Ask Kurt Busiek

[Kurt Busiek]

How did the Thunderbolts' famous slogan "Justice, Like Lightning..." come to be? As in, how did you find the original quote, fit it into the narrative and so on?

It was quoted by Roy Thomas in his CAPTAIN MARVEL run with Gil Kane and I liked it.

It turned out he'd misattributed it, but that didn't make any difference. I thought it gave the name "Thunderbolts" a poetic connection to justice, so if I remember correctly, I had Zemo use it to justify the name, when he was actually more inspired by the idea of stormtroopers.

[Ascended]

So, I have some questions, if you're able and willing to answer. Not about any specific run or story or character, but more about the process. I'm intrigued by industries where creativity crashes into business, and how the balance is found between them. Sorry if these are kind of dry, boring questions. I guess people usually ask more comic-y stuff like "who'd win a fight?" or "Why did you do XYZ?" but, like I said, I'm fascinated by how the creative process works around the business requirements.

So, okay, guest stars. Let's say you're writing, I don't know, Thor or something, and you want Iron Man to appear as a guest star for an issue. Not as part of a big Event or crossover, just a guest spot because they're friends and you want to have them hang together for a bit. I assume you need to clear that with the Iron Man editor (let's assume it's a different editor than Thor's), and maybe the Iron Man writer as well? Do they have to approve the script, or can you just give them a basic synopsis? Can the Iron Man writer say no? Do you have to read the latest issues so you know what Iron Man is going through currently (I'd imagine you should, but do you *have* to)?

What if the guest star you want to use doesn't appear in a book currently? Are they "free" to use, or do they still fall under someone's authority and you have to get the "okay" to use them?

And do publishers typically have a list of things you can't do, or have to do, with characters? Like, I dunno (random example) "Captain America cannot voice his support for a particular political party" or is that more of just a "common sense" kind of thing and you're allowed to do stuff if you can justify it from a character's perspective? I've heard that, at least at one point, DC had an edict where no Gotham vigilante could get married because Dan Didio or someone didn't think Bats should get happy endings. Is that common (presuming that story is legit) or do you usually have more freedom than that?

I've noticed that when a Marvel movie is about to hit theaters, the books almost always lean into that and, at the very least, do an arc featuring the movie's villain. Is that enforced, or do writers just want to capitalize on the film? Oh, also, from what I know, film doesn't seem to have much impact on floppy sales, outside of an exception or two (almost always a lesser known IP like Ant-Man). Is that accurate, or do movies actually help generate sales on the print end?

And...I don't even know what else. How do you juggle the business realities of the industry against creative expression? Obviously you're working with corporately owned IP's and the companies (Disney-Marvel, WB-DC, etc) want to protect those, so there must be limitations in what creators can do, but how do you find the path between the need to generate revenue reliably, brand expectations, and telling a interesting story you're passionate about? Do creators get a lot of voice in the direction of characters, or do you kind of have to toe to company line?

Thanks for your time. Always interesting to get a little insight to what happens behind the scenes.

[Kurt Busiek]

Let's say you're writing, I don't know, Thor or something, and you want Iron Man to appear as a guest star for an issue. Not as part of a big Event or crossover, just a guest spot because they're friends and you want to have them hang together for a bit. I assume you need to clear that with the Iron Man editor (let's assume it's a different editor than Thor's), and maybe the Iron Man writer as well?

Mainly, you have to clear it with your editor.

Your editor will clear it with the Iron Man editor, and if the Iron Man editor wants to consult the Iron Man writer they can do that, but Marvel owns the characters, so it's Marvel -- in the person of the editors -- who gets to say.

In many case, if I was using a guest star, I'd talk to the writer of that character, but that writer can't actually give me official permission for anything. They've got to get editorial approval for anything they do, and so do I.

Do they have to approve the script, or can you just give them a basic synopsis?

Sure.

Or to put it more specifically -- there's no hard-and-fast rule other than that your work gets approved by your editor. So it's up to the editors, really. If I want to use Iron Man in a Thor story, the editor can talk to the Iron Man editor (if the Thor editor doesn't also edit Iron Man) and say, "We wanna have Iron Man play chess with Thor in the July THOR." The Iron Man editor might say, "No problem." They might say, "Who's gonna win?" They might say, "Sure, but run the script by me, okay?" They might say, "Iron Man's dead that month and we don't want him appearing anywhere."

It's all situational.

Can the Iron Man writer say no?

No, but they might be able to convince the Iron Man editor to say no, if they wanted to.

Do you have to read the latest issues so you know what Iron Man is going through currently (I'd imagine you should, but do you *have* to)?

No. It's a good idea. But no.

What if the guest star you want to use doesn't appear in a book currently?

Same deal. Clear it with your editor.

Are they "free" to use, or do they still fall under someone's authority and you have to get the "okay" to use them?

Some would probably be considered "free," but many would be considered to "belong" to a book or family of books. So if the Silver Surfer doesn't have a book, and I want to have him show up in THOR, my editor will probably talk to the FF editor (if my editor doesn't edit FF as well) to make sure we're not stepping on anything they have planned.

And do publishers typically have a list of things you can't do, or have to do, with characters?

No.

Like, I dunno (random example) "Captain America cannot voice his support for a particular political party" or is that more of just a "common sense" kind of thing and you're allowed to do stuff if you can justify it from a character's perspective?

Pretty much. If there are any edicts, the editors probably know them, but they're not going to write them down and circulate them. If they did, I guarantee you'd see them leaked to the internet in less than a day.

I've heard that, at least at one point, DC had an edict where no Gotham vigilante could get married because Dan Didio or someone didn't think Bats should get happy endings. Is that common (presuming that story is legit) or do you usually have more freedom than that?

I don't even know if that's true, never mind common. But if it was, it'd be something that the Bat-group editor would know -- it wouldn't be written down and sent to all Bat-writers.

And it's all the same freedom: You can do what your editor will allow. Your editor can do what their boss allows. And so on up the chain.

I've noticed that when a Marvel movie is about to hit theaters, the books almost always lean into that and, at the very least, do an arc featuring the movie's villain. Is that enforced, or do writers just want to capitalize on the film?

I've never been writing a book that has a movie about to hit theaters, so I don't know. I was writing AQUAMAN while there was a TV pilot in the works, and they let me know what was in the TV pilot and said it might be nice to be able to do some stuff here and there that felt like the TV show if it got picked up, but it wasn't enforced and it didn't get picked up anyway.

But sure, if there's a big movie coming out, the editor might say, "Hey, why don't we feature some of the characters in the movie?" The writer may have reasons they don't want to, and the editor's unlikely to demand it -- but more likely, the writer's going to say, "Hey, sounds good."

If the writer doesn't want to, the editor may get approval for some other writer to do a mini-series featuring that character versus that villain, just to have something out on the stands.

But none of this is about dictates and enforcements (or if it is, it's only very rarely). It's about conversations. Editors and writers and artists are people, not machines. We talk things through much more often than anyone issues commands.

Oh, also, from what I know, film doesn't seem to have much impact on floppy sales, outside of an exception or two (almost always a lesser known IP like Ant-Man). Is that accurate, or do movies actually help generate sales on the print end?

From what I know (which is not through direct experience), movies move a lot more book-edition comics -- TPBs and HCs -- than single issues. So if you look at, say, the upcoming BLACK WIDOW movie, Marvel will want to have some Black Widow comics on the stands when the movie comes out, but they'll also want to reprint a lot of older material so they can have Black Widow books available in bookstores.

And...I don't even know what else. How do you juggle the business realities of the industry against creative expression?

On a case-by-case basis, not through rigid rules or demands.

Obviously you're working with corporately owned IP's and the companies (Disney-Marvel, WB-DC, etc) want to protect those, so there must be limitations in what creators can do, but how do you find the path between the need to generate revenue reliably, brand expectations, and telling a interesting story you're passionate about?

Those things aren't contradictory. Generally, you're trying to find a way to do all of it at once. It's just not a case of "Well, if I use Thanos in the next arc, I must do it in an uninteresting story I have no passion for." It's much more like, "Hmm, Thanos? I bet I can come up with a story involving him that'll be interesting and that I'll be passionate about!"

I mean, I wrote my big Ultron story because Ultron's an important Avengers villain so we should do something with him. So I thought about "Given all that's happened, what would Ultron do next?" And I got a story about it. Even if he was appearing in a movie, that wouldn't stop me from making it an interesting story or one that I was passionate about. I was writing AVENGERS in part because I've got a lot of enthusiasm for the Avengers, which includes thinking it'd be fun to tell stories about them clashing with Ultron, Kang, Zemo and various other cool villains.

Do creators get a lot of voice in the direction of characters, or do you kind of have to toe to company line?

Creators get tons of voice in deciding what to do with the books -- that's what we're hired for. No one's going to hire me to write the Avengers and then tell me I'm only allowed to do certain preselected stories. If they don't think I can tell good Avengers stories, they'd hire someone else that they think can.

And if it becomes an issue where the writer wants to do one thing and the editors don't like it and want to do something else, but the writer doesn't want to do that, then it's time to find a new writer for that book, and for that writer to find another book to write.

But all this happens in regular human person-to-person conversation, not in rules and dictates and demands.

Thanks for your time. Always interesting to get a little insight to what happens behind the scenes.

No sweat. Hope that helps.

kdb

[Kubert]

Any past experiences you or your colleagues had regarding comic toylines?
Did you see Kirby working on Kenner's Super Powers toys?
Your favorite toys of the past?
What comic inspired toy you'd like to see in the future?

[Ascended]

In many case, if I was using a guest star, I'd talk to the writer of that character, but that writer can't actually give me official permission for anything. They've got to get editorial approval for anything they do, and so do I.

Cool. I figured it would probably be something like that.

Some would probably be considered "free," but many would be considered to "belong" to a book or family of books. So if the Silver Surfer doesn't have a book, and I want to have him show up in THOR, my editor will probably talk to the FF editor (if my editor doesn't edit FF as well) to make sure we're not stepping on anything they have planned.

Okay, that makes sense. So what do you (or your editor, anyway) do if you want to use a character but are not sure if they're "free" or not? Is there a list your editor checks to see which character belongs to who, if they belong to anyone at all? There must be a way to make sure characters don't fall through the cracks right?

Pretty much. If there are any edicts, the editors probably know them, but they're not going to write them down and circulate them. If they did, I guarantee you'd see them leaked to the internet in less than a day.

Good point. I can imagine the online community would just *love* that.

From what I know (which is not through direct experience), movies move a lot more book-edition comics -- TPBs and HCs -- than single issues. So if you look at, say, the upcoming BLACK WIDOW movie, Marvel will want to have some Black Widow comics on the stands when the movie comes out, but they'll also want to reprint a lot of older material so they can have Black Widow books available in bookstores.

Okay, so the info I'd heard on this was correct. Good to know. So, let me ask; if larger media adaptations don't impact floppy sales by much, why do publishers encourage the synergy on that level? I understand wanting to make sure there are trades and collections out there to capitalize on a film release, but if floppies don't see that increase too, then...why? Is it just so those floppies can be collected into trades later on? Like, we have that Falcon-Winter Soldier mini, and by the time it's collected into trade the Disney+ show will probably be close to launch, so that makes sense to me; it'll be a trade on the shelf in time for the show. But I've seen ongoings go for movie synergy even though the story won't be collected in trade until months after the movie has left theaters. Is that just because creators are excited for the movie and want to play with some of the same toys, or is it to ensure there's new trades on the shelf even though they'll arrive late for the film debut? Both?

I'm not knocking synergy, by the way, just curious about how the dynamic between print/floppies and adaptations work.

But all this happens in regular human person-to-person conversation, not in rules and dictates and demands.

I've always heard that comics are alchemy and not science, and that made sense to me, but it sounds like it's far less....structured? is that the word I want? than I expected. I used to be a graphic artist back in the day, and then moved on to business and marketing, and I expected that big companies like this, with such well known IP's, would have a firmer, more rigid hand in things. But it sounds like it's more akin to my graphic art experience, where I had a lot more freedom and didn't have to boil every single thing down into a quantifiable item on a accounting sheet. I wouldn't have expected that from big companies like Marvel or DC.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions man, it's appreciated. Sorry if these were more boring questions than you're used to, like I said I find the business side of things and how it impacts creators really interesting.

So, if these questions have been boring, here's a more comic-y fan question: Nova: Richard or Sam?

[Lvenger]

I've been revisiting your post Infinite Crisis Superman run which was my first ongoing Superman series I bought monthly and I have to say I still enjoyed it as much as I did at the time. Up, Up & Away and Camelot Falls are particularly underrated Superman stories that aren't discussed as often as they should be. I consider Secret Identity your magnum opus on the character but your canon run on the character is a favourite of mine.

If you're able and inclined to answer some questions I would be very grateful to hear your thoughts.

1. One of the characters I enjoyed most in your run was Chris Kent or Lor-Zod from Geoff Johns and Richard Donner's Last Son arc. I think I read somewhere that because of the delays with Last Son, you were able to use Chris for longer than originally planned which led to some really nice stories and moments. How did you approach writing Lois and Clark as surrogate parents to Chris Kent and what was your favourite moment writing Chris?

2. You and Geoff were essentially the precursors to writing Superman and Lois as parents in canon before the introduction of Jonathan Kent in Convergence. I was wondering what you thought of Jon Kent given your experience writing Superman as a father in multiple stories?

3. The Prankster appeared on a more regular basis in your run than he has in any other period of Superman to my knowledge. I hear you wrote him in a recent special or annual for DC as well. What do you like most about The Prankster and why was he a regular villain in your run?

4. Did you have any further plans for Khyber as well as the Great Disaster foreshadowed by Arion?

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your Marvels comic once things get back to normal!

[Kurt Busiek]

So what do you (or your editor, anyway) do if you want to use a character but are not sure if they're "free" or not? Is there a list your editor checks to see which character belongs to who, if they belong to anyone at all?

No, but there are other people in the office -- at least, when they're not all working from home.

It's not usually that hard to figure out which "group" of characters a character is part of.

So, let me ask; if larger media adaptations don't impact floppy sales by much, why do publishers encourage the synergy on that level?

Not being a publisher, I don't know. I assume there's enough support to merit doing it, and of course they end up with another TPB down the line, which keeps them from having only TPBs with those characters in an older style.

I've always heard that comics are alchemy and not science, and that made sense to me, but it sounds like it's far less....structured? is that the word I want? than I expected. I used to be a graphic artist back in the day, and then moved on to business and marketing, and I expected that big companies like this, with such well known IP's, would have a firmer, more rigid hand in things.

They're honestly not that big. I mean, Disney's big, but Marvel Editorial isn't that large a group. It's easier to talk to people than to have someone somewhere feverishly trying to keep lists updated.

So, if these questions have been boring, here's a more comic-y fan question: Nova: Richard or Sam?

The questions weren't boring, but I don't think I've read any Nova stories where he was Sam. So I guess I'd pick Rich by default.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

I've been revisiting your post Infinite Crisis Superman run which was my first ongoing Superman series I bought monthly and I have to say I still enjoyed it as much as I did at the time. Up, Up & Away and Camelot Falls are particularly underrated Superman stories that aren't discussed as often as they should be. I consider Secret Identity your magnum opus on the character but your canon run on the character is a favourite of mine.

Thanks!

1. One of the characters I enjoyed most in your run was Chris Kent or Lor-Zod from Geoff Johns and Richard Donner's Last Son arc. I think I read somewhere that because of the delays with Last Son, you were able to use Chris for longer than originally planned which led to some really nice stories and moments.

It wasn't really a case of being able to use him longer than planned -- originally, Geoff and Donner were going to do all the Chris stuff, so I'd have only used him in cameos at most. But with ACTION having schedule trouble, and LAST SON being slow to get resolved, Geoff asked me to feature Chris, so I wrote him in.

I like writing youngsters with the Super powers, so that was fun.

How did you approach writing Lois and Clark as surrogate parents to Chris Kent and what was your favourite moment writing Chris?

I didn't have some sort of calculated approach; I just tried to write them in character, as I thought they'd react in the situation they found themselves in.

I liked giving Chris the Pig Iron watch with the red-sun doohickey inside (even if he didn't like it), but the most fun was probably is meeting Robin and thinking Robin was seriously cool.

2. You and Geoff were essentially the precursors to writing Superman and Lois as parents in canon before the introduction of Jonathan Kent in Convergence. I was wondering what you thought of Jon Kent given your experience writing Superman as a father in multiple stories?

I haven't reach much of Jon Kent, sorry. I find it hard to step back into the role of "reader" after I've been backstage working the puppet strings, so after I've written a book for an extended run, I generally find I don't read it again all that regularly unless I need to for research.

3. The Prankster appeared on a more regular basis in your run than he has in any other period of Superman to my knowledge. I hear you wrote him in a recent special or annual for DC as well. What do you like most about The Prankster and why was he a regular villain in your run?

I just like him. I like his attitude, I like that he has fun doing what he does, and I like the idea of a criminal who's found a niche in Metropolis that doesn't involve robbing banks. He's a performer, so he gets to perform, as a distraction-for-hire. I think that's a pretty unique role, so it's fun to explore it.

I didn't set out to make him a regular, but writing him the first time was so much fun that when we needed a fill-in plot in a hurry, I suggested we do a whole story from his POV. And doing that was so much fun that when I was asked to do a story for NEW YEAR'S EVIL, they offered me someone else -- Toyman, maybe? -- and I said, "Hey, can I do Prankster instead?"

It's just fun to write that guy.

4. Did you have any further plans for Khyber as well as the Great Disaster foreshadowed by Arion?

Not concrete plans, but we'd have seen some of the stuff Arion foretold starting to happen, as a way to build up suspense, make people wonder if that apocalyptic future was looming. Having Khyber show up in the present day would have been part of that.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your Marvels comic once things get back to normal!

Thanks!

kdb

[Tony Stark]

Hi Mr Busiek. I have a question to ask and I hope you haven’t answered it already. One of my all time favorite comics is Iron Man/Captain America Annual 98. In it Tony uses mentallo’s powers to erase his identity from everyone on earth. Tony is proud of what he did but Cap was offended by it and called Tony out on it. While writing it did you think one side was right over the other and did you see this as a steppingstone to the even bigger disagreements that they have had?

[Ascended]

They're honestly not that big. I mean, Disney's big, but Marvel Editorial isn't that large a group. It's easier to talk to people than to have someone somewhere feverishly trying to keep lists updated.

Well I meant more Disney than Marvel itself. I wouldn't have expected Disney to allow so much freedom at Marvel. It's nice to hear actually. I work with small businesses so I have no real experience with larger organizations like that, but I always figured they'd be far more anal about things.

So, if I haven't completely annoyed you yet, mind if I shoot you a few more Q's?

How do you handle collaboration with your art team? I hear different writers approach it differently, what's your preference? Does it depend on the artist and/or the project, or do you have a particular method you like?

How does the process of finding a art team work? Do you get to pick who you want to work with, does editorial give you a list of available artists to pick from? Do you have to find the artist/s yourself?

Not sure how to phrase this here.....okay, we've got certain character or team names that're shared; adult Titans like Nightwing and sidekick Titans like Robin, multiple heroes using the same name like Flash, etc (just random examples here). I'd guess it maybe depends on the franchise but do you find that works, or does it fracture/dilute the brand and confuse reader expectation? I don't mean the short term stuff like, I dunno, Jane Foster as Thor or Dick Grayson as Batman, but the more permanent stuff.

Speaking of Nightwing, what're your thoughts on that guy? Super random question I know.

[Lvenger]

It wasn't really a case of being able to use him longer than planned -- originally, Geoff and Donner were going to do all the Chris stuff, so I'd have only used him in cameos at most. But with ACTION having schedule trouble, and LAST SON being slow to get resolved, Geoff asked me to feature Chris, so I wrote him in.

Thanks for correcting my observations, I wasn't aware Geoff asked you to use Chris in your Superman run whilst Last Son was delayed. If I had to guess, I suppose he wanted Chris to receive more attention than he was able to provide hence why he asked you to use him. You definitely fleshed out Chris' character from what Geoff set up in Last Son.

I like writing youngsters with the Super powers, so that was fun.

You've written many young characters in your comics career and that joy is plain to see in your work.

I didn't have some sort of calculated approach; I just tried to write them in character, as I thought they'd react in the situation they found themselves in.

I liked giving Chris the Pig Iron watch with the red-sun doohickey inside (even if he didn't like it), but the most fun was probably is meeting Robin and thinking Robin was seriously cool.

Honestly that's a simpler answer than I expected but it makes perfect sense and from what I read of this run, Lois and Clark's reactions felt in character to me.

I love that you mentioned Chris' red sun watch. Chris' powers fluctuating as a result of the watch and Superman comforting him above the Earth is one of my favourite moments from your run. It's hard to go wrong with a Superboy meets Robin scene in terms of funnest things to write.

I haven't reach much of Jon Kent, sorry. I find it hard to step back into the role of "reader" after I've been backstage working the puppet strings, so after I've written a book for an extended run, I generally find I don't read it again all that regularly unless I need to for research.

No worries, I understand where your perspective is coming from. Just wanted to see if you had read any of the recent Superman material.

I just like him. I like his attitude, I like that he has fun doing what he does, and I like the idea of a criminal who's found a niche in Metropolis that doesn't involve robbing banks. He's a performer, so he gets to perform, as a distraction-for-hire. I think that's a pretty unique role, so it's fun to explore it.

I didn't set out to make him a regular, but writing him the first time was so much fun that when we needed a fill-in plot in a hurry, I suggested we do a whole story from his POV. And doing that was so much fun that when I was asked to do a story for NEW YEAR'S EVIL, they offered me someone else -- Toyman, maybe? -- and I said, "Hey, can I do Prankster instead?"

It's just fun to write that guy.

I think your take on the Prankster is the first I saw so how you wrote him was really fun for me. He poses a different kind of challenge to Superman from an unexpected angle whereas most of his villains either use one of his weaknesses or are physically powerful enough to fight him. Having a villain who's more of a nuisance like Mxyzptlk, albeit far less powerful, adds variety to the kinds of Superman stories you can write.

Not concrete plans, but we'd have seen some of the stuff Arion foretold starting to happen, as a way to build up suspense, make people wonder if that apocalyptic future was looming. Having Khyber show up in the present day would have been part of that.

That sounds really cool, it's a shame you couldn't continue your run on the character. This sounds really interesting to me but it can't be helped given how the comics industry works.

Thanks!

Thanks for answering my questions, I didn't realise your thread was on the Marvel board so I wasn't sure if DC questions were allowed.

[Kurt Busiek]

Hi Mr Busiek. I have a question to ask and I hope you haven’t answered it already. One of my all time favorite comics is Iron Man/Captain America Annual 98. In it Tony uses mentallo’s powers to erase his identity from everyone on earth. Tony is proud of what he did but Cap was offended by it and called Tony out on it. While writing it did you think one side was right over the other and did you see this as a steppingstone to the even bigger disagreements that they have had?

I think Cap was right in principle, but Tony was right pragmatically, and having that tension between the Great Idealist and the Great Pragmatist brought out interesting aspects of their personalities, but did it in a way that let them get to a place where they continued to disagree but understood each other and could still be friends.

I'm not all that fond of stories that depend on exaggerating this kind of disagreement out of proportion; I just think it helps inform the characterization and create some interesting tensions -- they don't need to go to war over it. They both know that the other has their heart in the right place and is doing their best as they see it.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Well I meant more Disney than Marvel itself. I wouldn't have expected Disney to allow so much freedom at Marvel. It's nice to hear actually. I work with small businesses so I have no real experience with larger organizations like that, but I always figured they'd be far more anal about things.

There are probably places where Disney's ownership has a strong effect on Marvel than others -- the legal department has gotten much more persnickety, for instance, which is in keeping with how film-industry legal departments work. And the checks come from Disney now, so accounting has been reworked.

But the main business of Marvel -- the making-comics business -- hasn't been reorganized. They're still in their own offices, there are a bunch of editors who report to an EIC, who reports to the president and the publisher. Disney bought Marvel because they're good at what they do and Disney doesn't know how to do that (they'd been trying to find a way to tap into the teenage-boy-plus market for decades, and not managing it). So Disney doesn't want to remake Marvel into part of a DisneyBorg; they want Marvel to excel at what Marvel does well, and Disney to get the benefits of that.

How do you handle collaboration with your art team? I hear different writers approach it differently, what's your preference? Does it depend on the artist and/or the project, or do you have a particular method you like?

It depends on the artist (and even on the book). When working with Alex Ross I do full scripts, because Alex is comfortable with them and likes knowing what the characters are saying when he creates their facial expressions. With Carlos Pacheco I work plot style, because Carlos is freer that way and does more exciting, engaging pages, while always giving me the room I need for dialogue.

With Brent Anderson, I do full script on ASTRO CITY, because I want to have control over the beat-by-beat pacing and nuance (though we'll change things at the layout stage; it's not rigid), but plot-style on some other jobs, because Brent's good at that, too.

I've worked with artists who've worked from a loose outline, and with artists where I did stick-figure page layouts to help with the storytelling. It's all about what'll result in the best finished comic.

How does the process of finding a art team work? Do you get to pick who you want to work with, does editorial give you a list of available artists to pick from? Do you have to find the artist/s yourself?

Depends on the book. I "found" Brent Anderson and Ben Dewey for ASTRO CITY and AUTUMNLANDS, because those were my books and I was building them from scratch. Alex Ross invited me in to what became MARVELS. George Pérez asked for me on AVENGERS, Carlos Pacheco asked for me on SUPERMAN.

On some jobs, editors will say, "Hey, do you want to do this gig, we have XXXXX lined up as the artist." On others, the gig will start with me, and once we're rolling, I might say, "I think Mark Bagley would be great for THUNDERBOLTS." Or in the case of the upcoming THE MARVELS, I gave Tom Brevoort a list of artists I thought would be good for the book, and we talked through it and offered it to Yildiray Cinar.

But as with the other stuff, it's conversational. It's not a rigid system -- there's a lot of back-and-forth communication, and we work things out.

Back when I started, I had limited ability to choose what artist I'd be working with -- although on my very first job, I suggested a friend of mine who was in the office that day showing samples, and it became his first job too, so that was nice. But I didn't get much input into other collaborations for a while.

Nowadays, I get a lot more input. But it's a conversation, not a mechanism.

Not sure how to phrase this here.....okay, we've got certain character or team names that're shared; adult Titans like Nightwing and sidekick Titans like Robin, multiple heroes using the same name like Flash, etc (just random examples here). I'd guess it maybe depends on the franchise but do you find that works, or does it fracture/dilute the brand and confuse reader expectation? I don't mean the short term stuff like, I dunno, Jane Foster as Thor or Dick Grayson as Batman, but the more permanent stuff.

I think it's better to be distinctive, so I tend to lean toward characters having individual names. But then again, if Dick Grayson is going to change his name to Nightwing, I don't see anything wrong with someone else becoming Robin.

And if Barry Allen or Wally West is Flash, and Jay Garrick turns up, it's hard to say Jay should change his name. So that's kind of situational.

In the case of the Green Lantern Corps, it's part of the concept that there are multiple Green Lanterns. But one Batman at a time, y'know?

Speaking of Nightwing, what're your thoughts on that guy? Super random question I know.

I like him fine. The guy trained by Batman who doesn't have the same issues as Batman, so when he grows to adulthood he becomes a much calmer, more upbeat crimefighter. I think that works.

I think there've been too many Robins, but having one who "graduated" works well for me.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

I didn't realise your thread was on the Marvel board so I wasn't sure if DC questions were allowed.

I don't really care where it is, I'm happy to answer questions on whatever comics stuff people want to ask about.

If it got to be an issue for the Marvel board mods, we could always created multiple threads, but I don't think they care about that kind of thing.

And thanks for the very kind words!

kdb

[Ying Ko]

Mr. Busiek,

How do you remember your days writing Power Man & Iron Fist? If I remember correctly, that was one of your earliest works at Marvel. We're you a fan before taking that over? How did you come to be the writer of that book?

The reason I ask is I'm currently reading everything Iron Fist related from the beginning, he's one of my favorite characters ever.

Oh and sorry if this has been covered already.