 COMICS |  | Home > COMICS > KEITH GIFFEN TALKS OF DREAMS, HELL, AND BUGS
|
KEITH GIFFEN TALKS OF DREAMS, HELL, AND BUGS | | Keith Giffen discusses this week's release of 'DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar' and his upcoming projects 'Reign in Hell' and 'Ambush Bug'! | | | By Kevin Mahadeo | | Posted 4/15/08 | |  | | 
Keith Giffen is dreaming of a war in hell while romping through the DCU with a bug.
This week kicks off the first of Giffen's upcoming DC projects with DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar, which as the title implies sees the heroes DC Universe going fist-to-superpower-fist against the denizens of the Wildstorm Universe.
With Giffen having so much time on his hands these days after stepping away from the unending grind of weekly books, we dragged him out of his comfortable setting to talk a little about the slew of monthly projects he'll be taking on.
| | 
We’ve heard a couple things about this crossover event, but what can you tell us about Dreamwar?
I will tell you that it’s definitely conflict between the DCU and the Wildstorm U, and the multiverse doesn’t enter into it at all.
So, there will be no multiverse mumbo jumbo here?
No. There’s no Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-495b, whatever. DC heroes just start showing up in the Wildstorm U and go after the Wildstorm heroes and the unfolding of the story is what happened, why are they acting this way, and who is behind it.
You mentioned in other interviews that the basic outline happens—they meet, they fight, they revolve it, they do something together.
Yeah. Well, that’s pretty much par for the course, isn’t it? The heroes meet. They fight. They go, “Wait a minute. We’re both heroes.” And they go off and fight the common enemy. I’d like to think this time I came up with a real rationale for that happening other than the fact that the heroes are too stupid to recognize one another for that they are.
[Laughs] Why’d you decide to take on an assignment like this?
Oh god. Lapse in judgment? I don’t know. No, I like the Wildstorm characters. I’ve always liked the Wildstorm characters, especially the Authority. And just the mechanics of bringing these heroes together and trying to do a crossover that feels a little bit different from the others. That does have ramifications—one of the things that come out of the end of this is that it does have ramifications for the Wildstorm Universe. It’s not something that’s thrown out there and two months later everyone has forgotten it and it’s business as usual.
So, there’s definitely going to be long-term repercussions?
That’s what I’ve been told. Unfortunately, I’m not going to be handling all of the books afterwards to guarantee that, but that’s what I’ve been told and I have no reason to doubt it.
So, you’re setting up all the pieces and then someone gets to play with them?
Well, I’m setting up the pieces. I knock down more than a few, and at the end, I suppose people will pick up from there or cherry pick what they like and run with it from there. But this is not one of those “look it’s DC and Wildstorm fighting and it just doesn’t mean anything other than it’s six issues.” I’m trying to approach this from a different direction. I think I’ve been involved with more than my fair share of DC’s crossover events, and I’m hoping that even when you really think you know what’s going on, I’ve got a few surprises for you down the road hopefully.
When you sat down to do this, did you think, “Okay, I’ve got to do this usual set up” or…
No, no. It wasn’t I have to do it. It wasn’t like a mandate or an unwritten rule in comics that you have to do it that way. That’s just the way it seems to shake out most of the time, and I wanted to see if I could approach it from a different angle. It’s comic book cliché, basically—meet, fight, team-up. I want to see if I could play off that comic book cliché and add a little twist to make it a little bit distinct and a little bit different. Whether I succeeded or not, well, that’s up to you guys.
So, you added a little Giffen-esque twist to it?
Wow. I’m an adjective! [Laughs] I’m hoping that I added one or two elements there that give it more credence other than the fact that like I say the heroes look at one another and say, “Let’s fight until we can reason.” It’s kind of silly that Spider-Man would meet Thor and they would fight. Don’t these guys read the newspaper? So, I deliberately played into that meet, fight, team-up thing.
Well, speaking about fighting, obviously there’s going to be a lot of throwing down going on.
Yeah. But not the throw downs you’d expect. I know that there are certain throw downs that the fans are going, “Oh boy! I can’t wait to see those two guys go at it.” But in two of the most obvious cases there were circumstances that actually forbade me from doing that.
Interesting. Well, I think this is the most obvious one: Batman versus Midnighter. We won’t be seeing that?
No. There were events that were occurring and there are things happening that prevented me from having Midnighter and Batman go head to head. It was something I was actually looking forward to until I was told future plans for the character are really not going to work for that scene.
Well, from your own personal perspective, who would win in that fight? Or would it be a draw?
Oh, no. I don’t like superhero fights that end in a draw unless it’s part of the plot. I don’t know. I figure it would just be a very bloody fight were both guys walk out of it with profound respect for one another. But, they’d have to be pulled apart or one would kill the other. And I think Midnighter, being more homicidal, would be more prone to kill than Batman, who has that line in the sand that he’s drawn.
So, pulled apart or Midnighter kills Batman?
Probably, yes. Because Midnighter is the one willing to kill. Batman would be trying to just bring him down, put him out of action and contain him. I think in any fight where one person is not willing to kill and another person is willing to kill, the guy who is willing to kill is definitely going to have the advantage. Plus, I believe Midnighter is enhanced and Batman is just a guy who pretty much hit the gym regularly. [Laughs] And again, I know a lot of fans are going to disagree with me on that point, but let’s remember: opinions are like assholes—everybody’s got one. And it’s just my opinion and the way I see it. Arguments can be made for Batman or for Midnighter that I haven’t even thought of.
True, but you know the internet flaming will begin.
Oh yeah. Everyone is going to have their say in it. But that’s part of the enjoyment of producing these books—just watching the reaction afterwards and just hoping that they’ll at least give you a fair shake. And for the most part, I think people do. There are one or two people out there you’re never going to please. And I even enjoy those people, to be honest with you, because if everyone was agreeing with what I was doing, I’d be a very dull writer.
So, you enjoy stirring up a little argument and controversy?
Not deliberately. But if it happens to come about in the process of getting the work done, I certainly don’t dread it. People pay money for these books. They put down their money and the book, and they’re entitled to their reactions to it—love it, hate it, and the most dreaded of all, indifference to it. But if somebody wants to state all the reason why I completely screwed up the book, by all means do so and I will respect your opinion. I might not agree with it, but I will always respect the opinion of someone who plunked down their money. If you paid the price of admission, sound off, have fun.
You mentioned a lot of the fights are ones we’re not expecting, but can you tease some of the ones we can expect to see?
Well, I think the Justice Society versus the folks at Tranquility is going to be a bit of fun. And I think the Legion of Superheroes versus Stormwatch and the Russian army is going to be fun. I don’t know if anyone has done one of these crossovers and brought the Legion of Superheroes into it. And of course, Teen Titans versus Gen X… I mean, Gen 13. Oh boy. When did Marvel get here?
[Laughs] And now Marvel’s in the mix. You heard it here first!
Yeah. It’s a three-way crossover. Red Hulk! No. So, I think there are enough of the throw downs the fans want to see that missing two or three that seem obvious for reasons that are completely out of my control… hopefully, that blow will be softened.
So, the title…Dreamwar…
It’s funny because it gives away everything and it gives away nothing. At first, I heard the name and went, “Oh no no no. Then everyone is going to think it’s just a dream.”
And it ends with Patrick Duffy walking out of the shower.
Exactly. But, Dreamwar is a very appropriate title because, like I said it, gives away everything and really doesn’t give away anything at all. So, I came to accept it if not like it.
Is this personally your dream war to do all this and play with all these characters?
No, no. If I have a dream project at all, it’s Doom Patrol. Dreamwar has nothing to do with my feelings or I think anyone else’s feelings regarding the characters. We’re not going to be presumptuous enough to go, “Fans! Here are all your dreams come true!” That way lays disaster.
[Laughs] But you know there’s one fan out there saying, “Yes! At long last! My dreams come true!”
You know what? God bless the guy then. If I inadvertently stumbled upon something some guy’s been waiting years and years to see, good for me. Enjoy it, pal. But I didn’t go out to try to cater to what the fans expect. How can I put this delicately? I may not be trying to cater to what the fans expect, but I hope I’m still giving them what they want to see. And I know that statement sounds contradictory, but it made sense to me. So, screw it.
You said you’re a fan of the Wildstorm Universe.
Yeah. Especially the Authority.
I was just going to ask that. Who’s your favorite member, or is it, “Duh. Midnighter. I write him?”
I would say my favorite Authority character is Jenny Quantum. Just like Jenny Sparks was originally. That’s more of the attitude than anything else. I just like snarky characters. Snarky characters who are doing everything that’s not good for them and getting away with it. That’s always kind of appealed to me. Jenny is definitely the most fun to write. Technically, who doesn’t like Midnighter? If you like the Wildstorm Universe, you like Midnighter. But they’re all decent characters, even though some of them are drawn in pretty broad strokes.
Are there any characters you dislike and when you have to use them you’re just like of like, “Crap, I have to use this character?
I deal with characters like that every day. Are you kidding? There’s always characters where I’m going, “Oh please. God! Why do you have to deal with him?” But then the object is to get into the story and realize, “Okay I don’t like the character, but there are a read out there that do like the character so I better find something about this character that appeals to me so I can do my job.” I didn’t like Majestic going in, and I like him more and more as each issue goes on. If I short-shifted the characters I don’t like then a lot of the characters in a lot of my projects wouldn’t be there at all. Donna Troy. I don’t like Donna Troy. I don’t like the character and I don’t like the concept. But it’s not up to me to say I’m not putting Donna Troy in that book. If I’m handed a book where Donna Troy plays a pivotal role, then I’ve got to deal with it. It’s not about what I like and dislike. And it’s not like you just grit your teeth and go, “Oh jeez. I’ve got to do this. Let me crank it out because I hate that character so much.” No, you’ve got to do the best job you can with the character keeping in mind that there are thousands of people out there that really like the character. It’s just not for me to say which characters are going to appear in what book. That’s just ridiculous.
Well, there are certain characters appearing in this book that’s getting a lot of people excited to see you on again, and that’s the Legion of Superheroes.
Yeah, I get to return to the Legion in a very oblique way. It’s 50th Anniversary. Come on, let’s get them out there.
What’s it like tackling these guys again? Is it the same Legion?
It’s a version of the Legion I’ve never really did before. It’s the not five-year gap Legion. It’s not the Legion that Paul Levitz and I did. It’s sort of a older version of the Legion than that—the upside-down rocket club house and the whole nine yards. It was kind of interesting to return to the characters and just revisit some old friends. That said, having revisited them, I’m not gunning for a Legion book again because I had forgotten how awkward juggling 30 people can be.
And that sound just now was the collective screams of fans distraught over you never returning to the Legion again.
I never say never. No no no. And if I used that word, I take it back immediately. Let’s just say that I’m not going to be gunning for the book. The Legion of Superheroes does exert a kind of siren song. Those of us who spent any time with the characters end up returning to them in one form or another.
Speaking of never saying never, what happened with Trinity? Did they even approach you for it or was it a “Don’t even think about it”?
After breaking down and being involved with 52 and Countdown, that’s 104 comic books in two years. And I was hands on involved in every one. No, they did not approach me on Trinity. I did not want them to approach me on Trinity. I’m grateful they did not approach me on Trinity. I even think I mentioned that if you call up and use the word “weekly” I’m hanging up the phone. My condolences to Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. [Laughs] They’ll learn soon enough. I always describe weekly comics as trying to change a flat tire on a car in motion. It was interesting. I certainly don’t regret having done it, but I certainly think it will be a while before I get involved in anything with a weekly basis again. I need the luxury of going monthly for a while. Because I’ll tell you, after working on a weekly, these monthly deadlines seem to go on forever. They’re real leisurely now. I finish and issue and it’s like, “Whoah. I don’t have to do one next week.” People look at the books I’m doing and think I have a heavy workload, but once you take the weekly out of it, it’s like a vacation.
Let’s touch upon some of those other books, starting with Reign in Hell. What can you tell us about that besides it’s about Hell, and reigning in it?
Well, there’s a war in Hell between Satannus and sister Blaze and Neron. We’re going to use the book to sort of not only rethink DC’s version of Hell—try to make it unique, different from any version of Hell that’s ever appeared in a comic before, fingers crossed, let’s hope we can pull it off—but also use it to set some rules about magic in the DC Universe and redefine some characters so we can get a lot of DC’s magic characters away from the point-and-click magic. Point their finger and zap, a bolt comes out. Michael Moorcock wrote a pretty comprehensive bible of magic for DC that I’m shamelessly plundering from. But the backbone of the story is this war in Hell and the ramifications it has for the mystic heroes as they get involved.
Which heroes can we expect to be involved?
The usual suspects I think. Practically everybody who is a mystical character in the DC Universe is involved in one way or another. Although, the hard focus will be on characters like Zatanna, Doctor Fate, Ibis the Invincible, Black Alice, Sargon the Sorcerer. As well as some characters we haven’t seen in a while. Anyone remember Prince Ra-man? And I’m not talking the noodles. And some other magical characters will come out and hopefully we can dust them out and buff them up and gentrify them a little bit. But it’s basically a war story, and a delivered attempt to re-imagine Hell.
That’s two wars you’re working on—one in a dream and one in Hell.
Yeah. And coming off Annihilation, I’ve covered science-fiction war, superhero dream war and I’ll be covering magic wars. All I need is funny animal war and teen Archie war and I’m set.
What was that? I think you just said Captain Carrot War by Keith Giffen?
There we go. No. Captain Carrot is a concept I can appreciate from a distance. Although I would kill to get a Bugs Bunny book. But Captain Carrot… it’s kind of like, “Ummm…. No. I think I’ll back away.” Though, like I said, I can appreciate what they’re doing from a distance.
So, what’s your own personal Hell?
Wow. That’s a good one. Stephen King had the best definition of Hell I’ve ever heard, and that’s Hell is repetition.
So, weeklies?
No no. Doing more weeklies, it’s certainly a grind, but financially, yahoo! But my own personal Hell… Unending 1980s disco era complete with the music soundtrack. I think that would be it. Or finding out the only shoes that fit me are platform shoes. Or probably the most honest answer of all, if White Castle went out of business.
[Laughs] Big White Castle fan?
Oh, absolutely. White Castle and Dunkin Donuts. Those are my anchors.
On that note, let’s talk about Ambush Bug.
Oh yeah. Irwin’s back.
How’s it feel?
I am having a ball. Bob Fleming is back again. There was a little bit of concern when DC first approached me about reviving the Bug about whether—15 years since the last Ambush Bug thing was on sale—so I had a little concern on can I return to this character? Have I grown past him or has my sense of humor changed? Especially when I agreed to pencil it. But, settling down with it, it was like slipping on a pair of old shoes. It’s probably the easiest job I’ve had in a long time. It was like the Bug was almost waiting to be revived in one way or another. It’s been a joy to do it. It’s been an absolute joy to do it. And seeing how DC has pretty much said, “Whatever you want.” Because I asked for “Thou Shall Nots.” I remember the last time we were doing Ambush Bug there were certain people up at DC’s head that were not pleased with what we were doing. So, I called immediately and said, “What are the thou shall nots?” And basically it was don’t do anything libelous—and I’ve been in the business long enough to know that—and you can make fun of any character, concept or situation that has occurred at DC, but don’t go after individuals. Like, I can make fun of Infinite Crisis, but I don’t directly make fun of Geoff Johns. Which I can live with. Besides the fact that he keeps misspelling his first name—it’s J-E-F-F, okay—there’s no reason to go after him. We’re just having a lot of fun rampaging across the DC Universe, and so far DC has been behind everything we’re doing.
So, it’s good old school satire?
It’s a romp. It’s a romp through the DC Universe with Ambush Bug kind of as your guide. Each issue is basically themed around one of DC’s big events stretching back to Identity Crisis. You’ve got Identity Crisis, Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Infinite Crisis, Countdown and Final Crisis. We’re going to be going after Final Crisis while it’s being published, which is unheard of. But even so, it’s not like the first issue is all going to be take-offs on Identity Crisis. Yes, we touch base thematically, and we do bump up against some events that occurred, but if you’ve never read Identity Crisis you can still follow the story and hopefully you’ll find it a hysterical book.
So, there it’s not just overtly satirical?
Yeah. It’s not just, “Here’s a satire of blank.” What I will say is that the satiring of blank is the spring board from which we launch into story.
When they told you that you pretty much had free reign, did you cackle manically and say, “Wrong move, DC!”?
Actually, I had a little disconnect moment there because that was the last thing I expected to hear. I guess it shows a certain amount of faith DC has in us that we’re going do a book that’s funny but not mean. And we really do draw the line on it. I’ve yanked out certain sequences because it just struck me as being more mean spirited than funny. I was kind of stunned. It took me a while to process that the entire DC Universe and all the stuff that went on in it were open to us with those two little rules. And they put their money where their mouth it. We’ve handed in two issues, we’ve romped around, we’ve had a lot of fun, we’ve pushed the envelope a little bit here and there, and they’re just solidly 100 percent behind it. And that’s a first. This is the first time we’re doing Ambush Bug where the regime at DC has been solidly 100 percent behind it and is supporting us like this. It’s a good feeling. Especially when you’re biting the hand that feeds you.
That hand could easily smack you or something.
Yeah. And again, it’s a give and take kind of thing. When DC gives you that kind of trust and faith in your ability to tell a story without doing something horrifying, you don’t take that lightly. It’s not like, “Heh heh. They’re not looking. Let’s slip in a [boob] joke.”
Darn. We were all hoping for that one.
I’m sure it will happen sooner or later. Because we’re weak. We’re always weak. Right now, I’m genuinely having fun doing these projects. Not one of them is painful to do, and believe me I’ve been on some books that were agony to do. But between Reign in Hell, Dreamwar and Ambush Bug and the knowledge of certain things that are rolling down the pike at me, yeah, I’m a happy camper.
Who would have thought to have seen the day?
Well, happy my way, which mean I don’t want to go outside and shoot squirrels. I’m sure other people have different definitions of happy. But if I wake up in the morning and get out of bed without inadvertently injuring myself, I’m ahead of the game.
| | | | | | | |
Share this article
![[Slashdot]](http://slashdot.org/favicon.ico)
![[Digg]](http://digg.com/favicon.ico)
![[Reddit]](http://reddit.com/favicon.ico)
![[del.icio.us]](http://del.icio.us/favicon.ico)
![[Facebook]](http://www.facebook.com/favicon.ico)
![[Technorati]](http://technorati.com/favicon.ico)
![[Google]](http://www.google.com/favicon.ico)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://www.stumbleupon.com/favicon.ico)
|  |
 | |
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
|  |
| |
|
