SLICING THROUGH THE SHATTERSTAR MINI: AN INTERVIEW WITH BRANDON THOMAS

[Alex Groff]

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0305/Xforce_ShatStr_1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0305/Xforce_ShatStr_1_T.jpg" align=left alt="X-Force: Shatterstar #1"></a>By Brian Botelho, ComiX-Fan Staff Writer

Brandon Thomas is a man who has worked his way from being a comic book fan, to making fans. He has brought his writing talent from the world wide web, to the world of Marvel Comics and more! He showed us his scripting talent with Arcade's Youngblood: Genesis and now he's writing a more than handsome assortment of Marvel titles. All this, plus he writes his own on line column Ambidextrous. Brandon took time out of his crowded schedule to chat with comixfan about his writing life and his upcoming project X-Force: Shatterstar.

Comixfan: How did you get noticed by Rob Liefeld? What is it like working with him?

Brandon Thomas: I interviewed Rob for my Ambidextrous column, and we stayed in fairly regular contact after that. Genesis actually wasn't the first thing we'd talked about doing together, having danced around each other on a couple pitches and projects in the months that followed the interview, but finally in the summer of '03, he e-mailed me and said he'd wanted me to script Genesis, and launch it as the companion to Millar's Bloodsport. And the whole thing was really odd, because I'd just written a column about how frustrated I was getting in this "quest" of mine, and like two days later, Liefeld was faxing Youngblood pages into my pops' office.

The deadline was really really tight, something like 3 or 4 days turnaround, which was kind of mind-blowing. I mean I'd been writing scripts for a while, but this was the first time I'd worked on something I knew was being published, and it needed to be finished in a weekend. From a mental standpoint, I was going too fast to get too nervous about it, and there was absolutely a frantic energy to that first issue. I even had the nerve to write a column about it, while I was doing the actual scripting, which was cool and stupid at the same time. But I wrapped in the middle of the night, sent it, passed out and woke up a few hours later when the phone rang. The ID said "UNKNOWN" so I ignored it, but it was Rob leaving me an incredibly flattering voicemail, about how much he dug the final product. Couple weeks after that, I'm in San Diego signing copies of the book at the Arcade booth with a big Kool-Aid grin on my face.

I guess Rob and Arcade Publisher Jimmy Jay thought I'd be some kind of growling hard-ass from my column, but we had a really fun time hanging out, talking comics, and signing books. They both treated me like I was an actual comics professional, and I'll always be grateful for that, and the opportunity itself. I'm sure Mark Millar's kind words paved the way, but there were a ton of other people that could've laid the final polish on Genesis and Rob chose me, and the whole experience is something I'll never forget.

CXF: Many know you for your work on Ambidextrous, an online column. How is scripting comic books different than writing columns?

BT: Well, the format is completely different, but writing is writing. It's all about creating narrative flow in a contained space, with a distinctive voice. I still write a large majority of the columns, and almost all of the comic scripts longhand, cleaning it up as I transfer it from the notebook to the computer.

Comics take far more preparation, because there's a lot more to screw up, so I try to have really definite outlines before I get started. A lot of stuff will get altered along the way, but it's harder for me to get lost in the story, if the breaks and pacing are laid out in some way. I can also plug into the thing, and script things out of sequence. First five pages of Shatterstar #1 got done last, and the last two pages of Shatterstar #2 got done first. The columns usually come together far more linear, but ultimately, it's the same, but different.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0205/XFORCE_SHATTER001.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0205/XFORCE_SHATTER001_T.jpg" align=right alt="X-Force: Shatterstar image"></a>CXF: How, if at all, has writing comics affected your column writing?

BT: Well, recently it's been making the column late

From a stylistic standpoint, nothing really changes, but I'm finding that it's definitely altering some things topically. I had an interesting convo. with a more established pro months back, where he was telling me that I had to shed some of my columnist leanings, and fully embrace my "professional" status. This meant taking things like the phrase "aspiring writer" out of my column profile, stop talking in such insane detail about projects I'm developing, and toning down some of the advocacy efforts. I mean, I am kind of curious about how "taboo" it is for another creator, even one as fresh-faced as me, critiquing the work of other professionals on a regular basis, so I'm trying to scale back on the reviews a little bit, even though I only try to talk about comics I'm insanely excited about.

It's a whole learning experience really, but the column isn't going anywhere soon, even if my productivity has modified its regularity. I've been writing it for almost four years, and it moves completely in step with me, taking on my mood, and even though I try not to look back at the index, it provides a very clear snapshot of where my head was at over the last couple years. Recently, it's been a bit of a love note to everyone who's ever read it, because obviously, I'm in a really cool place right now, and so now it's reflecting that.

But it's been the one constant in my life for four years. I've had half a dozen jobs, had a couple different girlfriends, moved a few times, but I've always been writing Ambidextrous. Without it, I wouldn't be getting started in the game now, and it's just my baby, you know? No matter what happens, nothing can take it away from me, and I'm excited to see what directions it'll head into, because I don't think there are many columns out there written by relative newcomers. Especially ones whose column helped them break in, in the first place. But it's fun, and the saga continues…

CXF: Starting your comic career with Youngblood: Genesis was quiet an accomplishment. What were the challenges on starting on a high-profile title? What were the rewards?

<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/newshaft.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/newshaft-t.jpg" align=left alt="Shaft preliminary redesign sketch by Rob Liefeld"></a>BT: It was challenging from a personal level because Youngblood was literally one of the first comics I ever bought. When I came into things, Image was just getting started, and I got pretty obsessed with everything they were doing over there. As much as I loved the obvious stuff, Spidey, Batman, and X-Men, these were comics I felt could be experienced from the ground floor, so I was snatching everything is sight. But I always liked the idea of Youngblood, the media-created super team that not only had to worry about super villains, but approval ratings and endorsement deals.

Working on something you have a history with is always rewarding, and seriously, anything Rob has his name on garners some deal of attention. It was a real kind of deep end situation, with the deadline, and launching alongside Millar's mini, but it didn't give me much time to really psych myself out about it. Just put my head down and scripted until it was done. And having printed comics gives you a calling card when hunting for the next opportunity.

CXF: How has working with Marts and Quesada been?

BT: Haven't had the chance to work directly with Quesada yet, but he did put me in contact with a couple of his editors years ago, which put my foot in the door there a little. Marts I really like thus far, especially his choice in football teams, and we go way back to the Acclaim days, even though he didn't remember it until this past summer.

This was in college, and I'd just started pitching to comic companies, and he and his fellow editor Omar Banmally were very receptive to reading pitches from me, and I was planning to just send them a series of writing samples, basically until they told me to stop or let me have a little assignment. Some pro I'd talked to suggested this might be a good idea, long as I was smart about it. But anyway, I'd finished the initial set and right before I sent them off, Marts left the company for Marvel. And on the real, this was like two days before the stuff was going to go out, so it was pretty disappointing.

Fast forward several years, and I'm telling him this story at Wizard World, as we talk about working together on Shatterstar. Stranger than fiction, I tell you.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0205/MAFFTT001_COV.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0205/MAFFTT001_COV_T.jpg" align=right alt="Fantastic Four Tales #1 cover"></a>CXF: What was it like to retell a classic Lee and Kirby story in the new upcoming Fantastic Four Tales?

BT: Intimidating and exciting, at the same time, especially considering it was the first appearance of the Black Panther. I had no idea what stories I'd be adapting, and was pretty cool with remixing BP's origin to begin the series. Priest's stint on the title made me a lifelong fan of the character, and there's even a very obvious nod to his work in the form of a new character named Tasmin. On paper, she's called T'Challa's "assistant," but if you're a fan of the Priest stuff, you know her role is a little cooler than that. A couple people that've read the story actually made the assumption she was in the original story, which is a compliment, because it shows how much Priest's plot elements have become recognized as essential elements of BP history.

Condensing the original 44 pages into a much smaller frame was challenging, but this was by far my easiest script, purely because it was much less open to interpretation. In the upcoming Doc Strange and Hulk issues, the potential to wander was a lot greater, where here it was intro the Panther, have him fight the FF, and then spin it into a team-up against Klaw. The Strange story "Destiny's Song" follows a magical harmonica, that in the wrong hands, can alter destiny and bring a person's greatest fears to life, and there were all types of ways to retell that particular story, and it was almost too many directions to choose from.

"Challenge of the Black Panther" allowed me to play with a character I have an incredibly high regard for, and everything was well laid out, so I could just do my thing. In my brief time, I've written both Spider-Man and Black Panther, so I've got no complaints.

CXF: I learned that you used to collect X-Men comics. How does it feel writing an X-related book?

BT: It's crazy, because the X-Men are one of the strongest franchises in comics. As long as there is a comics' industry, they'll be some type of X-related product out, and the line goes through its phases where it expands, than reflexively contracts, but it never dies out. It's the whole philosophy that gives it the staying power I think, the sense of belonging and acceptance for people that feel different. From a distance, it looks like your typical superhero book, making the world a better place, saving innocent people, but it's got some layering that's always going to make it attractive to people. Now, if I can only write Cyclops, my favorite X-character of all time, I'll be set.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1625" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1626" align=left alt="X-Force (2nd series) #2"></a>CFX: Can you give us an overall description of what X-Force: Shatterstar is about?

BT: Set before the X-Force mini that concludes this week, it's the story of how the weapon known as the Five Fingers of Annihilation ultimately ended up in the care of Shatterstar. As with any weapon of power, there's a collection of people trying to get their hands on it, for their own selfish reasons, and obviously this clashes with Shatterstar wanting to save the world. There's a largely obvious chase aspect to the mini, with some unexpected twists and double-crosses along the way.

Peeling it apart a little more, it's about Shatterstar's relentless pursuit to fit into this very mundane, yet chaotic society. He's been bred for combat and when the series picks up, he's not runnin' with X-Force anymore, and essentially all of the fights are over, so he's trying to find some acceptable outlet for his more violent impulses, while adjusting to a world he just doesn't "get." Though he'd probably be hesitant to admit it, he finds himself involved in the pursuit of this weapon a little too easily, you know? He's been waiting for an adventure like this for a long time, a really good excuse to cut loose, and keeping mankind from being eaten alive by a giant monster certainly qualifies.

CXF: Do you have anymore upcoming comic projects?

BT: Yeah, I'm working on a few things on the creator-owned front, that I hope will hit stands this summer, for the con circuit. Fans of the column will be pretty familiar with Project Cross, which is a completely unapologetic action/adventure romance comic.

It has a publisher, but I don't think I should say exactly who at the point, but there's a new artist attached and pages are streaming in, looking very hot. The conspiracy epic is shaping up, and it looks like I'll be shopping a sci-fi comic to a couple places very soon. So, it's all to the good, and while I definitely want to become a bit more entrenched at Marvel, I'd like some creator owned material out there to complement the work I'm doing there.

CXF: Do you and Rob Liefeld have plans to work together again soon?

BT: We're still scheduled for a Brigade mini, right after Marat finishes up Youngblood Imperial, but I'm sure we'll get something else out there before too long.

X-Force: Shatterstar #1 is out this week.

[Cyclops1280]

Shatterstar has a lot of potential. I was always a fan of this chararcter, and I love where they are taking the character. He is finally getting some development. I think he works best in this Bloodsport Jean Claude VanDamme- like archetype. I have been waiting for this series for years(since it was optioned when the original X-Force was still running).

For the record, I did not thibnk X-Force was that bad. Everyone likes different things. To each their own. I hope X-force returns somehow someway.

They this series is a prequel to the new X-Force series. After the new X-Force and this series, I wonder where Shatterstar will end up. I hope these X-Force characters aren't forgotten or killed off in this House of M event.

I wish Brandon Thomas all the best. P.S. Cyclops is my fave X-men too. So, good luck getting to write him!

[Scourge]

I'm looking forward to this. It's unlikely this will ever be put in a trade, so I'm going to buy it in single form.

Hopefully Liefeld, Thomas, and Michaels can prove the bashers wrong.

[Jordan T. Maxwell]

"bashers" being anyone with a negative criticism, whether it's justified or not, right?

[evilomar]

Its so easy to bust on Liefeld but he's still around drawing comics, and even proposed to his girlfriend in an issue of Youngblood. Well I always liked the original X-force so I hope it comes back as well. I hope none of the characters get killed of by Bendis in this House of M crossover.

[Jordan T. Maxwell]

Originally Posted by evilomar

Its so easy to bust on Liefeld but he's still around drawing comics,

or rather starting to draw comics and not finishing them...or recycling material from older unfinished projects. and so what if he is still drawing? that somehow makes his work and professionalism immune from criticism?

Originally Posted by evilomar

and even proposed to his girlfriend in an issue of Youngblood.

while this is true...and quite sweet...what does it have to do with anything?

Originally Posted by evilomar

Well I always liked the original X-force so I hope it comes back as well.

considering the travesty of the most recent mini series, i pray for all our sakes it doesn't.

[evilomar]

Originally Posted by Jordan T. Maxwell

or rather starting to draw comics and not finishing them...or recycling material from older unfinished projects. and so what if he is still drawing? that somehow makes his work and professionalism immune from criticism?

That was exactly my point there is no challenge in criticizing his work. There are many artist that do this, he's just not good at copying as some people are. Proposing to his girl was a great idea, so he can be original at times. Now I'm going to go button my fly!