THE TRINITY SESSIONS: PART 1 - KURT BUSIEK

[MichaelDoran]

by Troy Brownfield

Everyone knows by now that Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley will be teaming up for DC’s Trinity. The weekly series will feature a Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman 12-page front-end ongoing by the superstar creators. We spoke to Busiek prior to his appearance at WonderCon, and we’ll be following up with him and Bagley after their panel there as well. To begin, we’ve asked Busiek and Bagley five questions common to both of their experiences with the book; our subsequent installments will reflect their individual roles in the creative process.

NEWSARAMA: Kurt, how did you find your way to the Trinity project?

Kurt Busiek: I made it up. Well, sort of.

I actually pitched a very different project, to start with. The only two similarities, really, was that it was weekly and starred Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. But the actual start of the project came from me.

First, a little back-story: Back when I was in high school and reading comics, there was a lot more line-wide promotion than there seems to be today. There were more house ads in the books, there were checklists of what's coming out next week, there were dumb little things like Marvel running little ad-lines at the bottom of comics pages -- "It's Greenskin Vs. the Gelatinous Glob in The Incredible Hulk!" under page 4 of all the Marvel titles that month, that sort of thing -- and DC had this feature called "The Daily Planet," which was their version of Marvel's Bullpen Bulletins.

But where the Bullpen Bulletins talked about what the staff was doing, and teased new projects in the works and such, the Daily Planet was a mock newspaper front page that ran in all the books, that had two or three "articles" about books that'd be out on the stands the following week, plus a full checklist of what would be out next week, a list of what was on the stands this week, a cartoon by Fred Hembeck or a Q&A column with Bob "The Answer Man" Rozakis, that sort of thing.

And every week, I'd read those articles and that checklist, and I'd think, "Huh, Batman meets Scalphunter in the next Brave & Bold. Do I want to buy that?" And, well, no, I didn't, not in that case -- but at least I was more aware of what was coming out, and I thought about buying books I'd never even have looked at otherwise. That page probably sold me a lot of DC Comics over the years, and it made me aware of DC as a line, everything from Superman to Weird War Tales, from Justice League to Jonah Hex.

These days, you don't get that sort of thing, so much. And I thought it would be a good idea to have something that served a similar purpose -- that would help push books like Jonah Hex or Metal Men or whatever else could use a push, not just the new launches and big titles, which is mostly what we get today.

So I thought it'd be good to have a really cheap weekly book, one that had a lead story that would have lots off big, fun, important stuff happen, so readers would want to follow it regularly, but which would also have other features, promoting whatever would be on the stands the next week, or would show you advance art to a new series, a checklist of upcoming stuff -- all the kind of thing that used to make me think about DC as a whole line of books, and think about reading more of it, but with more space than the one page the Daily Planet had, back when.

So what I pitched was a 12-page weekly comic for a buck, called DC Superstars, featuring a 7-page lead story with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, and backup stuff promoting the rest of the line. It'd be a third of a monthly book for a third of the price, so it'd be easy to just grab at the cash register and go, every week, and it'd have modern-day readers getting the kind of news and information I used to get about the whole DC line, as well. The lead stories would be big stuff -- Superman discovers a third Kryptonian living on Earth, Queen Hippolyta gets resurrected, Rao gets reincarnated in human form, Batman faces a new business competitor for Wayne Enterprises that brings major super-menaces to Gotham -- and there'd be lots of guest-stars, so it'd be cool stuff to read, and hopefully it'd win more readers to the rest of DC's line, too.

I was in New York and I had no idea whether DC would be interested or not, but I figured that if I didn't at least pitch it, I couldn't grumble that they were too dumb to grab a good idea when they saw one. So I wandered into Dan Didio's office, and outlined it for him.

This was back in 2006, after 52 had been announced but before it had come out. Initial response to 52 from retailers had been really strong, so Dan liked the idea of doing something else weekly, and he liked the idea of showcasing Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, and promoting the rest of the line. So he took it to Paul Levitz, and Paul liked it too, and it was planned to be something that would follow 52.

And you can all see how it's coming out just like I pitched it, right?

It's now two years later, there's been another weekly book in-between, the title's been changed to Trinity, it's now not ongoing but a year-long epic storyline abut who the Trinity are, why they matter and what effect they have on the DC Universe as a whole, it's a full 22 pages every week, and all that promotional stuff that got me to pitch it in the first place fell out somewhere along the way.

But along the course of making all those changes, we got a wonderful artist, we worked out a big, sprawling story that's got lots of momentum, lots of big stuff and needs all those 22 pages, not just for Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, but for all the other characters that would need to appear. So it developed into a very different thing, but a very exciting one, and I was still hanging on, so there I was, writing or co-writing over 1100 pages worth of stuff in the course of a year, when I'd pitched about 400.

But it's still weekly, and it still stars Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. So you can still see the roots of what I pitched in the monster that grew from it.

And it's a good thing that we worked out a whole new story, because over the months in-between, the Third Kryptonian showed up in Superman, Queen Hippolyta got resurrected by someone else, and as for the Batman and Rao things, well, maybe I'll get to them somewhere...

I do still think all that promo stuff was a good idea, though, and DC should find a way to do it. Maybe online somewhere.

NRAMA: You've worked together before; in what ways does that familiarity make this type of undertaking easier? Is there anything about that which would make it more difficult in any way (even humorously)?

Busiek: It makes it all much easier, I think. It's always more comfortable when you're working with people you know, people you're comfortable with. And three years together on Thunderbolts makes me know I can throw just about anything at Bags, and the storytelling will be energetic and powerful, and the drawing will be great. Mark's also not shy about picking up the phone, so we wind up talking a lot more, sharing ideas or concerns, and I think that helps the writing and art to mesh well, to make sure we're pulling in the same direction.

What makes it more difficult, of course, is that Mark's not scared of me. What does he care about a bunch of Eisner awards, when he's got 110 consecutive issues of Ultimate Spider-Man under his belt? It's easier when they're scared of you, and they'll do whatever you say. But Mark just laughs at me, the bum. And then he turns in gorgeous pages, and I call him up to say, "Hey, you added stuff here, and you changed this, and you made this panel bigger than that one..." and he says, "Yeah, I told you I was gonna do that, remember? And it works, right?"

And yeah, he did, and it does. And I go off mumbling about how he's showing me up, making the book look better like that.

But if I'm lucky, McDaniel and Derenick'll be scared of me, and I'll be able to push them around. Not so far, at least, but I live in hope.

NRAMA: Is the weekly schedule challenging, comforting, or terrifying?

Busiek: Probably somewhere in between challenging and terrifying. It required a lot of advance planning, of course, and just plain time to work on it. Originally, when I was talking about 28 pages a month, I was taken off Aquaman to make room for it. But when it ballooned to 88 pages a month, it was clear that I was going to have to let Superman go too, to make more room.

And we'd already brought in Fabian Nicieza to help me out on the back chapters each week. It's working out well -- Fabes and I are comfortably ahead of the artists on plots at the moment, and will be pulling farther ahead soon, as my last issue of Superman gets done. I have dreams, sometimes, of having all 52 issues fully plotted by sometime in September, so we're waaay ahead of the game and won't have to worry about schedule pressure.

Now, ask me this next March, when we're closing in on the end, and I may curse and spit, and bemoan the hellish torment that is my life. But right now, at least, things look pretty good.

NRAMA: I'll address how you view the Trinity individually in your separate questions, but since this is a common question . . . what's your essential view of the trio at the heart of Trinity?

Busiek: Aw, that's what the series as a whole is about. And in particular, #6 will give readers a lot to chew on on that front, and I don't want to give too much away.

But I will say that the Trinity are DC's big guns, their Big Three -- not just the best-known names to audiences, moviegoers and such worldwide, but the heroes that are most looked up to and respected within the world, as well. And there are all these fascinating balances to them -- one is from outer space, the science-fiction hero, one's built on ancient legends, the hero of myth, and one represents humanity at its peak, no powers, just skill and drive.

Another way to look at it is they're the Sun, the Moon and the Earth -- one is empowered by the sun, one's a creature of the light, one is literally made of the clay of the Earth. Call 'em Apollo, Artemis and Hades -- or Justice, Vengeance and Hope -- or the Protector, the Detective and the Warrior -- there's a lot to work with. And we'll be working with a lot of it.

NRAMA: If the two of you had one more specific partner that makes your creative team its own Trinity, who would that be?

Busiek: Well, Mark's got super-speed and a constitution of steel, and I skulk in my office all day, messing with arcane DC knowledge on the Kurt-computer, so I guess the third would need to be a gorgeous Amazon warrior.

Unfortunately, Fabian won't wear the bustier.

Seriously, if there's a third -- from Mark's perspective it might be Art Thibert, but from mine it's got to be Fabian Nicieza, who's co-writing the back chapters of the story. He's absolutely committed to the project, he keeps us rolling forward, serves as an invaluable sounding board and more. And if nothing else, if Fabes wasn't in the mix, Nightwing and Hawkman probably wouldn't show up quite as much.

But if Fabian's Wonder Woman, does that make Scott McDaniel and Tom Derenick Green Lantern and the Flash? I guess that'd make Art our Green Arrow, and Pete Pantazis the Atom, and --

Wait. That makes Mike Carlin the Monitor, and Dan Didio the Anti-Monitor. All of a sudden, I don't like where this is going...

Keep an eye on Newsarama’s WonderCon coverage all weekend, and tune in next week as we continue the Trinity Sessions with Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley.

[God-Man]

I would have loved to see DC Superstars as Kurt pitched it. That sounds like a great idea for a book. Oh well, Trinity sounds awesome anyway.

[GohanWinner]

Great interview. Busiek was entertaining and I'm really excited about Trinity.

I really liked Busiek's original pitch, and a buck for a 12 page story plus ads sounds much more affordable. ;D

[Clem]

Maybe this would be a good time to take the trinity off the JLA and perhaps wrap up Superman/Batman.

I love seeing these guys together, i just think if they're gonna do it weekly, they could probably knock the other appearances on the head. Really make it a unique selling point.

I'll be interested to see what the backup stories are. More books should have backups.

[mpartyka]

Were it not for Busiek & Nicieza being tapped for writing duties, there's no way I'd be picking this up, but...Nicieza does good stories, and Busiek does great epic stories, especially when there's tons of history involved -- heck, the man is an archive.

[adama]

I love how he sees the Trinity individually. This is gonna be great.

[NeoGundamX]

It is weird seeing Mark Bagley drawing DC characters, but I like it.

[SpaceButler]

Sooo looking forward to this.

Also, Mr. Nicieza, if you are out there, you keep putting Nightwing into those scripts. Can't go wrong with having more Dick Grayson.

[samnoir]

Given his strengths on Ultimate Spiderman, I can't wait to see Bagley's work on this series!

___________________________________

DC COMICS ARTIST GUIDE TO PENCILLING COMICS for sale on EBAY! "How To" Guide by a top DC artist.

RARE GODZILLA, KING KONG, and MONSTER COLLECTIBLES and more for sale on EBAY!
___________________________________

[whitemarkd]

Boy, I loved those Daily Planets, especially the Hembeck cartoons and the Q&A's, which I learned a lot from when I started reading in the late 70s.

[Dman]

Originally Posted by NeoGundamX

It is weird seeing Mark Bagley drawing DC characters, but I like it.

your right it's weird and awsome at the same time, I am looking forward to this

[1logan]

They need to end Supes/Bats without a McGuiness
They need to end Brave and the Bold without Perez,
and I just can't get a grip on Bagley at DC.....just odd to me that he's there. He's never been the best, but should be respected for his consistency.
Gonna miss Bags at Marvel, but I'll give the series a shot.....maybe...
..gotta see what Morrison is gonna do to the universe first!

[Grievous]

This comic can't come to me quick enough


That preview page looks awesome,

[Ken B.]

Bagly and McDaniel. That's just awesome.

If Chuck Dixon can do a back-up strip, and it's basically Busiek/Bagley, then Dixon/McDaniel, I'll buy 100 copies of the issue. And I'm not joking. I'll give them away and everyone will love it so much they'll buy comics and pass them on. A comics version of pay it forward.

[aylwinatrix]

Here's hoping this title will feature the work of the "Marvels" and "Avengers" Kurt Busiek, and not the Kurt Busiek we've seen lately in "Superman", which has been a pretty slow-moving and dull comic, I regret to say.

[leahcim]

I wish it were to have been the project he pitched..for a buck a pop, that would be a rewarding weekly book.

[Axelay]

I'm a big fan of Busiek, but my wallet just can't afford another weekly comic.

[adama]

Back In Action was great, Camelot Falls was great but the delays killed the momentum. The flash-forward story was amazing. The Third Kryptonian arc was a blast(but didn't like the art), I also loved the 3-2-1 Action story with Jimmy.

I loved the new characters he created along the way, Khyber, Sirocco, Subjekt 17, Squad K and I loved what he did with old characters like Lana and Arion.

Needless to say I've really enjoyed his Superman and can't wait for Trinity.

[Grievous]

That last superman story, the insect queen was just quality,

camelot, was late, but a masterpiece in itself.

lots of cool new villains created also.

[kurupted]

nicieza is a damn good writer and hopefully with busiek keeping watch over him he'll avoid convulting the plot like he did with thunderbolts.

[pete_woods]

I remember Kurt telling me about this pitch a couple of years ago. I was excited about it then, but with this creative team it's going to be even better than I imagined. We also get the added attraction of watching a group of talented folks go slowly insane working on a weekly schedule! Just kidding guys- if anyone can pull this off- and do it with aplomb- it is this team. Looking forward to it!

[Force Commander]

I've been wanting to read something new with Superman, I'm just not sure if I should start back in with this one. Being weekly, I may miss one.

[tesh_karde]

can't wait to see Bags art on a weekly basis!

[Caleb Gerard]

Do Supes, Bats & WW appear in each issue or are they starring individually a couple of issues at a time?
Are the back-ups going to be done-in-ones? I'm thinking of those of-so-cool done-in-one back-ups they did back in the day.

CJG

[adama]

Originally Posted by Caleb Gerard

Do Supes, Bats & WW appear in each issue or are they starring individually a couple of issues at a time?
Are the back-ups going to be done-in-ones? I'm thinking of those of-so-cool done-in-one back-ups they did back in the day.

CJG

They've said that the book is about Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman together, as the Trinity. It will be about them together.

The back-ups will be both done-in-ones and arcs as the story demands.