CANADIAN NATIONAL COMIC EXPO: THE ULTIMATE BENDIS INTERVIEW

[Brian Wilkinson]

The next book in a long line-up of autograph-seekers slides before him. After three days of answering every type of question, giving out pointers on writing, and greeting each person with a smile and a handshake, Brian Michael Bendis is understandably tired.

"It's been a long weekend," says Bendis with a smile.

His voice is grainy after doing so much talking. Bendis says it began at Wizard World Chicago and since he came to the Canadian National Comic Book Expo here in Toronto so soon after that he simply hasn't let himself relax enough to heal up. Playing to the crowd, Bendis says he feels "a little SARS-y" and gets more than a few laughs.

As I sit down beside him after a greeting befitting a long-missed friend, he fields a question from a fan that I'm sure he's gotten a hundred times already.

"I'm the LAST person to ask about breaking in," says Bendis. "It took me over 12 years to do it. You want my advice? Don't give up and always write the kind of story that you'd want to read."

Since he has broken in, Bendis has written books like Hellspawn, Torso, Sam & Twitch, Alias as well as the popular Daredevil, Ultimate X-Men, and Ultimate Spider-Man books from Marvel.

Bendis is not a lazy man.

"I'm way ahead on all my books," he beams. "I'm six issues ahead on Ultimate Spider-Man, and {artist Mark Bagley}'s done the next four aleady. I'm feeling good, so if I want to take a day off I can do it whenever I want."

Using that as a lead-in, we discussed why Bendis had chosen to include popular Spidey villain, Venom, in the book when he previously swore up and down he wouldn't do it.

"My problem was all that cosmic gobbly-gook," says Bendis. "I don't do that stuff well. Jim Starlin does it well, but I don't. When {Marvel Comics President Bill Jemas} proposed that I write a 'Venom' story that I would like, y'know, a real eye-opener, I just said that I hate Venom. Bill insisted, saying that 'you're the guy to write it. I thought about it, and found a way to do it in the intimate and grounded world of Ultimate Spider-Man and now I'm pretty happy.

"Joe Quesada said to me to never say never. That it'll come back to bite you in the ass," Bendis says laughing.

And now Bendis has announced that he'll be including Carnage, the symbiote spawn of Venom, two arcs from now. "I can't tell you who it is," says Bendis. "Though I will say that it's someone we've already seen in the 'Ultimate' universe.

"And no, it's not Aunt May."

Before Carnage can pop up onto the scene, Bendis says that his next arc will focus on Sandman, and then a three-issue arc dealing with the return of Kingpin is on the cards. For these stories, Bendis says he plans to include Ultimate Black Cat, Ultimate Elektra, and a few other surprises.

"Oh, and then there's the Ultimate Spider-Man movie. Peter finds out that they're filming a Hollywood version of his life, but that it's filled with the usual gimics and hype that are completely inaccurate depictions of his life, and basically wants to find out more about it," says Bendis.

The way Bendis says he wants to write is to create a book that is often cyclical in nature. Of the recent issue Ultimate Spider-Man #45 called 'Guilt' dealing with Aunt May in therapy, Bendis says that the plot had been building in his mind since around issue #3. It wasn't until recently that he realized this was a story that needed to be told and would be accepted by the audience, and he basically figured 'why not?'

"I wrote that for myself. It stayed with me for about a year because I was afraid to publish it. It's an extremely emotional story that deals with all that I know about Aunt May. I just hope that in reading this, that readers will go back and re-read all of those issues to see the hints and suggestions that I dropped about how she was feeling. I'm glad people really seem to like it," Bendis says.

As for Mary Jane, Bendis says that we haven't seen the last of the effects of her near encounter with death at the hands of the Green Goblin. "MJ has a lot of issues," Bendis said. "These affect her relationship with Peter. When Nick Fury told Peter to not tell her about what he was doing, we're going to see that he was right. It's going to go bad for him at this point. I love the aftermath of tragic events!" exclaims Bendis.

During one of his panels, Bendis lamented briefly on the fact that since Alias was becoming The Pulse, a non MAX title, that he'd have to tone down the potty-mouth language.

"I'll find my outlets," Bendis says. "I have to. Everyone knows I'm a potty-mouth in real life. If I didn't tone it down, the book would be called Ultimate F***ing Spider-Man, wouldn't it?"

"But I can't do that. Besides, I relish in the limitations. I just have to find different variations of the f-word. Still, I made the most out of the MAX universe when I could."

Bendis also doesn't rule out the possibility of Jessica Jones showing up in MAX one-shots down the line, but for now, he's just concentrating on The Pulse and dealing with the creepy end of Alias.

Bendis gets an evil gleam in his eye when I bring up his next project, the Ultimate Six. A team-up book featuring Spider-Man and the Ultimates, Ultimate Six is about the worst of the worst villains that Spider-Man has ever faced, and what's really bad is that they all know who he really is.

"Way too many people know his identity. Often, people come up to me and ask me if I realize how much I let his secret leak out. Of course I know! You think I haven't been planning that from the start?" Bendis asks with a laugh.

"I mean, think about it. As smart as I was when I was 15, I f****ed up all the time, and Peter is going to learn about the consequences of that."

Bendis discussed his involvement in the Spider-Man MTV cartoon, and the numerous accolades he's gotten for his writing on the series. Bendis is quick to point out, however, that he only wrote the pilot and that the way it works in television is that if the pilot is picked up, then the writer gets ongoing credit for the rest of the series. Though he's pleased so many people like it, he says he can take little to no credit for how well it's been received.

"It's definitely a more adult oriented cartoon, which is why it's on at 10 at night and not four in the afternoon. I basically wrote the pilot, 80% of which made it to air which I was told later was quite impressive for a pilot. I wouldn't know as this is my first attempt into television," Bendis says.

Moving on from there, Bendis talked about his latest book in the Ultimate Universe, Ultimate X-Men. Bendis took the book on after fellow writer Mark Millar bowed out with issue #33, and though he's barely three issues into the series, Bendis is just getting his feet wet with the characters.

"The next arc is called 'New Mutants'. It's about the X-Men altering their role in the world, and finding that being shown on the global stage can backfire. With questionable mutants on their team such as Xavier and Wolverine, the US Government is going to figure out that maybe they aren't the best people in the world to be in bed with," Bendis says.

"So, to that end, some people will be leaving the team and others joining. A few will be government hand-picked mutants in the vein of X-Statix (without the media/parody angle) so that the government can more easily put a pro-mutant stance out in the public eye," Bendis says.

Later on, I'd mention that concept to Ultimate X-Men artist Dave Finch who simply laughed. "I said to him, 'wasn't that X-Factor?' and he just sort of winces. I think we're safe and that he doesn't mean to do something quite like that at all," Finch said.

I'd catch a brief comment from Bendis to Finch at one point mentioning the inclusion of a character that Finch is apparently eager to draw. Bendis reached out and shook his hand, saying that he'd been thinking about it last night and has it worked out. Finch looks like he couldn't be more thrilled. During the escalator ride down to one of his panels at the convention, I asked Bendis who it was they were talking about, as from the grin on both men's faces I can tell that it's big.

"I can't say," said Bendis.

So I try again. Is it a good guy, or a bad guy?

"Now that would be telling," said Bendis.

While Bendis holds back on the name of that particular character, he does talk about Angel and Dazzler joining the book, as well as a few other familiar faces sure to please long-time X-Men fans. Bendis has gotten a bit of flack for using Wolverine in his opening arc, but promises that the rest of the X-Men are going to show up next issue, and that 'Blockbuster' was largely about him finding his feet. Bendis sees 'Blockbuster' as a Wolverine redemption story and that Logan is like a lost samurai, meeting up with others like Spider-Man and Daredevil on this quest to find himself.

"Issue #40 introduces Angel, and it asks the question about why some mutants are shaped like angels, and others devils. Some people take this as a sign that something horrible is going to happen in the world," Bendis says.

"Issue #42 deals with Dazzler and two other major debut characters."

His latest offering into the Ultimate Universe focuses on his collaboration with The Ultimates writer, Mark Millar, with artists Bryan Hitch and Adam Kubert all working towards Ultimate Fantastic Four.

"We're two very different types of writers," says Bendis of his work with Millar. "It's coming along great. We're already working on issue #2, and #1 is already being drawn by Adam."

"Mark writes the big overall plot, while I focus on the script and the character development. So we're adapting to each other. Sometimes it boils down to whoever has the better line of dialogue gets it in the book. We're way out of our safety net here! We've plotted together the first 12 issues, and we've got ideas for the next 36. It's a lot of fun," Bendis says. He likens it to the four of them working together like a band, and so far regards the series as the work of his life.

"The Ultimate Marvel Team-Up issue was just goofy," Bendis says. "It was filled with silly inside jokes. So it's mostly out of continuity, though a few nuggets from that issue will slide in."

"This is a book about family. And not just the four of them, but the larger family unit as well. Reed's family, Sue's family, and how they are all affected overall. You know, things like how 'Uncle Fred' or someone didn't get to go on the trip and he's now bummed out by it. The Stephen Baldwin of the family."

Sounds entertaining, to say the least, and judging by the sneak peak I got at the cover to issue #1 by Bryan Hitch, fans aren't going to be disappointed.

Moving on to Daredevil, one of Bendis' most brilliantly written books and also the most overlooked, the audience could tell that he has many ideas moving in his mind for the future of the character.

One fan asked about Bullseye, Daredevil's main enemy and the man who killed not one, but two of the major loves of Daredevil's life, and if Bendis was annoyed that fan favorite Kevin Smith gets first dibs on the follow-up story.

"I think it should be dealt with in the main book, in all honesty," says Bendis. "But I've talked with both Joe Q. and Kevin Smith to figure it all out, and the guy couldn't be nicer about the whole thing. In my opinion, though, the whole story with Bullseye needs to be dealt with on a dramatic level. All the book should be about is Daredevil trying to track down this guy. I mean, he killed two of the women he loved! That's all I'd be doing," Bendis says.

Bendis also joked about Daredevil's recent outing to the general public. He said that in this day and age, with information travelling around the way it does, that it seemed unrealistic not to spill the beans. "After all, he's told every girl he's ever kissed who he is. It's like 'kiss, hey, I'm Daredevil. Kingpin knows, his friends know, the media knows, and it's never gotten out. It was just time... and best of all, it's just some guy who reveals the secret." Bendis says.

"And now, really, this book is about something."

As the day wound down, and the line ups gradually lessened, Bendis never once lost his enthusiasm, nor never once forgot to shake the hand of the fan who had waited so patiently for them. Inviting each one to visit his Web site, www.jinxworld.com, Bendis left each one feeling as though they'd made a new friend. Really, that's something he didn't have to do, as people would have waited in line either way, but it speaks volumes about a man who writes his stories with such passion and excitement to see that he sees himself as a normal guy who ultimately owes his fans everything.

STAY TUNED TO COMIX-FAN FOR PART TWO OF THE CANADIAN NATIONAL COMIC BOOK EXPO FEATURING AN INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST DAVID FINCH!

Order these comics online now from X-World Comics and save!

[Gat0r-ManX]

HAIL BENDIS!!

Keep up the good work, BMB!!

[Jared Oberholtzer]

Ugh.. Now I want to start picking up Ultimate Spider-Man. :p

[Dragon]

i really wonder if there are clones of this Man doing all this work, is he like Mulitple Man

[Toga]

I wanna see Hitchy's work on FF. somone show it pretty please!!!!

oh ya, and bendis so rules, hail to king bendis, writer of great words, and wizard of story telling!!

[spinarakboi]

sounds good

[Plasma Charge]

Sounds like Bendis has some good stuff in store for us down the line. He's a fantastic writer. I really enjoyed reading this interview.

[BoomBot]

Bendis is a great guy. That's all.

[Kevin Sutton]

I would have read Ultimate F***king Spider-Man.

[Ryan Patrick]

It's a shame the writing panel went off track. I would have loved to hear more about his writing process.

[UltimateIceman]

Originally posted by Brian E. Wilkinson
STAY TUNED TO COMIX-FAN FOR PART TWO OF THE CANADIAN NATIONAL COMIC BOOK EXPO FEATURING AN INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST DAVID FINCH!

Yay! Can't wait for that! This interview was good, but Finch will definitely catch me interest.

UltimateIceman

[Zachary J. Morrison]

Yup. Bendis sure is a great guy. Can't wait for Ultimate Angel to make his debut

[LordofDreams]

Originally posted by UncannyCrawler
Ugh.. Now I want to start picking up Ultimate Spider-Man. :p

Ditto.

Comic book writting is seeming to become a gentelmens game, I mean, there are just so many nice guys out there. Bendis, Rucka, Loeb, Lee, Rolston, Huddleston, Chen...and the list goes on.

[Wolverine]

Great interview. Bendis is god

[Alex Guillen]

Bendis brings something new to every character he writes and makes him/her likeable. I also want to start picking up Ultimate Spidey and I can't wait to see how Blockbuster ends in Ultimate X-Men.
I also can't wait for him and Millar in Ultimate FF.

[Ryan Day]

While I admit I've been lukewarm about the Ultimate books, I have to say that I would buy Ultimate F****** Spider Man in a second.

[SQUIRREL-GIRL]

can't wait for angel and dazzler
wonder who leaves?

and the fans shout: BENDIS! BENDIS! BENDIS!