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09-25-2007, 04:53 PM
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#1 |
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MARC GUGGENHEIM ON THE DEATH OF LOGAN
 It was a question that many older school Wolverine fans had bouncing around in their heads for years, or at least since 1987’s Uncanny X-Men Annual #11 when Wolverine fully regenerated from a drop of his own blood (never mind what you read in biology – it was Chris Claremont and Alan Davis, and it was wacky, weird fun) – that is, what happens when Wolverine “dies?”You know the injuries – catastrophic in the extreme, where nothing is left of Wolverine, save an adamantium skeleton or finger. The full regeneration ability had gone by the wayside somewhat in the last decade or so, but writer Marc Guggenheim brought it roaring back when, in his first run on Marvel’s Wolverine series, he saw the hero killed in a plane crash and then, burned to a crisp by the explosive villain Nitro. Guggenheim touched upon his thoughts of what happens to Wolverine in issue #48 of the series, which showed Logan’s particular afterlife to be an elaborate test – a fight for the right to return to life with his memories and soul intact. After Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi’s arc, Guggenheim has returned to the series, with artist Howard Chaykin, to tell the five part “The Death of Logan,” to fully explore and explain his thesis. We spoke with the writer about the current arc, which began in issue #57. Newsarama: Your current arc marks your return to Wolverine after your earlier arc which took place during Civil War. You’d said back then that you wanted and hoped you’d be able to return to the character…why? What is it about the character that has you hooked? Marc Guggenheim: It’s a combination of two things. The first is just totally fanboy gratification. I’ve always loved Wolverine, and have always been a huge X-Men fan. So in terms of the “big toys” that Marvel has, Wolverine is very close to the top of the list in terms of characters that I’ve always wanted to write. The second half of that is that I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed writing the character. Reading a character and experiencing a character is one thing, but writing it is another experience entirely, and I’ve really, really enjoyed writing the character and having the fun of this guy who is, on the surface, very two dimensional, but in reality, and when handled properly, is very three dimensional. NRAMA: You were able to get that in your first run, even though the bulk of it was connected to Civil War, and was, arguably, a story coming to the series from “outside,” that is, not something that you came up with?  MG: Yeah – and it’s sort of funny – this arc springs out of Wolverine #48, which was an epilogue to my “Vendetta” story. And that was born out of me wondering what happens when Wolverine suffers one of these life-altering injuries. I understand how his body heals, but even if you have a healing factor which can regenerate your brain, how does it regenerate your memories? Your personality? Your soul? It was sort of out of that question that the story came. It was fun to try and break out a second story off of that question that was really, red by the larger story that was connected to Civil War. NRAMA: Let’s go back to #48 for a moment. For people may have missed it or were only on Wolverine for the Civil War tie-in, what did Wolverine learn in that story? That showed that when he “dies” in a catastrophic fashion, he…or his spirit actually does go somewhere… MG: Right – he goes to the same place that we all go – the afterlife. Well, his personal version of the afterlife at least. What makes his different is that, for some reason, he seems to get a chance at returning to earth and the living. In the afterlife, he faces this mysterious character, Lazear, who fights him. If Wolverine manages to win the fight, his soul returns to earth where he finds that his body is conviently waiting for him, because of his healing factor.  That of course, raises more questions – who’s Lazear, and why does Wolverine get this special dispensation that the rest of us don’t get. It’s that mystery that fuels a good chunk of this second arc of mine. NRAMA: What was the root of this story? You said that there was some fanboy connection for you and the character, and we’ve all had that moment of wondering when Wolverine is shredded down to a few skin cells and a drop of blood how he comes back. Is this just you being the lucky fan who ended up writing Wolverine? MG: [laughs] That’s exactly right. To be totally honest – what you said there, about the drop of blood – that shows the generation with which you grew up with Wolverine. I remember that X-Men Annual too, where Wolverine was down to a single drop of blood, and that’s where this question started to form in my head. I’ve always taken it for granted that Wolverine can heal himself from pretty severe injuries, and was really surprised in issue #43, the second issue of my first arc, that there was an outcry from some fans saying that Wolverine could never have recovered/regenerated from such a severe injury. I’ve realized that it’s something of a generational thing that depends upon which version of Wolverine you grew up reading. For some of us, that was a return to what we knew, and for others, who were familiar with Wolverine taking a while to heal, that was a pretty huge leap that I was making. Admittedly, Wolverine’s healing factor has been treated somewhat inconsistently over the years. NRAMA: Back to the larger story though, and this was something that was an issue when Origin was in the preparation stages – aren’t you in some ways, by going into this, explaining away a chunk of the mystery behind his miraculous recoveries and healings? Sure, you are looking to explain it to it makes some kind of sense, but any “reason” that you hang on it is going to ring hollow with someone…  MG: I think there’s always a risk whenever you try to answer a question – maybe no one is interested in the answer, because no one was asking the question in the first place. So there is a little bit of trepidation on my part. I personally feel that Wolverine as “mystery man” had been sort of played out. As a reader, I welcomed Origin, and I welcomed all of the revelations that have come since, and I even welcomed the restoration of Wolverine’s memories in House of M, just because I felt that it all had been played out. It was similar to when, as a reader, Superman got married. Okay – fine, the whole love triangle with Lois was…tired. As a reader, I was ready for and okay with a status quo change. I think we all struggle, as a collective consciousness, with status quo in comic books. What is the status quo? Should it ever change? Should a character who’s dead come back to life? Should a character who’s married get divorced? Should a character who’s single get married? It’s this constant struggle for fans and writers, and one of those things that’s really, really tricky, and in many cases, you don’t know how it’s going to work out until you try it. For instance, if anyone had asked, I would’ve told them it would be a huge mistake to bring back Bucky, but Ed Brubaker did it in an incredible, imaginative way in a fantastic story that has added not only to Captain America’s larger story, but to the Marvel Universe, and in some ways, to comics, if, for nothing else, to show that those kinds of stories can be done. So yeah – to get back to the question, it’s tricky. I’m answering a question that I’ve been curious about. Whether or not the story sticks will depend upon who picks up the mantle after me, and who revisits it. Especially when you look at Wolverine – he’s been in a lot of different series, been approached by a lot of different creators, and there are all sorts of different aspects of his history that writers have put out there that just haven’t gotten any traction. So, in the end, people will respond to this, and it will be something that will be revisited, or it will be a non-starter and fade into distant memory.  NRAMA: The grim truths of writing comics…a few years down the line we find out that all of this was an implant with a fictional scenario in it placed by some governmental agency in order to muster Wolverine to fight his way back to life because he was too valuable an asset to lose, given the technological investment he represents? MG: Exactly. [laughs] NRAMA: Speaking of the different dimensions of Wolverine as a character – this ability to return to life…what does that do to him, or what is that responsible for in his character? As you’ve said, he’s multifacteted…so what does basically, spitting in the face of death do to someone? MG: I tried to suggest and establish in issue #48 that, when his body takes a pounding, his body recovers, but his spirit really suffers. I was trying to create an emotional cost to the character, so that you can treat him like one of those toys that you can beat the crap out of, but it always retains its shape. From a character standpoint, this constant beating on him does take a tool. Every time he suffers one of these serious injuries, he has to literally fight his way out of purgatory. Over time, that is more and more and more difficult and trying to his very soul. The reason I did that was because, as a writer, I wanted there to be consequences for this character. Without consequences, there’s no jeopardy, and without jeopardy, there’s no drama. I didn’t have the clout to depower him, to remove the healing factor or lessen the effectiveness of the healing factor, but I can suggest that, whenever he gets the crap beaten out of him, it really takes its toll on his soul. By the end of this arc, I hope to at least suggest some parity. Not a depowering, so much as putting the brakes on how much lickin’ he can take and still keep on tickin’. NRAMA: Something else with this arc – you and Howard Chaykin are back together after your Blade run. Howard had said that he really wanted to work with you again – so that feeling apparently was mutual? MG: It’s definitely a mutual feeling. Although, to be honest, I love working with Howard, but at the same time, it fills me with a sense of dread, because Howard works so fast. I’m probably the only comic book writer who complains about how professional his artist is, but with Howard, I always feel like I’m Indiana Jones, and he’s the boulder – and I’m always running for my life. SO when I found out Howard and I would be back together on Wolverine, I was thrilled. I’m still a fanboy at heart, and still read comics every week, and I can still kind of get a goosebump or two that I’ve got a living legend drawing a story that I’ve written. That’s pretty amazing. He’s got a unique voice as an artist, and that just makes it so exciting to be working with him. That and that he’s also the fastest gun in the West when it comes to pages, and I’m just moving as quickly as I can to keep ahead of him. It’s a quality problem. NRAMA: And after “The Death of Logan?” You’re moving along, right? MG: Right. I’m in and out. Five issues and I’m out. Hopefully, it goes well enough that the door will remain open for me to come back here and there. I’ve got plans and stories I still want to tell. |
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09-25-2007, 05:09 PM
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#2 |
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Guggenheim is a great writer, but I cannot read this because of the art alone.
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09-25-2007, 05:19 PM
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#3 | |
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Yeah its pretty bad, though the covers are cool. |
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09-25-2007, 05:25 PM
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#4 |
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It's a Shame really. I was looking forward to him returning to the Book, only to Drop it when I learned the Artist was Howard Chaykin.
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09-25-2007, 05:28 PM
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#5 |
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I like Chaykin. Its a style I can dig.
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09-25-2007, 05:28 PM
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#6 |
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Wow. I think Guggenheim just sold me on a Wolverine comic. I think I may have to check this out.
I haven't read Wolverine since Warren Ellis was writing it. (No, wait I tried Rucka's, but actually didn't enjoy it.) |
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09-25-2007, 05:29 PM
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#7 |
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I'm another person who isn't a Chaykin fan. I just don't dig his art. Nothing against the guy though. His art does stop me from buying books because it isn't pleasant to me.
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09-25-2007, 05:30 PM
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#8 |
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Good creators, with a very necessary arc for Logan...should be good.
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09-25-2007, 05:31 PM
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#9 | |
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Im glad Im not alone on disliking Chaykin's artstyle. Though the last issue alone was better than Loeb's entire god awful arc. |
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09-25-2007, 05:32 PM
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#10 |
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He's a fast artist but he needs to take his time to make it better! Same way with Dillon who is also fast but the art suffers for it.
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09-25-2007, 05:33 PM
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#11 |
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interesting...i think i'll pick this up, if not in singles, then in trade.
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09-25-2007, 05:33 PM
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#12 | |
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09-25-2007, 05:35 PM
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#13 |
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Ugggh. Wolverine only regenerated from that drop of blood back in 1987 because THE DROP OF BLOOD HIT A CRAZY MAGIC LIFEGIVING CRYSTAL.
(The crystal must have given his new, regenerated body the same adamantium claws and skeleton that his old one had, too, because if he really did "grow back" from just a drop of blood, he wouldn't have had them!) I can't fathom why Guggenheim considers this crazy spastic healing factor that he's given Logan as "a return to what some of us knew", when he's only ever shown that ability ONCE -- under the influence of magic. The rest of the times Wolvie got injured during that time period, it would take him weeks to stop wincing in pain from a sword wound to the gut. So basically this whole story is Guggenheim's way to "explain" a concept that *never existed* until he got his hands on Wolverine. Don't get me wrong -- I like his writing style and I liked his Civil War arc -- but he's kidding himself if he thinks that Wolvie's healing factor has EVER been portrayed as powerfully as he seems to think it "used to be". He's flat-out wrong. And Newsarama, shame on you for referencing the issue in question apparently without reading it, and supporting his incorrect interpretation of it... -Jeph! |
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09-25-2007, 05:36 PM
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#14 |
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Yeah the drop of blood thing was explained. But i guess G man didn't research it enough cuz granted it was a long time ago. But oh well...
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09-25-2007, 05:37 PM
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#15 | |
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To me, the covers are even worse... re: Chaykin At least it ain't Ramos... |
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09-25-2007, 05:38 PM
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#16 |
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I was really hoping that when Guggenheim returned to the title, it would be with Ramos again (though Ramos is doing quite well for himself tag-teaming with Bachalo on X-Men). The two had great chemistry. I'm with everyone else in not digging Chaykin, though (I just don't get the "Chaykin-face" - why is everyone looking so constipated?!). Still, Guggenheim is doing something really original with Wolverine and definitely has a knack for writing the character. There are few times when I'm willing to completely overlook an artist that I dislike, but with Guggenheim on this title, I'm willing to give it a shot.
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09-25-2007, 05:41 PM
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#17 |
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People here are actually avoiding this book because of Chaykin's art? Seriously? Christ, what the ____ is wrong with you people!? Chaykin's one of the best artists there is!
Everything they say about you Newsarama posts is true... |
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09-25-2007, 05:41 PM
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#18 |
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Well that explains a bit. What I want, though, is the same principle to apply to Sabretooth and have him come back because Jeph Loeb ruined the character. Come on, Marc! You know you want to!
EDIT: However, did Guggenheim not read Frank Tieri's run? Wolverine was dead for 23 or so minutes (thanks to a hand through his abdomen, courtesy of the BAD@$$ Sabretooth), and nothing like what he describes happened. He talked to Rose about his life, for the most part...WHOOPS! Last edited by Stormbreaker : 09-25-2007 at 05:48 PM. |
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09-25-2007, 05:46 PM
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#19 | |
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Amen Brotha! |
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09-25-2007, 05:47 PM
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#20 | |
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THANK YOU!!!! This whole "Wolverine can recover from any injury ever" is LAME and has served to de-value his character. Also, this crap about fighting for his soul??? No. That is a Dr. Strange story, not a Wolverine story. (Next, we will have Wolverine learning that he draws his powers from the Wolverine Totem...) And while we're at it...this regaining memory thing hasn't exactly been used well. Shouldn't he be the saddest man on earth? I mean, every single person he knew growing up is dead. He is too old. He is a widower who has buried children. I think this should make Wolvie at least morose, right? Or absolutely crazy? |
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09-25-2007, 05:50 PM
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#21 | |
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I'm glad you posted this because I was about to. People always seem to leave the crystal out.. |
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09-25-2007, 05:50 PM
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#22 |
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I like Chaykin’s style. I think his work is dynamic but also more grounded in realism. I think he tends to do his best work with his own creations, but I think his recent work for hire stuff has been pretty good-Hawkman, Blade. He is one of those artists that in a perfect world could do great regular work, just probably not on a monthly schedule.
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09-25-2007, 05:51 PM
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#23 | |
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I'll step up and say it. I hate Chaykin's art. I think it looks like something a sophomore in high school would turn into his art teacher and say, "so what do you think?" She would consider the art, then say back, "You have potential, but keep working and clean up your lines." Don't know Chaykin the man. I am sure he is a great guy. I cannot stand his art. Everything they say about you Ben posts is true... |
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09-25-2007, 05:54 PM
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#24 |
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Well, he has to be an incredible writer to get away with a concept like that.
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09-25-2007, 06:00 PM
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#25 |
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I think it's a shame Marvel refuses to have a regular writer on Wolverine. Guggenheim seems a great choice, and said he still has ideas and wants to write it. Let him. Better to have a consistent writer that can make the character progress, and better still to avoid the potential of having another story by Jeph Loeb. Anything, ANYTHING to avoid that dross again. Hell, put Chuck Austen on instead.
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