JOHN ROGERS: A BYE-BYE TO BLUE BEETLE

[MattBrady]

by Vaneta Rogers

John Rogers is one of those comic book writers that readers tend to forget is also a writer for television and movies. Reliably chugging away as solo writer on DC's Blue Beetle title since taking over the reins from his co-writer Keith Giffen early last year, people tend to overlook that this guy is one of the writers who brought the Transformers to the big screen last year.

Now comes news that Rogers is backing away from Blue Beetle, as revealed in upcoming solicitations for the title, but he says it's not because of his active Hollywood career. According to the writer, he's been offered some new work for DC that he can't announce yet, and that will keep him away from Blue Beetle, at least temporarily.

Until then, the storyline in the series has been building toward a climax that pits Jaime Reyes against his main adversaries in the title, the powerful aliens of The Reach. Newsarama talked to the writer about the story and found out more about this new comics work he has coming up for DC, as well as the TV show he's doing for TNT.

Newsarama: Right up front, John, are you leaving Blue Beetle?

John Rogers: It's temporary, although I don't know exactly when I'm coming back to the book. What happened is, essentially, Keith and I always wanted to tell the origin story and #25 wraps up that origin for Jaime.

As I was breaking year three, and the nice folks at DC came to me with two other projects – one of which is a really great opportunity right now. And I said, why don't we back off Blue Beetle for awhile? I think we've got it to the place, the cast of characters, where other writers can write it. Sean [McKeever]'s doing a great job with Jaime over in Teen Titans. So I said let someone else take him for awhile. I can't keep him to my chest – he can't be my baby for too long.

So I'll start working on these two other things. One is a big crossover mini-series and the other is possibly another ongoing title. So while I've got that work, I'll be away from Blue Beetle, but I always reserve the right to come crashing back and grabbing the reins, being the pushy bastard I am.

NRAMA: So what you're saying is that you don't know when or if you'll be able to do it, but you hope to come back, right?

JR: Absolutely. I love Jaime; I love all the characters. It's continually been the most fun I've had in my writing career. I have a real sense of ownership having spent the time to build this character up into somebody who had a story and a really great supporting cast. I want to go down the road with him, so I might kick in for a story when I can, but right now I want to really concentrate on these other projects.

NRAMA: Who is taking over Blue Beetle while you're gone? Is it a permanent writer? Or a series of people?

JR: Well, Will [Pfeiffer] is going to come over for that first arc, and then we'll see what happens. It's a very particular title, and DC has been very cool about running storylines sort of past me and really wanting to maintain the tone of the book. And so we're going to try out Will and see if maybe some other people want to take a shot at it or see if Will wants to stay on. And as I said, there's always that reserved right for me to grab the reins for awhile.

NRAMA: The current storyline had some pretty big moments as Jaime battles The Reach. Is this what you've been building toward over the last two years?

JR: Yeah. What's happened is that Jaime has discovered that the seemingly unrelated incidents he's been dealing with all the way through year two actually gave him the clues to discover The Reach's evil 100-year-long, subtle plan to take over the world. He decided to strike at them before they could use their abilities to sort of reorganize. Once they reorganize, once they've got that advantage, he has no chance. So he had to hit them really fast and really hard. We've seen him studying the notes that Ted Kord left behind and the different methods and strategies he picked up. And the different lessons he's taken from all the heroes he's run into over the two years that have brought him to being a mature superhero able to take care of a threat.

But this time he seems to be in way, way over his head. At the end of issue #25, all kinds of awful things are going on with his family and friends back on earth, and Jaime is locked up and powerless on an alien spaceship.

NRAMA: Can you tell us anything we'll be seeing in issue #25?

JR: Issue #25 will show what happens when he finally puts what's left of his plan into play. And we'll see who gets out in one piece.

NRAMA: It's become obvious over the last few issues that you've really been building toward this since you began the series.

JR: Yeah. Absolutely. In issue #23, you saw the plot we laid out as we showed exactly how each piece that he's run into fits into this – besides being part of building him emotionally. Typhoon, for example, who was in issue #17 – I both wanted Jaime to get his first taste of failure as a superhero, and at the same time, Typhoon as a villain has a very specific job when it comes to the ecosystem. So, it all works out. There was a plan.

NRAMA: So a lot of what has been built, to this point, came from your collaboration with Keith Giffen early in the series? When Keith left the series, [rul=http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=89884]he told us[/url] the two of you had a two-year blueprint for the series.

JR: You know, collaborating with Keith was very much me sort of sitting there and watching Keith break the story and really trying to suck up as much as I could from that experience. And then, when it came to Issue #11, or really when we were doing #10, he said, "You know how to do this. You know what we want to do with the book. I'm going to go off and do other stuff. You take over." And so I was able to kind of go on this incredible foundation that Keith gave me, then build my own funky little house with my own sort of taste and tone to it. The collaboration was great, and it gave me the tools I needed to be able to get my first shot at a monthly series. And at the same time, even as I was sort of thrashing around and learning how to do it, for that first year or two, I knew that we had a rough idea of exactly how this should play out. And I could always call Keith if I got into trouble.

NRAMA: It's got to be pretty encouraging for you as a writer that the book is continuing past the two-year mark. A new, unknown superhero getting his own ongoing title is something rare, but the title making it past 25 or 30 issues is even more unusual.

JR: I think we've built the book up as much as it could be built up in the environment that it's in. I have never been shy about the fact that I believe these huge events and crossovers cannibalize the midland. What we have is an incredibly passionate audience that really digs the book. It's a book that I think that DC values. And we do something not a lot of other books do: We give readers a doorway character into the DCU. You don't need a doctorate in DC history in order to read Blue Beetle. This is the book that you can hand your 12-year-old nephew, which was the whole goal of the book. I have a 12-year-old nephew, and I love comics, and it was hard for me to hand him a comic book where he could figure out what the hell was going on from day one. This is a book that a lot of new readers feel ownership for. And I think that's important. And I'm just very pleased that we have a lot of new readers and a lot of older readers who were very... you know, "that's not my Blue Beetle, and I'm not going to read it," but they came around and saw that we were being true to the Blue Beetle heritage while having a cool new character with his own stories.

NRAMA: The character has been showing up in a lot of other titles. You mentioned Sean McKeever using him for awhile in Teen Titans, and the character just showed up in Booster Gold.

JR: Yeah, that was great stuff over there with him. Yeah.

NRAMA: Plus he was in an issue of The Brave and the Bold. How do you feel about his use elsewhere? Is this a good thing?

JR: Yeah! I asked [Mark] Waid why he used Blue Beetle in The Brave and the Bold, and he said you don't have any other newbie superhero that you can tell that sort of story with in the DCU. You don't have a new guy who doesn't have tons of history. He just fits that type of storytelling perfectly. I'm just really glad that Jaime's fitting a slot for a lot of writers as a character they need for other stories. I'm really pleased. He's a character that is showing up in other books, and his book is still going strong.

NRAMA: Fans will be glad to hear it. Now, before we started the interview, John, you mentioned that you were busy right now working on a TV show. Can you give us details about it?

JR: The thing I'm so busy on right now is, we shot a pilot for TNT called Leverage. It's a heist show starring Timothy Hutton and Chris Kane, who a lot of fans know from Angel.

NRAMA: So you shot the pilot even though there was a writer's strike?

JR: We shot the pilot right before the strike, and it was edited and cut during the writer's strike, so I didn't even get to see it. And the network called and said it tested very well, and they'd like us to come in and make a season. They want 12 more. So coming up in the fall, my new TV show Leverage will be on TNT.

NRAMA: Congratulations.

JR: Thanks!

NRAMA: What's the show about?

JR: It's basically a Robin Hood heist show. Tim Hutton plays an alcoholic insurance investigator who collects a team of thieves and con men to go against the sort of corporate bigwigs who destroyed him and destroy families of working class people and people who have been robbed by the system. It's a Robin Hood wish fulfillment show.

NRAMA: And for comic book fans, can you give us any more information about these two books you mentioned? You said one is a crossover? Does it tie into Final Crisis?

JR: It is not something that ties into Final Crisis. Readers of Blue Beetle will know we've dabbled in the magic universe of DC, and we haven't really explored that. So they're giving me a little room to play with some things in the DC magic universe in one, long continuous story that will actually spiral out of Checkmate.

NRAMA: Wait, you said it will spiral out of Checkmate?

JR: Yeah. That's right.

JR: OK, then the other thing you said you had was another ongoing? Can you tell us anything about that?

JR: I can't talk about it. I actually can't say anything because I won't be taking it over until Final Crisis is over. But it's really cool, and I think fans of Blue Beetle will see it as a match. And I'm really excited to step over and take the series over.

[Moriarty]

Sorry to see Rogers go, even if it's temporary. He's part of the reason the title's on my top 10 DC pull list.

[sol]

Booster Gold maybe?

[jonnynyc]

Darn. This is so getting cancelled if Will Pfeiffer comes on. It was amazing while it lasted. Maybe they can do a new Number 1 when or if Rogers wants to come back.

[samnoir]

Sounds like Rogers might be collaborating with Giffen on the War in Hell crossover thing!

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[Nobody]

Will Pfiefer. Maybe I'll actually check this book out again.

[Ace]

Having not read anything but the title to this:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !

I um... will be back later after I read the thing.

[Superbuddy]

This is hard news to take, although it was pretty well known for a while now. Blue Beetle is easily my favorite book from month to month, and any writer stepping in to fill Rogers' shoes will have a hard row to hoe.

On the other hand, the two new books JR will be working on will be more than welcome. If one of them is based on magic in the DCU, should we assume that Traci 13 will feature prominently? As for the second book, well, I can think of a few natural follow-ups to his BB work. Booster Gold? With Geoff Johns and possible Jeff Katz ending their run on the book, I could think of no one I'd rather see take over. Likewise, I'd love to see Rogers try his hand at the Green Lantern Corps book, since his Guy Gardener was spot on. And I could see how either of those books might need to wait until after Final Crisis before beginning a new direction with a new writer.

Anyway, congratulations on Leverage, John, and good luck in your further adventures in the DCU. But come back to Blue Beetle soon and often!

[SpaceButler]

I know it's temporary, but damn it! First Checkmate, now this. I have never particularly enjoyed any of Will Pfeiffer's work but I will stay on the book for the first storyline at least. Jaime's great.

[phunengames]

Originally Posted by samnoir

Sounds like Rogers might be collaborating with Giffen on the War in Hell crossover thing!

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___________________________________

DOCTOR WHO, SERENITY/FIREFLY, STAR TREK, STARGATE, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, PLANET OF THE APES, STAR WARS, SMALLVILLE memorabilia for sale on EBAY!! Vintage Collector's Items.

BATMAN COLLECTIBLES for sale on EBAY!! International version ADAM WEST ERA BATMAN HOT WHEELS CAR different than the packaging sold in the United States. BATMAN MASTERPIECE COLLECTION with MEGO style ACTION FIGURE
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I would look more at La Dama and Traci 13.

I love Jamie and we support him. I am enjoying Catwoman so Mr. Pfeiffer on Blue Beetle is good to me.

[deri]

... Magic in the DCU that's supposed to be fun and can mostly begin only after Final Crisis, which implies some things need fixing first?

... Shazam?

[Thalya]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

JR: I think we've built the book up as much as it could be built up in the environment that it's in. I have never been shy about the fact that I believe these huge events and crossovers cannibalize the midland. What we have is an incredibly passionate audience that really digs the book. It's a book that I think that DC values. And we do something not a lot of other books do: We give readers a doorway character into the DCU. You don't need a doctorate in DC history in order to read Blue Beetle. This is the book that you can hand your 12-year-old nephew, which was the whole goal of the book. I have a 12-year-old nephew, and I love comics, and it was hard for me to hand him a comic book where he could figure out what the hell was going on from day one. This is a book that a lot of new readers feel ownership for. And I think that's important. And I'm just very pleased that we have a lot of new readers and a lot of older readers who were very... you know, "that's not my Blue Beetle, and I'm not going to read it," but they came around and saw that we were being true to the Blue Beetle heritage while having a cool new character with his own stories.

Wow, my sentiments to a T. I'm glad DC seems to understand that too. It makes me feel a whole lot easier about Rogers departing for other projects (to which I will wholeheartedly follow like a lemming!). They really do look interesting at that, and can one only hope that the ongoing will be The Flash? That would be a perfect fit!

[vbartilucci]

JR: It is not something that ties into Final Crisis. Readers of Blue Beetle will know we've dabbled in the magic universe of DC, and we haven't really explored that. So they're giving me a little room to play with some things in the DC magic universe in one, long continuous story that will actually spiral out of Checkmate.

Well, the main magicy thing that's been happening in Checkmate has been with Kobra.

Could the Croatans be involved?

The regular book is something currently being printed, because he said he'd be taking it over, not starting it.

Him on Booster Gold would be a lot of fun, but I gotta go with my first hunch from a few months back.

He's getting Flash.

[Ace]

Ok. Well I blame myself for saying "Hey! John Rogers would be great for that book," over and over again. Stupid Monkey's Paw.

Pfeiffer is an EXCELLENT writer. I know a lot of people hated Amazons Attack but that's the worst thing in the world to judge him on. His Aquaman was fantastic. His Catwoman has been wonderful (even if a lot of people couldn't look past the base plot point of the kid not being Batman's) and HERO is one of the most underlooked books of the last ten years.

He's VERY good with characters. And we've seen that others writers CAN write Jaime and his supporting cast.

I'm just not sure I WANT them to be written by anyone else.

The book belongs to Rogers in such an instrinsic way. It's his book. He gets it so spot on right that it's the most wonderful thing that either Marvel or DC is putting out right now.

I'm kind of hoping he gets Flash after Peyer. That would make a lot of sense to me.

More than that, I hope he's back to Blue Beetle soon. I really do.

[Ye Olde Iowa]

This is, by far, DC's best book right now, so I'm sad to see Rogers go. The book really took off when we started as the only writer (the Giffen/Rogers run was great, but John really hit his stride on his own).

I like the idea of Pfeifer taking over though. He is really talented and I think he will bring a lot to the series (his run on Catwoman is severely underrated).

Still, the sooner Rogers comes back, the happier I'll be!

[Stringer]

I think it sounds like he might be hopping on Shadowpact... simply because Traci 13 is probably the only real supporting character in BB who has any presence in another book, and he said that his new project would make sense to BB readers. I don't read Shadowpact, so maybe someone else can tell me why this is wrong.

I'm sad that Rogers is leaving this book. I returned to comics with Infinite Crisis, and this book is consistently my favorite month in and month out. Hopefully Will Pfeifer doesn't muck it up - I can imagine that it will be a challenge to grasp the diverse voices of Jaime and his supporting cast, so I wish him the best of luck.

Especially because this is probably the only book I read that, if it were cancelled, I would be really, really pissed.

[Sluggo]

Well, crud. I just jumped on this series in trades and I'm really enjoying it. I'm not saying it's going to go downhill after Rogers leaves, but I sure enjoy his writing.

Even if I'm not interested past his run, at least it seems I'll have a full storyarc with the first 25 issues. I'll give Will Pfeiffer a shot, though, as well as whoever comes after. The character is strong. Hopefully Rafael Albuqeurque stays on.

[pastorfrank]

Will Pfiefer? Sigh. Can't say I have enjoyed anything he has written. I was really loving Blue Beetle too. Oh well - maybe I get to save some money.

[Mundungus]

I've been on and off Blue Beetle for the last several issues. Not over the quality of the series, which has been top-notch, but usually budgety concerns.

Though, knowing that Rogers is off the title for the forseeable future, I think I'll climb back on, just in case the book dips in sales while he's off (no offense to Pfiefer, who gave me a helluva Aquaman), so that it's still comfy when he returns. Just from this interview, Rogers seems like a quality champ, and I'd love to support whatever work of his I can dig into.

[mindgrabber]

book that comes after FC.
Spins out of checkmate (a crime espionage series)
involves magic.

yup. sue and ralph, "Ghost Detectives."

perfect place for traci 13 and other beetle characters.

[Stringer]

Originally Posted by mindgrabber

book that comes after FC.
Spins out of checkmate (a crime espionage series)
involves magic.

yup. sue and ralph, "Ghost Detectives."

perfect place for traci 13 and other beetle characters.

That would be swell.

[WC Brooks]

Originally Posted by Ace

Pfeiffer is an EXCELLENT writer. I know a lot of people hated Amazons Attack but that's the worst thing in the world to judge him on. His Aquaman was fantastic. His Catwoman has been wonderful (even if a lot of people couldn't look past the base plot point of the kid not being Batman's) and HERO is one of the most underlooked books of the last ten years.

He's VERY good with characters. And we've seen that others writers CAN write Jaime and his supporting cast.

I'm just not sure I WANT them to be written by anyone else.

The book belongs to Rogers in such an instrinsic way. It's his book. He gets it so spot on right that it's the most wonderful thing that either Marvel or DC is putting out right now.

I'm kind of hoping he gets Flash after Peyer. That would make a lot of sense to me.

More than that, I hope he's back to Blue Beetle soon. I really do.

I strongly agree with everything written above (especially John Rogers writing THE FLASH).

John & Rafael made Jaime Reyes one of comicdom's most believable (and relatable) heroes.
And for my money Paco, Brenda, and Mr. & Mrs. Reyes are currently the BEST supporting players out there.
BLUE BEETLE IS EXCELLENT!!!

Oh, and John? When you do come back, how about giving us another Blue Beetle/Superman team-up?
I could see Superman taking Jaime under his wing.

[greenflameuk]

Blue Beetle is one of my favourite titles at DC so it's sad to see him go and i hope he comes back soon, but i'm also looking forward to seeing what else he's going to be writing.

I'm really hoping the ongoing he's taking over is Booster Gold, i think he'd do a great job of keeping the homour that The series has but also making him a hero to.

Cant really think of what the Magic story coming from Checkmate could be....Maybe something with Jessica Midnight?...

[docgymll]

The book's sales have been hovering in cancellation range for some time:

12/2006: Blue Beetle #10 — 21,358 (-10.2%)
01/2007: Blue Beetle #11 — 19,865 (- 7.0%)
02/2007: Blue Beetle #12 — 18,555 (- 6.6%)
03/2007: Blue Beetle #13 — 17,653 (- 4.9%)
04/2007: Blue Beetle #14 — 17,167 (- 2.8%)
05/2007: Blue Beetle #15 — 16,906 (- 1.5%)
06/2007: Blue Beetle #16 — 17,016 (+ 0.7%)
07/2007: Blue Beetle #17 — 16,128 (- 5.2%)
08/2007: Blue Beetle #18 — 19,140 (+18.7%)
09/2007: Blue Beetle #19 — 15,737 (-17.8%)
10/2007: Blue Beetle #20 — 27,611 (+75.5%)
11/2007: Blue Beetle #21 — 15,645 (-43.3%)
12/2007: Blue Beetle #22 — 15,256 (- 2.5%)


Shadowpact, which was selling slightly better, has now been canned.

Hard to believe this change will actually save the book. Too bad, because I've really enjoyed this.

[Dennis K]

Blue Beetle, in my opinion, is the BEST monthly super-hero book coming out right now.

And Rogers is who made that happen. I'm VERY sad to see him go.