Ask Kurt Busiek

[darewithpeace]

whats your favorite x men and x woman? whats your favorite x men era? who would be on your dream x-team in a comic?

[Kurt Busiek]

Hi Mr Busiek. Another question about your Iron Man run. Tony is known for having Major Depressive Disorder and has had breakdowns before as well. I noticed in your run you had Jocasta be his psychiatrist. It was such a great idea to help Tony get through some very rough times in his life. What made you think of it?

I don't think that was me. When Roger and I were on the book, we rescued Jocasta's head from Sunset Bain, but I don't think we went further with it.

We were planning to send Jocasta in a direction that would allow her to become the more biological-seeming android she was in AVENGERS FOREVER, but we didn't get very far, and she went off in different directions under other writers.

Of course, maybe I'm forgetting something.

Mr. Busiek, other than the Lee/Kirby run, what era of FF was your favorite?

I was a big fan of both Roy Thomas's and Len Wein's run, when George Perez was drawing it, and of Walter Simonson's run years later. And any time Karl Kesel got to write an FF story (usually with Stuart Immonen drawing it), those would be great too.

Kurt, are there any plans for, or chances of, getting Astro City in hardcover omnibus format?

No immediate plans, but probably eventually, sure.

whats your favorite x men and x woman?

Cyclops and Marvel Girl, with Iceman and the Beast not far behind.

whats your favorite x men era?

The original run; it's one of the series that really made me a comics fan.

who would be on your dream x-team in a comic?

Depends on the circumstances. I did, at one time, pitch Marvel a book called X-MEN: THE SECRET YEARS, set between #66 and GIANT-SIZE #1, but they didn't go for it. Later on, John Byrne did X-MEN: THE HIDDEN YEARS, which was his version of the same idea. I think that'd have been my dream X-project, so that'd be the original five plus Havok and Lorna.

But if putting together a team for the modern era, I'm sure I'd pick other characters. But I haven't really thought about it all that much, so I don't really have an answer.

kdb

[Gaastra]

What did you think of the X-Men vs fantastic four limited series?

If you were asked to do a "marvel spotlight" book what hero would you use for the book?

What was the first marvel comic you ever read?

Who is best? Tom or jerry?

[Kurt Busiek]

What did you think of the X-Men vs fantastic four limited series?

I haven't read it since it came out and don't remember much about it. As I recall, the art was very nice.

If you were asked to do a "marvel spotlight" book what hero would you use for the book?

I don't know what a "Marvel Spotlight" book is, sorry. I will be doing some stuff for Marvel featuring a variety of heroes, though, if that helps.

What was the first marvel comic you ever read?

I don't remember -- I would have read it at a barbershop or at a friend's house, and I wouldn't have gotten to keep it and read it again.

I do have memories of reading mid-Sixties issues of AVENGERS, but I don't know which one would have been first.

The earliest Marvel comic that I read and kept, the one that got me started reading comics on a regular basis, was DAREDEVIL #120.

Who is best? Tom or jerry?

The cat and mouse?

They both seem kinda unpleasant to me -- I'd rather hang out with Tom Terrific and Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog.

kdb

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Has marvel comics approached you to write a Daredevil story in honor of the character's 55th anniversary this year?

[Kurt Busiek]

Has marvel comics approached you to write a Daredevil story in honor of the character's 55th anniversary this year?

Nope.

I don't know why they would -- I don't have any real association with the character.

I mean, I like Daredevil, but if they did that sort of thing I think they'd go for writers who've actually written the book for decent stretches.

kdb

[Cap808]

Mr. Busiek,

I'm a big fan of Richard Rider, Nova. I remember you using him as a part of the Avengers for just an issue in a battle with the Exemplars. Was there ever any chance of you making him a full time Avenger?

[Kurt Busiek]

Mr. Busiek,

I'm a big fan of Richard Rider, Nova. I remember you using him as a part of the Avengers for just an issue in a battle with the Exemplars. Was there ever any chance of you making him a full time Avenger?

I actually kind of wanted to use him instead of Justice and Firestar at first, as the "rookie" who's overawed by Avengers membership, but in other comics of the time he'd become more brash and cynical than he was originally, more Hawkeye-like, and I thought that wouldn't work as well.

So I used Justice and Firestar instead and that worked out well.

But I think Nova could make an excellent Avenger.

kdb

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

First of all, I want to thank you for your writing on Avengers. That run got me into comics and I think The Kang Dynasty is the greatest Avengers story ever told (my favorite single issue you wrote might be #34 though).

What is your favorite Avengers story?

Ordinarily, as I've noted a couple of times in this thread already, I don't have single favorites. I just don't think that way.

But in this one particular case, I can say that my single favorite AVENGERS story is The Celestial Madonna Saga, and the uncontested, anyone-who-says-otherwise-is-sadly-mistaken best single issue of AVENGERS is GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #2.

kdb

To me, The Celestial Madonna Saga reads like a great story to adapt for the Marvel Cinematic Universe post Phase 3!

[DrNewGod]

Mr. Busiek:

In your view, what's the difference between The Avengers and The Justice League?

[Gaastra]

I don't know what a "Marvel Spotlight" book is, sorry. I will be doing some stuff for Marvel featuring a variety of heroes, though, if that helps.

Marvel spotlight was a try out book to see if a hero could make it as a series and to use lesser heroes in one issue stories to give them some screentime. Ghost rider, spider-woman, deathlock and werewolf by night all came from marvel spotlight! Moon knights first solo adventure was there also.

[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

[K7P5V]

I actually kind of wanted to use him instead of Justice and Firestar at first, as the "rookie" who's overawed by Avengers membership, but in other comics of the time he'd become more brash and cynical than he was originally, more Hawkeye-like, and I thought that wouldn't work as well.

So I used Justice and Firestar instead and that worked out well.

But I think Nova could make an excellent Avenger.

kdb

In total agreement. I would have loved to have seen Rich Rider's Nova become a member of the Avengers during Mr. Busiek's run. Those were great times to be a comic book fan.

As for my question for Mr. Busiek, I remember reading somewhere that Mr. Busiek's favorite Marvel character is Hawkeye. If this is still the case, I would like to know what are his thoughts on what's currently being done to Clint Barton and did he have a favorable response towards Matt Fraction's Hawkeye?

[Kurt Busiek]

Mr. Busiek:

In your view, what's the difference between The Avengers and The Justice League?

I can't speak to the more recent AVENGERS, since I haven't read much of the series since I left.

But classically, at least, the Avengers is a team. They live together (for the most part), train together, work together as a team. The JLA is a league -- they're all solo heroes who generally act as solo heroes, with their own territory and concerns, but they come together as needed to deal with major threats. They're solo stars who cooperate when times call for it, rather than a structured team that works together on an everyday basis.

So the Avengers is like whatever baseball team wins the World Series, and the JLA are like the All-Star team. The best team versus the best individual players.

They aren't always like that, but that's the classic model for both, as I see it.

[Kurt Busiek]

Marvel spotlight was a try out book to see if a hero could make it as a series and to use lesser heroes in one issue stories to give them some screentime. Ghost rider, spider-woman, deathlock and werewolf by night all came from marvel spotlight! Moon knights first solo adventure was there also.

I remember MARVEL SPOTLIGHT; I just didn't know what you meant by a "marvel spotlight book."

Deathlok debuted in ASTONISHING TALES, though, as I recall.

So the question is what hero would I pick if doing a tryout series? I don't know, offhand, but to pick someone who never had a series, I'll go with Wundarr.

Not the Aquarian, Wundarr.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

I remember reading somewhere that Mr. Busiek's favorite Marvel character is Hawkeye. If this is still the case, I would like to know what are his thoughts on what's currently being done to Clint Barton and did he have a favorable response towards Matt Fraction's Hawkeye?

I liked Matt's Hawkeye run, though it felt to me like a more-or-less different character, not the classic Hawkeye. But it was very well done and a lot of fun.

I haven't kept up with a lot of what's going on at Marvel these days, though, so I'm not sure what he's currently up to.