Home > COMICS > [WWC] ANDY LANNING AND DAN ABNETT Q&A
[WWC] ANDY LANNING AND DAN ABNETT Q&A
The writing duo behind 'Nova' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy' talk about going Marvel exclusive
By Wade Million
Posted 6/28/2008
Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett, the men at the helm of Marvel's Cosmic Universe, have gone exclusive to the mighty comic publisher. The dynamic duo has worked on numerous titles together, including Annihilation: Conquest, Nova and—most recently—Guardians of the Galaxy. Wizard caught up with both Dan and Andy about the numerous "perks" of becoming exclusive to Marvel and future plans for their premier cosmic titles.
Why did you guys decide to go exclusive for Marvel?
ABNETT/LANNING: We've really enjoyed our work with Marvel over the past year or so, especially on the Annihilation books, Nova and recently The Guardians of the Galaxy. It made sense to consolidate our position with them and focus our efforts on Marvel projects in the future. Marvel was generous enough to offer us the exclusive contract for writing, as well an exclusive deal for Andy as an inker. We leapt at the chance to carry on working with great characters we've grown up reading!
How is this different from what you were doing previously?
ABNETT/LANNING: The main difference is a greater sense of job security and focus. We know what we're going to be doing for the next year or so and we can devote all our efforts towards it; safe in the knowledge that we'll be working with Marvel for the next couple of years.
Did Marvel throw in any goodies to sweeten the offer?
ABNETT/LANNING: Pizza and beer!
Can you offer any other insights about going exclusive with Marvel?
ABNETT/LANNING: We've been offered this sort of deal before in the past but it has never panned out: the main sticking point being Andy's schizoid nature as both an inker and writer. Previously, whenever we were in a position as writers to consider an exclusive deal, Andy had inking commitments with rival companies that eventually scotched the deal. Exclusive should mean exclusive. It was always difficult to be exclusive in one respect of your working life but retain freelance status with the rest of your day. Likewise, Andy has been offered inking exclusive contracts but they never panned out due to being freelance as a writer. With this deal, we were finally able to align all the elements together. Andy's inking commitments for the foreseeable future were with Marvel and as writers we had a lot of Marvel projects on our plate, so the time was right and we willingly took the plunge!
What is it like being the masterminds behind the Marvel Cosmic Universe?
ABNETT/LANNING: It's great fun, the Marvel cosmic characters were favorites for both of us when we were kids. It's a real privilege to get the opportunity to play in the cosmic sandbox with the likes of such classic characters as the Silver Surfer, Super Skrull, Nova and Galactus!
What kind of freedom does it give you knowing the Marvel Cosmic Universe has little impact on the rest of the Marvel Universe?
ABNETT/LANNING: It's certainly given us freedom to do some really grand things without trampling all over other people's continuity. There are whole histories of characters and species out in the Marvel cosmic universe that were not being used and we got the opportunity to reintroduce them to readers and show them how cool these concepts and characters really are. But it is not entirely accurate to say that the cosmic books do not have an impact on the MU. One of our goals from here on out is to link Marvel Cosmic to Marvel Earth a little more significantly. As Bendis has shown with Secret Invasion, cosmic events can have a profound effect on planet Earth and its heroes.
In particular, can you talk about what ramifications Secret Invasion will
have on Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy?
ABNETT/LANNING: Secret Invasion will have profound effects on the Marvel cosmic universe: its consequences will definitely play out in Nova and GotG as well as on the larger Marvel cosmos itself.
So how is Nova going to deal with all of these Skrulls?
ABNETT/LANNING: Nova will be taking part in the Secret Invasion and this will see him returning to Earth where he ends up coming to the defense of Project Pegasus and meets up with some really cool guest stars. We believe that cross-overs should be more than just an opportunity to tie in with other books—this story will have serious ramifications for Nova's continuity...of course, we're not going to tell you what they are!
Can you talk a little about Guardians of the Galaxy and where that is
heading?
ABNETT/LANNING: In Guardians of the Galaxy, the SI cross over will be extremely close-focused and intimate, exploring the paranoia of a Skrull invasion in claustrophobic circumstances. Beyond that, there are obviously big things afoot with the Universal Church of Truth story arc and the Starhawk/Vance Astro mystery. We're working towards the reveal of a Big Bad, the identity of which will take you by surprise. We can guarantee that!
Like Guardians, are there any other spin offs planned from Annihilation?
ABNETT/LANNING: We can't talk about that right now, watch this space...
Is there a Nova/Guardians crossover planned for the near future?
ABNETT/LANNING: We definitely expect them to cross paths at some point in the future. The details of this are under wraps and something we are developing with our Uber-editor, Bill Rosemann.
Do you plan to resurrect any more of Marvel's more...interesting characters,
like Vance Astrovik?
ABNETT/LANNING: There are so many really cool Marvel cosmic heroes out there not being used at present, it would be foolish not too!
