An Interview with Tom DeFalco, by Dave Galanter ComicBoards Exclusive! Q: Let's skip the gristle and get right down to the bone: if you were Marvel's Editor In Chief again, would you bring back Ben Reilly? A: No, because I honestly believe that dead characters should remain dead. Q: Ok, sorry, that's what I would do if I was Marvel's EIC. More seriously, you've had that job, you've written for Spider-Man and many other Marvel titles, and more currently Spider-Girl, and two image titles (Randy O'Donnel is the M@N and Mr. Right). Have you had your dream job or dream assignment yet, or is it yet to come? A: I have had many dream jobs and assignments--from my early days writing characters like Archie , Scooby Doo to the glory assignments like Amazing Spider-Man and Thor. Since I keep trying to improve my craft, I believe that many other wonderful jobs are yet to come. Q: Tell me about your current work. What right now is grabbing your excitement? A: SPIDER-GIRL has always been a labor of love, and I'm starting to feel the same about RANDY O'DONNELL (because it's so different from anything I've ever done before) and MR. RIGHT (because I love this cast of characters and really enjoy working with Ron Frenz). Q: How closely do you work on plot with your artists? Is it a 50/50 team effort, or do the lines blur too much to put a number on it? A: The lines tend to blur--because a good comic book is the result of a complete team effort--and that means you have to be open to input from every member of the team. I want my pencilers, inkers, colorists, letters and editors to contribute to each story...because that just makes life a lot easier for me. Q: Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing style? A: I read constantly, and I hope I've learned a little from each writer I've ever experienced...but I'd have to say that my chief influences are probably Edgar Rice Burroughs, Stan Lee and Ed McBain. Q: If you weren't writing in life, I assume you'd still write, but what else might you have done for a living? A: I briefly thought about becoming a teacher...and still might. Q: What's the best part of your job? A: Assembling a plot--I really enjoy the craft of shaping scenes and hammering them together to form a story. Q: What's the most difficult (we won't dwell on the worst, if there is one)? A: Honing my dialogue to the point where what I've said is as jarring as what's gone unsaid. Q: You've said in other interviews that you were thrown by the outcry from fans when Spider-Girl had been cancelled. Has it changed how you write that title? A: It did for awhile. I knew what SPIDER-GIRL meant to me, Pat Olliffe and Al Williamson, but I never realized what the title meant to the fans. I was completely intimated and unable to write anything that satisfied me. I eventually realized that's a GOOD thing. It just means that I have to keep getting better if I ever want to be worthy of support the fans have shown me. Q: What's in store for Spider-Girl that you can share with us? What about The M@N and Mr. Right? A: A lot of angst and action, and a hearty dose of HOO-HA! Do you have any other questions? Q: I can't think of any, but some of our moderators had some they wanted me to ask you. A: Shoot. Q: One asked what you think of She-Hulk. Heh. A: She's a great character with a lot of untapped potential. Q: Another was interested in you future plans at Image. He'd thought you once implied a line of comics, of which The M@N and Mr. Right are only the start. Can you tell us about your long-term plans in that regard, and how you think it's working out so far? A: The guys and I planned to slowly build up a line of comics big enough to provide work for all our friends. We were going to start with THE M@N and MR. RIGHT, and I've also been working with Pat Olliffe on a third title that we planned to release in the Spring of 2002. Our goal was to eventually build up a library of material and take a stab of moving out into the mass market. We believe that we can produce material that will entertain a comic book fan and also be fun for a civilian--material that you can give to a child and still enjoy yourself. While readers seem to like THE M@N, the comic book stores haven't been very supportive. They don't seem interested in attracting the kind of audience we're targeting. Oh, well! That's the biz! Q:Recently you told me that you're probably going to combine Mr. Right #1 with The M@N #3 and publish it as a double issue. Is that still the case, and what does this do to your plans with Image? A: The comic book business has changed in the past few years. Monthly titles are published with an eye toward gathering the material in a trade paperback. Some trades are announced and can be advanced-ordered on sites like Amazon.com even before the regular comic has been printed. Since the readers and the comic book retailers seem more interested in trade paperbacks than regular monthly titles, we figured we'd cut out the middleman with MR. RIGHT and go directly to a 64 trade paperback that will contain all the material we originally planned for Issues #1 &2, plus a few additional goodies. As far my long-range plans to get back into the mass market, this particlaur package will get us into regular book stores a lot sooner than we originally planned. Q: One of our Spider-Man Message Board moderators wanted to know if you'd ever consider becoming the editor of the Spider-Man line once again? A: While I would love to go back to editing, I don't think anyone will ever offer me the SPIDER-MAN line. Q: This was a good one: Why did you decide to start writing comics, and how did you go about it? A: I grew up wanting to write novels and comic strips. While I was in college, I worked on a weekly comic strip with an artist friend of mine and used it as a sample when I graduated. My samples got me a job at Archie Comics, and that's where the madness really began--! Q: Our Manga/Anime moderator asks if you're a fan of any Japanese comics, or are influenced by any, and wonders how you feel about the fad today of using anime/manga art styles in comics? A: I love the medium--and that includes all aspect of it--and I'm kind of influenced by everything I've ever read. I feel that the anime/manga art styles are more than a fad, and I think that some artists do a great job with it...while others think they can use it to cover a lack of real drawing ability. Q: Someone asked the oddly morbid question: "If you had to quit Spider-Girl for, lets say health reasons, what other writer do you think would be up to doing a comparable job on the title?" See why I'm not taking credit for these? A: Comparable or better? There are too many to name, and I don't want to give Marvel any ideas. Q: Here are some fast questions. Give us your off-the-cuff answers. What brought upon the creation of The M@N and Mr. Right? A: The guys and I wanted to restore the fun to comics. Our goal was to create characters and titles that we'd enjoying producing and the fans would enjoy reading. Q: What was your favorite time as Marvel EIC? A: I loved working on new titles and planning for the future--in those day we actually had one! Q: What's your favorite story you've told in Spider-Girl? A: Issue #22 is real special to me--especially to the scene where Peter reacts to Mayday's dress. Q: Who's your favorite Marvel hero and favorite Marvel villain? Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas cannot be either answer. A: Captain America and Doctor Doom. Q: Is there a particular title you'd enjoy working on? A: Captain America. Q: Has there ever been a story told in a comic that after you read it, you thought to yourself, "Damn, I wish I thought of that!"? A: DUHHHHH! Mark Gruenwald used to do that to me all the time! Q: And finally, what comics do you currently read or might you also collect? A: I think of myself more as a reader who saves his old comics than as a collector...and I buy and look at a lot of different comics each month. Thanks for your time, Tom! Thanks for being there! Hoo-HA! Places to discuss the interview: Spider-Girl Message Board and Image Message Board Special Preview of Mr. Right: Daily Bugle Headlines Special Preview Review ComicBoards.com: Your place to discuss comics!