Ask Kurt Busiek

[Kurt Busiek]

Is there a difference in the way the artist draws a story knowing it is being captioned, versus, (like Marvel once published non-captioned issues) non-captioned books? I could not make head nor tail of art I saw for captioned issues (with no captions yet), but, the deliberately non-captioned issues I could follow about 50% of those stories. It's like trying to follow Black Bolt because he can't talk.

I think maybe you'd need to ask an artist that.

Could be that you're seeing the difference between a story drawn from a plot and one drawn from a full script? I don't really know -- I can think of stories with captions that are absolutely clear visually, and others that aren't, so I'm not sure whether the two have a direct relationship.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Hey Kurt, when will you work for Marvel again?

No plans for it at present, but you never know.

For the near future, at least, I'm trying to concentrate on creator-owned books.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

You said once when you were writing the Heroes Return Iron Man in 1997 that Tony Stark was more interesting than Iron Man himself, even though the TPTB disagreed and wanted to put more emphasis on the latter. Do you feel validated that now everybody in the world pretty much agrees with you?

I hadn't actually thought about it, really. But now I feel supremely validated!

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

I would like to ask a story-telling-related question, even though it's about One More Day... (which will make some people think I'm heading in one direction or another, but I am not):

In terms of serial story-telling, does OMD qualify to be called an "unresolved" storyline?

I don't know. I've never read it.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

You've stated on the forums (well, before the reboot) as having talked to Rick Remender about the Scarlet Witch and how you view her powers, personality and such. I always felt, in reading your Avengers run, that she was one of your favorite characters. Have you been keeping yourself up-to-date on her current on-goings?

I haven't -- I've found myself drifting away from the Big Two universes of late, and I'm way behind on even what I do read.

So I've read the first volume of UNCANNY AVENGERS, but haven't read any more yet. But Rick's a good writer and I'm confident he's doing good stuff.

I have been reading LOW, which he does with Greg Tocchini at Image, at that one's terrific.

And if so, what's your general opinion (as specifics tend to...heat up a discussion)?

Keep in mind that, as in the previous thread, I'm not going to be offering a lot of opinions on current comics. These are books being produced by (often) friends of mine, so while I'm happy to say, "This one's terrific," I don't want to say, "That one's a pile of crap." And if I answer when I like a book but don't say anything when I don't, it becomes pretty easy to tell.

So mostly, I'd rather not have people ask "What did you think of X?" Odds are I haven't read it, but in the event that I have and don't like it, I don't want to speak ill of my colleagues.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Mr. Busiek,
If you were to return to writing for Marvel, would you rather tackle characters you have writen and had distinguished runs before, such as Iron Man or the Avengers, or would you rather tackle a group or characters you haven't written regularly before, such as Hulk, Spider-Man, FF or the X-Men? Would you prefer to get ahold of a lesser known character or team who doesn't have his book now?
Do you prefer writting teams or solo characters for Marvel?
What would be the answers applying the same questions for DC?

I'm not currently looking to do more Marvel Universe or DC Universe stuff, so it doesn't make much sense to choose what kind of books I'd want to write if I was to do something I'm not really looking to do.

Sorry.

kdb

[Michael P]

No plans for it at present, but you never know.

For the near future, at least, I'm trying to concentrate on creator-owned books.

kdb

Speaking of which, is Tooth and Claw a series with a planned ending, or something more open-ended?

[emac1790]

Hello, Kurt (If I may be so bold). My question to you is, do you have an ending to Astro City or do you see it as an open ended story?

Thanks.

[Kurt Busiek]

Dear Kurt Busiek,

As always I just want to gush over how you (and you alone) made me a lifetime fan of comics. Thunderbolts #1 was my first ever comic, Moonstone is my favourite ever comic character (thanks to you). I adored your run.

Thanks!

And my question is... odd! (I promise I'm not a pervert, but we've debated this on here before, I'd love to know your thoughts).

QUESTION: do you think Karla and Clint ever made love?

I ask because... time wise they really didn't have a moment to. From when they actually got together, they had Scourge, then he was in jail, then they weren't together. I quite like the idea her best relationship was one not built on sex; and I like that (for Clint) she's "the one that got away". It adds a great amount of significance. Now I know Fabian wrote the bulk of them as a couple (but you put the wheels in motion even as early as #10 with their flirting when Clint tried to arrest Karla) but the famous "uh-oh!" moment was the official "start." So... I'd love to know what your views on it are.

My quick answer would be "Sure, probably."

But most of that relationship was, as you note, written by Fabian, so he'd be the best authority for that.

QUESTION: did you ever have any plans for the conclusion to Clint never knowing Karla murdered the Kosmos Primotur?

Obviously when Abe went to jail Melissa was furious because she knew Karla killed someone. At a second point it "came up" but Clint still never learnt what happened. Did you ever have an idea where this plot point was going?

I had some ideas, but was mostly plotting the book organically. So I knew that was a springboard for future developments, but I didn't yet know what they were going to be.

One way it could have gone would be:

A. Something happens and Hawkeye finds out. He's offended and wants there to be some sort of justice done, but there isn't any, because no court of Earth is equipped to prosecute someone for murdering an alien off-planet.

B. Kosmosian soldiers arrive on Earth to arrest Karla, having finally finished some sort of internecine struggle and wanting to execute her. She gets dragged back to Kosmos, but Hawkeye and the Bolts follow, because he wants to make sure it's justice that's done, not vengeance. And he's not sure that being tortured in the Kosmos-verse (as Atlas was) is any sort of humane punishment.

C. Once back on Kosmos, they find out that the factions that have taken powers are brutal assholes, and there's a rebellion in the name of the decent people there. Hawkeye and the Bolts aid in the rebellion, and Karla ends up winning the key conflict that puts a good ruler on the throne. She gets pardoned for regicide, and shoots that in Clint's face -- she's not guilty of anything, ha!

D. They go back to Earth, but Clint and Karla's relationship is now soured, and he knows how manipulative she can be. So now it's Clint vs. Karla for the soul of the team...

But it could have gone some other way, as well.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Dear Mr. Busiek,
What is your favorite comic ever? I'm very interested in seeing a proffesional writer's opinion on the best comics ever.

I don't often have a single favorite anything -- comics are so varied that different books can be excellent in different ways.

It's hard to beat Alex Toth's BRAVO FOR ADVENTURE for being good at the stuff Toth is good at.

But then, it's hard to beat "Toxl the World-Killer" or "Mother Delilah" for being good at the stuff Jack Kirby's good at.

Which is better? Who cares? Gimme all three.

Leonard Starr's ON STAGE. Milt Caniff's TERRY AND THE PIRATES. Miller & Mazzucchelli's DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN. SANDMAN. Simonson's THOR and ORION. FABLES. Roy Crane's BUZ SAWYER. GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #2. John Stanley's THIRTEEN (GOING ON 18).

There's a lot of great stuff out there. I'd rather not worry about which of them beats the others so much as be glad I have so much cool stuff to read.

Oh, what do you think of the now considered classic comics (I remember you not liking the Dark Phoenix Saga so I would love to hear what you think of other "classic" and acclaimed stories). Thanks a lot in advance!

Depends on which ones. I don't have one single opinion about "now considered classic" comics, because they're so varied.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

1) What comic has been the most fun to write for you, and why?

Again, they're so different it's hard to tell. I had a blast writing THUNDERBOLTS and I have a blast writing ASTRO CITY, but they're very, very different experiences. I loved writing CONAN for one set of reasons and ARROWSMITH for a whole different set.

Most books are fun to write while I'm writing them, because I'm thinking about the stuff that's cool about the job.

2) Any thoughts on the tendency of modern comics to be much "darker" in nature than previously, i.e. with heroes more apt to kill, go insane, commit crimes, etc.? Do you feel this trend is here to stay or do you think there is a pendulum effect with things like this?

I don't think about it all that much, to be honest. What you're talking about is largely a thing that happens in the Marvel and DC Universes, and like I said, I've been drifting away from these sprawling, interconnected worlds.

And more, things got dark in the 70s and then lightened up some, got dark again in the 80s and lightened up a while later, and started getting dark again a while back...I'm sure it'll change.

Meanwhile, in any era that has Tobin & Coover's BANDETTE in it, or Raina Telgemeier's SMILE, darkness hasn't taken over. So I read what I find fun, whether it's dark or light, funny or dramatic, realistic or cartoony...and I enjoy the variety. If I feel like the reading pile is too much of one type of thing, I go find other stuff.

Lastly, simply thank you for countless hours of enjoyment reading your works. Stuff like Avengers, Thunderbolts, the Power Company, and Astro City are absolutely gold to me and I think we share a lot of sensibilities about what makes for good stories, compelling characters, etc.

Very glad you've liked 'em! This is where I throw in a plug for TOOTH & CLAW (starting in November) and the other stuff I have coming down the pike that hasn't been announced yet...

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Speaking of which, is Tooth and Claw a series with a planned ending, or something more open-ended?

There's a planned ending. But it'll take a long time to get there. Lots to explore along the way...!

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Hello, Kurt (If I may be so bold). My question to you is, do you have an ending to Astro City or do you see it as an open ended story?

A year or two ago, I'd have said it's open-ended.

These days, I feel the story lines moving toward something that could be an ending. So as it does that, Brent, Alex and I can figure out if we'd like to stop there.

But even if we do, it's still a universe, a setting, not a single story. We could have ended it with the SILVER AGENT two-parter. But we had more stuff to tell, so we kept going. If things shape up the way I think they're shaping up, we'll reach another point that could be an ending...but might not be. And even if it is, we could always come back for another mini-series or something a year or two later.

ASTRO CITY's fractal. There'd be room for more stories even if we blew the whole place up, because there'd still be so much history that could be explored.

kdb

[electr1cgoblin]

Very glad you've liked 'em! This is where I throw in a plug for TOOTH & CLAW (starting in November) and the other stuff I have coming down the pike that hasn't been announced yet...

kdb

I am absolutely on board...!

[emac1790]

A year or two ago, I'd have said it's open-ended.

These days, I feel the story lines moving toward something that could be an ending. So as it does that, Brent, Alex and I can figure out if we'd like to stop there.

But even if we do, it's still a universe, a setting, not a single story. We could have ended it with the SILVER AGENT two-parter. But we had more stuff to tell, so we kept going. If things shape up the way I think they're shaping up, we'll reach another point that could be an ending...but might not be. And even if it is, we could always come back for another mini-series or something a year or two later.

ASTRO CITY's fractal. There'd be room for more stories even if we blew the whole place up, because there'd still be so much history that could be explored.

kdb

That's the freedom in a creator(s) ran book. Thanks for the answer.