The Four Color Media Monitor

I looked at this interview done for the closing of 52, and to be quite honest, I think that Mark Waid really blows it here.

As we look back on 52, Waid sat down with Newsarama to talk about the project and give some insight into how the mysteries of 52 evolved. And as we chatted about detectives and mysteries, we delved into the world of Ralph Dibny -- and how the idea to make him and Sue into "ghost detectives" was one of the first 52 endings the writers decided upon and solidified.

Without any real humor, I would have to figure. Regardless, the whole notion of making them into "ghost detectives" reeks of sensationalism - certainly as written here - and that's not what I asked for as a reader either.

Next:

MW: [laughs] It's just that Action Comics Weekly was one of the most ironically titled comics in history. That was a production nightmare from the get-go. That was where everything had to stop on a Friday afternoon at DC Comics so that we could get Action Comics Weekly out. It was a good vision, and I thought it was a noble experiment, but it clearly never came together, and it was never a must-buy for anybody.

NRAMA: But you didn't feel that this weekly might turn out the same way?

MW: I realized it would be a lot of work, and I realized there would be a lot of production nightmares along the way, but the notion of telling the story between the four of us that took place in real time over 52 weeks -- that just seemed like an interesting challenge, and not like an impossibility. I just never felt intimidated by the challenge.

And that's okay, because I had zero interest in it, especially with the mediocre way it all turned out. Of course he wouldn't dare say that any of this was a mistake as long as he's being paid for it. He'll just continue to sugarcoat everything.

Waid then says something sensationalistic about Geoff Johns:

MW: Geoff? The misapprehension about our roles continues to amaze me. The party line on me seems to be that I was the guy who knew all the characters and knew the DC Universe, and that was what I brought to the table. And I'm here to tell ya, my knowledge of DC continuity stops dead about the time I discovered girls. [laughs] I said that over and over again. So it's really Geoff who had a much better handle all the time on the current, modern-day DC Universe and the status of the players right this second. So the fact that he loves these characters as much as I do and had a really good take on where they were at the time and just kind of -- you know, Geoff was always the one you could turn to and go, "OK, we need a villain for this sequence," or "we need a throwaway hero for this sequence." And it was Geoff, not me, who would pipe up and go, "Hey, Terra-Man would be good." Because he knows. He keeps up with the contemporary stuff a little bit more than I do.

That, and just the fact that, you know, whenever you need somebody torn in half [laughs], Geoff's the guy to go to!

NRAMA: [laughs] A body part removal expert.

MW: Yeah! He's really good at the dismemberment, at the limb-shearing -- whenever you need it bloody, Geoff's the guy to go to. [laughs]

NRAMA: He really needs to put that on his resume. [laughs] I'm sure some of the more negative fans are latching onto that label already, unfortunately.

Yep, unfortunately, and here at the FCMM, this can really take a big blow to the chin. And Waid is certainly going to get a drubbing here for sugarcoating gore and bloodletting. Mr. Waid, have you no dignity? Is the money involved really getting to your sanity? This is what's beginning to make me lose respect for Waid, because, as is probably apparent to some by now, he's just one of those who's sold out to irrationality in the past few years.

NRAMA: We'll get to some details about the story later, but in a general sense, now that it's done, what's something that maybe, as you look back, you regret, but also, what's one thing you look back toward with pride?

MW: Wow. I think I'm proudest of the fact that the Supernova storyline came together as well as it did. I'm also proud of the fact that Grant was able to take a character like Egg Fu and make him interesting. That's the thing that I'm proudest of in general is that we were able to take some of the lesser characters of the DC Universe -- the ones whose time had seemingly passed, like Doc Magnus -- and do something really interesting with them. I mean, T.O. Morrow is a great character now; Doc Magnus is a great character now. And that's what I'm proudest of, is how we sort of shined these characters up.

I'm also very proud that we were able to give Ralph Dibny and Sue Dibny a happy ending. 'Cause that was something we campaigned for since the first time we met on this series. It was of paramount importance to us all along that Ralph and Sue would be reunited in such a way that they have a whole new world of adventure to face.

I completely disagree, partly because as of now, while Ralph may have reunited with Sue in the afterlife, when did I ever want them to be ghost protagonists? I did not. Their place is in the living world, not in the afterlife, and not even in the Phantom Zone. If he thinks that this comics fan is going to fall for it, he'd better think again. The "ending" when I learned of it, ended up making me feel more dismayed, since in a way, it's only continuing the IC-based damage streak. And that's not something we really need.

NRAMA: OK, then, getting back to the characters. There were nine main characters, but you've touched upon some that got a lot of time in the comic, like Doc Magnus and such. But going back to the beginning of the process, how did you choose those main nine, and which ones interested you as a writer the most?

MW: Well, originally, the whole DC Universe was open to us with the exception of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. And because we were telling the stories of characters that wouldn't be appearing in the DC Universe for a year, that left out the characters who would be appearing in their own titles, obviously. So we had to go to the Booster Golds of the world or whatever. What I'm saying is that the list of characters was narrowed from the start.

But where the characters really came from was that we started not with characters. We started with, "what are the big ideas of the DC Universe that we want to redefine and explore?" We wanted to give a real sense of what the DC Universe space is like. We want to touch upon religion, we want to touch upon commerce, we want to touch upon technology, we want to touch upon the afterlife and mysticism. That's where we started. "Let's talk about those arenas. And then let's see what characters we have that can play into them." So with Ralph, it was him missing Sue and wondering why she can't come back in a world where that happens. You know, heaven seems to have a revolving door in the DC Universe, and why can't Sue come back? So that made him an obvious character for magic and mysticism and exploring that world. Same with Steel. He was an obvious candidate for exploring the world of technology in the DC Universe, and exploring the notion of commerce in the DC Universe, which linked to Luthor. So that's really how we narrowed the characters down.

Frankly, this strikes me all as a lot of hot air. Which figures, I suppose, when you're offered a position as an editor and are willing to sell out any common sense for the sake of big time money. Why can't Sue come back? Because TPTB want it that way, that's why! This is just so dumb and insulting.

NRAMA: OK, what characters in that group interested you the most when you started?

MW: When we started, seriously, most everybody -- but certainly Ralph. I've just always had a huge attachment to him. I've just always loved that character. And the Booster God/Supernova/Clark Kent stuff. I just love those characters. In fact, if they had let me go, I could have written 52 weeks of just Clark Kent without powers. Because I never had more fun in this series than writing Clark Kent without his powers. Just doing his thing. And I regret that as the story built into the second and third act, there ended up being less and less time for Clark.

If he really loved the characters, he would not have made them so unpleasantly unrecognizable. Interesting how he doesn't actually mention Sue when talking about his favorites here.

NRAMA: In 52, you spent a lot of time writing Ralph Dibny.

MW: Yeah.

And he did in ways that don't appeal to me, ditto a few other characters. I've lost respect for Waid, because he glossed over quite a few things that could be of as much importance, and I really don't see much point in reading most of his work to follow if all he can do is pander to Newsarama's sugary approach.

Next, I see that Newsarama misleads on heroism, which 52 doesn't exactly seem to have much of:

NRAMA: You know, a lot of 52 was about what it takes to be a hero, or what it means to be a hero. And obviously Infinity Inc. explored that idea. Can you talk about how that team and Lex Luthor's "gift" of superpowers to them spoke to that overall theme?

MW: I just always loved the idea that, when push comes to shove, these American Idol, Real World, Road Rules superheroes, when World War III comes, they go, "Nuh uh! I'm not doing that!" And they walk away. That's something we had in our back pocket for a long time. When the JSA gives up in Issue #29 and says maybe it's time to hang it up, because we don't matter anymore -- the way World War III went down proved who the true heroes were.

Oh, I'll bet. Note to Waid: don't tell us what to think either. 52 certainly wasn't about heroism if they didn't show Ralph for one acting heroically.

Waid is really trying my patience, and really lets me down here.

Labels: dc comics, dreadful writers