Conducted and written by Jason Baldwin
It's been an interesting couple of years for Mark Waid. The best-selling writer of THE FLASH, KINGDOM COME, RUSE and soon, FANTASTIC FOUR and SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT has seen a lot of things change in his life. In late 2000, he signed an exclusive contract with CrossGen Comics, shocking many in the comics world. Fans were left scratching their heads, as Waid is an unabashed lover of superheroes and CrossGen publishes anything but. He later attributed part of the decision to his "lapsed faith" in men in tights. Combine that with a run on JLA that was wrought with problems from the start and people started to worry about one of comicdom's most beloved and talented writers.
Now, Waid's CrossGen contract has expired and he's back in the superhero world with a vengeance, taking on the task of writing FANTASTIC FOUR for Marvel, and he's getting a serious high-profile push for his effort- his debut issue, #60, is selling for just nine cents.
Waid said his journey was a tough one and that it resulted in a different outlook on superheroes for him. He attributed said change to a shift in the audience's taste.
"My entire take on super-heroes has changed in the past year or so, because even I've gotten bored writing about heroes whose job it is to enforce the status quo. Look at the success of THE AUTHORITY or THE ULTIMATES. Our audience gifts its excitement and its loyalty to heroes who AREN'T agents of the status quo," he said. "Young people want to read about action heroes who take action--who give voice to their anger at the world and who act to change the landscape. Our audience is of a generation that doesn't want to identify with "living symbols" who exist to "inspire." To them, the moral visionaries and inspirational figures of history--from Bobby Kennedy to Martin Luther King to Gandhi--got the same reward for their efforts: a bullet in the head. No, our audience--and now I--want to live vicariously through heroes who symbolize their rebellious spirit and understand their frustrations."
And he's doing just that with FANTASTIC FOUR. Though he noted the book certainly wouldn't have been his first choice at Marvel.
"As I've said elsewhere, I was never a fan until I thought long and hard about the characters once the offer was made--and I realized how blind I'd been to dismiss the FF," he said.
Of course, part of his motivation to write Marvel's First Family can be attributed to the "new regime" in control of the "House of Ideas." Waid's last stint at Marvel was marred by serious editorial interference and flat out bad decisions. He and Ron Garney were just hitting their stride on CAPTAIN AMERICA in 1996 when they were unceremoniously dumped for Rob Liefeld as part of the HEROES REBORN project. Waid was brought back on board as writer in 1997 and had a tough road ahead of him, including an editor that told him "CAPTAIN AMERICA doesn't have to be about America...SPIDER-MAN isn't about spiders." Combine that with an issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA that was rewritten so drastically he asked for his name to be taken off of it, and the writer decided enough was enough.
However, Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada changed things at Marvel for the better.
"[It's] like the difference between building a lovely house under pastoral conditions and building the Bridge on the River Kwai," Waid said.
And strangest of all Waid, who is his own worst critic, is actually PROUD of the work he's putting out for once.
"I am, and it's largely because my workload is intentionally slim. After ten years of writing a book a week--and thus having to shift gears four times a month--it's refreshing and energizing to be able to
invest an unbroken amount of time concentrating on projects," he said. "I went straight from writing the script to FF #63 right to #64, for instance, and I'm here to tell you, I think that's the first time in my entire career I've written two consecutive issues of ANYTHING back to back."
Waid is paired with his former collaborator on THE FLASH, Mike "Ringo" Wieringo, who is handling the art chores for the book. He said the book absolutely would not be the same without Ringo (Waid: Nope. Nope, nope, nope.).
"Besides the fact that he draws staggeringly well, Ringo is a consummate storyteller. He never hands pages in where you're left scratching your head as you stare at them trying to figure out what's going on," Waid said. "And that frees me up to try some interesting dynamics in storytelling and scripting, attempting new things and new visuals, because I know I can trust Mike implicitly to pull them off."
Of course, a book like FANTASTIC FOUR has almost 40 years of backstory to deal with and this leads every writer to tackle the team with some challenges. Waid said he has the daunting task of trying to come up with stuff that hasn't already been done.
"[The biggest challenge is] coming up with something new every month that no one's ever seen before, rather than collapsing in fatigue and bringing back the Dragon Man 'cause it's easy," he said.
One of the first plot elements to leak out is that Waid will be bringing back longtime FF foe Doctor Doom, absent from "regular" Marvel continuity since 1996, thanks to Heroes Reborn. Waid's gone on record saying he's going to present Doctor Doom in a way no one's ever seen before. Naturally, this caused a troupe of electronic doubting Thomases to litter message boards with sarcasm, disbelief and totally off-center speculation.
"I didn't say we were CHANGING him. I said he'll be presented in a way no one's ever seen before," he said. "And more than that, I really CAN'T say other than that you've reminded me to call Ringo and ask him how those new armor designs are coming along..."
Waid said at this time he has no plans to tackle any other Marvel properties in the future.
On the other side of the superhero fence, Waid recently announced he'll be writing a 12-issue maxi-series for DC Comics with artist Lenil Francis Yu, tentatively titled SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT. For Waid, a storied fan of the Man of Steel, writing Superman has been a long time coming. In 1999 he, along with Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and Tom Peyer had been approved to take over writing chores on the four core SUPERMAN titles, but the offer was revoked at the last minute.
Imagine Waid's surprise when DC editorial recently came to him with the project, sort of a "Year One" style story tracking his life from Krypton to his first "big adventure." Waid has said elsewhere that the story is very true to Siegel and Shuster.
Speaking of Superman's origins, Waid is a fan of the WB television series SMALLVILLE. He said the thing that intrigues him the most about the show is that it has heart and doesn't treat Superman as a joke. He
also feels the producers are doing quite a bit right.
"Among other things, I think that making the Kents young was a MASTERSTROKE. Up until now, Clark Kent never had foster parents, he had foster GRANDparents for all intents and purposes. Now he's being brought up by people who can argue with him, can show some emotion, and can show some human failings of their own. Brilliant," he said.
Of course, no discussion of SMALLVILLE is complete without it's own version of the classic "Betty or Veronica?" debate. Waid clearly has a choice.
"With all due respect to the fine Kristen Kreuk, can you find me one single carbon-based lifeform on this planet who wouldn't say "Chloe"?"
Waid said he he doesn't know why Clark hasn't gone after Chloe and continues to pine for Lana.
"Believe me, if she were just a couple of years older, I'D be making a move on her," he said.
However, he noted the The Man of Steel now has competition in the live-action department. Waid said he was thrilled with this summer's Spider-Man movie.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I think it's supplanted SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE as the best comic book film of all time. Why? THEY TRUSTED THE SOURCE MATERIAL."
Another of Waid's recent projects that bears discussing is his run on JLA, which followed Grant Morrison's best-selling, controversial and high-profile stay on the book. Most of Waid's work was overshadowed by the news of his contract at CrossGen, which was announced after roughly four issues were on the stands. Critical reaction was mixed as well. Waid said he now feels he never should have taken the assignment in the first place.
"No matter what I did on that book, I was compared to Grant, and always negatively--sometimes deservedly so, sometimes undeservedly. But I certainly went into it with all my heart, and despite what some critics have alleged, I never once lost my heart or my enthusiasm for the assignment even after I signed at CrossGen-I still think "Terror Incognita" is a good yarn, and if you don't like the Christmas issue, I mourn for the lack of whimsy in your soul," he said. "To be honest,
I never really felt any "burnout" at any time-even looking back, there's nothing I wish I'd done differently. Not even the Queen of Fables, which NO ONE liked. NO ONE. NO. ONE.
"Is there one certain issue I'm proud of? I really liked HEAVEN'S LADDER. It's pretty good right up until the Absurdly Gratuitous Super-Villain shows up near the end, at which point the entire story becomes a train wreck, but it sure looks pretty," he said. "Will I get another chance? I'm not sure I want one."
-- Jason Baldwin
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