Ask Kurt Busiek

[Kurt Busiek]

Not sure if you know the answer to this but I figured I would ask anyway....what was the general opinion or feeling towards Marvels first character Namor and the Human Torch while you were working there ?

Beats me. When I was working at Marvel, for the most part I was working in my spare room, 3000 miles away from the Marvel offices. So it's not like I heard a lot of interoffice chat about the characters.

I like both characters just fine, and had stories I wanted to tell about Jim Hammond, at least, that I never got around to. And Tom Brevoort, who was the guy I talked to most, likes 'em just fine too.

Beyond that, I don't know.

With Marvel 75th Anniversary happening next month I am again wondering why these two character have often not received the amount of attention or status that founders of comic universe rightfully deserve. Was it do to not being liked very much, no general interest, legal reasons, or something else entirely?

I'm just not the guy to ask about that, sorry.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Mr.Busiek,
There have been 3 volumes of "Classic Thunderbolts" published thus far. Will there be any more volumes published?

I have no idea. Marvel decides on that sort of thing without keeping me in the loop, so I'm happy to see the books when they happen, but don't know any more than you do about whether they will.

Is there ever a chance that JLA/Avengers will ever be made into an animated movie?

I seriously doubt that. It would take Disney and Warner Bros. teaming up...

kdb

[PocketfulofKryptonite]

As noted just recently, I rarely have favorites of things, and I certainly can't rank top-three favorite anything.

But to pick some TV series I'm enjoying a lot: THE GOOD WIFE, HOMELAND and EPISODES.



I don't watch ARROW. I watch AGENTS OF SHIELD, but would have given up on it sometime last season except that my wife enjoys it. I liked the pilot for GOTHAM. I'll try FLASH and AGENT 13 when they crop up. But I don't seek out comic book adaptations -- I just want to watch good shows, and I don't care where they get their source material.

[Except, of course, that there should be an ASTRO CITY TV show, an ARROWSMITH TV show, a SUPERSTAR TV show, a TOOTH & CLAW TV show, a LIBERTY PROJECT movie franchise, and hmm, a few other things, I'm sure.]

I think the show that felt the most like a comic book on TV wasn't even based on a comic book. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER really felt like a good superhero comic.

And I couldn't say whether comics are translating well -- some are, some aren't, I'm sure. But that's an individual thing -- THE WALKING DEAD is a big success, but whether that means some other comic will also work well, who knows? If the next one is done by good people who know how to capture the spirit of the source material in a way that works on TV, then good. But if they don't, not so good.

kdb

Agent 13 is on a slate after Revenge ends?

Niiiiiiiiiiicccccce.

I am also glad to know you like TGW, I felt at times parts of season 1 and 2 were filler but now they have a better sense of direction.

[Nix Uotan]

The "big bad" was the new head of Intergang, about which I will say nothing, because my plans for Intergang were transformative enough to turn into a whole new thing, somewhere.

But (a) I never got to it, and (b) other writers used Mannheim in ways that flat-out contradicted my plans, even though my editor told me he'd been reserved to us and no one else could use him without permission. So, well, so it goes, sometimes.

kdb

Thank you for the reply Mr Busiek kind of wish you had gotten a chance to tell your story with Mannheim since the setup there was just so cool.

[Optimus81]

Hi Kurt, just wanted to let you know I met you at the Emerald City comicon a few years back, where I bought a copy of Astro City #1 from your table, which you signed for me. I read it and was completely blown away.

I've since read the rest of Astro City and am reading the ongoing- just phenomenal. I also was a huge fan of your Conan run, all of your Avengers run, and Shockrockets, all of which I read after Astro City. And prior to meeting you, I was already a big fan of your Superman run (waiting for an Omnibus of that), and, of course, Marvels.

If I may say so, out of all my favorite writers, I've come to the conclusion that you have by far the most range. You've done sword and sorcery, pure sci-fi, third-person perspective stories and straight superhero stories, and all well. I think that's what has impressed me most about your body of work, and I wanted to congratulate you on that, among all your many accomplishments. Thanks for producing so many awesome stories. The medium is richer for it.

My question/suggestion is any chance of more guest artists in the AC ongoing, or even a Graham Nolan AC mini? My favorite issue thus far has been the Big Bad Wolf issue, which was awesome. I love Brent Anderson as an artist but it added a nice freshness to the book as a whole, IMO. Thanks again!

[Kurt Busiek]

If I may say so, out of all my favorite writers, I've come to the conclusion that you have by far the most range. You've done sword and sorcery, pure sci-fi, third-person perspective stories and straight superhero stories, and all well. I think that's what has impressed me most about your body of work, and I wanted to congratulate you on that, among all your many accomplishments. Thanks for producing so many awesome stories. The medium is richer for it.

Thanks!

My question/suggestion is any chance of more guest artists in the AC ongoing, or even a Graham Nolan AC mini? My favorite issue thus far has been the Big Bad Wolf issue, which was awesome. I love Brent Anderson as an artist but it added a nice freshness to the book as a whole, IMO. Thanks again!

You'll be seeing a Tom Grummett-drawn issue soon. Beyond that, I'm sure there'll be more, but we're trying to have Brent do as many as possible, because it's his book.

No plans for a mini-series by anyone -- it's enough work to just get one issue done a month, much less two! And even if I could do two, I'd want to spend that time working on something else, because, as you note, I like variety.

kdb

[IfThisBemyDestiny]

Hi Kurt,

Did you come up with all the new names for the Avengers in that medieval alternate reality like "Yeoman America" by yourself, or did you have some help?

[Kurt Busiek]

Did you come up with all the new names for the Avengers in that medieval alternate reality like "Yeoman America" by yourself, or did you have some help?

Pretty sure I came up with them all myself, mostly on a plane trip to Florida. Some of them, of course, are references, like "Ghost of Stone," and some were swiped from other sources -- "Sir MacHinery," for instance, was the title of a children's book I liked -- but I'm the one who decided to reference or swipe them...

kdb

[Optimus81]

Thanks!



You'll be seeing a Tom Grummett-drawn issue soon. Beyond that, I'm sure there'll be more, but we're trying to have Brent do as many as possible, because it's his book.

No plans for a mini-series by anyone -- it's enough work to just get one issue done a month, much less two! And even if I could do two, I'd want to spend that time working on something else, because, as you note, I like variety.

kdb

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer!

[Marvell2100]

I don't set out to explore specific themes -- I just write stories, and themes arise.

But yeah, redemption is definitely one of them. As is hope. And the value of just doggedly stumbling forward toward one's goals...

kdb

Thanks Kurt. I'm a big Sci-Fi, action-thriller fan and I like working in themes of gray characters in the little fan fic that I do so I guess it could fall under morality.

How are you at humor? I like working serious conflicts in humorous settings.

[Kurt Busiek]

How are you at humor? I like working serious conflicts in humorous settings.

I've written various humor stories here and there, and they've usually been well-received, but they always make me panic that they won't be funny.

Having characters be funny in an adventure story is less pressure than writing humor, because if the joke isn't funny in an adventure story, so what? It's still characterization. But if a humor story isn't funny, you done blew it.

So I think I'm okay at -- but under confident about -- humor.

kdb

[Hawk_Guy]

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?

[Kurt Busiek]

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

[Canucked]

Hi! Long time fan first time caller...

How do you like to read comics? Are you on tablet now? Traditional issues? A nice trade/hardcover collection?

Thanks for all your work.

[Diamond]

Hi,

I finally gave Astro City a try and received my copy of the first volumen this morning. Wow, why didn't I read it before?! The first story (In Dreams) is my favourite, it's sooo fantastic! It's been a long time since a superhero comic moved me that way.

I'm going to buy a new volumen every month. Awesome stuff.