I broke into the comics industry. I knew early on that I wanted the ships of Hobo to look a certain way, and for there to be continuity from one image to the next. I know where my strengths lie, and it’s certainly not in vehicle design! It was a stumbling block very early on in the process, back in 2004. How do I do an epic sci-fi story that’ll rely heavily on cool-looking starships without making it look like crap? Adam, via the use of digital 3D modelling is great at architecture and product design, so I asked him if there was some way of successfully integrating his designs into a 2D format. After some trial and error, we got there!

GCB | How do you go about creating the Tinpot Hobo Universe, and does the world building happen before or after you’ve written the characters and story? On the website you’ve already started naming planets, outlining star systems, designing alien languages etc.

JACK | It all happens at the same time, really. The initial hook that I wanted to work from was “Cops in Space”. I’m a big soap opera fan, and feel the cliffhanger is the single best dramatic device ever created, so I knew I wanted that kinda feel to it. From there I decided on who the main characters would be, which have remained largely unchanged. The thing is though, once I started creating organisations, factions, locations etc. it just became this ever-expanding thing, with one situation leading on to another or at times leading back to a previous one. As far as the information on the website, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Most of what’s up there relates to what can be found in issue 1. As the story continues, so more bits and pieces will be revealed on the site. It’s very important to me that the Universe be really immersive, with tons of background information that isn’t necessary for the casual reader to know, but is there for those who really want to dig into it. Part of that was the Universal Standard writing system. I always loved that Star Trek and Star Wars had their own written languages (loads of them in the case of Star Trek) and I think it really helps to create a different Universe to the one we know.

GCB | What is the art process for Tinpot Hobo? Is it heavily digital? Do you do the colour, lettering etc all yourself?

JACK | Yeah, I do. Just as with Darkham Vale, it’s my baby and I know how I want it to look. In terms of the process, I pencil and ink it physically (that’ll never change!) then scan it and colour it on Photoshop. Adam sends me the ships as line art so that I can drop those in to the page and colour them along with the rest of it. There is no greater feeling, for me, than when a page is finished from pencils to letters.

GCB | How are the ships created? I heard that’s Adam’s job…

ADAM LAWRENCE | It is indeed Adam’s job, so I thought I would answer this question for you guys. As Jack mentioned earlier, I work in 3D, so for me it was really great to be able to move away from the day job, and create something that I have complete freedom on. 3D just gives you so much scope, that you can view the ship from any angle, so you can get a real understanding of its shape early on in the production process. I start off with a really simple sketch, then just block it out in 3D, as a series of simple geometric shapes. From there I reform the shape adding detail as I go. During the “trial and error” phase early on, it was clear that too much detail wasn’t translating that well to 2D line art, so I soon learned what to put in and what to leave out. From there I send over a series of images of the ship from different angles, to get Jack’s feedback. Then I will make any changes that are needed, although to be honest there haven’t been very many at all so far. The last step is to render them out as line art. For this stage Jack provides a simple sketch of the ship in the position he’s after, which I then use as reference. It’s a great way of working. I now have a massive pile of sketches and doodles that I’m currently working up in 3D for the comic.

GCB | Darrius looks like someone I know, did you base him on a guy called Wes?

JACK | Ha! No, but let’s get Wes into a “Born to Fly” T-Shirt and get him on the website! LOL

GCB | What were the influences for the book? I’d say Star Wars, but I guess it’s the first comparison anyone would make for Sci-fi of this kind, plus I reckon Star Wars influences way over half of everything anyway.

JACK | I think you’re absolutely right. Not only is Star Wars incredibly ingrained in our consciousness, all of its characters and themes are archetypal, so you can’t really get away from it. Add to that the Sci-Fi element and it’s inevitable that some will make that comparison, regardless of how hard you try to steer clear of it as a creator. Actually, the initial inspiration was from being a fan of cop shows like “The Bill” and soap operas. I’m constantly inspired by people I know and places I visit. For example, going to shopping malls really makes me feel like I’m on a Starship, which then gets the creative juices going in that context, and will lead to a story element that maybe I hadn’t thought of before. I wanted to do Sci-Fi because I’d just finished Darkham Vale, and had tons of ideas for stories but felt that the location was too small and limited for those ideas to be realised realistically. So I traded up a small hamlet in the English countryside for the entire galaxy, just to cover my bases!

GCB | How have you found self publishing? Fun?

JACK | Without exaggeration, it’s the single most exciting and rewarding experience of my career so far! Being a freelance artist is wonderful, but at times it can be frustrating and to be honest, boring, if your creative urges are not being 100% fulfilled. Tinpot Hobo is my creative escape; my chance to do whatever I want to, without answering to anyone or waiting on anyone else to get the book out there. Has it made me shedloads of cash? No, of course not! But that was never the point. I always said that if the only people to read it were my family and friends that’d be absolutely fine, because the point is that I created it. Actually, the reception has been, thus far, 100% positive, and I’m selling more copies than I imagined I would at this stage.

GCB | Are you working on any other projects we should know about?

JACK | I’m working on loads of projects, but mainly for toy companies, so I won’t be able to tell anyone, ever! (Another reason for putting my own comic out there!)

GCB | What comics (if any) would you recommend at the moment? Are there any small press gems we should know about?

JACK | I’ve just discovered, through meeting at a convention, Philip Jackson’s “Sequential Art”. It’s a webcomic, but he’s bound a ton of the strips up and sells them from Lulu. Gorgeous art, and a real sense of fun to the whole thing. Plus, Phil’s a lovely guy, which always helps sell something to me!

GCB | When is Tinpot Hobo #2 out?

JACK | I’d love to be specific, but the answer is “as soon as humanly possible!” I’m doing it alongside my regular workload, but it is underway. I’ll be updating through Facebook, DeviantArt and Twitter (although I don’t really get that last one!) I’d love to have it done for July, but it remains to be seen. Rest assured though, I AM committed to it!

Thanks guys! If you want to pick up a copy of Tinpot Hobo yourself, go HERE.

Good Comic Books | It’s brilliant that Xombi is back, how did it come about, years after the original series ended?

This was really the case of the fans making their voices heard. In the intervening fifteen years since the end of Xombi’s original run, more people have contacted me about that series than any other project I’ve ever been involved with. Apparently, DC has been bombarded with requests to bring it back as well, which is why out of all the likely candidates from Milestone’s stock of characters it wasn’t Icon or Hardware that wound up being the first ongoing series in the DC universe, but Xombi. Xombi was also seen as a way to mine the weird supernatural realm of the DCU using a character that was very unlike any other existing character at DC.

GCB | Is the material for the latest series of Xombi completely new, or have you had the next chapter of David Kim’s story planned since the last chapter ended all those years ago? The first issue is crammed full of so many awesome concepts…

For the most part, the storyline that encompasses the first six-issue arc of the new series is all new material that had not been part of my long range plan. I do have a long range plan for the characters and series as a whole which made jumping back into it very easy to do.  I decided though that for the first story  I really wanted to start with something that served as a good entry point and really conveyed the overall feel of the series of a whole. The storylines that I’d already envisioned, but was unable to get to in the original run all failed to meet my needs for one reason or another, typically because of their length or where they needed to fit in chronologically with David Kim’s development as a character, or because the overriding mood of these stories was either too strong in one regard whether that was humor, horror, romance, or adventure. I needed something that was a more equally balanced blend.

I began by listing everything I felt a new reader, unfamiliar with the character and the original series, would need to learn as we went to understand what the series was about; who David Kim was, what the overall tone of the series would be like, and so forth. Once I had that list, I also started to think about what I wanted to include to reward readers of the old series, such as including familiar supporting characters like Nun of the Above and Catholic Girl.

GCB | Will there be many references to the original series to come and should I start looking out for the issues?

There are just a few, but everything that you need to know is provided with them. I like to think that for people who read the original series the references to moments from that run will trigger memories of the stories that contained them, providing for a richer reading experience. Having said that though, I was very careful to make sure that a new reader, who’d never heard of Xombi before reading the new series could jump in and feel like they could follow things without too much trouble.

GCB | How much will David Kim play in the wider DCU? Will he be featured in any of the upcoming cross-over events like Flashpoint?

Issue #2 should give a pretty good sense of how I plan to incorporate David Kim into the DCU. When I initially created Xombi, one of the things I liked about it was that in many ways it wasn’t at all a superhero series, but it still had enough of the trappings of the superhero genre that I felt that I could still tell superhero stories within it. Over time, I’ve decide that that’s really true insofar as the element of the superhero genre that includes fantastic adventures and people transformed by the gaining of unusual abilities, but not so much other aspects of it.

By the time the first costumed superheroes guest starred in a two-issue crossover arc in the latter half of the original series, I realized that costumed superheroes, no matter how close a match they might be to the sensibilities of Xombi, seemed jarring when included. No one in Xombi really has a superhero name except for the Nuns and Catholic Girl, and no one wears a costume, excepting in the broadest sense, the Nuns and Catholic Girl. When I wrote the issue of Brave and the Bold in which David Kim met the Spectre, it still seemed like an incompatible mix. It would be like seeing the crew of the Enterprise from Star Trek appearing in a Star Wars movie. It might seem like a cool idea that could work, and there are similarities between the two properties, but there’s something about the aesthetic and overall feel of the two properties that would make this feel unnatural.

With the new series I gave it thought and not only could I not imagine Superman guest starring in Xombi, I couldn’t even imagine the Doom Patrol, or Deadman. The Phantom Stranger or Zatanna, possibly, but only if there were a compelling reason to include them because it would not only make the story stronger, but add to the characters involved. I wouldn’t do it just for fun. My original plans for the next two storylines originally involved costumed heroes and villains, but once I started to preparing for them, I decided it no longer really fit. The villains in the second story will be replaced by something else, and the third story might just be done away with altogether. I have made up a supervillain team that will appear in Xombi, but it’s completely unlike any super villain team ever seen before.

I still intend to make it clear that David Kim occupies the same universe as DC’s most popular characters. David Kim, as a scientist appeared in an issue of Hardware, and that felt okay. One of the supporting characters from Hardware was also a supporting character in Xombi and that felt very natural. In the DCU David Kim could very easily have an adventure in Gotham City. He could even end up interacting with Commissioner Gordon, Bruce Wayne or René Montoya, but he wouldn’t wind up interacting with Batman or the Question, just as I could vacation in Washington, D.C. and never meet President Obama. I think this is okay, and it seems that the majority of readers who have given an opinion on this would prefer if Xombi occupied its own pocket of the DCU without participating in crossovers or joining the Justice League.

GCB | When you knew Frazer Irving was going to be the artist on Xombi, did you begin seeing his art in your head when writing the scripts? And if so… was it weird?

Well, weird is relative. When I began putting together material to form a storyline I began a mental list of artists whom I thought would best serve the story in terms of what the tone and setting would be, and because I’m a very character oriented writer, someone who was capable of a good range of expression and different physical types. The more work I did, the shorter that list became, until suddenly something clicked and I began seeing things in my head with Frazer’s art in mind, and he became the only choice. He was also editor, Rachel Gluckstern’s top choice, and thankfully Frazer said “yes” when he was asked to join forces.

I’ve been a fan of Frazer’s artwork since I first laid eyes on it, so I knew that Xombi was going to at least look beautiful, but never in my wildest imaginings, could I have imagined how extraordinary it was going to look when it was finished. Frazer has really been an incredible gift to this project and he makes me want to write my scripts better just so they can rise to the quality of his work. When we started this, he asked a lot of questions and really wanted to understand who all the characters were and what their relationships were to one another so that he could make them individuals, with distinct performances. This really warmed my heart because these characters were all dear to me, and making them dear to the reader is important.

Looking at what he did with them just shows how all that preparation work paid off. You really get a sense of who everyone is and how they relate to one another just by the body language he gave them alone. Look at the sequence where we’re introduced to the nuns and Catholic Girl, and you can immediately see what the personalities of those characters are just by how they stand.

His layouts, storytelling and sense of color are also extraordinary. Even before I saw the finished pages for the first issue, his ability gave me the confidence to let more of the storytelling become his responsibility. The two mirrored pages in Chet’s apartment in the first issue were so breathtaking in the way he conveyed the location and the passage of time in such an unexpected creative manner that was so different from the traditional separate panel instruction I gave him that I told him to feel free to cut loose with more of that type of thinking wherever he saw fit. This has really been an ideal collaboration, and Frazer hasn’t failed to pleasantly surprise me yet. I’m consistently astonished by his work each time I see it.

GCB | Do you have any other writing projects on the horizon? I have very fond memories of your work on the Topps X-Files comics. If you got the chance, would you write more Mulder and Scully… Please?

Such is the world of entertainment that new and exciting projects that we all want to talk about the most are the ones that we are not allowed to for the time being. I am working on other comic book projects. One is at DC. Another, is a creator owned all-ages project I’m putting together with Robert Pope, with whom I’ve had a long, happy collaborative relationship on Scooby-Doo for many years. Right now, it’s too early to discuss details. I’m also contributing a page of artwork to the forthcoming Dwayne McDuffie tribute issue of Static.

Outside of comics the third episode of Super Hero Squad that I wrote should be debuting here in the U.S. any time now on Cartoon Network. This episode features a great number of Marvel’s monster characters including Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing and some others.

Under an alias I also co-wrote an episode of the forthcoming Cinemax series Femmes Fatales. Beyond television I’m participating in three gallery shows in the Los Angeles area in late Spring/early Summer. Two are at Gallery 1988. Details will be made known through their website. The third is a Disney Haunted Mansion themed show at Parlour Gallery in Burbank, CA at the end of May.

I’m glad you enjoyed my work on The X-Files. Would I return to it if the opportunity presented itself? I might now that it’s no longer supporting an ongoing television series. I had an excellent relationship with the folks at Ten thirteen Productions who created the television series and was given an incredible amount of trust by them, but ultimately the frustration with writing the comic book  was that every story felt like a fill-in story. The comic book wasn’t allowed to develop it’s own mythology, continuity, or bigger picture, so it often felt like I was running in place.  Now that there is no television series to take precedence, if I were allowed to develop the characters so that they grew and changed, even a little, and could forward the story I might be interested in going back.

GCB | What or who, has had the biggest influence on your writing? And what inspired you to pursue a career in storytelling?

I can’t say that any one person, or source has had a dominant influence on my writing. Everything I’ve watched, looked at, or read has been absorbed somewhere with some things sticking more than others. I think I’d decided that I wanted to write, or make movies, by the time I was six or seven. There was never really any back-up choice after that. There are three things from my childhood that I recall that seemed to really steer me in this direction.

I took to writing and storytelling almost immediately as a child, even before I could read or write. I was the only child I knew who included continuity in playing with toys. I had a really elaborate continuing episodic science fiction adventure series featuring my plastic soldiers, cowboys, knights and dinosaurs. When the plastic soldier representing my main character disappeared for a few weeks in my sandbox, I felt compelled to explain his disappearance until he was found.

I’ve always been a big reader and remember that when I was about eight or nine years old discovering Jules Verne, by way of the Disney movie of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Jack London at the same time and then writing a lot of material that took place on whaling ships during the 1860s. They were probably my first direct literary influences that I consciously noticed. Before, and since them, it was mainly myths and folklore and classic, and not so classic, horror movies that I’d catch on television. These movies often took on more power simply being only available late at night, where I’d have to carefully set my alarm and sneak out to the living room to watch without waking, or getting caught by, my parents.

I think watching Doctor Who as a child led me to seeing the power that writing could have over other people. It was a great show for me. It was weird. There were monsters and aliens. It was often funny. Jon Pertwee as the Doctor was great. I really liked the idea of U.N.I.T.. To me there were so many things that appealed to me. I was hooked. My baby sitter absolutely hated it. It really creeped her out and she thought it was scary. She let me watch it, but never stayed in the same room. I loved that here was this adult who was afraid of something I liked and found normal. That moment was really empowering for me, and I liked the idea that I could scare someone, an adult, with a story.

GCB | What comics (if any) are you enjoying at the moment?