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ABOUT THE STORYTELLER
Q: Tell us something about yourself.
A: I'm a lifelong lover of action/adventure stories. I'd say I'm a
decent writer but a good storyteller. I grew up watching the Adam West Batman series, and I became a serious fan of Star Wars
and Mission: Impossible (the TV series.) Above all, I'm a plot
junkie.
Q: How'd you get into writing?
A: It's been a hobby for at least 25 years. My attempts to get an
adventure novel published crashed and burned rather painfully. Editors
liked it, but it wasn't a "good fit" for them.
Q: Why Batman stories?
A: To get back to writing as a hobby. Batman Begins reignited my
fondness for the character. I watched the original 1989 film again after
that, and the ideas just started flowing.
Q: Who's the easiest villain to write a story around?
A: Penguin. If I get a plot idea that has anything to do with money,
valuables, or stealing, Penguin's a natural for it. He's also the most fun
to write for.
Q: Who's the hardest?
A: Riddler. It's quite a challenge to put a crime into the form of a
series of riddles, and it's also hard to come up with riddles everyone
hasn't heard a hundred times.
Q: Are there any members of the Rogue's Gallery you won't be using?
A: Sort of. Some of them, like Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, are rather
one-dimensional and difficult to build an original story around. I mean,
how many different reasons can you have for covering Gotham City in ice?
However, they are interesting characters, so I'll occasionally give them
cameos.
Q: Some of your most potent stories involve the Joker. Is that
deliberate?
A: I think his presence adds a level of darkness, surrealism,
and power to a story. Plus, there are no limits with him. Any wild,
bizarre, or nihilistic idea I get usually ends up being a Joker story. He
is Batman's arch nemesis, after all, and in a lot of ways, his darkness is
a reverse of Batman's. Whereas Batman's darkness makes him a quiet,
brooding introvert, Joker's makes him an explosive maniac who craves
attention. And together, it just creates a phenomenal chemical reaction.
Q: Batman has quite a different kind of chemical reaction with
Catwoman. You've made her a central person in his life.
A: I'll be honest. I wanted Bruce/Batman to have a little bit of happiness
in his life, since most of the stories are serious and intense. There is a
precedent in the comics for Selina reforming and marrying Bruce. But it
wouldn't be Batman if things got too happy, now
would it? |
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