Ask Kurt Busiek

[Kurt Busiek]

Mr. Busiek, I have two questions.

1-Do you think that when writing established characters, fan backlash is killing creativity ?

People nowadays are so angry about changes made to characters that they lash out at any change made that deviates from what they think certacin character should be (myself included tbh), and I can only imagine how that might hinder an author if he pays attention to that mentality or worries about it. The stories we praise today from the 80s are runs that actually made significant changes to franchises, but nowadays that seems to get refused for the most part, at least on the online community.

I think the best way to go is not to pay attention to that particular mentality or worry about it.

Because for every fan who wants the Eighties version, there's a fan who wants the Seventies version or the Nineties version, and whatever you do, there are going to be fans of some era or another who say you're doing it wrong. I got complaints all te way through my Iron Man run (and my Superman run, too), and both of those runs are pretty well-regarded today.

So instead of listening to the people who want you to preserve some great run of the past, it's probably better to try to do the great run of today, and make life difficult for whoever's writing the book 20 years from now, as fans berate that guy and tell him to bring back all the stuff you did...

2- In your experience (from yourself and colleagues), what is more valuable for an author, that the work is well received by fans or well received by critics ?

Readers are more valuable than reviews. If you've got a lot of happy readers, you'll sell lots of books and publishers will want you to do other stuff you want to do and maybe you'll pay off your mortgage ahead of time.

Reviews are great, too, but they don't count anywhere near as much as happy readers.

That said, you're more likely to get happy readers by doing something you feel strongly about and making it as good as you can, instead of trying to do what you think they want. Show them something they didn't know they wanted yet until you showed it to them, and they'll get excited about what comes next.

kdb

[Wall-Crawler]

Great, thanks for your insight Mr. Busiek.

[Will Evans]

What ethnicity and background was Tony Stark’s mother Maria Carbonell?

Thanks.

[Zelena]

Hello,

Mr Busiek, do the editors feel compelled to do a work that is moral, decent… or have you the impression that such consideration is never take in account as long as the sales are good… ?

I suppose that it depends on the personnality of the persons that take the decisions but, along the years, I saw an evolution in the means employed to catch the eyes of the readers… well, graphically, it’s more complacent, more ruthless…

There’s no more a official moral code anymore, does it mean that everything is possible… and done?

Thanks.

[Kurt Busiek]

What ethnicity and background was Tony Stark’s mother Maria Carbonell?

Back when I wrote the book, she didn't even have a maiden name.

I would have said, back then, that she was either Italian or Italian-American, but a lot has changed since I was on the book, so I don't know.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Mr Busiek, do the editors feel compelled to do a work that is moral, decent… or have you the impression that such consideration is never take in account as long as the sales are good… ?

I think different people have different ideas on what counts as "moral" or "decent," but I'd say the editors want to do good stories.

There’s no more a official moral code anymore, does it mean that everything is possible… and done?

Yes, as you can tell from all those stories where Reed Richards is a cannibal who practices incest.

Or, more seriously -- everything is obviously not "done," because there aren't any such stories. I've never really understood the idea that if there isn't some sort of written code that all must hew to, then no one has any morals and all immoral things will be depicted, even in the face of the actual comics, in which that doesn't happen. But maybe that's because I'm not religious, so I don't subscribe to an externally-imposed moral code, and yet I manage not to kill or steal or beat up children and puppies.

I don't think we need a Comics Code in order to have standards, but what those standards are may differ from book to book (as, for instance, when I was told that you couldn't use the word "damn" in a Superman book, but it would be fine in, say, OUTSIDERS). Editors will still say, "No, you can't do that," even if there's no Comics Code seal on the cover.

kdb

[Zelena]

I don't think we need a Comics Code in order to have standards, but what those standards are may differ from book to book (as, for instance, when I was told that you couldn't use the word "damn" in a Superman book, but it would be fine in, say, OUTSIDERS). Editors will still say, "No, you can't do that," even if there's no Comics Code seal on the cover.

I suppose that if Spiderman stops being a selfless good guy, Spiderman fans wouldn’t agree even if the rest remains exactly the same and that publications are more or less flexible in the variation of the content.

Or, more seriously -- everything is obviously not "done," because there aren't any such stories. I've never really understood the idea that if there isn't some sort of written code that all must hew to, then no one has any morals and all immoral things will be depicted, even in the face of the actual comics, in which that doesn't happen. But maybe that's because I'm not religious, so I don't subscribe to an externally-imposed moral code, and yet I manage not to kill or steal or beat up children and puppies.

Yes, I know you’re a good man, you answer varied questions in a forum…

Yes, as you can tell from all those stories where Reed Richards is a cannibal who practices incest.

Please, don’t give ideas…

Thank you, Mr Busiek.

[Marvell2100]

Hey there Mr Busiek!

Are there any stories that you've done in the past that you've felt were unfinished? Aside from Astro City of course.

[Kurt Busiek]

Are there any stories that you've done in the past that you've felt were unfinished? Aside from Astro City of course.

Sure, lots. We're going to do more AUTUMNLANDS, for instance.

But also, my SUPERMAN run is full of the beginnings of things that didn't get to be developed beyond that point, as is my AQUAMAN run. So is POWER COMPANY, so is my VAMPIRELLA run, and lots more.

kdb

[Ascended]

Didn't Marvel abandon the comics code long before DC, too? I could be wrong on that but I feel like they did, and it never hampered the morality of the work or anything.

Granted, we do see a few things in mainstream comics today that we didn't decades ago, but I feel like that's more about the audience aging and maturing than it is anything else. Just my observations of course, no idea how true that is.

Mr. Busiek, do you find that you have more unfinished stories than finished ones? Do you often get to say everything you want on a title/character, or do you (and other creators) usually move on with ideas left in the tank? I feel like that would drive me nuts if I were a writer; I'd want to get it all out.

[Kurt Busiek]

Didn't Marvel abandon the comics code long before DC, too?

Yes.

Mr. Busiek, do you find that you have more unfinished stories than finished ones? Do you often get to say everything you want on a title/character, or do you (and other creators) usually move on with ideas left in the tank? I feel like that would drive me nuts if I were a writer; I'd want to get it all out.

There's a big difference between "unfinished stories" and "no more ideas." For example, my SUPERSTAR: AS SEEN ON TV GN is a finished story. But I have lots of ideas for other stories about Superstar and his family.

I would say I probably have more finished stories than unfinished stories, but I don't think I've ever done a project where I used all the ideas I had for it. I'm not sure if that would even be possible -- if I ran out of ideas I'd come up with more. It's how my mind works.

kdb

[Ying Ko]

Mr Busiek,

In your opinion, what is Roger Stern's greatest work?

(I would have to say his Amazing Spider-Man run from way back.)

[Kurt Busiek]

Mr Busiek,

In your opinion, what is Roger Stern's greatest work?

(I would have to say his Amazing Spider-Man run from way back.)

I would think his Spider-Man run, his Captain America run and his Dr. Strange run would all be in contention.

kdb

[Micabe]

Kurt Busiek, I Love your work... Do you read any of your co-workers stuff? If so what's your take on the alleged polyamory happening on Krakoa?

[Vordan]

Was there ever a time when you might’ve gotten the main Hulk book? Would you have wanted to, is Hulk a character that interests you?