5.2 ABOUT 52 with STEPHEN WACKER #13

[MattBrady]

“Chi-cago, Chi-cago… you’re a hell’ve town…

Oh wait, you mean the entire comic book world isn’t centered in that Midwest city today? There is other business to take care of?

Yup, another week (lucky 13) means another issue of DC’s 52 means another edition of the game sweeping across America, 5.5 About 52 with Stephen Wacker. If you don’t know the format yet, you’re going to have to borrow someone else’s notes, sorry class. So for you who still haven’t overdosed on Chicago goings-on, let’s get right to it. It gets a little heated this week…

Newsarama: Obviously, this week, the main story was the resurrection ceremony. From what Dan DiDio has said, part of 52 is to look at all the different areas of the DCU, with this storyline touching on religion. That said, what were these kids doing so wrong that superheroes had to - from what was shown - bust up their service? They weren't breaking any laws, after all. I mean, come on, are religions that superheroes don't like now targets?

Stephen Wacker: Matt, I know from message boards and appreciate and respect all feedback. You pay your $2.50, you’re entitled to balk. But I also know a trap when I read it. There’s really no way to answer this where you come back with, “Ah. Great. I buy that. Nice work everyone.”

I think history will bear me out that new religions are never trusted by outsiders, so I don’t think we’re breaking new ground there. It’s a three month-old group acting very “cult”ish: it’s based around a young clone you used to work with, made of members who broke into your home and stole your personal belongings, and in the middle of its first big ceremony, kids touch a poisonous rock and apparently fall ill. I think superheroes have broken up groups doing far less. I know I have.

I liken it to the deaths of (if you’re old) Jim Morrison or (if you’re less old) Kurt Cobain. Put those names in the place of Superboy and tell me how you’d react to a resurrection cult based around the Lizard King? When the guys pitched the idea to me, they definitely wanted to try to keep true to the growing pains every new movement goes through while keeping the story action packed.

NRAMA: With all the arguments Ralph could make in favor of resurrection, and the fact that the heroes he assembled had come back from the dead...why in the world could he not find a sympathetic ear? Come on - all of them, even Ollie - were dicks.

SW: You’re killing me with the tone, Matt. I don’t think the creative team of 52 are the first to imagine a world where youth aren’t trusted. We live in one. (Thank god because I hate youth and their “rat-a-tat” songs, funny shirts, and Laguna Beach marathons)

Plus, I disagree with your premise. Ralph did find sympathetic ears. His friends all showed up simply because he asked, without even knowing why they were there. They team only moved in on the ceremony when he asked them too. Ralph came to his decision and they followed.

Finally, I just reread it with your question in mind and I don’t see one panel where Ollie’s being a “dick” (I feel like such a prude typing that word. C’mon! My kids are going to read this in 13 years!), but I’m glad you and others had such a strong reaction.

Part of the fun of comics is the different interpretations people bring to the table (which is why I’ve shied away from questions asking what a reader is “supposed” to walk away with) and a good storyteller knows how to play with readers’ expectations.

‘MG3’ (my just now made-up name for all four writers. I want everyone to refer to them as that from now on. Go forth with jargon, my scions.) have played this game for a while and may very purposefully be setting Ralph up as an unreliable narrator. I can’t really say for sure, I don’t read these things until I do these interviews.

NRAMA: Justify it for me, Mr. Editor. In our world - a gang of five hooligans come into a peaceful church service, cause a disturbance, destroy property, and in the ensuing chaos, the building is burned down and people are injured. What do we do with those hooligans in our world? Why are they heroes in the DCU? Is this a symptom of 52, that is, a lack of moral guidance of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman?

SW: Same thing I said earlier about them being considered a cult. They were, at the very least, thieves before the ceremony even started. Kids are falling over sick for god’s sake. They had Kryptonite.”

…and, as Ralph seems to realize towards the end, maybe his friends were wrong.

NRAMA: Green Lantern said there was no trace of Ralph - yet, we see the wedding ring, and Ralph's right under the overpass...GL's ring working properly...or is it possible he may have let Ralph go.

SW: Something’s causing Hal’s ring to not notice him, that’s for sure. Hey, did you see that mysterious person behind the fence on the last page? Weird, huh?

NRAMA: 'Fess up – whose idea was the partially re-animated Sue doll? While the actions of the heroes may have been hinky...that was creepy. Have we seen the last of the straw Sue Dibny?

SW: I don’t know whose idea it was ultimately, but if I had to go on personality alone, I’d say the person most likely to own a doll with Sue Dibny’s face glued on it would be Waid. (If you had said a doll with Waid’s face glued on it, that’d be Rucka. Now a doll, with my face glued on? That’d be for me…but I’m freaky.)

And look for All-Straw Sue Dibny #1 in November.

NRAMA: Let’s break format for one last one, since I'm being feisty...how does an issue like this work in the overall storytelling? Everything in this issue happened in one day...are the other storylines set to reflect that, that is, when we pick up next week, will everyone have advanced a week, instead of a few days at most?

SW: Every story will have advanced the appropriate time from when we last checked in. It always comes down to room in an issue. I know plenty of readers had a vision of us checking in everyday with every character, but that’s just not how we wanted to structure it (though there’s a killer Ralph Dibny blog somewhere online where an enterprising reader is filling in the blanks in Ralph’s story on an almost daily basis. Find it, it’s hysterical. And not at all official.)

NRAMA: Okay…calmer now...let's hit with some teases - do we get to see Montoya and Charlie's week and a half flight to Kandaq next week? Any major returns you want to talk about? Any storyline in particular getting tapped in week #14?

SW: Before I get to hints, I’ve heard people speculating that we stopped running the art team in solicits for various evil reasons. Not true. It was a design decision made by marketing for the catalogue, nothing more. There’re a lot of people working on this book and because listing so many names tends to get messy, you lose the power of the page design. We may revisit the idea at some point, though. It’s a pretty organic process.

Anyway, here’s who’s coming up:

Week 14 - See below!
Week 15 - Shawn Moll/Tom Nguyen
Week 16 - Joe Bennett/Ruy Jose
Week 17 - Chris Batista/Jack Jadson and Ruy Jose
Week 18 - Eddy Barrows/Rob Stull
Week 19 - Patrick Olliffe/Drew Geraci (wait’ll you see this stuff!)
Week 20 - Chris Batista/ Ruy Jose
Week 21 - Joe Bennett/Jack Jadson
Week 22 - Eddy Barrows/Rob Stull
Week 23 - Drew Johnson/Ray Snyder
Week 24 - Future PBS star Phil Jimenez and Britain’s most embarrassing inker, Andy Lanning.

Phew. And that was all from memory! Take that, Brevoort!

Okay hints ahoy.

- Goin’ back to Kandaq. rising, surprising…(Sorry, L.L.)

-The upcoming Justice Society of America art team of Dale Eaglesham and Art Thibert provide the gorgeous pencils and inks.

- Yo, Internet, I know all about the repeated balloons last week. Ask me about again them in 39 weeks.

- Tuesdays With Morrow.

- If you’re in Chicago this weekend, buy Johns a Red Bull and Vodka and watch him pitch you the worst Superman story ever (Aside from the classic “Superman’s Pensive Stare Part 2 [of 4]”).

- Not for next week, but Chaykin just signed on for the Origin of Black Canary. Bless his charred, salty heart.

- Working on scripts #30 and 31 this week.

- You’re reading Legion, Checkmate, Batman, and Teen Titans right? If not, start. Good Internet. Good.

[caleb]

"And look for All-Straw Sue Dibny #1 in November."

Nice.

[booster]

*blinks* Legion's going to be involved with 52? Some kind of Supergirl tie-in?

[Defunct]

So I'm a little confused on the need to repeatedly be a dick to an interview subject. . .

[Kevenn]

Chaykin on Black Canary? Will she look even sluttier than the Frank Millar version.

But at least they're spotlighting her. . .

[God-Man]

Pat Ollife! Phil Jimenez! W00t!

[gwangung]

Originally Posted by Kevenn

Chaykin on Black Canary? Will she look even sluttier than the Frank Millar version.

Chaykin? Fishnets?

Do you even have to ask?????

[Morocco_Mole]

Aren't some or most of these questions created by the fine readers here at NRama? So is it not us being the dicks?

Bad us! Bad!

I'd worry more if it weren't obvious that Mr. Wacker knows some of these questions may be a bit pointed, and has no problem responding cagily, sarcastically, or any other "ly" appropriate to the situation.

[Uchiha_Prodigy]

Originally Posted by Kevenn

Chaykin on Black Canary? Will she look even sluttier than the Frank Millar version.

But at least they're spotlighting her. . .

I agree, Chaykin's art is horrible. His Avengers art was the "best" (using that loosely) of his Ive seen.

[Lukecash]

Double post.. apologies.

[Lukecash]

Yikes Matt,

I don't think I've seen so much negative questioning before!

Perhaps you missed a few things in the issue:

1) Ralph thought he was investigating a criminal group-UNTIL he realized that most of his friends have come back from the dead. To have the possiblity of his wife to be ressurected...was too much to hope for.

2) Ralph brought them there to CONFIRM weather this cult was real deal or a scam artist.

3) The reason WHY he brought them was because these character HAD died...they had insights that he could not see due to his desire to bring back Sue.

4) The others-CONFIRMED that a lot of the what was happening was FAKED. The Kryptonite apparently wasn't Kryptonite.

5) Hal Jordin SPECIFICLY said, that they would only move on Ralphs word. If Ralph thought it was the real deal- they would stayed back.

6) They ONLY moved because RALPH thought it was scam!

7) I suppose a scam artist who feeds on the false hope of those that have suffered a great LOST is leagally alright?

8) The tragedy was that Ralph may had been WRONG the whole time... and like Orpheus of old- looking back and forever loosing his love. (Still think it was a scam, personally)

It was a GREAT issue....including the fact that Black Adam is ALSO being positive to Isisi...so they are bringing good things out for the both of them. A real relaionshp.

Matt, I understand your anger- but I think you missread the issue. Ralph and the other guys thought the cultist were criminals. And superhero fight scam artist!


(P.S. the fire was accidental during the fight)

[dantebk]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

And look for All-Straw Sue Dibny #1 in November.

Comedy gold! Paging Kyle Baker!

[BAMJoe]

Originally Posted by Lukecash

Double post.. apologies.

Yo, Internet, I know all about the repeated post today. Ask me about again them in 39 weeks.

[CodeGuy]

Originally Posted by Morocco_Mole

Aren't some or most of these questions created by the fine readers here at NRama? So is it not us being the dicks?

Bad us! Bad!

That doesn't excuse the interviewer for acting that way. If three people suggest the same question, then the interviewer should know to just ask it once. Asking it repeatedly is just hassling the person you're interviewing.

[JT Skywalker]

Good interview, and great answers from Mr. Wacker. Glad I'm reading all those titles he mentioned!

~JTS

[CrankyViking]

"...Bless his charred, salty heart."

This just in: Howard Chaykin's heart is actually a pretzel, film at 11.

[Mark Waid]

Well played, Mr. Wacker. "All-Straw Sue Dibny" is the line of the week.

And Matt...dude...you are really, really lucky that good-natured Steve answered this round and not me.

[fuji257]

Originally Posted by CodeGuy

That doesn't excuse the interviewer for acting that way. If three people suggest the same question, then the interviewer should know to just ask it once. Asking it repeatedly is just hassling the person you're interviewing.

I don't understand how anyone could be remotely upset about anything that took place this issue. The "interview" was just weird. If I had the chance to talk one-on-one with Mr. Wacker; I certainly wouldn't pull any punches. I wouldn't try to be a dick, but at the same time I wouldn't avoid potentially uncomfortable questions either. The interviewer was not at all clear IMO on what exactly upset him and then strangely, the interviewee seemed to know what the interviewer was thinking. Me? I'm in the dark.

This was no doubt one of my favorite issues of 52 thus far. I coulda done with less Isis and more of the Question but its all good.

[caleb]

"Mark Waid"? Is that you Comic Book Writer Mark Waid? Don't you have some comic book scripts to be working on? Or a convention to be attending?

As long as you're here man, how about giving us 5.2?

Let's see:

#1 How come the Cult of Conner knows Superboy's real name is Conner, and do they know his last name, and, if so, how come they haven't put two and two together and figured out who Conner's "cousin" is yet?

#2 Is this foursome of former JLAers gonna stick together and look for Ralph? Cuz man, I love me some Zauriel ! (Even if you didn't include him in your JLA run, thus dooming him to limbo since...I forgive you though).

#3 Is Brother Power the Geek issue #13?

#4 You do realize Hal said "Bruce" in front of (in the head of) Metamorpho and Zauriel...THEY know Batman's secret ID too, or did that go over their heads?

#5 Which is your favorite Elongated Man costuem?

[Davy]

I don't think the questions were rude at all, just direct. I had the same questions as well when reading, and I'll admit to getting a bit upset at Ollie, Hal and the rest at their attitude. I'd have been disappointed to see these questions brushed aside.

Not everyone reads every other message board. This is the only place I'm reading for 52 info, so I'm glad these questions were asked, and I'm glad that Wacker answered. I still think the heroes came down way hard on the kids considering the heroes own resurrected pasts, but it's a story and I'm willing to see it played out. But right now I'm not feeling too keen on Ollie, Hal, Metamorpho and Zauriel. (Then again, I'm never feeling too keen on Hal, but that's another issue alltogether.)

Davy

[Hypertime]

39 weeks later...

NRAMA: So?
SW: Yeah, it was a typo.

[bluebird]

Originally Posted by Davy

I But right now I'm not feeling too keen on Ollie, Hal, Metamorpho and Zauriel.

Davy

those kids got off light. they're lucky Hal didn't punch 'em out.

[joe.perez]

I love the fact that there maybe multiple meanings by what i am reading and seeing. They are hiding something in plain sight, i think.

The shadowy figure was very like the shadowy guy in another series from awhile back.

[Mick Fury]

Originally Posted by caleb

"Mark Waid"? Is that you Comic Book Writer Mark Waid? Don't you have some comic book scripts to be working on? Or a convention to be attending?

It's not really Waid if he answers your questions. Mark Waid is scared of the internet. Ask anyone...j/k

Mike
--seriously this is NOT meant as an insult. I don't think Mark owes us anything. I'm just taking note of how he doesn't seem fond of much of the internet discussion out there. Also I hear Mark regularly lets the air out of Rucka's tires, so you know what kinda person he is.

[pop monkey]

Originally Posted by Mark Waid

Well played, Mr. Wacker. "All-Straw Sue Dibny" is the line of the week.

And Matt...dude...you are really, really lucky that good-natured Steve answered this round and not me.

Well, that makes me kinda wish you HAD answered this round then, Mark. I've seen Matt jump all over folks in this forum for coming across with the same rude tone. I kept expecting Stephen cut him off and quit the interview. Mr. Wacker has gone above and beyond the call coming here every week to answer many of these poorly thought out questions that are trying to pass for a discussion. Treat him with due respect, or we'll be lucky to make it to week 20 with the guy.

I vote for a Mark Waid guest-interviewee week!
I also heartily vote for an ALL-STRAW SUE DIBNY one-shot!