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Backstage - Interviews - Kelsey Shannon
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• Hall Discusses Mr. Freeze's Return in Batman
Adventures #15
Hall Discusses Mr. Freeze's Return in Batman Adventures #15 - by
Jim Harvey
Returning to the character that introduced a number of new fans
to his work, Jason Hall tackles the icy spirit of Mr. Freeze
once more in Batman Adventures #15, which will be the
next, and final, chapter in the story of Mr. Freeze. With
Batman Adventures coming to an end in August, this could be
the last time we see Freeze's character in the current animated
continuity.
"First, let me say that the kind words and nice reviews for my
first Freeze story [Gotham Adventures #51] were very
flattering and much appreciated," says Hall. "There's actually
not a lot that's happened as far as continuity goes between the
end of that issue and the start of the new one."
The last story ended with Nora finding the letter Freeze had
written her at the start of the story and showing up at Arkham
to see Freeze for the first time since she came out of her coma.
We also know that Freeze had escaped Arkham and was on a boat
for the Arctic Circle, writing a final goodbye to Nora. Talk
about bad timing!
"It's possible that Freeze's attitude towards Nora and her
relationship with her new husband has changed," says Hall. "The
wheels tend to spin when you're isolated in the Arctic, you
know? But you'll have to read the issue to find out what exactly
that means for Nora, her husband and the Bat-team!"
Meanwhile, the official synopsis for Batman Adventures
#15 reveals that Koonak, a character no one has seen since
Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero, will be re-introduced to animated
continuity. Hall believes that Mr. Freeze's relationship with
Koonak presents a very human side of the character, which is why
he brought him back.
"That relationship showed that Freeze can be kind, and not just
when it comes to Nora," says Hall. "It's just that his feelings
for Nora and that particular situation can drive him to
'villainous' deeds, sometimes to the extreme.
"Freeze is a complicated, multi-faceted character, and I wanted
to show all the sides of him," Hall continues. "While he's
capable of great evil (he did try to freeze the entire city of
Gotham), he's also capable of great kindness. It's important for
the reader (and certain characters in the story) to take a look
at all aspects of Victor Fries. Plus, we never saw what happened
to Koonak, so I wanted to show that and touch on his 'origin' a
bit as well. That kind of stuff is always fun to delve into."
In the real world, of course, a lot of time has passed since
both Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero and Batman
Adventures #15. With some writers, such a prolonged gap
could have caused scripting problems, but Hall experienced none
of that.
"I actually started on this story before the Batman
Adventures series began," he says. "It features Nightwing as
well, but other than that, I didn't really deal with any of the
'time gap' issues. The story was already jam-packed!"
In the time between Batman: Gotham Adventures #51 and
Batman Adventures #15, Hall was quite busy. After all, his
comic work does reach outside the DC animated continuity to
include Crush and Star Wars for Dark Horse,
Beware The Creeper for DC's Vertigo imprint, and the
co-creation of Pistolwhip for Top Shelf. He has also tackled
DC's biggest icons, contributing two stories to Justice
League Adventures. His first, issue #20, introduced the
Psycho-Pirate into the animated continuity and delved into the
psychologies of the heroes. His second tale (#28) was a jaunt
into the future with The Legion of Super-Heroes. With these
issues, Hall wrote Batman in a different environment and showed
him tussling alongside DC's superpowered elite.
"I write Batman the same exact way pretty much in both titles,"
says Hall. "To me he's the same guy no matter what. What's neat
about writing him with the JL is that you get to show the other
team members reacting to his 'bat-attitude.' While the rest of
the 'Bat-Family' is used to it and pretty much accepts it, for
the JL it's an entirely different story."
One difference between Justice League Adventures and
Batman Adventures is the story format. Due to an editorial
mandate, Batman Adventures features a 17-page main story
with a 5-page back-up, which is much different from the 22-page
format most writers are used to writing with.
"I wrote the plot for this story as a two-parter, both full
issues, but because of the single-issue, 17/5 editorial mandate,
there's quite a bit of intricate plot stuff I had to cut, as
well as a number of Freeze-related characters that were
originally going to make an appearance," says Hall. "It would
have tied into all of Freeze's animated appearances for the most
part. A parallel sub-plot dealing with the relationship between
two members of the 'Bat-Family' was dropped, too.
"But the emotional heart of the story remains intact, and that's
the most important part, and the same basic plot is there,
though simplified and more direct," he says. "Koonak's part of
the story moved to the back-up, and I think it works nicely
there as it's its own little tale that ties in and follows up on
the 17-page main story. There's also some nice symbolic stuff
with the endings of the two stories in the issue."
Hall is very proud of both the story and the art that
accompanies the tale.
"It's got, in my opinion, the best cover of the Batman
Animated comics!" says Hall. "Nice job, Kelsey!"
Hall does plan to delve a little bit more into his original
plans for the longer version of the story after the issue hits
stands on Wednesday. Interested fans should check out the
talkback for Batman Adventures #15 at the DC Animated
Universe Board for some intriguing discussion.
But abbreviated or not, Hall believes Freeze's story is one that
can be told in any format. The nature of Freeze's background has
always been a draw, and it's what drew Hall back.
"Freeze's story has always been that of a tragic-romance," he
says. "That's why he's my favorite 'Bat-villain,' and my
intention for this story was that it would sort of end his tale
to a degree. I'm not saying there's a nice pretty bow tied on
it! I'm a big fan of interpretation and letting people draw
their own conclusions, though I'm sure I'll reveal what my own
personal conclusions are on the board!
"But I definitely feel this is a fitting ending for Freeze's
story and wrote it as such, even before the Batman Adventures
series was cancelled," he says. "Of course, it'll be up to the
readers to see if they agree!"
While Freeze's storyline may be coming to an end for now, Hall
will be kept mighty busy for the future. Hall gave Toon Zone a
small taste off his plans for the future.
"Presently, I'm working on a creator-owned monthly series for
DC/Vertigo that's still under wraps until they make the
announcement," he says. "It's going to be something a bit
different than what you've seen before!
"Thanks to all the fans and all the folks at Toon Zone for your
continued interest and support," he concluded. "I hope you enjoy
Freeze's finale!"
Interview
originally appeared on Toon Zone News on
June 13th, 2004.
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