MattBrady
02-07-2003, 10:19 AM
<img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/skylark.jpg" width="160" height="515" align="right" alt="Skylark from Mighty Love">UPDATED WITH THREE NEW PAGES
No stranger to the writing side of comics for the last few years, fans of Howard Chaykin have been almost of one voice in wondering one thing – when would the creator get back to illustrating? Behold – a cause for celebration among Chaykin fans - Mighty Love, a 96-page graphic novel coming this summer from DC, written and illustrated by Chaykin. Newsarama had a chance to speak with the creator for the details.
For a quick idea of what Mighty Love is all about, think You’ve Got Mail, or more accurately, the earlier inspirations for Nora Ephron’s film, such as In the Good Old Summertime, The Shop Around the Corner, and She Loves Me - with superheroes.
Really.
The big picture – Delaney Pope and Lincoln Reinhart, hard nose cop and public defender by day (respectively) who despise one another during the day, and costumed hero (Skylark and the Iron Angel, respectively) by night. Attraction ensues – at night. With the masks.
Skylark is a sexy, sultry crime fighter with a passion for social justice. If you’re a crooked cop, or abusing power, Skylark is looking for you. Meanwhile, Iron Angel is a combat-gear wearing vigilante who goes after the city’s criminals with a vengeance. The two meet when a million dollars in cash is stolen from a motivational seminar, and though at loggerheads about how to proceed, each immediately feels an attraction towards the other. As each continues to deal with the other in their costumed identities, both share their issues with their therapist.
But – if you’re a long-time Chaykin fan, back off of the idea that this is somehow related to Black Kiss, and will delve into the fetishistic nature of costumes, masks, and the possible sexual gratification one might receive from beating on other people. It’s nothing quite that dark. Instead, think romantic comedy.
<img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/ironangel.jpg" width="160" height="362" align="left" alt="Iron Angel from Mighty Love">With colors by Dave Stewart, letters by Kurt Hathaway, and edits by Joey Cavalieri, the creator-owned Mighty Love is the first of many more upcoming projects that Chaykin will create, write and illustrate.
Finally, as an aside, if you’re wondering where Chaykin has been recently that’s prevented him from drawing anything, it boils down to two letters: T and V. The acclaimed comics creator made the jump to television production in the late ‘80s, and has been increasingly more involved with that over the years since. Most recently, Chaykin was a producer on the syndicated Mutant X series. Leaving that gave him free time and hand that was itchy to hold a pen again.
Newsarama: First off, where did Mighty Love come from? Is it something that’s been germinating in the back of your mind while other things were on the front burners?
Howard Chaykin: The germ of this came from my wife--who asked me why there weren’t anymore love comics. I explained that all comics are love comics, because they’re all soap opera. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear, so she pushed and badgered me, and ultimately what emerged was the title, Mighty Love--the idea of doing a screwball romantic comedy with people wearing masks. The natural source of that would be The Shop Around the Corner, You’ve Got Mail, and all those stories of mistaken identities.
NRAMA: So it’s those stories, with superheroes?
HC: Yeah. One of the basic tenets of superhero comics is the secret identity.
NRAMA: Except here we’ve got Delaney and Lincoln instead of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Can you give a sketch of each? Let’s start with Delaney…
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove3.jpg"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove3_t.jpg" width="175" height="256" align="right" alt="Mighty Love, page 3" border="0"></a>HC: She’s an honest cop in a dishonest administration. Her politics are centrist/right. She’s a Catholic girl with a strong moral streak and a certain heartsickness about some of the things she has to do on her job, because she recognizes that the people she works for are corrupt. She acts this out in a neurotic way by becoming Skylark at night.
NRAMA: And Lincoln?
HC: Lincoln is a limousine liberal – a product of an upper middle class upbringing and education, who’s a defense attorney. He has the same heartsickness because of the legal system he works in – he finds himself working for people he despises. At night he becomes the Iron Angel, a hard-boiled, take-no-prisoners asskicker.
These two know each other in their professional lives, and they frequently find themselves on opposite sides of a witness box. They meet behind masks, and develop what ultimately evolves into a romantic relationship.
NRAMA: So, while they’re on the different side of the coin in their day jobs, at night, they get the same kind of…relief, for lack of a better word, from the mask.
HC: Right. The masks give them an opportunity to live without compromise—as opposed to their day to day lives of constant compromise. They’re both a little neurotic, but the masks take care of a lot of those neuroses, and they’re having a good time.
NRAMA: Is this set in a “real” world rather than a superhero universe?
HC: Absolutely. It takes place in an unnamed, great American city, in my view of the real world. It’s now. There aren’t a lot of guys running around shooting lightning bolts from their eyes, and no sharks with lasers on their heads.
NRAMA: When you mentioned the origination of the idea - given the subject and the fact that the superhero involvement in the story is minimal, in that Delany and Lincoln are the only ones, are you looking for this to bridge the gap between superhero and non-superhero readers, or hell with it, just tell a good story?
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove4.jpg"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove4_t.jpg" width="175" height="271" align="left" alt="Mighty Love, page 4" border="0"></a>HC: Just tell a good story. I wish I was cannier in terms of my choices of material, because I would be wealthier, happier, and have more comfort and privacy, which is really all I want out of the world. I tend to do what I feel like doing, and hope that people like it. That’s it.
NRAMA: You’re bringing in a therapist to it, which undoubtedly helps with the exposition…
HC: True, but at no point will I say, “Look! Look! Therapist!” It’s part of the story. I’m not fond of spelling everything out for the reader. I work hard enough on this stuff, so I expect a little more time from readers to read it and figure it all out. Characters don’t constantly refer to one another by their full names, and they don’t constantly remind one another of who they are. I don’t want to force the reader to stop while I have someone explain something that they should already know. I’d much rather just keep telling the story.
NRAMA: Fair enough. So what about the balancing act – in a story like this, sooner or later, the reveal has to come out…
HC: Not in this one.
NRAMA: They don’t?
HC: Nope. I chose not to reveal the identities to one another.
NRAMA: Okay – that certainly will take things in a different direction. Moving away from the story – recently, you’ve been writing comics, but this is the first one where you’ve done the full art. What pushed you to do it?
HC: I learned years ago that if I’ve got a full-time job staffing a television series, I can’t draw a book. It’s too work intensive. I’m not staffing right now, and I had a big chunk of time, dove in, and discovered how much I’ve missed it. I had no clue how much missed it, and I’m going to be doing this for at least the next several years. I’m having a better time now than I’ve had in a long time.
NRAMA: From looking at the preview art, it looks as if you haven’t missed a beat – your nearly obsessive attention to detail is still there.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove5.jpg"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove5_t.jpg" width="250" height="189" align="right" alt="Mighty Love, page 5-6" border="0"></a>HC: Yeah, I’m pretty production-based. American Flagg!, Time2, and even Black Kiss anticipated the arrival of Photoshop. A lot of the stuff I used to do with a copier, I’m now able to do with Photoshop.
NRAMA: So the old dog is learning new tricks..
HC: With the help of an assistant who is teaching me how to do this. Teach one, learn one, do one. His name is Don Cameron, the guy who did Cyberella. He’s a crack computer guy, and he’s responsible for the computer effects in Mighty Love.
NRAMA: When you say you see yourself doing this for the next several years, are you talking of Mighty Love, or others?
HC: A sequel is certainly in the offing, but I am also in the process of setting up a couple of new concepts that I’ll write and draw.
NRAMA: With Mighty Love, despite what you said about having more fun now than when you’re staffing television shows, is this something that you could see yourself carrying over to television or movies?
HC: Absolutely. One of the reasons to work in comics today is to create properties with ancillary value in other media. So if I’m doing a creator-owned property, I’m trying to create something that generates interest outside of comics. But for now, finishing this is my number one priority—and I’m having a great time.
The following three pages occur sequentially just prior to the pages with Skylark and Iron Angel on them calling the police. Click the thumbnails for larger versions.
Please note: the following pages contain graphics images, foul language and racial epithets that may be objectionable out of context. This book will be labeled for mature readers.
<center><a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_247.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_247_t.jpg" width="150" height="225" border="0" hspace="2"></a><a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_248.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_248_t.jpg" width="150" height="225" border="0" hspace="2"></a><a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_251.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_251_t.jpg" width="150" height="225" border="0" hspace="2"></a>
No stranger to the writing side of comics for the last few years, fans of Howard Chaykin have been almost of one voice in wondering one thing – when would the creator get back to illustrating? Behold – a cause for celebration among Chaykin fans - Mighty Love, a 96-page graphic novel coming this summer from DC, written and illustrated by Chaykin. Newsarama had a chance to speak with the creator for the details.
For a quick idea of what Mighty Love is all about, think You’ve Got Mail, or more accurately, the earlier inspirations for Nora Ephron’s film, such as In the Good Old Summertime, The Shop Around the Corner, and She Loves Me - with superheroes.
Really.
The big picture – Delaney Pope and Lincoln Reinhart, hard nose cop and public defender by day (respectively) who despise one another during the day, and costumed hero (Skylark and the Iron Angel, respectively) by night. Attraction ensues – at night. With the masks.
Skylark is a sexy, sultry crime fighter with a passion for social justice. If you’re a crooked cop, or abusing power, Skylark is looking for you. Meanwhile, Iron Angel is a combat-gear wearing vigilante who goes after the city’s criminals with a vengeance. The two meet when a million dollars in cash is stolen from a motivational seminar, and though at loggerheads about how to proceed, each immediately feels an attraction towards the other. As each continues to deal with the other in their costumed identities, both share their issues with their therapist.
But – if you’re a long-time Chaykin fan, back off of the idea that this is somehow related to Black Kiss, and will delve into the fetishistic nature of costumes, masks, and the possible sexual gratification one might receive from beating on other people. It’s nothing quite that dark. Instead, think romantic comedy.
<img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/ironangel.jpg" width="160" height="362" align="left" alt="Iron Angel from Mighty Love">With colors by Dave Stewart, letters by Kurt Hathaway, and edits by Joey Cavalieri, the creator-owned Mighty Love is the first of many more upcoming projects that Chaykin will create, write and illustrate.
Finally, as an aside, if you’re wondering where Chaykin has been recently that’s prevented him from drawing anything, it boils down to two letters: T and V. The acclaimed comics creator made the jump to television production in the late ‘80s, and has been increasingly more involved with that over the years since. Most recently, Chaykin was a producer on the syndicated Mutant X series. Leaving that gave him free time and hand that was itchy to hold a pen again.
Newsarama: First off, where did Mighty Love come from? Is it something that’s been germinating in the back of your mind while other things were on the front burners?
Howard Chaykin: The germ of this came from my wife--who asked me why there weren’t anymore love comics. I explained that all comics are love comics, because they’re all soap opera. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear, so she pushed and badgered me, and ultimately what emerged was the title, Mighty Love--the idea of doing a screwball romantic comedy with people wearing masks. The natural source of that would be The Shop Around the Corner, You’ve Got Mail, and all those stories of mistaken identities.
NRAMA: So it’s those stories, with superheroes?
HC: Yeah. One of the basic tenets of superhero comics is the secret identity.
NRAMA: Except here we’ve got Delaney and Lincoln instead of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Can you give a sketch of each? Let’s start with Delaney…
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove3.jpg"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove3_t.jpg" width="175" height="256" align="right" alt="Mighty Love, page 3" border="0"></a>HC: She’s an honest cop in a dishonest administration. Her politics are centrist/right. She’s a Catholic girl with a strong moral streak and a certain heartsickness about some of the things she has to do on her job, because she recognizes that the people she works for are corrupt. She acts this out in a neurotic way by becoming Skylark at night.
NRAMA: And Lincoln?
HC: Lincoln is a limousine liberal – a product of an upper middle class upbringing and education, who’s a defense attorney. He has the same heartsickness because of the legal system he works in – he finds himself working for people he despises. At night he becomes the Iron Angel, a hard-boiled, take-no-prisoners asskicker.
These two know each other in their professional lives, and they frequently find themselves on opposite sides of a witness box. They meet behind masks, and develop what ultimately evolves into a romantic relationship.
NRAMA: So, while they’re on the different side of the coin in their day jobs, at night, they get the same kind of…relief, for lack of a better word, from the mask.
HC: Right. The masks give them an opportunity to live without compromise—as opposed to their day to day lives of constant compromise. They’re both a little neurotic, but the masks take care of a lot of those neuroses, and they’re having a good time.
NRAMA: Is this set in a “real” world rather than a superhero universe?
HC: Absolutely. It takes place in an unnamed, great American city, in my view of the real world. It’s now. There aren’t a lot of guys running around shooting lightning bolts from their eyes, and no sharks with lasers on their heads.
NRAMA: When you mentioned the origination of the idea - given the subject and the fact that the superhero involvement in the story is minimal, in that Delany and Lincoln are the only ones, are you looking for this to bridge the gap between superhero and non-superhero readers, or hell with it, just tell a good story?
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove4.jpg"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove4_t.jpg" width="175" height="271" align="left" alt="Mighty Love, page 4" border="0"></a>HC: Just tell a good story. I wish I was cannier in terms of my choices of material, because I would be wealthier, happier, and have more comfort and privacy, which is really all I want out of the world. I tend to do what I feel like doing, and hope that people like it. That’s it.
NRAMA: You’re bringing in a therapist to it, which undoubtedly helps with the exposition…
HC: True, but at no point will I say, “Look! Look! Therapist!” It’s part of the story. I’m not fond of spelling everything out for the reader. I work hard enough on this stuff, so I expect a little more time from readers to read it and figure it all out. Characters don’t constantly refer to one another by their full names, and they don’t constantly remind one another of who they are. I don’t want to force the reader to stop while I have someone explain something that they should already know. I’d much rather just keep telling the story.
NRAMA: Fair enough. So what about the balancing act – in a story like this, sooner or later, the reveal has to come out…
HC: Not in this one.
NRAMA: They don’t?
HC: Nope. I chose not to reveal the identities to one another.
NRAMA: Okay – that certainly will take things in a different direction. Moving away from the story – recently, you’ve been writing comics, but this is the first one where you’ve done the full art. What pushed you to do it?
HC: I learned years ago that if I’ve got a full-time job staffing a television series, I can’t draw a book. It’s too work intensive. I’m not staffing right now, and I had a big chunk of time, dove in, and discovered how much I’ve missed it. I had no clue how much missed it, and I’m going to be doing this for at least the next several years. I’m having a better time now than I’ve had in a long time.
NRAMA: From looking at the preview art, it looks as if you haven’t missed a beat – your nearly obsessive attention to detail is still there.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove5.jpg"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/mightylove5_t.jpg" width="250" height="189" align="right" alt="Mighty Love, page 5-6" border="0"></a>HC: Yeah, I’m pretty production-based. American Flagg!, Time2, and even Black Kiss anticipated the arrival of Photoshop. A lot of the stuff I used to do with a copier, I’m now able to do with Photoshop.
NRAMA: So the old dog is learning new tricks..
HC: With the help of an assistant who is teaching me how to do this. Teach one, learn one, do one. His name is Don Cameron, the guy who did Cyberella. He’s a crack computer guy, and he’s responsible for the computer effects in Mighty Love.
NRAMA: When you say you see yourself doing this for the next several years, are you talking of Mighty Love, or others?
HC: A sequel is certainly in the offing, but I am also in the process of setting up a couple of new concepts that I’ll write and draw.
NRAMA: With Mighty Love, despite what you said about having more fun now than when you’re staffing television shows, is this something that you could see yourself carrying over to television or movies?
HC: Absolutely. One of the reasons to work in comics today is to create properties with ancillary value in other media. So if I’m doing a creator-owned property, I’m trying to create something that generates interest outside of comics. But for now, finishing this is my number one priority—and I’m having a great time.
The following three pages occur sequentially just prior to the pages with Skylark and Iron Angel on them calling the police. Click the thumbnails for larger versions.
Please note: the following pages contain graphics images, foul language and racial epithets that may be objectionable out of context. This book will be labeled for mature readers.
<center><a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_247.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_247_t.jpg" width="150" height="225" border="0" hspace="2"></a><a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_248.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_248_t.jpg" width="150" height="225" border="0" hspace="2"></a><a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_251.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/VSImage_251_t.jpg" width="150" height="225" border="0" hspace="2"></a>