WompuM
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From Newsarama:
A few weeks ago artist Paul Gulacy revealed he would soon be joining DCs Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis creative team. Turns out not only is Gulacy joining the title, hell be just one-half of a brand new creative team. Current writer and architect of the series post-Infinite Crisis undersea-fantasy direction Kurt Busiek is stepping down with Aquaman #49 to be followed beginning with the series 50th issue in March by fantasy author and writer of DCs The Next limited series, Tad Williams.
Newsarama spoke with both Busiek and Williams about the handing off of the baton, and we start with the outgoing half of the equation - Kurt Busiek - and the obvious question - why leave the title you helped recreate after a relatively brief run?
Technically, I suppose I was removed from the book, although it's my own damn fault, he told us.
I was having a very good time writing the book, as I think anyone who reads it can tell, and was all set for a lengthy run, exploring the world and the characters and the many mysteries and portents and such.
I love writing heroic fantasy, and I think the exotic world of the oceanscape suits it perfectly.
But then, stupid me, I had an idea for something that I thought would be a good project and had the potential to benefit DC, the fans and the comics marketplace in general. It was a very non-standard idea, and I didn't think DC would go for it. But I thought it was a good idea, and I didn't want to just assume it'd be shot down. I'd rather toss it on the table and get an actual no.
So when I was in New York, I ran it by Dan Didio, and to my surprise, he liked it a lot -- and thought it was something DC should do.
And by the time I got home, he'd pitched it to Paul Levitz, and Paul also thought it was a good idea, and something DC should do.
And they've been wrangling over formats and schedules and such since then, but it's a pretty large project -- more than the usual 22 pages a month that most series are, and it was pretty clear that t wasn't something that could be just added to my schedule, I'd need to give up something to make room for it. And I've been having a great time with both Superman and Aquaman, and it'd be hard to leave either one, but with Carlos kicking ass on Superman and Butch Guice leaving Aquaman, I had a tighter grip on the Kryptonian than the Atlantean, and Dan decided I should let Aquaman go to make room for the Mystery Project.
So, since I'm cowardly as well as stupid, I made Dan tell Joey Cavalieri, the editor. He and I had been on the phone only minutes before Dan called to say that the Mystery Project was going to happen, and I had to clear the decks, so what seems like two seconds after I hang up with Dan, the phone rings and it's Joey again, asking, Was it something I said...?
Joey and I talked a while about how best to keep the new direction on Aquaman going strong, and I suggested that maybe instead of finding a comics writer who could do fantasy, what it needed was a fantasy writer who can do comics. Joey liked the idea -- but even so, I didn't expect him to go out and get a New York Times bestselling fantasy writer, with The Dragonbone Chair and Tailchaser's Song to his credit!
But well, he did, so I think the book's heroic-fantasy cred is safe. Safer with Tad than with me, even!
And Tad and I had a couple of good long chats and batted e-mails back and forth, with me filling him in on where all the set-up was leading, and what all the clues and portents point to, so he can pick 'em up with full knowledge of what they were intended to do, and either use 'em that way or do something else, as he chooses. And if he's got any questions in the future, I'm an e-mail away. Not that he needs my input -- he's got way more experience at this kind of thing than I do, after all.
Finally, we asked Busiek about this plans through issue #49, and whether he plans to end his run on a fairly closed note or to leave some storylines for Williams to pick up on..?
There will be stuff for Tad to pick up on, you bet, the writer said. After the conclusion of "Once and Future" in #45, what's coming next is a two-part story that jumps back in time to the first meeting of King Shark and Orin, the classic Aquaman. It's beautifully drawn by Phil Winslade, with a framing sequence by Butch Guice, and aside from establishing the beginning of King Shark's hatred for Aquaman, it also introduces a prophecy, a priestly order, an ancient band of heroes and a foretold power that'll all return. And then #48-49 are another two-parter, with art by Argentine artist Ricardo Villagran, that reintroduces Aqua-villain The Fisherman, in a creepy and unsettling way. And that, too, will bring in some stuff Tad can pick up and play with in future issues.
I've had a great time on the book (and I'm still writing #49, as we speak), and I doubt I'm out of Atlantean waters for good. If nothing else, there's a Superman-Atlantis connection through Lori Lemaris, and I have plans for that that were going to play out in Aquaman, but may move over to Superman now. And the Mystery Project will have opportunities for the oceanscape and the Aqua-cast to get in on the action...
A few weeks ago artist Paul Gulacy revealed he would soon be joining DCs Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis creative team. Turns out not only is Gulacy joining the title, hell be just one-half of a brand new creative team. Current writer and architect of the series post-Infinite Crisis undersea-fantasy direction Kurt Busiek is stepping down with Aquaman #49 to be followed beginning with the series 50th issue in March by fantasy author and writer of DCs The Next limited series, Tad Williams.
Newsarama spoke with both Busiek and Williams about the handing off of the baton, and we start with the outgoing half of the equation - Kurt Busiek - and the obvious question - why leave the title you helped recreate after a relatively brief run?
Technically, I suppose I was removed from the book, although it's my own damn fault, he told us.
I was having a very good time writing the book, as I think anyone who reads it can tell, and was all set for a lengthy run, exploring the world and the characters and the many mysteries and portents and such.
I love writing heroic fantasy, and I think the exotic world of the oceanscape suits it perfectly.
But then, stupid me, I had an idea for something that I thought would be a good project and had the potential to benefit DC, the fans and the comics marketplace in general. It was a very non-standard idea, and I didn't think DC would go for it. But I thought it was a good idea, and I didn't want to just assume it'd be shot down. I'd rather toss it on the table and get an actual no.
So when I was in New York, I ran it by Dan Didio, and to my surprise, he liked it a lot -- and thought it was something DC should do.
And by the time I got home, he'd pitched it to Paul Levitz, and Paul also thought it was a good idea, and something DC should do.
And they've been wrangling over formats and schedules and such since then, but it's a pretty large project -- more than the usual 22 pages a month that most series are, and it was pretty clear that t wasn't something that could be just added to my schedule, I'd need to give up something to make room for it. And I've been having a great time with both Superman and Aquaman, and it'd be hard to leave either one, but with Carlos kicking ass on Superman and Butch Guice leaving Aquaman, I had a tighter grip on the Kryptonian than the Atlantean, and Dan decided I should let Aquaman go to make room for the Mystery Project.
So, since I'm cowardly as well as stupid, I made Dan tell Joey Cavalieri, the editor. He and I had been on the phone only minutes before Dan called to say that the Mystery Project was going to happen, and I had to clear the decks, so what seems like two seconds after I hang up with Dan, the phone rings and it's Joey again, asking, Was it something I said...?
Joey and I talked a while about how best to keep the new direction on Aquaman going strong, and I suggested that maybe instead of finding a comics writer who could do fantasy, what it needed was a fantasy writer who can do comics. Joey liked the idea -- but even so, I didn't expect him to go out and get a New York Times bestselling fantasy writer, with The Dragonbone Chair and Tailchaser's Song to his credit!
But well, he did, so I think the book's heroic-fantasy cred is safe. Safer with Tad than with me, even!
And Tad and I had a couple of good long chats and batted e-mails back and forth, with me filling him in on where all the set-up was leading, and what all the clues and portents point to, so he can pick 'em up with full knowledge of what they were intended to do, and either use 'em that way or do something else, as he chooses. And if he's got any questions in the future, I'm an e-mail away. Not that he needs my input -- he's got way more experience at this kind of thing than I do, after all.
Finally, we asked Busiek about this plans through issue #49, and whether he plans to end his run on a fairly closed note or to leave some storylines for Williams to pick up on..?
There will be stuff for Tad to pick up on, you bet, the writer said. After the conclusion of "Once and Future" in #45, what's coming next is a two-part story that jumps back in time to the first meeting of King Shark and Orin, the classic Aquaman. It's beautifully drawn by Phil Winslade, with a framing sequence by Butch Guice, and aside from establishing the beginning of King Shark's hatred for Aquaman, it also introduces a prophecy, a priestly order, an ancient band of heroes and a foretold power that'll all return. And then #48-49 are another two-parter, with art by Argentine artist Ricardo Villagran, that reintroduces Aqua-villain The Fisherman, in a creepy and unsettling way. And that, too, will bring in some stuff Tad can pick up and play with in future issues.
I've had a great time on the book (and I'm still writing #49, as we speak), and I doubt I'm out of Atlantean waters for good. If nothing else, there's a Superman-Atlantis connection through Lori Lemaris, and I have plans for that that were going to play out in Aquaman, but may move over to Superman now. And the Mystery Project will have opportunities for the oceanscape and the Aqua-cast to get in on the action...
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