GEOFF JOHNS RE-UPS WITH DC COMICS – NEWSARAMA

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GEOFF JOHNS RE-UPS WITH DC COMICS

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Though his future plans had been a source of speculation for some readers, Newsarama has learned that Geoff Johns will be calling the DC Universe home for the foreseeable future, as he has re-upped his exclusive contract with DC Comics.
This new contract follows Johns’ previous exclusive with the publisher, which saw him working on such properties as Green Lantern, Teen Titans, JSA, The Flash and of course, Infinite Crisis. The new contract will cover his future work on Green Lantern, Action Comics, JSA, Flash: Rogues Revenge and…?
We spoke with Johns about his decision to re-sign with DC.

 

 
Newsarama: Geoff, you were probably in a small handful of comic professionals that would have had the world open to them, and more than likely, been fielding multiple offers after your DC exclusive expired. What went into your thought process to re-up with DC again?
Geoff Johns: You always consider all of your options when you’re faced with decisions like this, but really, it boiled down to the people I’m working with and the projects I’m working on. Between Green Lantern, Justice Society of America, Action Comics and the other books I’ve got brewing for ’08 and ’09…and working with Gary Frank, Ivan Reis, Dale Eaglesham, Scott Kolins, Ethan Van Sciver and another legend around the corner…I’m psyched to continue working for the company that made me fall in love with comics.
I believe in DC Comics. I believe in the characters and have since I first discovered this wonderful universe. I believe in where we’re going and what we’re fighting for. You know, we can’t take our readers for granted. We screw up, we lose. We gotta learn from our mistakes and the mistakes others make. We gotta fight hard to create better books every month that are worth your time. We love a good challenge so we’re happy to do that. It keeps us honest.
I just got some pages in for a big project that’s coming up towards the end of ’08 that are just stunning. It comes down to being very content and satisfied, and striving to up my game further and make my comics better while working with the best artists in the business. I am constantly trying to see how I can improve. I’m trying new things like the trailer at the end of Green Lantern. I want to experiment with the fun of a monthly book beyond the 22-pages we’re given.
I guess to pull it together; it was all about the passion. I feel really good about the work I’ve done in ’07 and my goal is be a better writer in ’08, and better in ’09 and continue on.
NRAMA: But when you were weighing all of your options…you’ve done some television, some movies…was that a temptation as well, to cut back on comics and do more in that direction?
GJ: I don’t have to deliver a certain number of books a month. I usually do about four on average, and even when I’ve been working on a movie or some other ancillary project; I’ve been able to deliver three. There’s always outside work, there always has been, and hopefully there always will be, but my focus and my energies day in and day out are on working for DC Comics.
NRAMA: With this new contract, will this be exclusively writing, or will you be taking a “consulting editor” role, something similar to what Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, and you did previously?
GJ: I’m focused on the writing. I offer suggestions and discuss ideas and brainstorm, of course, but I am focused on the titles I write. I have been since 52 ended. I’m getting into the center of the storm with Grant later this year too.
And with the new writer coming in on Superman, too – I have a great relationship with him, he’s one of my favorite writers of all time, and I’m psyched about moving things forward between Superman and Action. There’s a third writer we’re talking to that I’m hoping will be involved in this Superman explosion we’re cooking up. I want to bring the same level of excitement to the books that was there when I was a kid.
NRAMA: You’ve mentioned Action Comics, Green Lantern and JSA – is that saying that for the foreseeable future, you’re going to be staying on the books you’re on with the characters you’re known for?
GJ: Right now, I see myself staying on those books…I can’t say exactly for how long, but it will be at least through ’08, and probably into ’09. With Action Comics we have Brainiac this year to start. In Justice Society of America we have the conclusion to “Thy Kingdom Come” – the team’s about to go through some rough growing pains. You’ll see the “society” splintered by Gog, an attack on the Rock of Eternity gone horribly wrong and you’ll meet the Justice Society Infinity mid-year.
I’ll be moving on from Booster Gold after #11 (which is twelve issues including zero), to make way for two mini-series for this year – one being The Flash: Rogues Revenge with Scott Kolins. The other to be announced soon, but it’s the hardest thing I’ve had to tackle in my career – which means working on it is a joy while I drive myself to the edge of sanity.
NRAMA: So…stepping back a little if you can, how would you view or classify what you’re doing and looking to do in your books? It’s not necessarily easy to put a finger on from the outside, but all three of your books are similar in that they’re blending new and old…
GJ: The word I’ve been throwing around with Dan [Didio] and Ian [Sattler] is “neo-iconic.” That’s kind of the tone that I want to go for. It’s something like in Green Lantern – I think in there, we’ve got the best of the past and the present but it all moves forward. Classic contemporary.
I just don’t think that there’s anything you should throw away before giving it a chance to shine – whether it’s older stuff or newer stuff. It all boils down to story and presentation. The DC Universe itself is really classic…but you don’t want to go “old-fashioned” and you don’t want to throw everything out for something “kewl.” For me, the tone of the Justice Society – it has Jay Garrick and Cyclone in it – it works. It’s old and new together and it works. It feels organic and grows out of characters and what the situations and histories call for. But we move it all forward.
Or Green Lantern – I’m a firm believer that Green Lantern is The Four Musketeers – Hal, John, Kyle and Guy. In my mind, the books, Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps work best when those four are active, when those four are the most prominent players in the mythology, because they’ve all earned it. There’s no reason to say that there can only be one Green Lantern, or that it can only be this guy, or that there’s no more Corps. If you take all of that stuff away, you’re robbing the Green Lantern mythos of what makes it special and unique and you’re robbing yourself of so much wonderful foundation to build your stories from.
NRAMA: So it’s about inclusion of…everything?
GJ: No. It’s the recognition of the concepts that have been introduced and grown within the DC Universe. It’s using what’s right regardless of era. What’s emotionally resonant to the core of the concept.
Just because Hal Jordan’s in it doesn’t mean Green Lantern’s a “Silver Age book,” and just because Kyle’s in Green Lantern Corps doesn’t mean it’s some “new edgy” book either. We’re not just including Kyle Rayner in it because he was the prominent Green Lantern in the ‘90s. He’s a good character. He has a certain goal and a specific niche to fill. The same goes for Guy Gardner, John Stewart and our lead, Hal Jordan.
There are elements from every aspect of the DC Universe, every period, that are worth caring for. Damage is a great character to have in the Justice Society, for example, not because he was prominent in the ‘90s, but because of his connection with Al Pratt and what he suffered through in Infinite Crisis, and why he wears that mask, and the attitude that he carries. He’s just a different type of character now and I think he fits in well with the JSA, and I think he’s worked in really well. But before all of that – Damage was a character that I think people were willing to write off or not look at twice. I think there are a lot of characters from all eras of the DC Universe and new characters that are still to be created that can be strengthened up and taken in a specific direction to maybe give them a little bit more headway. Give them their own stories to tell.
NRAMA: Like you’re doing with Damage, to cite one of your own examples?
GJ: Right – he’s got self-confidence issues, he’s got power issues, he’s got father issues, and on top of that, he’s been somewhat resistance to becoming a member of the Justice Society. And that’s partly due to his father being a member, and he never knew his father. Now, his father’s friends are telling him that he can be part too, and he’s rejecting them the same way he’s told himself that he didn’t need a father.
But bringing it back to what I was saying earlier – taking the characters of the DC Universe and trying to find their hooks and reintroduce them or represent them…you don’t have to necessary remove everything or reboot everything. It’s all there. It’s not about regurgitation; it’s about utilization within the context of your storytelling. You just have to tap into it, and add your own things into the mix and then move it forward.
NRAMA: And to pull an example of that, including everything, adding your own thing and move it forward…again, Green Lantern is following along those lines?
GJ: I’m extremely captivated by the emotional spectrum – that’s moving the mythology forward while still using the characters we all love and know. And I think it plays to a bigger question we can all ask ourselves – “What ring would choose you?” That’s fun. Finding something new in something you love.
NRAMA: Build on the foundation, rather than break up the foundation…
GJ: Or discard it completely and start new. There’s a reason these characters and concepts have been around for decades, and there’s a reason these concepts have endured and that people love them. There’s a reason that there are DC Universe fans. It’s a matter of showing and presenting it to the readers. I want to see that applied to everything – utilize every aspect of the DC Universe and present it in the most heroic way possible.
That’s the greatest thing about the DC Universe – the heroes are heroes. They’re people to aspire to. They are not perfect. They’re like people we know. People we like. They’re people who struggle, but they carry on. Just like all of us. They work together and help each other.
I like that the evil in the DC Universe gets really evil – really dark and twisted – but the heroes break through it, and rise to the challenge. They might not win every time, which is great for stories, but they persevere.
That’s something that appeals to me much more than a universe where everything is gray.
NRAMA: When you do say something like you want to use everything and not leave anything by the wayside from their history as things move forward…that kind of thing carries some serious meaning in the modern-day DCU where there are some larger legacies and “families” that are missing members and other elements…or have been for some time…
GJ: Sure. Take Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes.
NRAMA: Which you’re putting back together in Action after years of having been separated…
GJ: I believe that Superman’s connection with the Legion makes both concepts stronger, which is why I’m doing the story in Action right now. Clark Kent didn’t have a group of friends when he was growing up in Smallville. Sure there was Lana, but he didn’t have a group of friends where he felt like he was one of them. He had great parents and wonderful people he knew, it was tough for him. But when the Legion showed up, and he went to the future with them as a kid…a lot of them were aliens who looked human that came to earth. Suddenly, Clark was just “one of the kids” after being so different. I think that helped him relate to other heroes.
Even though people really look up to him, he sees himself as part of the community. His experience with the Legion – being a member of a group of heroes – helped teach him a lot of that. And on the flipside, the Legion was built off of what Superman did – this alien who came to Earth, and the Earth giving something to him, and him wanting to give back to the Earth. It’s the same kind of thing – the Legion is stronger for having interacted with him. They helped to make Superman who he is, and as a result, they’re stronger.
But that’s just my opinion, and some people may argue it, but for me, there’s always been a strong connection there. And emotional one.
NRAMA: Can you bring everything back though?
GJ: No – I don’t think you can bring everything back and make everything work. This isn’t about throwing everything we’ve ever done into a pot; it’s about focusing on the right things – the things that make these characters who they are. But yeah – that’s hard. It’s a creative choice, and there’s not mathematics to this stuff. You have to go with your passion and your heart. It can be really tricky, especially when you’re talking about characters that have gone through so many changes. That’s the thing with Marvel characters – most of them are on the same path. They haven’t had a lot of reboots or a lot of changes or different people behind the masks. That’s the difference with the DC Universe – it does get more complex. Everyone has their favorite character, or their favorite version, or whatever, and you have to find the elements that have been the most iconic or appealing and that work and resonate emotionally, and then using those together along with the respect and power that the characters have. And present it to a new reader.
Half the time it’s just reminding people why these characters are so wonderful. That should be the unspoken question from the writer to the reader: “Remember why Green Lanterns are so cool? This is why….” And then tell your story with something new in it. That’s my simple goal – I love these characters and want to show other people why, and hopefully there will be more people who will fall in love with these characters. I hope that I can tell stories that do that – that give someone out there, that kid reading Green Lantern now who’s going to grow up and be writing it in ten years, that same fiery passion and love for the characters that I got when I was reading them as a kid.

GEOFF JOHNS RE-UPS WITH DC COMICS – NEWSARAMA

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