Ask Kurt Busiek

[Kurt Busiek]

Do you go over to some of the character appreciation threads on these boards and read the comments and think "Oh for god's sake the writers and editors are not deliberately trying to screw over your favorite character!" or is their paranoia justified in some cases?

I don't usually see much of those threads. But in my experience, nobody's deliberately setting out to screw over your favorite character.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Any plans on working for Marvel anytime soon?

No current plans for that; I'm concentrating on creator-owned work at present.

kdb

[Gryphon]

Any plans for any work for IDW?

[Kurt Busiek]

Any plans for any work for IDW?

I just did a story (with Gene Ha) for the 2014 HERO COMICS anthology, which Scott Dunbier put together to fundraise for the Hero Initiative.

kdb

[THANOSRULES]

Kurt what is your views on editing at the higher levels, would you ever consider a top editing job for one of the big companies?

Any more Kirby Genesis type stuff on tap?

[Kurt Busiek]

Kurt what is your views on editing at the higher levels, would you ever consider a top editing job for one of the big companies?

I don't think so, unless for some reason I couldn't write any more.

I like to write much more than I like to edit, and I'm better at it.

Any more Kirby Genesis type stuff on tap?

Not at present; I'm trying to concentrate on creator-owned work.

kdb

[OceanStar]

Should DC/Marvel go back to bi-monthly and quarterly comics and also if certain comics not selling,stop for a while and come back to it only if their are good stories (whether 2;10;20 issues arc stories)?

[Mark]

I don't usually see much of those threads. But in my experience, nobody's deliberately setting out to screw over your favorite character.

kdb

Maybe not deliberately, but when I think of what Bendis did to Wanda and Tigra it's hard not to believe that he didn't do it deliberately. I'm willing to accept callous indifference and ignorance of the characters history and powers though.

[Kurt Busiek]

Should DC/Marvel go back to bi-monthly and quarterly comics and also if certain comics not selling,stop for a while and come back to it only if their are good stories (whether 2;10;20 issues arc stories)?

That's a decision that should be made by people at the publishing level, who see the sales numbers. If making a series bi-monthly would boost the sales, then sure -- but if it makes the sales drop (as was the case back when I was in sales), it's not such a good idea.

But didn't Marvel just publish a series -- HAWKEYE -- that was irregularly published and lasted somewhere around 20 issues?

kdb

[Mark]

What do you think is the best comic to read for Halloween?

[Marvell2100]

Hi Mr Busiek.

You've written titles with large ensemble casts(Avengers, Astro City) as well as solo titles(Iron Man). What would you say are the challenges of writing each?

[Kurt Busiek]

What do you think is the best comic to read for Halloween?

There's such a long tradition of horror and urban fantasy in comics that I'd think you're spoiled for choice, from Marv Wolfman & Gene Colan's TOMB OF DRACULA to Mike Mignola's HELLBOY to random issues of VAMPIRELLA to SANDMAN and on and on.

But I don't think there's any one best choice...it depends on what sort of thing you like.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Hi Mr Busiek.

You've written titles with large ensemble casts(Avengers, Astro City) as well as solo titles(Iron Man). What would you say are the challenges of writing each?

The more characters there are, the more work it is to choreograph the story so that everyone gets to do something that matters and demonstrates their character, pretty much. But I don't think of that as a challenge -- it's sometimes easier to do that a solo character book, because doing all those moments fills up the pages nicely. By the time you're done giving everyone something to do, you're on to the next scene. Choreographing drama for a smaller cast means you can go deeper into their psyche and spend more time on them, but it also means you'd better come up with something worth the space.

One of the many things I like about working on a book like ASTRO CITY is that it's not an ensemble cast so much as an anthology, so I may find myself writing a very small cast one issue and a large cast the next. I like the variety.

kdb

[OceanStar]

That's a decision that should be made by people at the publishing level, who see the sales numbers. If making a series bi-monthly would boost the sales, then sure -- but if it makes the sales drop (as was the case back when I was in sales), it's not such a good idea.

But didn't Marvel just publish a series -- HAWKEYE -- that was irregularly published and lasted somewhere around 20 issues?

kdb

Can't say,never read it.

[OceanStar]

There's such a long tradition of horror and urban fantasy in comics that I'd think you're spoiled for choice, from Marv Wolfman & Gene Colan's TOMB OF DRACULA to Mike Mignola's HELLBOY to random issues of VAMPIRELLA to SANDMAN and on and on.

But I don't think there's any one best choice...it depends on what sort of thing you like.

kdb

How about VAMPS or/and Books of Magic?