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The Comic - #Issue 09
Presented below is a in-depth, round table-like discussion
between the writers and artists of Issue #9. Major thanks to the
guys for taking the time out to do this!
You can check out art from this issue by clicking
here.
Note to the faint of heart: Strong language is present.
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IN THE
BEGINNING…Portrait of Comic Fans as Comic Artists
Vito Delsante (writer/”The Couch”) – I had been working at Jim
Hanley’s Universe, a comic store in NYC (still work there
actually) and Dean was one of the regulars that I didn’t really
know was a comic artist at first. He was, at that point, the guy
who annoyed Wendy.
Dean Haspiel (artist/Batman Adventures #9) – A while back, I got
a call from editor Joan Hilty asking if I'd be interested in
drawing a few BATMAN ADVENTURES covers. Flattered, I screamed
"Of course!" Hilty said she'd call me in a couple of months when
the covers were due. In those couple of months, I blabbed about
my proposed gig to pals and cohorts. Two of those pals were
budding comix writers Vito Delsante and Gabe Soria, both of whom
had great yet diverse ideas for BATMAN stories.
Vito – Eventually, we got to talking and we became buds.
Gabe Soria (writer/”Deathtrap Au-Go-Go”) - Dean and I had known
each other for a while, and he knew that I had unspecific
ambitions about writing comics. Longtime listener, first time
caller, that sort of thing.
Dean – I told Gabe and Vito to write them into proper pitches.
Gabe hit me with a solid breakdown filled with funny twists and
turns and Vito wrote a full fledged script [he tends to do
that].
Vito – I hate writing pitches. To this day, I’d rather just
write the whole thing and be done with it. But I’m getting
better at it.
Gabe - [It was] pure nepotism. If you suspect that the reason
you can't get a job in comics is because you don't live in New
York and don't know anybody in the industry, you may be right.
Dean – I worked with the both of them to help shape their ideas
accordingly and submitted the unsolicited scripts to Hilty in
hopes of swaying her. Hilty got the heavy hint that I was pining
to draw the interior of the book, as well, and took the entire
project into consideration.
Vito – Jeez, I must have been trying to break in for…God, nearly
6 or 7 years at that point, mostly on the self publishing end. I
never even wanted to try to write anything for the big two.
Gabe - In a rare bout of productivity, I had written a script
for a humorous 12-page Batman story called "Deathtrap au Go-Go!"
for Dean to illustrate; He had heard me talking about the
concept -- Batman reminisces to Robin about the never-ending
succession of deadly traps his enemies have laid for him while
they're stuck in one, his seasoned cool about the situation
contrasting with his sidekick's rookie panic -- and dug it.
Vito – I had tried my hand at the Animated Universe before. I
tried doing a Batman meets Golden Age Dr. Mid-Nite story and a
Robin team-up with Elongated Man trying to save Bruce Wayne from
Hugo Strange for a different editor. Both got shot down.
Gabe - The whole point was for him to illustrate it as a
portfolio piece so he could get more work doing superhero
funnybooks, as I recall. Indie comics are nice and all, but
Marvel and DC actually PAY you money for working for them. A
novel concept.
Vito – After being shot down, I just let it die. I didn’t bother
trying to write more Adventure-verse stories, or anything for
DC, really. Every year, I’d make a list and write out every
major character from both companies (Marvel and DC) and the
stories I’d write, but I didn’t do anything with the lists. I
just went back to work on my creator owned character, Mr.
Mercury.
Gabe - Well, once written, the story just kind of lay at the
wayside. It's hard to get motivated about stuff like that when,
in Dean's case, you have other stuff to illustrate, and in mine,
you have freelance writing gigs to occupy you {NOTE: Gabe writes
for Blender Magazine]. That's a bit of a cop-out, kids --
sitting around hoping that someone will notice what a genius you
are is a mug's game. To paraphrase my buddy P.W. Long (an
amazing musician who all y'all should look up), you can wish in
one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first.
Dig?
Vito – I think I was talking to a girl I was seeing about Bruce
Wayne’s mind and how hard it must be to keep a secret all the
time. The stress he must go through just to keep his secret…it’s
got to be taxing. “The Couch” more or less evolved from that.
Gabe - So the story just kinda SAT there until Dean took a
meeting with Joan Hilty, the editor of Batman Adventures, and
she asked him if he had any stories he wanted to do for the
book. He mentioned "Deathtrap," I sent the script to Joan, she
liked it, and there you have it. We were in business.
Vito – I remember Dean telling me that Joan went for Gabe’s
story. It kind of forced me to actually put words to action and
write the script.
Dean – Suffice it to say, we three piggybacked each others
talents, Hilty bought the scripts and, with minor editing,
BATMAN ADVENTURES #9 was ours.
WORK IT…Making Comics
Gabe - The toughest part of doing the gig was the endless
rewrites. Jesus! First off, I had to stretch the story to 17
pages, which I thought was a bit much. I mean, really -- it's a
fun gag, not a super serous meditation on what it is to be
Batman. But expand I had to, and I did so happily. Then
grumpily. Then happily again.
Vito – If you ever want to test your skills and see how good you
really are…write a five page story. I dare you.
Dean – The most challenging part of drawing BATMAN ADVENTURES
was staying on model while still flexing my signature style.
Vito – Honestly, it was pretty painless. It was a pure
collaboration with Dean. Dean drew my story first, as, if I’m
not mistaken, he was still trying to get used to drawing in the
animated style.
Dean - It was an important learning experience to strip down the
figures, props, and sets, while maintaining a solid yet savvy
amalgamation. Alex Toth and Bruce Timm are masters at boiling
down the essence of any image, and so I leaned on their wares to
inspire my own.
Vito – Dean and I were pretty much in each other’s face doing
this. In a good way! We were constantly going back and forth
because we were really trying to nail this story.
Gabe - I would sit for HOURS and agonize over a line of
dialogue, which in the end seems silly, because it's an okay
script. Not amazing, just okay. It's not like I'm Alan Moore and
trying to win and Eisner or whatever the hell that award is. I
wish I was Alan Moore, though, or had a tenth of his talent. Ah,
sweet hackery!
Vito – I remember having a conversation with Dean about the art.
He was fretting that he wasn’t getting it and it wouldn’t look
right. I told him that he, in essence, is a pure Kirby clone. So
is Timm. I pointed out the similarities in both their work and
Kirby’s and in their own. I think that’s when he started to
crank it out.
Gabe - I can't imagine how folks write this stuff monthly and
don't lose their minds. What a fucking pain in the ass.
DRAWING BLANKS…The Roads Not Traveled
Gabe - In the initial script, Batman tells Robin about a time
when he played a particularly harrowing match of speed chess
against Two-Face in the park, as a joke. That got cut
immediately, sadly, and I was sorry to see it go. Apparently it
was a little too much levity for the hoi polloi. Nuts to that.
In the final equation, it was good editing by Joan. Too meta.
Dean - You're always "killing darlings" when developing stories
for franchise comics. A few minor scenes got scrapped or
modified for others but, at the end of the day, that's what
helps shape a better collaboration that serves the intended
story and market.
Vito – The idea of word association really appealed to me, but
originally, it was going to be just “work” and “play.” Dean was
the one who told me to expand it to more word association…uh,
words. This was even before I submitted the script to Joan.
FRINGE BENEFITS…Working With Friends
Dean – My favorite part of making comix is the layout stage.
Interpreting the script, visualizing the overall thesis of the
story, and designing it so that I create a seamless experience
of words and pictures. That, plus getting excitable responses
from my collaborators.
Gabe - My favorite part of the process was working with Dean, a
good friend, and seeing my script come to life. I think I nearly
peed my pants when Dino sent me the first thumbnail layout
sketches for the book, they were so cool. I had written the
script to be enjoyable to draw. That's why most of the story
consists of splash pages. And Dean... well, my boy just knocked
the ball out of the park. I was happy that HE was happy and
enjoying himself.
Dean – Making comix is a solitary job and every kernel of
communication [sans spoiling the proverbial soup] is much
appreciated.
Gabe - The bastard still won't give me any original art, though.
Vito – I have to agree with Gabe that the best part was working
with Dean. Knowing him for so long…it was a great collaboration,
an unexpected one too. The second best part was…dammit, Batman!
My first story and its Batman! Are you kidding me?
THE PROOF AND THE PUDDING–Batman Adventures #9
Gabe - Extremely pleased with the finished product, although I
wish I had actually written at least one sound effect into the
script. It's eerie, how SILENT the book is, even though folks
are talking throughout. And seeing the book together, with my
story and Vito's all hugged up, made me so damn proud I can
barely express it.
Dean – I was quite pleased by the final product. Besides the
great scripts and easy editorial, I loved the coloring and
lettering. I felt the issue presented both light and dark sides
of BATMAN's legend and made for a swell one-shot for any fan or
newbie to pick up.
Vito – I think there was a point where, in the middle of drawing
the book, Dean said something about the way we told our stories
in the issue. He said something about Gabe having all splash
pages and iconic shots and my story had a tight 9 panel grid for
4 out of the 5 pages. It made for a very unique looking book.
Gabe – It's at that point which I understood how somebody could
do this from month to month. Serial fiction is where it's at,
baby. Such a gas.
Vito - We had different stories to tell, and we told them in our
own way. I think that if one person got anything out of this
experience it was Dean. Dean can really tell a story, as
evidenced in his creator owned-Billy Dogma stuff. But in BA #9,
he had to first work with a writer that wasn’t himself…two of
them in fact. He had to draw a new style that wasn’t his own. He
had to tell two different stories graphically. I think he hit it
out of the park.
CRITICAL CONDITION…The Fans Talk Back
Gabe - Initially, I was kinda upset by the vicious fan reaction
to the book. Vito sent Dean and I a link to a message board
about Batman Adventures, and the folks on it were brutal about
my story and Dean's art. They liked Vito's story, which was a
little more serious minded, but I was taken to task for my
flippant tone and the voice of my dialogue, which folks
criticized for being too much like the 60s TV series, among
other things.
Vito – Yeah, I never got that. I mean, even the cartoon had
moments of camp. People just picked on the language used, and
Dean’s art being “off model.” It wasn’t fair.
Dean – I try not to let negative comments badger me unless
they're constructive. The negative feedback for BATMAN
ADVENTURES #9 seemed to be made manifest from a type of uber-fanbase that abhors alternative voices, even for one measly
issue.
Gabe - I got over it, though. Critics, you know? Personally, I
love Batman, but I'm not the biggest fan of a lot of the modern
interpretations of the character. Too damn dark, you know? Frank
Miller gets him right (in my opinion), as does Alan Moore and
Grant Morrison, who I think wrote the finest Batman EVER in JLA,
but for the most part, Batman's so grim it's BORING. Dull.
Dean – I suppose our spin was semi-jarring for sticklers of
continuity but, in their latter years, they'll [hopefully] come
to appreciate the love and energy that went into the maligned
stories and art of BATMAN ADVENTURES #9. Otherwise, as Sly Stone
once put it -- "Different strokes for different folks."
Gabe - I appreciate the fact that folks love him, but people
need to lighten up. Batman's an endlessly mutable icon,
Bat-fans. He can be everything to everybody! And yes, I'm a
unrepentant fan of the television show and am highly suspicious
of folks who aren't. How could you not love something so
surreal, lighthearted and goofy? How can you not get giddy
delight out of the fact that Batman invents a dance called the
Batusi? How can you not frug joyously to the honkin' sax bliss
that is the song "Holy Flypaper" (included on the soundtrack to
the show)?
Vito – I was very lucky. I came off as a genius. I had a lot of
fans tell me how much they liked the story and it was very
reassuring. Nothing was better than hearing my buddy Dan [Slott]
tell me he liked it…it was very nice of him and it made me feel
good about taking his book for a month. And then Ty said I could
come back to the book whenever I wanted. For a rookie who never
wrote anything that was published before, it was a great
experience.
Gabe - In the end, to the fans of Batman Adventures, I
apologize: I'm sorry I came along and peed on your lawn -- I was
drunk and really couldn't hold it in anymore.
Vito – I always say that Gabe shouldn’t apologize. Our issue was
a one time thing that didn’t need to have any continuity to it.
Jason (Hall) did one that referred to a story he did already…Gabe,
Dean and I weren’t that lucky.
Gabe - That said, I sure am looking forward to the new movie.
That Christian Bale is a dreamboat. |
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