BALTIMORE COMIC-CON 07: PETER TOMASI TALKS NIGHTWING - NEWSARAMA
Filed under: Coming Soon, Convention News, DC Comics, In case you missed it
Not sure I like this yet, but i like what Tomasi has to say. As long as we don’t see the crap that Devin Grayson spewed on Nightwing, I will be there
BALTIMORE COMIC-CON 07: PETER TOMASI TALKS NIGHTWING - NEWSARAMA
BALTIMORE COMIC-CON 07: PETER TOMASI TALKS NIGHTWING
As was announced yesterday at the DC Nation panel at the Baltimore Comic-Con, former Nightwing editor Peter Tomasi will be stepping into the writer’s seat on the series, starting in January.
What should readers expect, and who’s going to be joining him on the art?
Read on.
Newsarama: First off, obviously, how did this gig come about?
Was this a book you were pitching for, or something that was pitched to
you?Peter Tomasi: Well, it all started when I decided to leave DC
after 15 years to pursue my writing career with an exclusive contract
under my arm thanks to Paul [Levitz] and Dan [DiDio].Dan and I sat in his office knocking around ideas as to which books I should write, and Dan threw out Nightwing.
Being that I was the editor of Nightwing at the time, I
felt a bit uncomfortable taking the writing reins from someone I hired
after I left, but Dan said by the time my first issue came out, Marv
would be writing the book for almost a year and a half, and the way we
were approaching the hiring of writers was in a TV seasonal form. We
would give writers at least 12 issues to tell their first “season
stories” so to speak. After that, direction and numbers would dictate
whether someone stayed on for an extended period of time or moved on to
something else. So no matter if I took over the writing duties or not,
someone else was going to be writing Nightwing come 2008. Actually, when I hired Marv to do his thing on Nightwing,
it was initially only for six months due to some other mitigating DCU
story factors that were happening at the time. So, after all is said
and done, I believe Marv would end up doing close to 20 issues which is
pretty decent run and a lot more than six.Dan said he would call Marv, but I felt that it was only right that
Marv hear the news directly from me. So I spoke with Marv and told him
that his run would close at the end of 07, and of course he understood
and was a perfect gentleman and professional as always.NRAMA: In the broadest strokes you can - tell us about
Nightwing. How would you describe not only the character, but also the
tone of the book to someone who doesn’t know it?PT: Nightwing is a great character and I hope I can do him
justice for however long my own run lasts. And as been stated before,
he’s truly the lynchpin of the DCU. He’s respected and trusted by
everyone. He’s got roots that move through all the teams, and also
through almost every hero. In my eyes, Nightwing is at the top of his
game. He’s a millimeter off from being as good as Bruce/Batman in every
single way, from detective skills to tactician skills, to fighting and
weapons, and of course there’s no question his interpersonal skills are
a bit better.In terms of the tone of the book, I honestly can’t find something to
pin on it easily, and I find that’s what I’m really enjoying about it.
I think the book, at this juncture, needs to feel like a superhero
book. I don’t want to lose sight of that fact. I want this series to
feel like it’s part of the fabric of the DCU and not out there
operating in its own little dark corner. It shouldn’t be put in a box
and labeled. I see Nightwing as being easily transposed on almost every
genre in some way. As I do on most everything I write, I approach
everything from character. The stories you remember, whether in comics,
films, or novels, at least in my opinion, are character driven. You
don’t close a comic or walk out of a theater and say damn that was the
best plot I’ve ever seen. You remember a book, or film, or comic
because of your love or complete hate for a character - that’s what
pulls you thru a story. Being connected. A reader’s ambivalence is the
writer’s worst enemy. And I’ll be doing my best to make sure that never
creeps into these pages.NRAMA: That said, what kind of story does Nightwing work best in? When’s he at his best?
PT: I think I blathered on and answered that in the previous
question, but to clarify, Nightwing can work in any story. You could
put him on a New York City street in one issue, and in the next arc he
can be on the moon. Like I said, I don’t wanna put him in a box. The
DCU is a mighty big place. There’s too much cool stuff in the
playground not to make use of it.NRAMA: Okay then, flipside, what kind of story, in your view, does he never need to be in again?
PT: I think the days of Richard Grayson trying to prove
something to Bruce is over. It’s done. Finito. And I also will be
trying to steer clear of centering stories on street level crimes.
Richard will definitely be helping the people of his newly adopted
city, but I wanna try and broaden the scope some more, go for some high
concepts while still centering all the stories as to how they affect
Richard’s life.NRAMA: What’s your vision of Nightwing? Sketch him out as a character a little… what role does he fill in the DCU?
PT: I don’t wanna get all ‘visionary’, but I also find that I
want to embrace the Bat Family aspects more. Sure, Nightwing is his own
man at this point, but he’s part of a family and there’s no getting
around it. I’d be a fool not to try and mine that dramatic potential.
He’s got the best supporting cast in comics: Batman, Robin, and Alfred.
Now, I do intend to introduce some New Yorkers as other supporting cast
members, and I have every intention of Richard having people and
touchstones in the city proper that will make an impact on him and
carry over into very personal ways.The more I’ve been thinking about the family dynamic between them, I
find myself looking at it in this way: Bruce, in my opinion, isn’t a
father figure to Richard, he’s an older brother. There’s simply not
enough years - at least the way it’s being presented now in terms of
age difference within the DCU timeline - to justify the father/son
thing. And then you have Alfred, who really is the father to Bruce and
Richard in my eyes. Now the Bruce/Tim dynamic is definitely a
father-son relationship, and the Richard/Tim dynamic is, of course, a
brother thing, and that connection between Richard and Tim is an aspect
I intend to delve deeper into.NRAMA: What issue are you picking the series up with, and what gets things rolling?
PT: My first issue is Nightwing #140, and will be in
stores in January 08 and drawn by the great team of Rags Morales and
Michael Bair, guys who I’ve had a ‘little’ experience with from the
other side of the desk. My first story follows the big Ra’s al Ghul
storyline that I suggested cross between all the Bat books before
leaving DC, and Nightwing #140 is a great jumping on point for
new readers. There’s no massive amounts of baggage and continuity that
you’ll need to know to walk through the door. I’m writing it so anyone
new can get plugged in fast and all the Nightwing fans who’ve been on
board for so long can plug in and get the shadings and subtleties.NRAMA: Well, you know what the last question is from your editor days – we’ve got to end this with the big tease – what’s coming up?
PT: This is gonna sound ambitious and possibly pretentious, but
the first thing that occurred to me when Dan gave me the book to write,
was that Nightwing doesn’t have a Long Halloween or Dark Victory.
I’m not saying my story will resemble those or be as popular(but I can
dream, can’t I?), but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was hoping I could
pull something like that off, an arc that has reverberations or at
least feels classic and timeless and will be considered canonical. But
what the hell, may as well hold myself to a high standard and see how
far I can climb (or fall for that matter).Without giving too much away, Richard discovers that some serious stuff
is going on throughout the DCU that will have far flung ramifications
on a personal and international level. And like I mentioned earlier,
Richard’s family of Bruce, Tim, and Alfred are key ingredients that I
will not shy away from. When you pick up Nightwing
there will be no doubt that he is the star of his own book, but you’ll
also see that the DCU is a helluva supporting cast and I’ll be
reminding everyone of that whenever possible.And last but not least, being born and raised in New York, I felt I
really wanted to make sure that the city I know and love was a
character in its own right like Gotham is to Bats and Opal was to
Starman. With New York being Nightwing’s home and base of ops, I want
it to have some weight and not just be some cardboard backdrop or
generic cityscape with just the right landmarks plugged in from time to
time.
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CHUCK DIXON ON HIS RETURN TO ROBIN - NEWSARAMA
Filed under: Coming Soon, Convention News, DC Comics, In case you missed it
AWESOME!!
CHUCK DIXON ON HIS RETURN TO ROBIN - NEWSARAMA
CHUCK DIXON ON HIS RETURN TO ROBIN
Announced this afternoon at the Baltimore Comic Con long time and in fact original Robin ongoing series writer/creator Chuck Dixon will be making a return to the title beginning in January 2008 with issue #170.
We briefly spoke with the writer about going home again…
Newsarama Chuck, first off, do you have an artist lined-up for he start of your second run?
Freddie Williams is staying on the art. I think he and I are going to
have a blast. We have the same work ethic: the deadline is king.NRAMA: So tell readers how a return to the title came about? Was think something you pursued with DC, did they come to you?
Chuck Dixon: I spoke to Mike Marts at Megacon in Orlando
last year and, while the conversation was short and about nothing
specific, we clicked. We share a lot of the same sensibilities about
what makes a good comic and I don’t think years in this crazy business
has managed to beat the enthusiasm out of either of us.When I heard through the jungle telegraph that Adam {Beechen] was leaving Robin, I sent an email to Mike to let him know I’d be interested if they hadn’t found someone else.
He called a week or so later to tell me that Robin was mine if I was still interested.
I was.
NRAMA: Just as a reminder to readers, can you talk about the
circumstances that led to your departure the first time? Was it simply
a matter of moving on after an extended run with the character?CD: I’d been on the title for 90+ issues. My Nightwing
run was approaching my 70th issue. I was still enjoying both books but
felt I’d better force myself to move on to something different. I like
to think that I know when to make a change before things get repetitive
or stale.The problem was, there was nothing to move on to. The other DC groups
didn’t seem open to having me on board and I wasn’t getting any
traction on proposals. That and the fact that my ambitious plans
leading up to, and past Robin #100,
got shot down in flames convinced me to leave DC entirely for CrossGen.
I don’t think DC wanted me to leave at the time. They had set up the
most lucrative exclusive deals they’d ever offered me long before I
ever spoke to [Mark] Alessi at CG. But, while on one hand they seemed
anxious to keep me on, I got the sense that they weren’t sure what they
would have me doing. And I wasn’t interested in simply grinding on with
my three monthlies and no further, challenging, prospects in sight.There was no offer/counteroffer kind of thing. Don’t like that kind of gamesmanship. I just gave six months notice and left.
NRAMA: So despite those circumstances and back to the present,
creatively speaking, do you feel like your batteries are refreshed
today?CD: Oh, yeah. A break was what I needed.
Writing the first three issue arc was a thrill. I remembered everything
I loved about writing Robin from the get-go and new ideas came in a
rush.NRAMA: So tell us what you think are the major differences between the character as you left him and the character today?
CD: He’s more experienced and a bit more serious given the events of the past years and months.
NRAMA: Do you feel though that he’s essentially the same
character underneath the things that have happened to him, or is he
significantly changed?CD: Absolutely. The core of what makes all of us who we are
never changes. Tim still lacks the 110% certainty about all of his
actions that Batman or Nightwing have. He’s always going to be the guy
who keeps on trying.NRAMA: What would you consider the major story beats that have
affected the who Tim Drake is today and why he does what he does over
that time you were “away”?CD: He’s been surrounded by death. His dad. Stephanie Brown. He’s coming out of a particularly dark period for the whole DCU.
NRAMA: How about in his relationship with Batman? Is it significantly different today than it was then, and if so, how?
CD: It’s closer. With the adoption of Tim by Bruce Wayne it’s
even more parent/son than it was before. And, in a lot of ways, life is
easier for Tim. No real secret identity worries in his private life as
the heir to a mega-billionaire. He’s actually got it pretty sweet.No way I’m not going to let that go on.
NRAMA: Generally speaking, how do you approach a second act
creatively? Do you have demonstratively different goals than you did
the first time?CD: Not really. Now that I’m back at the old stand I’m going to
go at the book I created with a lot of new ideas. But, in the end, my
goal is still to create fast-paced escapist entertainment.NRAMA: So finally, and more specifically speaking, can you give readers some insight as to what you have planned for Robin upon your return? A little early preview/primer?
CD: The first arc introduces a new female foil to vex Robin in
the coming year. Her intro leads to a revelation that I promise will be
a shocker for long-time Robin fans. He also runs into more trouble with
the Gotham cops. Adam Beechen amped up the tension twixt Robin and the
GCPD and I’m going to keep that going. Robin also runs afoul of a major
Gotham gang figure and that complicates everything. Tim Drake’s life
isn’t any more sedentary as an old friend from the past pops up with a
problem that Tim can’t solve. And Tim’s dating life is going to get a
lot more interesting. The return of some former foes and a few new
baddies come on stage in the opening arcs.I’m having a lot of fun. I hope everyone else does as well
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