Ask Kurt Busiek

[Kurt Busiek]

I just re-read the Eagle and the Mountain from The Shining Stars Hardcover! (I really love Mark Waid’s intro. Added to my understanding.)Such a great story and Astro City still surprises me. I think Jack in the Box is still my favorite run but this story jumped way up into my top ten favorite Astro City tales. We’re you thinking of Vandal Savage, Immortus, or anyone specific character when you thought of Infidel?

No, Alex and I created Infidel for a "how to create a villain" article in a WIZARD special, and we were just playing with opposites to start.

Samaritan is from the future, Infidel is from the past. Samaritan is an SF character, Infidel is alchemical. That sort of thing.

Glad you liked it, though!

Any Omnibus or Absolute editions coming?

We hope to be making some interesting announcements soon.

Do you have an endpoint for Astro City like Neil Gaiman's Sandman?

Not like SANDMAN, since ASTRO CITY is a setting, not about a central character. But we do have an end-theme in mind, of sorts, and we'll sort of able in that direction until we get there...

Would you let other creators work in that Universe?

We have, if you mean artists. If you mean writers, no, not while I'm writing it, at least.

If, after we were done, Disney or Warner Bros or Sony or someone offered us a hundred million bucks for all rights, so they could continue it with other creators, well, it'd be hard to say no.

But at least for now, it's personal, and I don't want to franchise it out.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Thanks for the answer. I am always under the impression that the Superman universe in the latest years has basically become a bunch of potentially good, but generally underdeveloped ideas which never really mesh together. It's as if many good-willed writers (and artists - it's a problem which concerns the aesthetics, too IMHO) had approached the character with a specific vision which never entirely came to fruition (for a lot of different reasons, including editorial interference); the following writers began working on Superman with entirely different ideas and back to square one again. So now we have many different ideas from a lot of past eras which from time to time reappear or become the focus of a story, but are somehow incoherent with the other ideas. It's as if they had built a house several times on the same foundation, each time in a different style and without ever finishing it, and now the house has deco doors, rococo windows, a roof in Mediterranean style etc. For some reason (I have my theories about it) Batman seems to be more coherent even if sometimes it was used almost as a creator-owned character. I'd like to know your thoughts about it.

I think Batman tends to have strong periods of popularity where the series has a particular focus, and more creators want to emulate that focus.

Superman, though, has lots of different approaches and no single one stands out as the "right" one, so creators tend to pull in different directions.

I think it might help for the Super-books to have a "head writer," who oversees any other writers working with the character, like a TV showrunner, so you get a whole bunch of harmonious ideas developed in concert, rather than here and there. But most of the time when that happens, it's a strong editor -- Mort Weisinger, Julie Schwartz & Nelson Bridwell, Mike Carlin -- rather than a writer.

But, well, who knows?

kdb

[DrNewGod]

...If, after we were done, Disney or Warner Bros or Sony or someone offered us a hundred million bucks for all rights, so they could continue it with other creators, well, it'd be hard to say no.

But at least for now, it's personal, and I don't want to franchise it out.

kdb

If 8+figures were on the table, I'd 💯 get why you'd sell.

Same time, Astro City is (IMO) The Last Bastion Of Superhero Comics Finest Moments.

Business Is Business. But I hope the numbers line up in such a way that your vision of AC endures for a long time.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

I think Batman tends to have strong periods of popularity where the series has a particular focus, and more creators want to emulate that focus.

Superman, though, has lots of different approaches and no single one stands out as the "right" one, so creators tend to pull in different directions.

I think it might help for the Super-books to have a "head writer," who oversees any other writers working with the character, like a TV showrunner, so you get a whole bunch of harmonious ideas developed in concert, rather than here and there. But most of the time when that happens, it's a strong editor -- Mort Weisinger, Julie Schwartz & Nelson Bridwell, Mike Carlin -- rather than a writer.

But, well, who knows?

kdb

I agree with you that Superman needs a strong editor -- hopefully someone who appreciates the character as-is without feeling he's a problem that needs to be fixed by making him cooler/sexier/trendier.

For me, Mike Carlin was the best editor Superman ever had because he modernized Superman without changing his core (of course, following the work done by John Byrne and Andy Helfer). 1986-1996 was generally a great era for Superman, and I feel those stories could still be read today and taken seriously. Carlin and his writing staff brought back lots of the old stuff and made it work in a modern context, so it didn't feel like a rehash of the Silver Age.

Another great thing about Carlin's run is that he didn't feel the need to prove to readers that Superman was not outdated and uncool. As I stated in another thread, those behind-the-scenes mechanics are always glaring and feel like lecturing rather than storytelling. The focus in Carlin's era was just on telling great action/adventure stories and utilizing Superman's vast supporting cast effectively.

So, my question is, if you had the time in your schedule, would YOU ever want to be Superman's head writer/editor who gave the Superman titles a strong sense of direction for the script writers or do you prefer just being a script writer yourself?

[Kurt Busiek]

I hope the numbers line up in such a way that your vision of AC endures for a long time.

We're not going to stop anytime soon.

I feel like we've done two acts of the series, and that took 25 years and solidly over 100 issues.

So the third act will take a while.

And even if the third act ended it, there's always the ability to do more...

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

I agree with you that Superman needs a strong editor --

That's not what I said, really.

So, my question is, if you had the time in your schedule, would YOU ever want to be Superman's head writer/editor who gave the Superman titles a strong sense of direction for the script writers or do you prefer just being a script writer yourself?

I really like the idea of that kind of head writer position, but there's so much else I want to do, and it would be so time consuming, that I'd be very wary of it, too.

kdb

[Kubert]

Collectors miss toys from former DC Vertigo's Astro City from decades back. And, lament how many of it's great characters never graced the toyline. Now that we got Kickstarter, are you open to the idea of Astro City joining others; to make new toys?

[Kurt Busiek]

Collectors miss toys from former DC Vertigo's Astro City from decades back. And, lament how many of it's great characters never graced the toyline. Now that we got Kickstarter, are you open to the idea of Astro City joining others; to make new toys?

I don't have any plans to Kickstart ASTRO CITY toys, at least.

But you never know what the future might bring, or at least I never do.

kdb

[Vordan]

Hey Mr. Busiek,

Given the sheer amount of material that's been put out, is there any chance of collecting Astro City in on omnibus or fat tpb format?

Thank you sir

We hope to be making some interesting announcements soon.

kdb

Felt like sharing this tidbit since it was posted over on the Marvel side.

[Kubert]

You spoke of wanting to do a LoSH story. Can you consider a crazy future version of Kirby's "Source Wall"? Maybe with future versions of characters from Astro City? It can be a really cool epilogue to what maybe a big Marvel / DC / Image 'Crossover"...

In addition to using Superman's trademark image / name, Image Comics will also use DC's signature Crisis on Infinite Earths motif for the "Crossover"...

[Ross Mosis]

Hi! Where's the best place to keep of what's coming next for Astro City? Is it here? Thanks!

[Kurt Busiek]

You spoke of wanting to do a LoSH story. Can you consider a crazy future version of Kirby's "Source Wall"?

That could be pretty cool.

Maybe with future versions of characters from Astro City?

That, on the other hand, ain't gonna happen. DC doesn't own the Astro City characters, and I'm not going to put them in a work-for-hire series.

It can be a really cool epilogue to what maybe a big Marvel / DC / Image 'Crossover"...

If Marvel, DC and Image ever do on, sure, but not with Astro City characters.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Hi! Where's the best place to keep of what's coming next for Astro City? Is it here? Thanks!

Probably following me on Twitter where I'm most active.

But when there's news (which should be very soon), we won't be shy about it.

kdb

[dissapointemnet]

Hi Kurt, thanks for doing this. I'm a big fan; Astro City was kind of life-changing for me.

I wanted to ask: what's your take on Martian Manhunter and his place in the DC universe? Do you think he's viable as a solo character? He's a personal favourite of mine, and I think he works best at the heart of the Justice League, but he seems to be someone whom DC hasn't really known what to do with for large parts of his lifespan.

Thank you!

[Kurt Busiek]

Hi Kurt, thanks for doing this. I'm a big fan; Astro City was kind of life-changing for me.

Thanks!

I wanted to ask: what's your take on Martian Manhunter and his place in the DC universe? Do you think he's viable as a solo character? He's a personal favourite of mine, and I think he works best at the heart of the Justice League, but he seems to be someone whom DC hasn't really known what to do with for large parts of his lifespan.

I don't know. He's kind of a quiet character, more thoughtful than violent, which tends to be tricky in superhero comics. And the design isn't all that commercial -- DC keeps trying new variations, but hasn't hit of a real popular look yet.

I think he's a fine character, and no problem to write stories about. But whatever it is that would make readers engaged in an ongoing series to the point that it had solid sales, I don't think DC's found the hook for that yet. Possibly it's that he doesn't have his own "territory" -- he deals with crime as John Jones, like Batman, and with aliens as J'onn J'onzz, like Superman. But they're in general not as interesting criminals as Batman's rogues gallery, and not as interesting aliens as Superman's or Hawkman's or Green Lantern's.

I think if you gave him an interesting status quo, building on what John Ostrander did with his multiple secret identities, so you got this sense that he knows someone in every police force in the world and in much of organized crime, but in lots of different identities, and you got some of the BEN 10 artists (especially Dave Johnson) to design him a new, visually compelling rogues' gallery, you might have a better chance. Getting someone like Dave to modernize his look might help, too.

I can think of new ways to approach the character, but at the same time, they're new enough that it might be smarter of me to save them for a Busiek-owned series with a space detective on Earth in it...

kdb