Ask Kurt Busiek

[Tony Stark]

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

Thank you so much for answering my question and for your great work on my hero.

[Ascended]

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.

You know, I think I recall Kevin Fiege (or however his name is spelled?) saying much the same thing about the movie studio, that Disney didn't want to rock the boat and mess with the process. And since Mickey Mouse hasn't joined the Avengers yet (a lot of people here were worried about that sort of thing when the deal was fresh) I guess it's obvious they felt the same about the comics. But I was curious if Disney had changed anything behind the scenes; not wanting to mess with the films makes sense but comics aren't as profitable. I suppose the fact that Marvel comics still look like Marvel comics should've been answer enough, but you never know.

It depends on the artist (and even on the book).

That seems pretty flexible. Are most creators like that, or is it one of those "comes with skill and experience" things?

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.

You know, no offense to Dan Jurgens whatsoever (I'm a fan, especially of his 90's Superman) but Nightwing could probably benefit from a fresh writer who knows what he's doing.....

Just sayin'

[Kurt Busiek]

Mr. Busiek,

How do you remember your days writing Power Man & Iron Fist?

Mostly as me trying to write a series when I didn't really know what I was doing, and didn't think I was appropriate for it, but it was the opportunity at hand, so I did my best. If I could go back to 1982 and do it again, I think I'd do it a lot better, but then, I've got more experience now.

If I remember correctly, that was one of your earliest works at Marvel.

Yes, my first Marvel sale was PM/IF 90.

Were you a fan before taking that over?

I was a big fan of Jo Duffy's run on the book, yes. And I liked the few issues Chris Claremont wrote.

In fact, one of my last jobs in the fan press was writing a review of the series, and I finished up by saying that someday, I knew, Jo Duffy would leave the book, and I had no idea who they could get to take it over at that point, but I, for one, would have no idea how to follow up her run.

Aside from the obvious irony that I ended up doing just that (and had no idea what to do), I figured out what I'd want to do as we approached #100, but I got fired off the book before I could do any of it, or even pitch it.

After #100, the whole team was removed from the book because sales were flat, and Jim Shooter wanted a new approach (or so the editor told me). What I found out later, when I was a sales manager, was that sales had gone up while Jo was on the book, started to drop when Denny O'Neil wrote a bunch of fill-ins (no surprise there; fill-ins aren't good for sales stability), stopped dropping during my run, and then started falling again after me, and they kept falling until the book was canceled.

So I was, apparently, the most successful writer of the book post-Jo. Not for increasing the sales, but for arresting the decline, at least.

How did you come to be the writer of that book?

I was still working for a trade magazine called COMICS FEATURE, and back then Marvel had weekly press conferences. I'd go to them, tape them, and type up the results for CF. Anyway, they'd announced that Bob Layton would be the new writer on PM/IF, but then they kept announcing that the next issue would be a fill-in by Denny.

So I thought hey, maybe Bob isn't getting the plots in. And I went back to my apartment, and wrote up a page-and-a-half pitch for a PM/IF fill-in, and sent it to Denny with a note saying that I was hoping he might be in the market for a fill-in, and I'd already been writing professionally for DC.

Denny called me up and invited me to write up the plot as a spec script. So I did. He bought it -- that was PM/IF 90.

I pitched him another, and he bought that, too.

I got daring, and pitched a two-parter, and he bought that, too.

While that was going on, I went to another of those press conferences, and they announced that PM/IF had a new regular writer, so I figured oh well, it was nice while it lasted, and at least I got a few more credits out of it.

And then they mispronounced my name, and that was how I learned I had the job.

The thing I didn't understand was that Denny didn't like the direction Jo had been taking the book in; he wanted something darker, less funny. I had no idea what to do with the book other than imitate Jo, so I made it light and funny. Which was the wrong choice, but I didn't know that.

So I'd already done four fill-ins, and I floundered around for another six issues, and then got fired. But the writer who was going to take over after me -- Archie Goodwin -- had trouble getting the plots in too, so Denny asked me if I had any more stories. I wound up doing two fill-ins on my way out, Archie only lasted about two and a half issues, and after a few more fill-ins, Jim Owsley got the book, and he and Mark Bright rode it down to a well-respected Viking funeral.

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

Well, I hope you like my issues, even if I didn't have a clue...

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

You know, no offense to Dan Jurgens whatsoever (I'm a fan, especially of his 90's Superman) but Nightwing could probably benefit from a fresh writer who knows what he's doing...

I haven't been reading the book, but I'd bet Dan knows what he's doing. He usually does.

And I don't think I'll be offered the book any time soon, and would probably be too busy even if I was...

kdb

[Ascended]

And then they mispronounced my name, and that was how I learned I had the job.

That's a great story. This industry seems so very different from what I'm familiar with. It's been fascinating getting your feedback and insights, good sir!

I haven't been reading the book, but I'd bet Dan knows what he's doing. He usually does.

And I don't think I'll be offered the book any time soon, and would probably be too busy even if I was...

kdb

Oh, I wasn't being completely serious. I mean, I'd love to see you get the book, don't get me wrong, but it's not like that's gonna happen because *I* suggested it! I was just trying to slide in a low key compliment, work with me man! And for real, I mean no offense to Dan Jurgens, the man's a legend (and for good reason). The problems with that book aren't on him, they started well before he was brought in.

[Kubert]

What was it like at Marvel Comics (before, during, after) it was rescued by Toy Biz?

[Kubert]

In honor of the unsung Shel Dorf (founder of Comic Con) it was the King himself - Jack Kirby - who created a powereful DC character called Himon in honor of Shel. Half-a-century later, the world knows Comic Con, yet all but forgot of Shel. Yet like Jack Kirby did for DC, can an artist or writer create a Himon, for the Marvel Universe?

[Kurt Busiek]

What was it like at Marvel Comics (before, during, after) it was rescued by Toy Biz?

From my perspective it was pretty much the same. I wrote stories, they published them.

It was weird when people were getting fired every week, but I was way out here on the West Coast, so I just heard about it through phone calls.

But Marvel Comics was never losing money. Marvel Entertainment was, because its owners had loaded it down with too much debt to buy other companies. But the comics made money all through that period, and I worked on the side that made the comics.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

In honor of the unsung Shel Dorf (founder of Comic Con) it was the King himself - Jack Kirby - who created a powereful DC character called Himon in honor of Shel. Half-a-century later, the world knows Comic Con, yet all but forgot of Shel. Yet like Jack Kirby did for DC, can an artist or writer create a Himon, for the Marvel Universe?

Shel was still alive when Kirby created Himon, of course, and for many years thereafter. And I don't think Kirby was honoring Shel for creating Comicon, since at the time Himon debuted, there'd been only two San Diego Cons (only one actually called the San Diego Con, if I remember correctly). Kirby was just using people he knew as the basis of characters, much like the San Diego Five-String Mob in Jimmy Olsen were based on Scott Shaw and some friends of his.

If you're asking whether people at Marvel can create characters as tributes to people they know, then sure -- there's a character in my upcoming series, THE MARVELS, who's visually based on a friend of Alex's.

If you're specifically asking if someone at Marvel could create a tribute to Shel, I would think so, sure, but it should probably be someone who knew Shel, and I don't know how many creators at Marvel ever did. I met him once or twice, but didn't know him well at all.

kdb

[Kubert]

If you're asking whether people at Marvel can create characters as tributes to people they know, then sure...

If you're specifically asking if someone at Marvel could create a tribute to Shel, I would think so, sure, but it should probably be someone who knew Shel

Vets of the industry likely knew Shel more. Thus guys like Claremont (thankfully still on Marvel payroll) may give more memories on Shel or at least the earlier Comic Cons. Either way, a tribute of any kind would be very much appreciated.

[Will Evans]

Hi Kurt.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.

If this has been answered already sorry.

Which rogues gallery do you think is the most underrated in Marvel? Same thing but for DC?

[Kurt Busiek]

Which rogues gallery do you think is the most underrated in Marvel? Same thing but for DC?

I don't know.

Sorry, but that's never the sort of thing it occurs to me to think about, far less rank. First, I'd need to be aware of all the rogues' galleries, and also how they're rated by others, and then I'd have to figure out to what degree I agreed or disagreed with those others, but it seems like it's mostly imaginary. I don't know how well, say, Thor's rogues' gallery is regarded, so how would I rank that against how well some other set of villains is regarded by people whose opinions I don't know, either.

Mostly, though, I think about characters less based on what other people think of them, or even who they are on the page, but what potential I see in them -- to pick on example, there's a one-shot Superman villain called Microwave Man who isn't much of a character, but there's one aspect of him I like a lot so if I wrote him I'd rebuild him around that one aspect, and I think he'd be a lot more interesting. Or, say, the Prankster, who I reworked into a distraction-for-hire.

So the fact that as a writer I could change these characters if I wrote them means I don't have to think all that much about whether lots of readers like them -- I think about what I could do with them instead.

I also don't have a running knowledge of who's in what hero's rogues' gallery at present.

There are usually a fair number of potentially-interesting characters. And if there aren't, well, I can make up more.

Sorry if that's not the answer you were looking for. I just, generally, don't rank things like that, and I almost never have a sense of what the bottom rank would be. Especially when it comes to other people's opinions.

kdb

[batnbreakfast]

Did you enjoy Ellis' take on the Thunderbolts? Did you like the Dark Reign setting?

[Gaastra]

Have you ever read carl barks or don rosa's uncle scrooge comics? Have you ever wrote any scrooge comics and would you if you could?

Marvel used to add non owned ips to the main universe. (shogun warriors, dr fu munchu, sledgehammer, dr who, doc savage, Godzilla, etc) If you could add one non marvel owned ip to the marvel universe canon what would it be?


If you were asked to bring back the gag team the misfits (lead by frog man at first!) what group of heroes would you pick? (I would pick howard the duck and wally the wizard and maybe spider-ham!)

These were the misfits if you don't remember.

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

[Ying Ko]

Thanks for answering my question. Interesting insight there.

Did you ever work for Valiant or was anything ever offered to you from that company? They've had some quality stuff coming out since the relaunch 8 years ago imo. Did you ever look into that?

Btw, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for bringing me back to reading comics after I lost interest for more than a decade. It was your Conan run (along with Kirkman's Walking Dead) that brought me back. So thank you for that good Sir.