Ask Kurt Busiek

[IamGroot]

Hiya Mr. Busiek!

I wanted to start with a huge thank you for all your amazing work, especially on the Avengers and the Thunderbolts which were incredible runs. I'm gearing up for a re-read of them both in the near future...

Couple of quick questions on your recent return to Thunderbolts and bringing Jolt back (which I loved by the way). Firstly, how did it feel to come back to re-visit the franchise? and secondly can we hope you'd be willing to come back for more? perhaps a Legacy re-launch of Thunderbolts?

Cheers!

[Montressor]

Happy Birthday!

Just curious--is the upcoming Astro City issue that picks up on the story of the guy whose life was retconned (the BRILLIANT 1/2 issue) going to reveal that other characters--such as the heroes--were retconned, too?

One of my all-time favorite issues of any comic, by the way.

[Nomads1]

I haven't read that much of it, but thought what I did read was pretty well done.

But aside from BATMAN: CREATURE OF THE NIGHT (finally coming this November), I'm trying to focus on creating my own stuff rather than working on other people's stuff.

If I were healthier and had more time, it would be hard to turn down, say, LEGION or WONDER WOMAN, but I'm not, so it didn't come up.

Happy birthday, and I wish you well on your health issues.
As a huge Legiion fan, a book currently on a loooooong hiatus over at DC, I'd love to see your take on them.

Peace

[Kurt Busiek]

I know you co-wrote The story of Lego Marvel Superheroes 2 and this is the first time Wasp will play a part in the story. Was that your idea?

No, that was the Lego guys. They had a rough outline (based on my comics stories) and a lot of characters worked out, and I helped them get the outline into shape, and suggested a few characters to use when various characters they'd wanted weren't available. But with a few exceptions here and there, they chose the characters.

Also, do you think Marvel will ever let Janet be in the Avengers again? As you might know, there is a new Waps in the comics that not only got a solo comic book just months after creation whereas Janet never even got a miniseries, but is also an Avenger now, while Janet is lately either in a smaller team, or nowhere to be seen. Lately a promotional shot of Avengers was released festuring most of the classic members like Scsrlet Witch, the founders, Vision, Hercules, Falcon etc but Janet wasn't there. The new Wasp was. Do you think we'll get to see Janet in a prominent role like in your run ever again?

I have no idea. Marvel doesn't keep me posted on their thinking.

I would assume that if the new Wasp catches on, she'll be the primary Wasp, but the original will crop up now and then because there are always writers who like playing with the history.

And if the new Wasp doesn't catch on, the original is more likely to return to prominence.

But that's just me being logical, not inside information of any sort.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

I wanted to start with a huge thank you for all your amazing work, especially on the Avengers and the Thunderbolts which were incredible runs.

Thanks!

Couple of quick questions on your recent return to Thunderbolts and bringing Jolt back (which I loved by the way). Firstly, how did it feel to come back to re-visit the franchise?

It was fun, both to write the characters again, and to work with Bags.

and secondly can we hope you'd be willing to come back for more? perhaps a Legacy re-launch of Thunderbolts?

No plans for that at present, at least. I'm trying to focus on doing my own stuff these days.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Just curious--is the upcoming Astro City issue that picks up on the story of the guy whose life was retconned (the BRILLIANT 1/2 issue) going to reveal that other characters--such as the heroes--were retconned, too?

If so, I wouldn't tell readers ahead of time.

Then again, if not, I still wouldn't tell readers ahead of time. I'm still a real "Wait and see" kinda guy...

Hope you'll enjoy what's coming!

kdb

[IamGroot]

Thanks!



It was fun, both to write the characters again, and to work with Bags.



No plans for that at present, at least. I'm trying to focus on doing my own stuff these days.

kdb

Thanks so much for the reply and fingers crossed for the future that you can maybe squeeze in a back up story every now and then to continue Jolts return...

May I also please ask if you had any plans to write the Captain Marvel spinoff series yourself after Avengers Forever? Peter David did an awesome job and is another run that rates highly for me, but was he always in line for the gig? or did you perhaps tap him on the shoulder for it?

I would love to know anything you can remember about the editorial planning for post Avengers Forever and if there were any other talked about spinoffs that never happened for whatever reason...

Thanks again!

[Kurt Busiek]

May I also please ask if you had any plans to write the Captain Marvel spinoff series yourself after Avengers Forever?

I'd have loved to do it, but didn't have the time, so no, I was never in the plans for it.

Peter David did an awesome job and is another run that rates highly for me, but was he always in line for the gig? or did you perhaps tap him on the shoulder for it?

He was Tom Brevoort's choice, and I'm pretty sure he was Tom's first choice -- so I think that'd count as "always in line for the gig."

kdb

[tliscord]

Kurt,

Another thank you for you're great talents! I've just reread Avengers volume 3 and it is terrific. I particularly liked how you handled Hank Pym's character. Always been one of my favorite Avengers, one of my first comics was Lee and Colan's Avengers #65 featuring Jan, Tchalla, Clint, Vision, and Hank. In your run, I thought you handled he and Jan with such great compassion and depth. In fact, that could be said of so many of the team at that time including Wanda and Vision. As with Lee, Thomas, and Englehart, you handled the "big three" with appropriate amount of deference, but kept the focus on those team members without their own titles. I always appreciated that focus.

My personal favorite of your run was Avengers Annual 2001, which in retrospect was just so well written. It was a take on mental illness and in general personal growth not often seen in comics. Delving into Hank's layered and contradictory personality traits got to the heart of his neurosis. It's a complex and layered approach to writing deserved of all characters. Certainly the best handling of what makes Hank tick I've come across. Love to have your take on the present incarnation of Hank and Ultron.

But in your writing there was always a sense of stewardship, of caretaking these titles. I only returned to comics after your stint, drawn in by Brubaker's Cap run, but I must say as I piece together all that had gone on with Marvel in the late 90's, what a remarkable renaissance of writing and art took place with you and George, as well as Mark Waid, Ron Garney, and Sean Chen. I wonder if at that time you all felt an urgency to the Marvel line? In particular with the Avengers. A make or break immediacy to revitalize these comics. Or maybe revitalization is too strong a word. Certainly, looking in the rear view mirror it appears so.

As a long time fan of the Avengers from the late 60's and early 70's, your "volume 3" stands out as high water mark of how to write a team book, let alone a comic. Well done.

[Kurt Busiek]

I wonder if at that time you all felt an urgency to the Marvel line? In particular with the Avengers. A make or break immediacy to revitalize these comics. Or maybe revitalization is too strong a word.

Well, they'd sold quite well under the Image guys, and various people at Marvel were concerned that a sales slump would look like a stumble, so they were very determined to make the books sell. I just wanted to make them as good as I could in a way that showcased what was great about them.

But it was nice to have the support we did...and glad you liked them!

kdb

[Marvell2100]

Hi Mr. Busiek, hope you are doing well today.

Do you keep a list of all the titles that you've written?

Was there a signature moment when you knew that you wanted to write comics?

When did the idea of Astro City come to you?

Thank you and I hope you have a great day.

[Kurt Busiek]

Hi Mr. Busiek, hope you are doing well today.

Do you keep a list of all the titles that you've written?

Not a terribly up-to-date one. Every now and then I update it, but not often enough.

Was there a signature moment when you knew that you wanted to write comics?

There was a letter column in some Claremont-written book in the 1970s, where one of the answers he gave made me realize that comic-book writing was an actual paid job, one that you could make a living at. Once I realized that, I knew I wanted to pursue it.

When did the idea of Astro City come to you?

In bits and pieces over time, as I came up with the kind of story that would go into it. The idea to do it as its own series, rather than as a series set in the Marvel (or some other preexisting) universe came after the success of MARVELS, and after I realized that doing an ongoing MARVELS series would be a nightmare of editorial oversight, as I tried to use characters from multiple editorial offices. But if I made up my own characters, no one could tell me no...

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

I like Warbird but thought the emotional clog she'd been left with as a result of everything from Rogue messing her up to STARBLAST!, where as I recall she got back all her memories but no emotional connection to them, was a mess that was hard to explain and cope with in a way that didn't involve lots and lots of continuity-reminders.

Good reasoning

And I wanted to have some superhero in a position for Iron Man to become their AA sponsor.

Ooooh, clever!

So I put the two together, and figured that if Carol's experiences and stress had led to alcoholism, that made it a much more immediate and relatable issue, and would allow an interesting interplay between her and Tony.

It did!-It did!-It did!

I still had a lot more planned, but we never got around to it. Maybe somewhere, in some form.

Nooooooooooooooo!!!! Damn you editor in chief of marvel comics during that time
Regardless, thank you mister Busiek for the BLACK and GOLD WARBIRD!

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

There was a period at Marvel when writers more or less had to write that way, at least for some editors. Joe Casey said that when he scripted some late '90s X-Men over Alan Davis's plots, he suggested trying a different approach by using no thought balloons or captions, and the X-Men editors said you simply couldn't do a mainstream X-book without them. Within a couple of years that would change.

That was specifically the X-books, where for a long time Marvel insisted that they read like reheated Claremont, regardless of who was actually writing them.

A few years later, from what I understand, editors were even cutting most of Claremont's captions, when he'd write an X-book.

There's a reason I rarely pursued writing an X-book (and when I did it was something odd and offbeat), even though when I was a teenager I desperately wanted to write X-MEN someday. They were simply the most strongly-editorially-controlled books at Marvel, post-Claremont, and I wanted to write books where I could write the way I thought served the story best.

kdb

It most certainly did that in spades!

[Marvell2100]

Hey Mr Busiek, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions.

During your run on Avengers, you by far did more to add to the characterization of the Vision than any other writer. Vizh is one of my favorite characters and I was so disappointed when they went with the bland Vison and took away all of his characterization during the 90s.

Then you did that wonderful story arc where Vision finally releases all of his pent up frustrations of being a second-rate copy of Simon Williams. It was so important that you didn't make it about Wanda but rather about the Vision's doubts about himself and his purpose. You even gave him a life away from the Avengers(Victor Slade, love it man!).

What were your reasons for taking the whole Vison-Wanda-Simon triangle in that direction(I'm glad you did)?