Post by West on Apr 27, 2009 10:06:08 GMT -5
The following is the Flash related portion of an interview with the Amazing writer Mark Waid by Aint It Cool News. You can read the entire interview here: tinyurl.com/dd4fs2
BM: FLASH is likely the book that got you early recognition, was that a character you were fond of before writing him? Did you have ideas for what you would do with the character before you landed the assignment?
MW: I was as fond of Flash as I was of any Justice Leaguer, but I had no special desire to write him above the other DC heroes, really. It was just that the assignment fell into my lap once William Messner-Loebs left. The TV show had just been cancelled and the general expectation around the offices was that it would take the comic down with it, so Augustyn (him again--the FLASH editor) gave it to me (above the loud protest of his bosses, who assured him that I'd just be writing nothing but Silver Age story retreads) and we had to figure out what to do with it.
As always with superhero comics, it goes back to character--finding or creating some sort of synthesis between the hero's personality and his powers, his interior and his exterior, if you will--and then figuring out how I can connect with them emotionally, what traits we share in common that I can explore. With Wally West, there were loads. We were both impatient ("Anything that takes longer to cook than it does to eat isn't worth bothering with"). We both acted like immature teenagers around women. We both lived almost exclusively inside our own heads--Wally, because long-distance running really is a lonely business, and me, because I'm sighted in nature less often than Bigfoot.
But most of all, what we shared was a vocation. Wally was the first super-hero sidekick in comics history to "fulfill the promise," as it were--he's the first one who grew into the mantle of his mentor. All Wally had ever wanted was to grow up to be one thing, and he made good on his dream. Boy, could I relate to that. People used to ask why I didn't give Wally a secret-identity day job; I'd tell them that Wally doesn't want to do anything BUT be the Flash.
BM: During your run on Flash you created a fan favorite with Bart Allen, Impulse. Since characters you create for Marvel and DC like Impulse belong to those companies, they can change with each new creative team that handles them. Are you at all sad to see Impulse come to the end he did? Or are you able to let go of characters? (NOTE: This interview was done before the latest FLASH: REBIRTH issue was released)
MW: You have to either be able to let go or learn to live with what feels like a chestful of broken glass. The good news is that everything in superhero comics is cyclical, so Bart'll probably be back again someday.
BM: Did you get the chance to say everything you wanted to say with the character of the Flash during your run?
MW: Yeah. More than everything.
BM: Is he a character you'd ever want to return to?
MW: "God, no," he said, and 40,000 Flash fans exhaled in relief. No. I got conned into coming back for the 2006 relaunch, and it was a disaster from start to finish. I like the stories we told, but I radically misjudged the pulse of the audience when I decided to do a FLASH book totally unlike my last run, when 20/20 hindsight would reveal that that was exactly what the audience wanted. Plus, I took a chance with incorporating his children by hyperaccelerating their ages (because I gotta tell you, infants are really dull to write), and that backfired. Our artist pulled out well after the last possible second, we scrambled to find a replacement, I loved him, fans were indifferent, and Marvel snagged him after two issues anyway. Oh, and once I committed to the project and we'd solicited the first issue, before even one script was finished every single promise that had been made to me to get me back aboard was reneged upon, so integrity and backbone demanded I quit on principle before the first issue even came out. The only reason I stayed six was because of my loyalty to my editor, who didn't deserve to be screwed.
Oh, and also, I'd run totally out of things to say. Just ask the internet.
BM: With either Wally or Barry in the suit, or do you have a personal preference?
MW: Wally. I like Barry, and I think I've written a pretty good and very respectful Barry when I've had the chance, but I love the idea that Wally was, again, the first sidekick in history to acquire the mantle permanently. That was unique. That's a shame to lose. I'm sure Geoff Johns'll do a nice job with Barry in his FLASH: REBIRTH story, but I can't imagine what purpose Wally now has in the DCU.
BM: FLASH is likely the book that got you early recognition, was that a character you were fond of before writing him? Did you have ideas for what you would do with the character before you landed the assignment?
MW: I was as fond of Flash as I was of any Justice Leaguer, but I had no special desire to write him above the other DC heroes, really. It was just that the assignment fell into my lap once William Messner-Loebs left. The TV show had just been cancelled and the general expectation around the offices was that it would take the comic down with it, so Augustyn (him again--the FLASH editor) gave it to me (above the loud protest of his bosses, who assured him that I'd just be writing nothing but Silver Age story retreads) and we had to figure out what to do with it.
As always with superhero comics, it goes back to character--finding or creating some sort of synthesis between the hero's personality and his powers, his interior and his exterior, if you will--and then figuring out how I can connect with them emotionally, what traits we share in common that I can explore. With Wally West, there were loads. We were both impatient ("Anything that takes longer to cook than it does to eat isn't worth bothering with"). We both acted like immature teenagers around women. We both lived almost exclusively inside our own heads--Wally, because long-distance running really is a lonely business, and me, because I'm sighted in nature less often than Bigfoot.
But most of all, what we shared was a vocation. Wally was the first super-hero sidekick in comics history to "fulfill the promise," as it were--he's the first one who grew into the mantle of his mentor. All Wally had ever wanted was to grow up to be one thing, and he made good on his dream. Boy, could I relate to that. People used to ask why I didn't give Wally a secret-identity day job; I'd tell them that Wally doesn't want to do anything BUT be the Flash.
BM: During your run on Flash you created a fan favorite with Bart Allen, Impulse. Since characters you create for Marvel and DC like Impulse belong to those companies, they can change with each new creative team that handles them. Are you at all sad to see Impulse come to the end he did? Or are you able to let go of characters? (NOTE: This interview was done before the latest FLASH: REBIRTH issue was released)
MW: You have to either be able to let go or learn to live with what feels like a chestful of broken glass. The good news is that everything in superhero comics is cyclical, so Bart'll probably be back again someday.
BM: Did you get the chance to say everything you wanted to say with the character of the Flash during your run?
MW: Yeah. More than everything.
BM: Is he a character you'd ever want to return to?
MW: "God, no," he said, and 40,000 Flash fans exhaled in relief. No. I got conned into coming back for the 2006 relaunch, and it was a disaster from start to finish. I like the stories we told, but I radically misjudged the pulse of the audience when I decided to do a FLASH book totally unlike my last run, when 20/20 hindsight would reveal that that was exactly what the audience wanted. Plus, I took a chance with incorporating his children by hyperaccelerating their ages (because I gotta tell you, infants are really dull to write), and that backfired. Our artist pulled out well after the last possible second, we scrambled to find a replacement, I loved him, fans were indifferent, and Marvel snagged him after two issues anyway. Oh, and once I committed to the project and we'd solicited the first issue, before even one script was finished every single promise that had been made to me to get me back aboard was reneged upon, so integrity and backbone demanded I quit on principle before the first issue even came out. The only reason I stayed six was because of my loyalty to my editor, who didn't deserve to be screwed.
Oh, and also, I'd run totally out of things to say. Just ask the internet.
BM: With either Wally or Barry in the suit, or do you have a personal preference?
MW: Wally. I like Barry, and I think I've written a pretty good and very respectful Barry when I've had the chance, but I love the idea that Wally was, again, the first sidekick in history to acquire the mantle permanently. That was unique. That's a shame to lose. I'm sure Geoff Johns'll do a nice job with Barry in his FLASH: REBIRTH story, but I can't imagine what purpose Wally now has in the DCU.