Q1: What exactly went through your mind when you decided to do a follow-up
to TLH? Did you think of a really good mystery/villain, a character you
wanted to revisit, or did you think you'd do a damn fine job making a
sequel?
I actually went through a number of different processes to get to where we
are now.
First of all, there was my partner in crime, Tim Sale who had to decide what
HE wanted to do after Superman For All Seasons. We talked about a number of
projects -- some which we'll get to in the coming years and some that will
never see the light of day(!) -- and he kept telling me he wanted to go back
to Batman. That didn't mean TLH or anything specific -- it was just after
being in the "light" of Superman, he wanted to go back to dark. Tim is a
very visual person and if he can "see" the project, that's half the battle.
I had always wanted to do the story of how Robin -- and really WHY Robin --
came into Bruce/Batman's life, but Tim was reluctant because he sees Batman
as a solitary figure. I'm different, I can see any character in any
situation IF the story works and IF the artist is the right choice. It's why
I'm always hesitant to start a project without having the artist on board.
At the end of SFAS #4 Superman meets up again with the boy on the roof who is
named Trevor. He was in the first Chapter as well, but he got more time in
#4.
Tim really likes to justapose two different sizes and suddenly, Robin next to
Batman didn't sound like such a bad idea.
The rest was the work. As with any long story, I had to find the big beats
-- the big moments that could propel them. Tim pushes me much harder than
anyone else I work with and when you are doing a mystery, it is very
important to keep as many
twists and turns going at once. That's really where I think DV stands apart
from TLH -- it's a much better crafted story on all counts -- Tim, myself,
Richard Starkings and Greg Wright. I only wish Archie Goodwin were alive to
read it...
And as I've said elsewhere, we don't see it as a sequel. A sequel, to my
mind, requires having read the previous story to understand what is going on.
In some sense, that is what a monthly comic book is -- the ongoing
adventures (or sequels) of the main character. James Bond is a perfect
example. The same characters, different situations. Not really a sequel,
but a continuation of his adventures.
Thus, we really see DV as a continuation of the TLH elements (although the
other day Richard Starkings was remarking that now having read as many issues
of DV that he has (and he's ahead of the reader, remember), he really feels
that TLH is the prequel to DV and that DV is, in fact, the main story. Sort
of interesting to see it that way...
Q2: Making such a complex mystery like DV, you'd have to be very specific
with art details. Do you have to overwork Mr. Sale, and talk to him alot
about how you want the image to be viewed?
Our working relationship has been so interwoven that we finish each other's
thoughts by now. Tim can take a very simple thing like "CLOSE ON Batman's
eyes -- grim and determined" and make it come alive in a very haunting way.
We're very lucky that DC supports the things we want to do artistically --
the gray wash on the first three pages of book #1; the signifigant color
holds throughout the series; those are the extra bells and whistles that we
are trying to bring to the property.
Fortunately, we have an editor in Mark Chiarello who probably knows more
about color in comic art than anyone in the business -- so we're really
trying to play UP to his level. Tim and I DO talk at least once or twice a
day and I think that keeps us connected in terms of good story ideas or panel
discussions. I give him an entire script and he usually sends me the first
10-12 pages in rough pencil to make sure we're both on the same page, so to
speak. But, at this point, where we're working on the back end of the
series, we're pretty comfortable with all the characters -- so the
conversations tend to be about what's next and seeing what is working for the
current reader.
Q3: You obviously enjoy writing the Two Face character,
he was seemingly the main villain in TLH.
What compells you to Harvey's character?
It is all about Batman at the end of the day. Harvey presented Batman with
his first real emotional conflict. Here was this crusading D.A. who probably
was Batman's
closest friend (Gordon and Bats have a very different relationship) and then
Harvey went bad. What makes BDV so disturbing is that Batman is faced (ouch)
with a criminal who Batman KNOWS was a very good man and a friend. He's
never had to deal with that before and I like giving him that challenge.
Q4: Two Face's character hadn't been explored much before TLH.
Will there be much of this in Two Face's character in DV?
I don't know about that. We may have given the characters a voice we hadn't
seen before, but we never really messed with continuity. Harvey and Gilda
Dent were characters about which not much had been written. Frank Miller set
up some very compelling notions in Year One and we took those as a
springboard. But, characters like Solomon Grundy and Calendar Man simply had
no background to work with and we decided (along with DC and Archie Goodwin
in particular) as to how to best play them. And since we're in Year One, the
present day guys can change whatever they want -- people can change over time
and that explains why OUR versions don't necessarily hook up with the other
notions on the characters. But, the big ones,
Batman, Bruce, Gordon, Harvey, Alfred, Joker, Selina, we really just played
as they are played.
Q5: Will there be a major turning point in the Batman/Two Face relationship in Dark Victory?
I think it is safer to say that Two-Face has a much larger agenda than Batman
is prepared for or even aware of. By the end of Dark Victory, their
relationship will have changed again and that's the wonderful tragedy of
their friendship. They're just doomed -- but isn't everyone who comes into
Bruce's life?
Q6: Speaking of which, you're introducing some 'new' characters (like Freeze,
etc.) Will you alter their past, or play around with their
personalities, pasts or motives?
Um. I think I answered that in Q5.
Q7: Apart from your work on comics, you also worked with movies. What do you
find more challenging and/or rewarding? A screenplay or a comic book script?
They are different forms of creativity. It's like asking an athlete which
does he prefer, playing basketball or driving a race car. The biggest
difference, however, is the immediacy of comics. I write a book and 30-60
days later it is on the newstands and about an hour later I get e-mails or go
to www.dccomics.com and there are a string of posts, both positive and
negative about the work. Movies take at least 18 months and often longer --
but you have a much greater impact. More people have seen Teen Wolf in one
television broadcast than anything I could do in comics at all. I enjoy both.
Q8: You also work on Superman now. Plan to do any more work on
Supes with Tim (maybe a sequel for Superman: For All Seasons)?
Right now, and this could change if Tim wanted to do something more with
Superman, but right now, working with Ed McGuinness on the lead Superman book
is about as good as it gets. It had been long time since I was on a monthly
title (a few years since the X-Men office) and it was a challenge to stretch
those muscles -- but
I'm really having a great time and people seem to like it, to boot!
Q9: How many more Batman series about Bat's early years (like Year
One, Year Two, TLH and DV) do you think will be published by you or another writer?
I'm sure there will be. Not necessarily by me, but it is a very rich period,
which I think will continued to be mined. That holds true, however, for ALL
the DC characters. They all have a rich history -- much moreso than Marvel's
-- but that could change with the right writer.
Q10: For the record, who was Holiday?
Holiday was the serial killer in The Long Halloween. (Now, don't tell
anyone, okay?)
Q11: One last thing- Since Batman is imaginary, I can't ask him personally,
but you know his character pretty well: Which is better for crime-fighting,
boxers or briefs?
Oh, I'm pretty sure he wears nothing at all. That way he's never too
confined!
Isn't that what Kramer decided on Seinfeld? Kramer/Bruce Wayne -- same guy
right? :)
