MARV WOLFMAN ON NOVELIZING CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS

[MattBrady]

20 years ago, Marv Wolfman and George Perez redefined the entire DC Universe with Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 12 issue event that pulled together multiple earths, streamlined continuity, saw dozens of characters die, dozens more fully join the DCU, and in the end, become a legend among DC fans.

In April, for the first time since the story came out, Wolfman will revisit the entire Crisis storyline in a 320 page novelization, to be published by iBooks. This version of Crisis won’t be a simple retelling of the comic book series in any way. We spoke with Wolfman for a look between the covers, as well as a look back at the original material.

Newsarama: First off, how did you end up with this gig?

Marv Wolfman: I was having breakfast with John Nee of DC Comics at the San Diego Convention two years ago and John asked if I'd be interested in doing the Crisis as a novel. Without thinking I said yes. Later I realized the daunting nature of the job.

NRAMA: So you walked into this, eyes open with no hesitation? After all, you had really only revisited the material once in 20 years, with Crisis #4.5. Did you feel any urge to just let the material stand as the first and last word on it?

MW: When I first said ‘yes,’ I didn't think much about it. I just thought it would be cool. Later on I realized it wasn't as simple as I first thought. I wasn't worried about revisiting the material, I was worried about how. I knew I couldn't just do a prose version of the story because as they say, one picture is worth a thousand words and the original comic was conceived to be a visual book. Back then, I was working not only with my Titans partner and friend, and George Perez's work on Titans was some of the best stuff he had ever done. So I realized then I had to come up with an entirely new approach to the story, to do something that would work best in prose as the comic worked best with writing and art.

NRAMA: So how did you approach it? Did you go back to your original scripts and notes, the comics, or what?

MW: I had to re-read Crisis for the first time ever. After I first wrote it I never re-read the entire series. I'd re-read the books when each issue came out but I never re-read the whole book because quite frankly it was such a nightmare to produce I wanted nothing to do with the series or its political problems for a long time to come.

NRAMA: What was so bad about it for you? Did you just not want to bring up the emotions and stress of the creative process again, or were there other reasons?

MW: There were a lot of political problems at the time. Strangely enough, not with the business folk who actually got the project and understood what we were trying to do, but with a lot of the creative and editorial staff, many of whom didn't realize the world had changed and we either had to evolve or go extinct. Remember that at the time DC sales were tanking and Marvel was growing - so it wasn't like today where all sales are pretty much down and level. Except for Titans, Marvel fans didn't cross over to DC. Something had to be done. The idea of a crossover series had never been done before and editors at the time were extremely hesitant to participate, even when told they had to. I tried to keep things moving along, telling them that things were changing so please help shape the new DC, but dealing with everyone on this was very difficult. Of course, I have the tendency to be pretty blunt so I'm sure I contributed to it, too.

NRAMA: Did any of this have to do with what you’ve said previously was your original version of how Crisis should have ended, that is, an entirely new DC Universe, full of characters and heroes more representative of the modern world in terms of diversity and content?

MW: That was a problem - and in retrospect I think I was proven right - Dick Giordano in his autobiography said he wished there was the talent available at the time to do what I suggested. But that was only one symptom. Trying to do something that was so new and different had many, many of its own difficulties. Today's readers were born into the post-Crisis world where crossovers and stunts is the norm. It wasn't like that then. For better or worse.

NRAMA: Back to your approach, and re-reading the story for the first time ever. If you only re-read it for the novel, what about Crisis #4.5? What was your research like for that?

MW: When I did Crisis #4.5 a few years ago, I knew where I wanted that story placed and I re-read up till issue #5 and skimmed the rest only enough to make sure I wasn't contradicting anything later on. But I never read all the way through to #12. So, while waiting for the contracts to come I re-read the series only to realize I had actually forgotten about 90% of it. I didn't remember characters I wrote or scenes, etc. I was coming to it as a reader and I was surprised at how complex it was.

But I re-read it and made notes along the way, and as I continued to read it ideas came and I saw places in the original that weren't explained and places that more story could be done that would give what we saw a different impact.

NRAMA: In the larger picture, did you feel that you were going to be able to capture the scope of the comic series in a novel form, or was the overall structure going to need to be rejiggered for the novel?

MW: I realized I could not do in prose what George did with art in reference to the grand cosmic nature of the story with hundreds of heroes attacking hundreds of villains in all different time periods. What I wanted to do was what a novel does best, which is to make the ultimate cosmic story into a personal story. I wanted to have Flash as our POV character because, although he died in the middle of the series - something I never wanted to do - he really got short shrift in the original. I also thought it would be good to do a book where the Flash was basically letting us know how a hero sees the other heroes, how he saw the Crisis in general, and how his own emotions were turned up side down because he had no idea if his wife Iris was alive or dead. In many ways this book is a wonderful love story between Barry and Iris and I dare anyone who reads it not to cry at the end. I described the last chapter to my wife - who has not read the Crisis or most comics, for that matter, and she was in tears. Also, using Flash gave me the chance to do something very different, to make it special and to really get into the head of a major DC character in a way nobody ever had before.

I pitched the plot concept to DC and they completely agreed with the approach. I worked with Paul Kupperberg as my editor and Bob Greenberger, who was my assistant on the original series, worked alongside Paul. They were just great and Paul made a suggestion at the end that really helped the book.

NRAMA: What was it about Barry that made you want to use him as the POV character? As you said, he died in the middle…which could make it…tricky for him to relate what was happening at the end of the story.

MW: He was moving through time in the original comic. Part of the question is why and how. And that leads into other aspects that make him the perfect POV character to work with. Also, it let me really get into the heads of all the characters in a way we couldn't do in the comic.

NRAMA: So, with your approach and POV set, was it smooth sailing from there?

MW: Not at all. The task was daunting for two reasons: First, this was the Crisis and I felt I had to do something special if I was going to dip into that well again. The original Crisis was extremely well received by most fans and professionals. In many ways it's become the standard for all crossovers to come, and its success is what made the crossover comic a comics staple - for which in many ways I am deeply apologetic. But whether you like the idea of crossovers or not, Crisis was the first and its success spawned an entire industry.

Second, I was intimidated because I hadn’t written a novel in 30 years, and it took me awhile to begin to get comfortable with the format, but I think it worked out really well. I'm hoping that others agree because I really caught the novel bug with this and want to do more.

I re-read the comic again and made more notes on the original and slowly I saw an entirely new way to handle the series which would invalidate nothing from the original but still show much of it from a completely new view point. I found openings in the story that let me do some really interesting things with both the story and the characters.
But more importantly it would allow me to write a lot of new material that nobody had ever seen. I honestly think it all fits in seamlessly and provide some new perspective on what we saw or in some cases what we thought we saw.

NRAMA: That said, how much is in the Crisis novel is expansion or building on what was in the original series versus the maxiseries’ storyline?

MW: I'm guessing that about 60-70% of the book is new. We cover many of the original scenes, and of course we have the death of Supergirl - but also from a very different view point - Supergirl's own - as well as Flash's death, the Anti-Monitor's attacks, etc. But, if I'm not mistaken and it is doing what I think it’s doing, the new material doesn't just fit in but it explains and adds to the original. I was amazed at how different I could be while not altering what was there. Remember, most of the book is narrated first person by the Flash and that alone changes the perspective of what we saw.

NRAMA: On your blog, you mentioned that the novel begins with Barry Allen (The Flash) already dead…he’s able to still be the narrator because of the time-jumping?

MW: Right. The book opens with Barry's death and him trying to figure out what happened. Remember, in the Crisis the Flash was moving back and forth through time, so that allowed him to go back to before he was involved and stick around after he was dead.

NRAMA: In looking back and re-reading the original, was there anything that you took the opportunity to fine tune or tighten up in the novel? Any minor bugs that you were able to explain away or tweak?

MW: I did that, but only incidentally. The main thrust of the novel was to do a really good story that would not only amplify the original Crisis but to show a side of it we didn't show before. Lots of hows are solved but more importantly lots of characters are fleshed out in I hope surprising ways.

NRAMA: Is any of the new material scenes and elements you originally wanted to include, but couldn't, for space reasons? Or is the new material fully "new" in the sense that it's coming to the story after you've had 20 years to think about it?

MW: Unlike Crisis #4.5 which was based on a not-fleshed out idea I couldn't fit in to the original, none of these scenes were intended or thought of before this book. The separation of 20 years and my hopeful growth as a writer let me see things and approaches I could take.

I tried to write it so that folk who read the original Crisis maxi-series will find lots of new things to discover, be surprised at or infuriated by, while people who have never read a single issue of it or any other DC Comic would simply find it an interesting yarn. I'm sure people will tell me very loud and vociferously if I failed.

NRAMA: So let’s start with those teases - what are some of the new scenes?

MW: There are so many, but here's a very few: Green Lantern in Australia.

Wonder Woman on Paradise Island. Superman-2 and Lois-2. How did the
Flash escape from the Anti-Monitor's trap – which was never explained in the original. How did the Spectre get involved? The Flash actually is responsible for the origin of one of DCs other characters. The Flash at the dawn of time. There are scenes in Atlantis before and after it sunk, and during World War 1 which happens to be taking place just outside San Diego in the present.

To me what is even more important is what's happening to the characters than just the addition of new scenes. Jon Stewart is new to the JLA and to hear his observations of his fellow members adds to his character and to theirs. Robotman of the Doom Patrol has a picnic with his fellow Patrol partners - knowing he's in some past time period and they are soon about to sacrifice themselves. To see Lois-2 waiting for her husband to announce his retirement and to feel what the Flash is going through as he tries to find out what happened to Iris, to explore the major differences between Superman and Supergirl because Supergirl was a teenager when she watched her world, her parents and her best friends die as opposed to Superman who was rocketed from Krypton while he was still an infant, these are the kinds of touches that I think give the book a character driven reality it might not have had before.

But most of all I'm hoping everyone finds it readable, fun and a good story. Of course, right now, as I'm waiting for the book to come out the middle-end of April, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I remembered to write it in English.

NRAMA:In your view now, is this novel as "canon" as the original series was?

MW: Since I don't invalidate anything in the original Crisis - I'm showing the comic from different perspectives and showing many, many events that were never shown before - I don't think it's anti-canonical. I think it's a fleshing out of the original with lots more than just that.

NRAMA: In the end, what, for you, is the larger story of Crisis? It’s been said that, at its heart, it’s one of utter defeat, that trillions of beings died, heroes died, the Anti-Monitor almost won, and the heroes were only able to save a small beachhead of reality. Do you see it as…pessimistic as that?

MW: Allowing for the fact that this is, above all, a story, and getting so deep into the deaths is, in my mind counter-productive, if you follow my logic you'll see that that theory is wrong. The heroes went back and changed the universe at the dawn of time. There was supposed to be only one universe and that's all there is now. Therefore the people who 'died' in the Crisis actually never existed in the first place. And if they never existed - since the change happened at the dawn of time - they couldn’t die. The heroes solved the problem by ensuring the one universe concept, and then they attacked and beat the Anti-Monitor. They absolutely were heroes. The battles with the Anti-Monitor after the change had the heroes winning every step of the way.

I hate playing these comic games and you can never win when you're dealing with time paradoxes, but assuming this was real and not fiction, if the universe was reset at the dawn of time none of us would ever remember our previous existences because they never happened.

My idea was by beginning the universe all over again we could begin anew. If we wanted to bring back something from DC’s past then we would - but as something new. It would be that things first appearance in the new world. Supergirl may have died when there was a multiverse, but in the single universe there had never been a Supergirl. But a rocket from Argo City could still land in Metropolis and a new Supergirl could emerge from it, become Linda Lee, become Superman's secret weapon, etc. The Crisis was a way of allowing the DCU to begin with all new number ones and all the good stuff could be brought back if we wanted, or ignored if we wanted that instead. To me it was a method of relaunch and not one of death which is why, except for Flash who I didn't want to kill for totally fan reasons, I never concerned myself much with who lived and who died.

Wolfman is doing periodic teases of some of the new Crisis material on his blog at http://www.marvwolfman.com The novel is available for pre-order at www.amazon.com and other booksellers.

[BlueThunderArmy]

To clarify, Crisis #4.5 was that Legends of the DCU special, right? With the new alternate Earth? I'm thinking a lot of people might not know about that issue, or remember it if they knew, so it might help to tell people what it is, rather than just an off-hand mention.

[Mr Wesley]

Originally posted by BlueThunderArmy
To clarify, Crisis #4.5 was that Legends of the DCU special, right? With the new alternate Earth? I'm thinking a lot of people might not know about that issue, or remember it if they knew, so it might help to tell people what it is, rather than just an off-hand mention.

I never knew that. I picked up one of the more recent Crisis TPB reprints a couple of months back. Does anyone know if 4.5 has been included as a regular part of the repints?

[Simon DelMonte]

This sounds like fun. As a huge Barry Allne fan, I am especially stoked.

[ParisCub]

No, Crisis 4.5 wasn't in the Hardcover or softcover paperback.

An interesting read

[Uchiha_Prodigy]

How big is the novel gonna be? Im imagining its gonna be pretty damn thick.

[Mr Wesley]

Originally posted by Uchiha_Prodigy
How big is the novel gonna be? Im imagining its gonna be pretty damn thick.

According to Amazon.com, it's 320 pages. So, it's not Les Miserables, but it's not short, either.

[bluedevil2002]

How big is the novel gonna be? Im imagining its gonna be pretty damn thick.

Originally posted by MattBrady
[BIn April, for the first time since the story came out, Wolfman will revisit the entire Crisis storyline in a 320 page novelization, to be published by iBooks[/b]

Amazing what you learn by reading the article.

[daryldens]

Should be an interesting read. Sounds like a very ambitious project for one book, but I will definitely be picking it up. I enjoyed Elliot Maggin's Kingdom Come novelization so hopefully this one will be as effective as that one at providing the fleshing out that Marv Wolfman talks about in the article.

I also think its great that they are using Marv on this project instead of getting another author.

[gokujam]

This is crazy!!!!

How can they squeeze all the craziness that was Crisis into a 320 page novel??????

[Andy E. Nystrom]

Originally posted by Mr Wesley
I never knew that. I picked up one of the more recent Crisis TPB reprints a couple of months back. Does anyone know if 4.5 has been included as a regular part of the repints?

Not in the sense you mean, but when I was in Europe in 2002, they were reprinting Crisis a few issues at a time in French (something like three or so English issues per French issue). The French Crisis#2 included 4.5 in it.

Personally I thought that's a mistake due to the various continuity glitches (I sure French readers will be puzzled about Flash and Psycho-Pirate seeing Anti-Monitor's face in #4.5, only to be shocked when his face is finally revealed in #6), but there you have it.

--AndyEN

[JLAJRC]

[quote]Originally posted by MattBrady
[

MW: There were a lot of political problems at the time. Strangely enough, not with the business folk who actually got the project and understood what we were trying to do, but with a lot of the creative and editorial staff, many of whom didn't realize the world had changed and we either had to evolve or go extinct.


Great advice that needs to be followed today.

I never heard of Crisis 4.5 either. What's that about? Also, how was the original ending different than the one that was eventually published?

I can't wait to read this.

[Ricber]

I'll definitely be getting this. Sounds like a great read!
I remember getting Crisis when it first came out and the small scenes were what interested me the most. How the heroes dealt with everything that was happening. Now we'll get a more detailed look at all of that.
I don't know why Marv Wolfman is not getting more work these days with DC. Hopefully, if this and the future Titans graphic novel "Games" do well enough, he will.
-Rich B.

[Heatwave]

I already ordered my copy a month ago. Hopefully it will be a fun read. Barry Allen is my favorite character and I look forward to this POV perspective.

[jedifish]

I read the series in December and really enjoyed it. My one complaint was that Flash really didn't do much, despite being such a major player in the story. I'm glad this novel will flesh this out.

Here is 4.5

[Ebon]

Originally posted by JLAJRC I never heard of Crisis 4.5 either. What's that about? Also, how was the original ending different than the one that was eventually published?

The parallel world they went to was a much quieter and gentler world than most others. Superheroes there dealt with natural disasters, normal crime, etc rather than supervillains or outer-space threats. Batman is a family man; Robin is his son, I think, along with a couple others.

An page of anotations on the comic: http://www.io.com/~woodward/chroma/cr4_5.html

[Lee Grice]

I loved Crisis On Infinite Earths when it was originally published and have reread it fairly regularly since (both the single issues and then the paperback) so I'll definitely be buying this -- if for no other reason than to see how Marv gets such an epic story into such a relatively slim book! I was expecting something the size of The Stand or IT!

I never saw LotDCU/Crisis #4.5 on the shelves or in the back-issue boxes and came to the conclusion some time ago that it was never published! Looks like I'm going to have to start looking again.

I wish DC would initiate an 'Essentials' style line of thick inexpensive paperbacks - Marv and George's Teen Titans run just cries out for it. And a collection of Marv and Gene Colan's Night Force would be damned sweet, too.

Peace!

[tralfaz]

Originally posted by jedifish
I read the series in December and really enjoyed it. My one complaint was that Flash really didn't do much, despite being such a major player in the story. I'm glad this novel will flesh this out.

Here is 4.5

ive got that and the rest of legends of the DCU.. nice little series that should have done better

[ManofTheAtom]

Would it be possible to ask Wolfman if he's planning to make logistical alterations to the section that covers issue 12?

Like Lex Luthor in jail for example when Batman and Alexander Luthor visit him.

I've always theorized that if the Earth from issue 12 was supposed to be the one with the reboots, that if Wolfman had known what Byrne and he were planning to do with Luthor that the visit would have taken place at his LexCorp office as opposed to a jail cell.

This novel sounds like a great way to correct that if indeed it was a mistake brought upon by not knowing about the Byrne/Wolfman reboot before hand.

[jccalhoun]

The 4.5 issue, while entertaining, isn't anything special. Essentially, it is a multicultural Earth and just as the silver age heroes were comic books on Barry Allen's earth, Barry Allen and company are comic books on that earth. It more or less follows the same storyline as Crisis: the JLA and company go to the earth and with the help of the native heroes try to save as many people as they can. The most interesting part for me was the part where that Earth's Flash says to Barry Allen something about how he stopped reading comics when the stories got so dark and serious.

[Barry]

I'm not much of a fan of superhero comic novelizations (because, really, what's the point?) and I don't have much faith in the ability of most comicbook writers in the medium of prose. But this does sound like an interesting approach to what was really a big mess of a maxi-series when I re-read it a few years back.

[dollman]

Originally posted by Barry
I'm not much of a fan of superhero comic novelizations (because, really, what's the point?) and I don't have much faith in the ability of most comicbook writers in the medium of prose. But this does sound like an interesting approach to what was really a big mess of a maxi-series when I re-read it a few years back.

I'm totally with you on this. I read the David Michelline novelizations of Avengers and Daredevil back in the 80s, and came to the conclusion....why? Comics are first and foremost a visual medium. These characters and settings work best if you have a mix of pictures and dialogue.

For a story that's expansive as Crisis, adding additional prose just adds more clutter.

[Kolimar]

Originally posted by ManofTheAtom
Would it be possible to ask Wolfman if he's planning to make logistical alterations to the section that covers issue 12?

This novel sounds like a great way to correct that if indeed it was a mistake brought upon by not knowing about the Byrne/Wolfman reboot before hand.

From your own post, I'd say Wolfman didn't know about the reboot MoTA, especially considering Marv is credited with the specific creation of the revamped Lex.

[ManofTheAtom]

Originally posted by Kolimar
From your own post, I'd say Wolfman didn't know about the reboot MoTA, especially considering Marv is credited with the specific creation of the revamped Lex.

That's part of my point, I should have been clearer on that, heh.

Had Wolfman known that DC was going to let him and Byrne reboot Superman, would the scene at the jail in Crisis have instead taken place at the LexCorp office?

[byoung2814]

I agree that novelizations can seem backwards for a comic, but I read the Kingdom Come novel, and it was fun, especially after not having read the original comics in several years. I am looking forward to this, even though my favorite hero (hal jordan as gl) doesn't do a whole heckuva lot.

b.