Comixfan Forums - DEFENDING DRAX WITH KEITH GIFFEN, PART TWO

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/zombietales1a.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/zombietales1at.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="Zombie Tales #1 Cover A"></a>By Raul Grau, Comixfan Columns Editor

Last week, <a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=34406" target="_blank">Keith Giffen</a> dispelled some Defenders dreads, dialed us into Drax, and denied some Crisis craziness. He also hinted at an upcoming Marvel project, which proved to be his freshly announced and haunting Howling Commandos relaunch. Here, Giffen howls about the Commandos, blabs about his work for Boom!, explores the future of comic books, and explains why his future might not include comic books.

Comixfan: Howling Commandos was announced over the weekend, so what can you reveal at the moment about the series?

Keith Giffen: Marvel's monster characters are wrangled by SHIELD. Basically, the monsters are conscripted into a shock and awe strike force that traffics in horror. Think 'The name is Bond, James Bond', but instead it's 'The name is Dracula, Vlad Dracula'. It's Delta Force with monsters.<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/howling_commandos_warwolf.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/howling_commandos_warwolft.jpg" align=right hspace=10 alt="Howling Commandos Warwolf preview sketch"></a>

It's going to be fun, and we're playing around with the classic Marvel monsters. Though, we don't have Frankenstein's Monster, we have his clone! Why would anyone clone Frankenstein's Monster? And if you did clone him, wouldn't you get a crowd with one of every person that he was sewed together from? [laughs] But it's the classic Marvel monsters, plus some new ones, like Vampire By Night.

If you think Navy SEALS are bad, these guys are much worse.

Comixfan: Moving away from Marvel and DC, what else are you currently working on?

Giffen: A lot of my work is being done through Boom! now, with Hero Squared coming out, and What Where They Thinking?, which is kind of these remixes of public domain comic books made funny, like What's Up Tiger Lily?. Got a hardcore science fiction character coming out called Jeremiah Harm, and a project with Steve Niles, Gutwrencher, which I'm actually drawing. So, I'm keeping busy.

Comixfan: So Hero Squared #1 is out this month...

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/herosquared2_1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/herosquared2_1t.jpg" hspace=10 align=right alt="Hero Squared #1 preview"></a>Giffen: Good stuff. Another three issues, push everything further along, redefine some relationships, and then settle back... and if it warrants it, see if we can get a regular schedule going. The good thing is that people who are ordering the book are ordering in consistent numbers, we're not getting a drop-off, so I think we might have a good, solid core base, so we can say, 'ok, we pretty much sell this many a month'. That's all we're asking for. That's all we need to keep this thing going. You should vote with your dollar...

If you're buying X-Men, and you're on the Web complaining about X-Men and saying it sucks, but you're buying it... If I'm Marvel, I'm not going to change. I'm not going to change a book that's making a profit. If I'm DC, I'm not going to change a book that's making a profit. And don't complain about your book being cancelled. It's cancelled because it doesn't sell, it's not cancelled because somebody doesn't like it. It's not like Dan Didio and Paul Levitz get together and go 'You know... Action Comics, f*** it. It's selling good, but I hate it.' No, Marvel and DC I'm sure are publishing many books that the people in charge don't particularly care for, it's not their cup of tea. And if a book goes away, it's because you didn't buy it. You vote with your dollar, and If you didn't buy it, you know what? It should go away. You can't keep killing trees for this crap. Jesus Christ, they still kill trees for Spawn.

Comixfan: What stories will you be tackling with What Were They Thinking?

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/herosquared2_2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/herosquared2_2t.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="Hero Squared #2 preview"></a>Giffen: Ross Ritchie [publisher of Boom!] found a bunch of public domain stories that... I believe Wally Wood did them. They're war stories, and all we did was just erase all the word balloons, go in and rework them like What's Up Tiger Lily?. Michael Leib partnered up with me on these. He's got a good sense of humor, and you always want to see new talent come in (he also apparently caught the attention of the Ed, Edd 'n Eddy guys, so watch for that name).

We had four stories, and, basically, I took the first crack at two, then he took the first crack at the other two, and then we combined, so it's kind of mixed together.

To give you an example, one of the stories was about a soldier who is afraid of the dark. [laughs] You don't have to rewrite that do you? That is what it was about.... a soldier who is afraid of the dark, but the body language to me said something completely different, so now its called Don't Ask, Don't Tell. And we just went in like that and had a bit of fun with it.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/wwtt.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/wwttt.jpg" hspace=10 align=right alt="Giffen's What Where They Thinking? preview"></a>Take it for what it is. I know that I'm going to get a lot of heat about 'How dare you mock the this?' We're having a little bit of fun, we don't mean any harm. We probably take shots at ourselves too, so relax...

Comixfan: With Steve Niles attached, I must ask... is Gutwrencher a zombie story?

Giffen: No, it's not. [laughs] It's our take on the 'stalker slasher' genre.

I did draw two stories for Zombie Tales, and wrote two for Ron Lim. You know, I'm dying to find a project I can land on with Ron.

Comixfan: After you two worked together on Thanos...

Giffen: Yeah, after Thanos, anything. Ron is 'Johnny on the spot', good solid artwork. He did Thanos, and everyone thinks that he's the guy who follows Jim Starlin around, and that is grotesquely unfair, because he did Zombie Tales to prove that he can also handle the real, down and dirty, George Romero kind of world. He's a great talent, and if you do a Top 10 Underrated Creators list, he should be on it.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/zombietales1b.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/zombietales1bt.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="Zombie Tales #1 Cover B"></a>Comixfan: It is true that everyone knows Ron Lim from the Infinity books, but...

Giffen: Ron's the guy that's there for you every month, and for some bizarre reason, that's not getting a lot of respect in this industry. The guy who could not make a deadline if you put a gun to his head is getting money thrown at him, and fans are jumping all over them, and they're being... vetted. Is it because they're that good? I've seen some of these guys, and some of them are not that good. Is it because 'well, I want to break into comics, and I don't really want to work for a living, so if I lionize the guy who can only do three pages a week, then that's all I have to do.' Why is it that the guy who lets you down, month after month, year after year, is still cock of the walk, and the guy who's plotting them, and doing it monthly, and pulling in a good solid job, and is good... there are some extraordinarily talented guys doing it monthly.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/herosquared2_3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/herosquared2_3t.jpg" hspace=10 align=right alt="Hero Squared #3 preview"></a>And I'm not saying it because I used to do a monthly book, because if I'm pencilling a book now, I couldn't make a monthly schedule. So I have all the respect in the world for people like Ron Lim, or Colleen Doran, or even Rags Morales-- give him a head start, and he will nail those deadlines. John Romita Jr... I'm forgetting so many, the guys who are there for you every month.

Ultimate Spider-Man. Mark Bagley has been on the book since day one. How come no one's holding this up and going 'look at this guy! Here's been here every stinking month for years!' He's not even on the Wizard Top Ten list, he should be there just for dedication. It's just really wrong that the guy who is there every month, doing a solid, profession job-- and you love him on the book, it's not like everyone is going 'get Mark off the book!'-- where is he? Why isn't he on the same plane as the guy who just makes press announcements of projects he's going to do? You know, I guess I do have somebody in mind for that one, but I'm not going to say it out loud. There is somebody that's consistently on the Wizard Top Ten list... I draw better than this guy, and I suck!

It's unbelievable... the state of this industry... God damn. Then you get the opposite, because they expect the writer to be there every month, and the writer who screws up and doesn't make it is dumped all over, so it's a weird thing going.

Comixfan: Well, you are multitasking, as both artist and writer...

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/zombietales1c.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/zombietales1ct.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="The Zombie Tales #1 Chud Exclusive Cover that Keith Giffen hates..."></a>Giffen: Eh, I'm writing, and I do the art the way people collect stamps... 'oh, ok, I'll do that one'. I have to do like that, I've gotten 'lazy hand'. I'm out of practice, and it takes me a year and a day. I have to literally take the pages and walk them to the other side of the house, so I'll leave them alone, otherwise I'll erase right through to the board. Artistically, I am a disaster, I am so screwed up, and I could never make peace with it. I still look at that Zombie Tales cover I did, and... the scratch and sniff cover saved that thing.

When I do it, I kind of enjoy it. But, boy, its tough. I think what happened was, a while back, I realized that writing Charge of the Light Brigade is easier than drawing it.

And I'm lazy. The highpoint of 2004 for me was finding out that the controller for my X-Box reached the bed. I'm not kidding. I'm dead serious. My ultimate goal is a life of complete indolence. Let my legs atrophy and die.

I chose the perfect industry to be lazy... although, if I had it to do again, I wouldn't.

Comixfan: Really? Why not?

Giffen: I wouldn't do it the same way. I made too many mistakes. I didn't see certain portents, and it's just not the kind of industry that rewards long-term dedication. Everyone seems to think that if you got the monthly book, you're rolling in dough, and the majority of comic book people are not. The work is too sporadic. A lot of the companies-- not all-- but a lot of the companies have forgotten that their freelancers have to make a living too. You know, you're always scrambling.

I don't think I would have made comic books my primary focus. If I had to do it again, I would have done other endeavors. The Howard Chaykin paradigm-- I'm doing other stuff to put a roof over my head, and here's my comic stuff, so I do what I love.

A lot of people freak out when I say that. 'Oh, you're so bitter!' I'm not bitter. Do I sound bitter? I'm not bitter, I just get really really sick about it. You know what, I made some really stupid decisions. Would anybody really go 'if you had your life to live again, would you live it the same way?' and they say yes, they're lying... they're lying or they're a porn star. One of the two.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/image/0505/cf.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/image/0505/cft.jpg" hspace=10 align=right alt="Common Foe #1"></a>It's a business that once again is evolving, and it's time we let it evolve... and manga is not the answer. 'Oh, Manga's the answer! We'll all go Manga format!' Nah, it's like computers, 'garbage in, garbage out'. You can publish The Adventures of Whiz Bang Man in a manga format, but if it blew in 4-colors, it's going to blow in manga format. Other people go 'I'm doing this comic book Manga style' You just said you're doing it comic style, 'manga' means 'comic'. Manga's not a style, it's a format. There's no manga style any more than there's an American comic book style. Jack Kirby over here, Steve Ditko over here, Todd MacFarlane... way down here. [laughs]

I have a funny feeling that comic books will evolve in a way that no one has thought of yet... and the Web's not the answer either, by the way. We're not fast enough yet to get the proper downloads, and I don't know about you, but am I going to go on the Web and download static pictures? Maybe we should really be thinking about web animation, putting these things out like the old Republic serials. You get your five minute belt you can see on your cell phone on the way to work, and that's your comic book for the month. 'Stay tuned for more Spider-Man.' When you have enough, you put it out like a two-hour DVD. That makes sense to me. The technology is there, unfortunately it's not quite the level we need.

Comic books on the web? Nah, if you're not eBay or a porn site, you're not making money on the Web.

I think the Web is an option, but I think it's an option for pointing people in the direction of where comics are.

Comixfan: So how are you branching out beyond the industry?

Giffen: Animation stuff, film stuff. My partner and I got a movie optioned. I'm writing for the Ed, Edd 'n Eddy TV show this season. We're keeping our fingers crossed on a Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi. It goes to the network, so we'll see if they like it.

Just looking around, checking out the options. I'd like to break into the gaming industry somehow, but I look and that and go, 'You know, if comics are like the third circle of Hell, gaming right now is the fifth'. It's really cutthroat, really really cutthroat, but we'll see... we shall see. You have to branch out. If I'm seventy years old doing Spider-Man, I'd cut my throat.

Comixfan: Any movie details you can share?

Giffen: No, not at all. One was landed, the other one looks like it will go in July, and non-disclosure agreements. [laughs]

By the way, that Lobo movie? Give it up! You'll see another Tank Girl movie... you'll see a Night Nurse movie before you see a Lobo movie.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/tp/iluvhalloween_spread.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/tp/iluvhalloween_spreadt.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="I Luv Halloween splash preview"></a>Comixfan: Going back to your comic book work, I Luv Halloween is solicited in the most recent Previews catalogue...

Giffen: I Luv Halloween from Tokyopop is coming out in October, I'm kind of thrilled with that. It's the funniest thing I've ever written without DeMatteis. It's macabre. The artist on it, Benjamin Roman, is going to be huge. He's a complete original. I don't even know how to describe his stuff...

It's one of the funniest things I've ever written alone, and it's also one of the most macabre. It goes to some really nicely sick and twisted territory. Of course, people going are going to want to be calling it Home-Grown Manga... it's not. It's an American comic book. It's just an 150 page story in that book format that Tokyopop does. They want to call it 'American Manga'... fine, I don't care. 'Manga' is a word that is getting to point where it is being almost as overused as the word 'love'. As in, 'I love this concept!' Yeah, well, I love the Cooper Mini, but I'm driving a Saturn. Love will only get you so far... what's in it for me? [laughs]

Comixfan: Well, you are also doing dark and macabre on Common Foe, which is currently being released through Image...

Giffen: Common Foe was written as an 120 page graphic novel, spec. I wrote it a year ago, and they're breaking it up into issues. Shannon is going in and adding some word balloons to cover some of the transitions... I won't touch it.

It's a 'stab in a cabin'. It's very simple... put people in a pressure cooker situation, seal off all the exits, and start killing them. See what falls out the tail end. It's nothing more than that, it's just a World War II Evil Dead.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/image/0705/COMMONFOE2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/image/0705/COMMONFOE2t.jpg" hspace=10 align=right alt="Common Foe #2 preview"></a>Hopefully you'll come to care about the characters, even though we told you who dies up front. People go 'oh, you spoiled the ending by showing us some people are going to die', I don't think that is valid because when you go to see the Batman movie this summer, are you going to tell me that you don't know how it ends? Batman wins! You know that, you go for the ride. If I go to see a Superman movie, I know that the short, fat, little bald guy is not going to be victorious at the end. If I go to see Halloween, I know Michael Myers is going to get it in the neck, and when they go to look for his body, it's not going to be there. There are certain things where you know how they are going to end... the murderer will be brought to justice, Batman will be triumphant, Detective Chimp will solve the crime... and fling poop.

So I didn't think anything of starting it off with a nice big action sequence, where we're seeing some of the key players die. Now the trick is, can I make you care about them even though you know they are going to die? So, you know, we'll see.

Make sure to visit Comixfan tomorrow for another bit of Keith Giffen fun..

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Zombie Tales #1 is in stores now.

Common Foe #2 and Hero Squared #1 are both scheduled for release during the month of July.

<a href="http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplaycategories.asp?id=38&cat=BROWSE+BY+PUBL ISHER+%26+TITLE">Shop for Keith Giffen comics online now at X-World and save!</a>