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http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=262166
The coming of a new year can be seen as a symbolic starting point for making a clean break from the past and beginning anew. For writer Sean McKeever, the beginning of 2007 is more than just a symbolic marker for change, as the creator has accepted a one-year exclusive contract from DC Comics after years of writing comics for Marvel.
The switch comes as a bit of a surprise for one obvious reason: No comics by Sean McKeever have been announced by DC Comics. In fact, he's never written a DC-published comic before. Add to that the fact that the writer just announced he'd be writing Spider-Man Family beginning in February and that he's still writing the ongoing Spider-
Man Loves Mary Jane, and you've got to wonder -- "What's up?"
Never shying away from asking what's up, Newsarama sat down with McKeever to talk about the DC exclusive, how it came about, what's going to happen to his Marvel work -- and what he's writing now that he's got a new home with DC.
Newsarama: Congratulations, Sean. But, a DC exclusive? What happened to the Marvel boy we all knew and loved?
Sean McKeever: I'm still a Marvel boy! I love Marvel comics, too!
NRAMA: How did it happen? Did DC approach you, or was this something you went after?
SM: Well, I've been doing a lot of stuff for Marvel, obviously, for the last few years. But I had kind of flirted with doing some stuff for DC before. I actually wrote the first issue of a Vertigo series that never launched. And I had a couple other pitches happen throughout the years, but those never turned into anything.
But last year, [editor] Mike Marts moved over to DC. So I went to New York in September for a personal trip, and I decided to spend a few extra days and go to the Marvel offices -- and go to the DC offices and see Mike, and hopefully meet some editors over there. And it's funny -- I went to the Marvel offices, and a lot of the editors there, at some point in the conversation -- you know, just chewing the fat with them -- said, "You are Marvel exclusive, right?"
NRAMA: A lot of readers assumed you were, too. Why did people at Marvel think that?
SM: You know, I guess everybody just took it for granted. I grew up on Marvel comics and I love Marvel comics, and that's all I've been writing for the last few years. They've been keeping me busy enough that I haven't done any work, really, anywhere else. So I thought that was kind of funny.
But then I went over to the DC offices, and I was talking to Mike for a little while about what he's doing there, and about the industry in general, and about my career. And he asked me as well -- he's like, "Are you Marvel exclusive?" And I said, "No! I'm not Marvel exclusive."
And he just suddenly said, "Oh, well let me take you around and introduce you to people! Let me go see if Dan Didio's busy right now."
NRAMA: That quickly, huh? So did you get to talk to Dan?
SM: Yeah, I got to meet Dan, and I met some other editors. And Dan's a pretty good guy, and we seemed to get along fairly well. And out of that, they were interested in having me pitch a couple things, and I thought that was great. And fast forward a month later, and they offered me some pretty big work and an exclusive to go along with it.
NRAMA: Some "pretty big" work? Can you tell us what that work is going to be?
SM: I certainly can not.
NRAMA: Could you give us a little hint?
SM: No. [smiles]
NRAMA: Argh! Just one word, then. Give us one word that might get the boards talking about what you're doing.
SM: Mmmmmmm.... "Death?"
NRAMA: [laughs] Ooohhh!! Alright, we'll go with that. You're going to kill someone, aren't you?
SM: Um... let's see ... have I killed anyone yet?
NRAMA: That's a scary question.
SM: Oh, I mean in comics -- not in real life, by the way.
NRAMA: OK, Sean. Speaking of death... I have to ask. They killed Gravity over at Marvel. You had created that brand new character in 2005 and he barely saw the light of day, in comics terms, before getting the axe in a big event comic during the Beyond! miniseries last year. That didn't have anything to do with this exodus to DC, did it?
SM: No. No. You know, it ... in a way, it made it a little easier. [laughs] It made it a little less painful. Because this was a really difficult decision. I mean, at first I just flat out said no, because I love working at Marvel so much and still wanted to work there. I thought I could do both. But then they decided that they really wanted me, and they made me an offer I couldn't refuse, and I took it.
NRAMA: Sounds like it was a tough decision to make.
SM: It was, because I have a lot of friends at Marvel. And like I said, I enjoy the characters there. But no, Gravity -- I learned about Gravity's death actually the day after I decided to take the exclusive. [laughs]
NRAMA: Oh! Great timing, huh?
SM: Yeah. And I said, "OK, well, it's not so tough now." [laughs]
NRAMA: But at least, if it was the next day, they didn't make the decision to kill off Gravity after you took the exclusive. That would have hurt, almost like they did it on purpose.
SM: No! That would have been pretty quick to get to the printers by then. No, that was actually something that was planned out in advance. I knew it was on the table that they might kill Gravity. Based on something that was going to happen that I was going to be involved in, I was aware it was being considered. But the thing was going to involve me fell by the wayside, but then, they obviously decided to kill him anyway. And I guess they're doing some stuff with him in Fantastic Four or something.
NRAMA: Well, Gravity fans can take comfort in that.
SM: Don't get me wrong, though. I'm really geeked to be going over to DC. It's a fantastic deal they've given me. Everyone's been super nice and I'm just so thrilled to get the chance to play with their toys. I mean, it's almost like it's Christmas Eve and I'm 8 years old, you know? I truly feel this is the right move for me at this point in my career.
NRAMA: Well, since you bring up your career -- in 2005, you won an Eisner for being a "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition." There are some of your fans that would include Marvel among those who could have given you more recognition and appreciation because from the outside, it looked like you weren't getting very many high-profile and in-continuity projects from the company -- even after the Eisner win. Did the lack of substantial work being offered to you by Marvel have anything to do with your decision to take the exclusive from DC? Or did it at least influence your decision to visit DC in the first place?
SM: Well, yeah. It did. To Marvel's credit, there were a couple big things that I was attached to. But every time, something would happen that would stop it. You know, the project would get canceled before I even wrote the first script. Or the first script would be written and the project would get put on hold. It was always for various reasons that were beyond my control -- and I wasn't really privy to all the reasons why. So, it was frustrating.
So yeah, that was a big part of the appeal of DC's offer was that they do want me to do some high-profile stuff. I'm not just going to jump over and do Johnny DC -- not that there's anything wrong with Johnny DC. And you know, not that there's anything wrong with Marvel Adventures books. But I would like to take some time to do some stories that more eyeballs are going to be looking at. I'd be happy to write all-ages stuff in the future. But I think I need a little break from that.
NRAMA: Are you doing a lot of research now into DC characters since you've historically been such a Marvel guy?
SM: Yeah. Yeah, I've been loading up on trade paperbacks at the Laughing Ogre [comics shop] every week. Every week, I'll buy something. I've read a whole bunch of trades. I don't want to say what, because I might give some things away.
NRAMA: Oh, come on, Sean! What are you reading?
SM: Well, actually, I could say, because I'm reading a little bit of everything, really. Like in one week, I bought the first chapters of a few different series -- and I got four trades at once. I bought ... let's see, what was it? I think I bought Teen Titans, JSA ... I bought Identity Crisis -- I had already read Identity Crisis, but I wanted the trade. And I know I bought one other.... um ... oh, it was Rann-Thanagar War. And I bought a lot of the Infinite Crisis stuff.
NRAMA: OK, I have no idea what you're writing now. But you're clearly writing something in-continuity and current. You bought everything!
SM: Yeah! Really, I'm going through tons of stuff. And like, Superman and Batman I had been reading, but now I'm reading a lot more of the current things too. Like the new Justice League series and the new Justice Society series -- I'm checking those out.
Obviously, more and more, I'm picking up DC books and getting more into them.
NRAMA: That raises a couple questions related to comparisons of Marvel and DC -- from the standpoint of looking at the universes as well as your experiences with the companies. But let's start with the DC Universe. Is there a big difference, as you adjust from one to another, between the DC Universe and the Marvel Universe and the characters in each?
SM: Oh, absolutely. There are a lot of differences. But you know, one of the things I like in particular about DC is that there's a sense of not only history, but of legacy. If somebody dies, a character will replace them. I think that's cool, and I think it's a great way to grow and change and evolve the universe. Obviously, though, you can't really do that with Superman and Batman, and of course, they tried with Green Arrow and it didn't really take. But the cool thing about it is that, for the most part, the characters aren't safe. There will be a new Blue Beetle, so Ted Kord can die -- and I'm going to catch a lot of flack for saying that -- but there's a greater sense of danger for the characters because of the ongoing feeling of legacy there.
That's more exciting to me as a reader. Going in, I don't know what might happen. There are no safe characters outside a couple. And as a writer, that's exciting as well. It's actually fairly freeing.
NRAMA: Oh, man. Between this comment and that one-word "death" answer, you're killing me!
SM: [laughts] I wonder who I'm killing from those trade paperbacks I listed.
NRAMA: Noooooooooo!!!!
SM: I'm teasing!
NRAMA: OK, then let's talk about the other part of that comparison -- the companies. A lot of people like to put labels on the two of them. Is there really that much of a difference?
SM: Well, I'm going to say yes. But I haven't been working at DC long enough to really know the difference and talk about it here. The only difference to me right now is one of lead time. I have more lead time at DC. But that's all I can tell you right now. In terms of editorial style and things like that, I've heard a lot of things anecdotally, but I couldn't actually attest to any of that myself.
NRAMA: OK, Sean. Now comes the hard part. What is going to happen to your Marvel work? You know that you have some loyal fans of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, and didn't we just talk about a brand new series called Spider-Man Family that doesn't even start until February? What's going to happen with all that Marvel work if you're DC exclusive now?
SM: Well, with Spider-Man Family, when I was asked to do the book, I was asked to do six issues, and we wound up agreeing on me doing three. It was all I could reasonably commit to because I didn't know what was coming up in the future. So I am still doing three issues. I'm doing the first two issues, and then I'm doing a special third issue to be released at a future date with a special guest artist.
As far as Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, um ... my last issue of that will be #20.
NRAMA: You look like you're about to cry.
SM: Yeah. Leaving that book was a huge heartbreak for me. And it still is. I've got two issues left to write at this point. I will have written 28 issues of that book by the time I'm done, and that's the most I've ever written of any one title. And that book just means a lot to me. It has a special place in my heart. It's a lot like breaking up with a girlfriend, to leave that book. So I'm still kind of struggling with it.
NRAMA: You're really going to disappoint fans leaving it, but do we have hope in that it will go on after you leave?
SM: That I don't know.
NRAMA: But you have a new artist, right? David Hahn.
SM: David Hahn is drawing issues #16-20. What happens after that is Marvel's call.
NRAMA: Wow, you really do look hurt. Is there anything you want to say to your Marvel fans who are feeling rejected right now -- to soften the blow?
SM: Sure. I love you guys. I still love Marvel. You haven't seen everything that I've done for them yet. I do have a painted one-shot coming out next year from them. I think that's all I have coming out yet. And you know -- I'll probably be back someday.
NRAMA: Then again, Sean, it's not like you're falling off the face of the earth or something. A Marvel reader can -- at least theoretically -- still read your work by picking up something despite the fact is has a DC label on the front. And is it safe to assume you will be doing more than one thing for DC?
SM: Well, yeah. I will. There are a few things that we're working out. We're still discussing the details because it's really super early on a couple of the things. But the first thing you'll be hearing about will be announced at the New York Comic Con.
NRAMA: Well, you said it's something big. There are a lot of rumors about the New Gods playing a big role in the DC universe next year. As our final question, I'll flat out ask you -- are you doing a New Gods book?
SM: I'm not writing a New Gods book. You know, last month, a rumor column had me writing New Warriors. You can't believe everything you read.
This is indeed VERY sad news.
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