Yesterday I said you could ask me anything…so here goes:
Are you a tea drinker? What kind of tea do you enjoy?
I am – coffee in the morning, but tea in the afternoon and evening. I drink a lot of different teas depending on what’s available, what I feel like, whatever – Earl Grey, Peppermint, Lapsang Souchong, Assam, Prince of Wales, English Breakfast, Scottish Breakfast…even plain old blended PG Tips. Love those chimpanzees.
And also, if Green Arrow and Hawkeye got into a target shooting contest, who’d win?
Better shot: Green Arrow. Better fighter: Hawkeye. Better chilli: Hawkeye. Hawkeye wins!
If you went on a cookery show, what would you cook to wow the judges?
Yorkshire puddings filled with poached flaked haddock and cheese sauce to start, followed by cuban pork chops with sofrito mash, then Jack Daniels chocolate pecan pie for dessert.
God, I’m hungry right now.
Matt
Would you rather be a Jedi or a Green Lantern (when their rings still didn’t work on yellow)? Explain why!
A Jedi, without a doubt. Being a GL takes too much creativity with the ring – the last thing you want to come up with in the middle of a battle is something lame like a boxing glove. Plus, last time I looked, GLs couldn’t do the Jedi mind trick.
Hey, these AREN'T the droids I'm looking for!
Ever considered doing a podcast?
Considered, yes. But then I did an interview with my pal Chris – we interviewed Proof‘s Alex Grecian. Pretty much halfway through I decided that honestly? Not for me. Luckily due to a technical glitch the interview never saw the light of day – and that’s probably for the best!
Has there ever been a series that got cancelled that you still miss? Or a series that got cancelled that might be considered “ahead of its time” that you lament?
God, a few – but Chase is the first one that comes to mind. DC Johnson had the whole of the covert arm of the DCU mapped out – the DEO, Suicide Squad, Checkmate, the Creche and others. Some of these ideas got revisited years later in other series, but Johnson had it all figured out. Not only that, but artist JH Williams III absolutely killed on the book. It had the potential to be another Starman, but lasted ten issues, ending ignominously with a DC 1 Million tie-in. Sad.
And don’t get me started on how awesome Bloodhound was.
Chris McAree
Did you read any of the Marvel UK stuff and if so, did you like it?
Weirdly, no, even though I was buying virtually everything that Marvel US was putting out at the time – but I always liked the idea of Mys-Tech, and I do have a special place in my heart for Death’s Head.
matty
Do you think Hope Summers is going to turn out to be some ressurected version of Jean Grey during Second Coming?
No. I think Hope turning out to be Jean would be way too obvious – but I think that Hope may be a host for the Phoenix Force before all’s said and done. What I do find weird about the whole Hope thing is that nobody seems to have ever questioned exactly whose child she was before all the crap hit the fan where she was born.
Since you dropped the X-Books do you even care?
Ha, yes -I’m still going to be getting the X-books in trades, including the Second Coming trade. Now if only I can avoid spoilers somehow…
How do you feel about the historical fact that Moondragon once raped Thor? Can you judge characters for what they’ve done before they died and came back ‘different’?
Kind of icky. The thing is, it happened so long ago that not even Thor seems that bothered about it – and he wasn’t overly bothered about it at the time, either I think. And I think just because a character’s been reborn doesn’t mean that they’ve been rehabilitated – although if they’ve atoned for their mistakes before death, that’s okay. As for Moondragon specifically, I’m not a huge fan in any case.
Who’s your favorite Guardian of the Galaxy? (Rocket Racoon is too easy an answer. Also, characters from the weird future team are acceptable.)
He is Groot.
Dude, Groot. Of the original Guardians, I always liked Charlie-27 – probably because back when I was reading their book he was all about the unrequited crush on Nikki, and as a teenager I knew all about unrequited crushes.
How are DnA going to bring Thanos back after his heart got punched out?
The guy dated Death – I think he’s got an ‘in’ with the gatekeeper.
Not THIS Gatekeeper.
If the weilder of the quantam bands goes to the White Room when they die, think Wendell Vaughn ever met Jean Grey?
Probably, but he’d be too scared to make a move on her, they’d just exchange hair styling tips, And then Quentin Quire would make a move on Wendell and it would start to get weird…
How would you write the remaining plot of Buffy Season 8?
I wouldn’t want to. It’s like when you ask for directions and the guy scratches his head thoughtfully and says ‘I wouldn’t start from here’. What started off as a promising series has gone to hell – drawn out plots, leftfield character developments, and the belief that just because there are no longer TV budget constraints, anything goes. Hindu gods taking on the army? Buffy flying? No, I don’t think so.
Why do you love deadpool so much?
You know, I’m not sure when this happened – but I do really like Deadpool. I think it’s just that so many comics seem to take themselves seriously these days that having a character that doesn’t do so in any way at all is pretty refreshing. Plus, the books are really well written (not so much Deadpool Team-Up, but Victor Gischler’s Merc With A Mouth is funny as hell). I think he’s overexposed, I think the bubble will pop and he’ll be back down to one title within a year or two – but for now, the books are amongst the most fun on the market. Fun in comics – who’d a thunk it?
And lastly (sorry, I just wrote down whatever came to me–not known for my self-editing skills) if the Doctor showed up, hovering in the TARDIS outside your office window (I imagine you in a corner office, naturally) and offered to take you anywhere in time and space, where. would. you. go?
Er…tough one. I have no idea. I’d want to say ancient Greece or victorian times, but the lack of indoor plumbing puts me off. So maybe the far future – but not too far. A couple of hundred years, for starters. Then I’d get some killer patents and market them back in my own time. That’s right, I learned nothing from Back to the Future Part II.
What’s your dream project?
Comics: New Warriors and Lois Lane (not in the same book, obviously!). Film: I’d love, love to write a screenplay that I could actually sell. The screenplay I’m writing at the moment has the potential to be commercial provided I don’t screw it up.
Dream cast?
For the Warriors it would have to be the classic cast. I’m okay with the new Thrash, and I have an idea to bring back Nita that doesn’t involve time travel. Penance…well he’s due for a lightening up I think. For Lois, the rest of the Daily Planet staff would be a good start . As for the film, the one I’m writing with some actors in mind for key roles – specifically Katie Cassidy, Justin Hartley and Bill Sadler; I find that it helps me get into the different characters’ voices better.
Dream creators?
There are so many awesome artists out there that it’s difficult to name just one – but I do love both Tom Grummet and Todd Nauck’s art; I think either would be perfect for either Lois or the Warriors.
Thanks for playing folks – I may try this again!
Really good call on Chase. Those issues with the Rockets Red and The Suicide Squad, for example, were genuingly creepy.
Tell me about it; with the Times Past story, the backstory about Chase’s father and the number of obscure characters, it really felt like it was being set up as the next Starman but ’twas not to be.
You know what, around that time there were a few more experimental books that DC was putting out that were pretty good – Chronos and Young Heroes in Love were great too. That experimental nature seems to have dropped by the wayside with both of the big two to a large extent.
By the way, Colin – great blog you have over at http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.com/ – I just added it to my blogroll!
Thank you very much for the kind words about m’blog, Rich. I wish I’d noticed you’d written such a thing before rather than just reading on with your new stuff. (I tend to just bash out things in my corner of the world and I’m always amazed when anyone drops in. Please do drop in anytime you’re over in our way, blogosphere-wise.)
And though I realise that it’s late to add anything to what you’ve written here, I SO agree with you about YHIL and especially Chronus. By chance I took out my Chronus run last night – what a splendid book, and what might it have been after 25 or 50 issues.
Ah. Lost empires.
Hey Rich,
Just an addendum to my question, as a huge Death’s Head fan myself, I was wondering where you first came in contact with everyone’s favourite Freelance Peacekeeping Agent?
I think the first time I really took note of him was during his brief guest appearance in Walt Simonson’s Fantastic Four run – but I’d read him in some Marvel UK stuff prior to that, possibly the occasional issue of Transformers weekly I picked up….
That reminds me, I have a Death’s Head trade paperback around here somewhere that I haven’t read, possibly two. Time to dig them out!