TAD WILLIAMS TALKS AQUAMAN

[MattBrady]

As part of what's turning out to be an ongoing trend, another scribe is joining the list of book authors turned comic books writers. Tad Williams, best known as a fantasy novel writer, will take over Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis beginning with the Issue #50 in March.

As announced earlier today, current Aquaman writer Kurt Busiek will step down with issue #49 to make room for the new writer, who will join the comic just as new regular writer Shawn McManus (a correction from our earlier report{ takes over art chores.

Already getting attention for his six-issue DC mini-series The Next, Williams is turning to comics after spending over a decade writing prose. Best known for his Memory, Sorrow and Thorn books, which have been listed among the New York Times and London Sunday Times bestsellers, Williams is also releasing a collection of short stories called Rite and wrote the Otherland books, which have been made into the longest play in German radio history.

Newsarama talked to Williams about why he's turning his attention to comics, what he thinks of the influx of writers from other media, and where he intends to take Aquaman during his run.

Newsarama: Tad, since we haven’t spoken with you previously, let's start by talking about how you got started in comics? Aquaman won't be your first foray into the medium…

Tad Williams: I actually wrote a whole world and series of proposals for something called “Mirrorworld” some years ago for Big Entertainment, but they folded their tents about the time my first two issues were coming out. A shame, since I had a huge -- and, I thought, interesting
-- story mapped out.

I went to DC a couple of years ago with a proposal for a major rewrite/relaunch of Captain Marvel Junior, which wasn't good timing as it turned out, but led to other discussions and eventually The Next.

NRAMA: You're a best-selling author. Why comics? Are you a life-long comics fan, or is this a fairly new interest?

TW: I'm pretty much a comics lifer, starting as a kid in the Silver Age and collecting just about every Marvel and DC comic of the era at one time or other. I quit serious collecting in the early ‘80’s, but continued to buy trade paperbacks and other things that caught my attention, and have become a sort-of-collector again in the last five years.

NRAMA: So if you're a long-time reader, have you always wanted to be a comics writer?

TW: Writing comics only occurred to me once I was a professional writer. When I was a teenager, I thought I would draw comics, and about age 16 sent a portfolio to John Romita Sr. at Marvel. He was kind enough to ask me to send more, and to say something generous about my possible future, but I was deep into rock 'n' roll soon after that and drawing fell by the wayside.

NRAMA: The last five years or so has seen an infux of TV writers, screenwriters, and even authors like yourself, Tamora Pierce, Jerome Dickey, Orson Scott Card, Brad Meltzer, and even Stephen King, into comics' ranks. What's your take on that trend?

TW: I can only answer for myself, which is that I've always loved comics and realized late that I might be able to make a lateral move into the field by dint of having made my bones in my own craft, as opposed to starting at the bottom and working my way up. Being a lazy bugger, that appealed to me. I suspect that may be true also for some other writers, but I can't be sure.

NRAMA: That "lateral" move makes sense from a "fan" perspective, but it's still a career choice that seems to have only recently become acceptable. Comic books have been around for 80-something years. Any insight into why it's just now being seen as a viable option or creative outlet for successful writers in other media?

TW: You can ask the same question, minus the 80 years part, about television animation or computer/video games and I suspect you'll get the same answer. There's now a whole generation of creators and consumers who grew up on this stuff, so we have a combination of commercial markets and people who love them and want to make art, or at least cool entertainment, out of them.

NRAMA: But you should know there's a perception among readers that bringing in experienced writers has exasperated books being late, partly due to the commitments these writers have to their "day jobs."

TW: I can only speak for myself. I take my comic deadlines very seriously, as I do all my deadlines, and it's much quicker to write a comic than an eight hundred page novel, so my comics are usually done well ahead of time. We'll see when I'm writing a monthly whether I can be so blithe about it, but I thought long and hard about whether I could do both and keep a schedule and decided I could, so I'm optimistic.

NRAMA: As a fantasy author and comic book fan, you must have noticed that fantasy-based comics seem to be gaining popularity of late --- not only in books like Aquaman, which has incorporated fantasy-fiction elements, but even adaptations of popular fantasy books like the Dabel Brothers line-up, now an imprint at Marvel. Do you think fantasy is gaining momentum?

TW: I've worked with the Dabel Brothers -- really nice guys. Fantasy has been pretty much a full-grown industry since the '70s, when all folk who grew up with the standard-bearers -- Tolkien, Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, Robt. E. Howard, Lovecraft -- started wanting new stuff to read, and the spread of RPGs made it a "language" that a lot more people speak. I went to the Elf Fantasy Fair in the Netherlands last year and there were thousands and thousands of people dressed up in fantasy costumes, but it was only loosely linked to any media -- book or film -- tie-ins. It's really a sub-culture now.

NRAMA: That subculture has a lot of Tad Williams fans because of your books. Any plans or ambitions to adapt any of your novels for comics?

TW: Maybe someday, but it would be a bit of a busman's holiday. I'd probably rather have someone else do the adaptation...

NRAMA: Okay, let's get to the subject of the day - Aquaman. How did you get the gig as writer for this title?

TW: As mentioned above, I've been talking to DC now for a couple of years, got greenlighted on one series (The Next), have had another approved (The Factory) but haven't written it yet (in part because I think it will benefit from more people knowing my work), and have put in several other proposals for things that are back-burnering. My editor offered me Aquaman. I thought about it for a while, because I wanted to make sure I could handle the workload, then said yes.

NRAMA: So are you the ongoing regular writer, or do you have a finite arc you're working on?

TW: As far as I know, I am the Aquaman writer until DC or I decide to end the connection, so, barring some personal catastrophe, I'll be doing this for a while. I write -really long- stories in my own books, and I think what I can bring to the title will best appear over time.

NRAMA: Are you a long-time fan of Aquaman, or did you become attracted to the character with Kurt Busiek's ‘One Year Later’ revamp?

TW: My classic Aquaman is either Nick Cardy or Jim Aparo, although I've enjoyed what Kurt's doing, as well as some of the other recent writers.

How much of Kurt's current direction will survive my tenure is, of course, an open question which even I don't have all the answers to at this point. I'm not going to just bury any of the previous plot directions, and in fact will do my best to see everything from the past thirty or so issues resolved or pulled into the present version. That's actually the hardest part of the gig, to do justice to all the previous ideas while still bringing in the things that I want to do. I figure the first year will have a lot of loose-end-tying.

NRAMA: But the current title is definitely a different take on the character. What's your attraction to the title and this version of the character in particular?

TW: It's got one of the great underused locations -- it's the sea for god's sake! -- and Aquaman himself has seldom had his due. I want to help him be great again. I don't want him to be just as bit-player in the DCU, when I'm done I want him to be right up there with the Flash and Green Lantern as a flagship character. I can't make him Batman or Superman or probably even Wonder Woman in terms of "heart of the DCU" material, but I think I can help boost him back to the heights.

NRAMA: Would you say your plans include continuing the path Busiek started, or can/should readers expect noticeably changes immediately?

TW: As mentioned, nothing jarring in terms of continuity. I won't ignore anything that's gone before, especially in the last few years. But I intend to shake things up a bit in terms of my focus. I like the fantasy aspect, but that will by no means be the only direction.

NRAMA: How do you plan to work with what's come before?

TW: I will spend months and months answering the question of who is the new Aquaman, what exactly happened to the old one, and who "Aquaman" will be in the future. I'll put some focus on what's left of Sub Diego as well, reintroducing and keeping up with old characters there, and various other elements from Pfeiffer and Arcudi. And I've already started working in a lot of Kurt's ideas, since I know where he was planning to go. His map and mine for the long run may be a little different, but he's been very, very helpful with the transition and I'm grateful to him.

NRAMA: You say your map is a "little different." What are you keeping and what's going to uniquely define this as a Tad Williams comic?

TW: It's hard to say because I don't want to sound like I am -- and I'm not -- dissing anyone else's work on the title. If I say, "I want some humor," I don't mean no one else has done it. I mean I have an approach that almost always uses humor, coupled with some really dark stuff, too. I like big ideas, so there will be some of those. I love rich characters, including minor ones, and so there will be lots of characters, old and new. I like scope, so I'd like to bring a little Kirby flava to the whole thing. These are comics -- they're supposed to be big and outrageous.

One place I may differ from some of my predecessors, and which may surprise some people who know I'm a fantasy writer, is that I don't like overusing magic. I think it can kick away the boundaries of a story and undercut the reader's ability to reason along with the characters if someone can always pull a mystical power-rabbit out of a hat at the last second. Magic should be used like cooking spice -- sparingly, so that it has a strong effect, but doesn't overwhelmingly flavor everything.

NRAMA: With the possible exception of the Flash legacy, it's almost always the case that the classic version of a character will return. Even Aquaman/Orin himself had his shirtless/hook-hand/long hair & beard phase before returning to a more "time-honored" look. What's your take on that in terms of Arthur/Orin?

TW: Can't talk about most of that stuff without spoiling the suspense.

I like classics but I like novelty, too. Things will change. Neither the Aquaman we see now nor the Aquaman we've seen in the past will be the Aquaman readers will see one year from now, I'm pretty certain. But I intend that whatever happens will make sense and will respect the character and his history.

NRAMA: You're taking over with #50, which is sometimes seen as an anniversary issue. Anything special planned besides your debut?

TW: Well, all I can say for certain is that I'm going to introduce or re-introduce about half-a-dozen characters or more (both in a couple of cases), it's going to be a double-size issue, and someone important is gonna die. Reasonably ambitious for a number 50, I hope.

NRAMA: Besides the impeding death of someone important, can you give us a sense of what we're going to see coming up for the title?

TW: I'm introducing Dyss, a civilization built under the (diminishing) arctic ice cap, and many stories will flow from that. I'll be bringing back some favorites, some not long gone, like Black Manta, and some almost lost in the eddies of history, like the Human Flying Fish. I made my own Topo, who will debut in #50, and I'm bringing back Cal Durham as mayor of the stub of Sub Diego, but I'm also going to introduce new characters like Narwhal, the Pardoner, Cryptid, and others. One of those is actually a new/old character... but that would be telling.

My overall goal is to enrich and resolidify an important part of the DC universe and leave it stronger than when I found it.

Vaneta Rogers assisted with this story…

[sol]

interesting...not really an Aquaman fan per se (the guy talks to fish, after all), but Tad Williams seems to have enough of a grasp on the history of the character that i may glance over issue fifty.

[connorfan]

Who will be Aquaman? Sub Diego? Lots of new/old characters. Sounds like this will be an interesting transition though to be honest I know very little of the subdiego storylines so I hope that the story allows for someone like me who has read almost exclusivly New Aquaman stories to understand whats going on.

Also I really hope that Arthur remains Aquaman I am really enjoying his tales and to be honest while I've only tried a few Orin stories I never really got the character.

[Disco Cookie]

The Next has been a fun read - and it's great to hear that Williams is committed to the long-haul. He sounds like he has vision and focus - good on DC for giving him a monthly..

[dwiese]

It has been a long time since I've picked up an Aquaman title, this maybe a good reason to give it a try again.

---
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[c_andrew_s]

This is great news; I have been enjoying this book and this sounds like great news.

[Ace]

I said it in the other note, but really, DC needs to make an attempt to pull in Williams' readers.

Or maybe Williams needs to make an attempt.

SOMEONE needs to make an attempt.

There are thousands of potential new comic readers there. And I'd bet they'd spend 3 dollars a month to read one of their favorite authors. It's just a matter of getting the word out to them.

Look at how poorly The Next is selling.

obviously it's not done there.

[Ogmios22188]

Well, I've been really liking Busiek's direction on this title, but it seems like Mr. Williams knows what he's talking about. Looking foward to it.

[S. Ostrich]

Not a big fan of the new Aquaman. And I feel the strongest and most believable Aquaman was hook-hand with the beard and long hair.

I never liked the fish scale tights Aquaman. He's always been a joke to mature audiences who remember him and his greatest super-human claim to LAME...talking to fish.

Peter David and Grant Morrison made him exceedingly more interesting. In Grant Morrison's JLA he had much more believable and thought-provoking abilities.

[Kevenn]

I really appreciate him addressing the timeliness of his writing - and that he should be turning scripts in on time. I'm also excited about bringing in the Sub Diego cast more. I miss Lorena and Tempest - miss him too!

After this interview, I'm pretty excited for this title.

[Brenticles]

The OYL story has been interesting but not my favorite. But I really liked the Sub Diego story best of all the recent Aquaman stories. I will give the new team a try and see where they go.

[BriGuy]

Sounds interesting. Might check out #50 and see if it's time to get Aquaman again...

[Cray_ws]

It almost seemed like Tad Williams was trying real hard not to spoil anything to Newarama but kept tripping on his own words. I don't think he expected to get grilled so soon. Nevertheless he seems more than adequately qualified to write Sword of Atlantis. I especially agree with his philosophy about using magic in comic stories.

[Dave Fury]

Originally Posted by sol

interesting...not really an Aquaman fan per se (the guy talks to fish, after all), but Tad Williams seems to have enough of a grasp on the history of the character that i may glance over issue fifty.

When I first started reading, Aquaman didn't talk to fish, he controlled all sea life. How cool is that? To be able to have dozens of great white sharks doing anything you want. How cool would it be to understand what whales are saying? How cool would it be to swim as fast as a torpedo? How cool would it be to breathe underwater? How cool would it be to be King of Atlantis? How cool would it be if got to be with Mera? For the life of me, I'll never understand why that isn't enough for comic book fans.

I'm looking forward to Tad's run though.

[jedifish]

Sounds interesting. I'll probably stick around for awhile.

[Dave Fury]

Originally Posted by S. Ostrich

Not a big fan of the new Aquaman. And I feel the strongest and most believable Aquaman was hook-hand with the beard and long hair.

I never liked the fish scale tights Aquaman. He's always been a joke to mature audiences who remember him and his greatest super-human claim to LAME...talking to fish.

Peter David and Grant Morrison made him exceedingly more interesting. In Grant Morrison's JLA he had much more believable and thought-provoking abilities.

Peter David had him lose his hand to fish. It's like Superman breaking his neck while walking down a flight of stairs or Batman getting crippled in a mugging by a crackhead. He might as well have had the character bent over and raped, it was that emasculating.

And, speak for yourself, because people that have read the Steve Skeates and Jim Aparao run or the Bob Haney classics wouldn't consider Aquaman lame. Cause, the Aquaman that's being featured in "Justice" is anything but lame.

Besides his work on Aquaman, Bob Haney co-created the Teen Titans, Sgt. Rock, the Doom Patrol, Metamorpho, and Eclipso. And, like those books, his run on Aquaman was a classic.

[nickmarino]

I am SO in for this. I was the #1 Sub-Diego fan (I had to be... nobody else ever said they liked it until Crisis showed up!) and I was super sad to see one of my favorite takes on a classic character leave. sounds to me like Tad has fond feelings for both the current fantasy run and the Sub Diego run. i'm looking forward to reading some Aquaman again... it feels like it was so long ago...

[sebzero11]

I am a huge Tad Williams fan.
I've been loving the new Aquaman storyline.
I enjoyed The Next.


I think I'm in a happy place!

"Under the sea, under the sea...."
Well, c'mon...my name IS Sebastian!

[Devster]

Originally Posted by Dave Fury

When I first started reading, Aquaman didn't talk to fish, he controlled all sea life. How cool is that? To be able to have dozens of great white sharks doing anything you want.

I loved that bit in JLA 118, with the "Make Him Bleed". Awesome.

[yenaled]

I confident that the title is in good hands, I just want to read fantasy Aquaman! I am sad Kurt is leaving I think he could have been amazing for the title but I am confident that Tad will bring good stuff too.

[S. Ostrich]

Your analogy about Aquaman losing his hand being akin to Batman doing something or Supes doing WHAT...again(??) totally escapes me...

Aquaman in Justice is great. His costume sucks but I like how he's presented.

I just feel like his classic outfit is not quite befitting of a King. But hey I didn't grow up in Atlantis. Who knows, maybe Green and Orange scale-mail is all the rage. Maybe...

Williams sounds like he has plenty planned. I'll check it out. Sounds interesting. I'm just not a fan of Author.

Aquaman, if written well, can easily be a major player in DCU. He's easily as capable as the big three... And he governs 70% of the entire globe.

[bluebird]

The bit where he talked about Aquaman being a FLASH or GREEN LANTERN but not a WONDER WOMAN, BATMAN or SUPERMAN was interesting.

In part because making Aquaman Flash or Green Lantern seems easy enough--put Geoff JOhns on the book, or just apply the Geoff Johns formula (Silver Age version/look of the character, give the city/setting it's own character, re-invent the rogue's gallery).

Also because making a Aquaman Woonder Woman seems like a piece of friggin cake. Just make the book come out once a month and you've already got more exposure than Wonder Woman. If it weren't for JLoA, at this point Wonder Woman would be a non-entity in the DCU...

[Nychavok]

I always thought Aquaman was a really lame character, and I am still not interested in reading about him. I think it starts with the name, Aquaman is just not a cool name, it just sounds really lame compared next to Batman and Superman.

I know DC is trying their best, and I know this may sound blasphemous, but, I and many people wanting to get into comics would start buying or buy more of their titles if they didn't hang onto traditional superheroes and villains so much...Probably a big reason why Marvel beats them in sales almost every month, as they are not afraid to make drastic changes and adapt with the times.

[BeastCharming]

This was a very promising interview. I never knew Tad Williams was so into comics, very cool. He seems to know his stuff, both old and new, and he appears to have a vision for the future as well as respect for the past of the character. Here's hoping he and McManus get this book some more exposure (come on DC, actually do some marketing, we know it can be done...)

[BeastCharming]

Originally Posted by Nychavok

I know DC is trying their best, and I know this may sound blasphemous, but, I and many people wanting to get into comics would start buying or buy more of their titles if they didn't hang onto traditional superheroes and villains so much...Probably a big reason why Marvel beats them in sales almost every month, as they are not afraid to make drastic changes and adapt with the times.

How does Marvel not hang onto traditional superheroes and villains? Is it because the heroes are just beating each other up now in Civil War? Marvel got me into comics, but their universe right now seems badly managed to me (and I feel with all the issues I've read since Stan Lee started it all, I've got some perspective there).

I can't really remember any drastic changes they've made that weren't reverted soon afterwards. Heck, Tony Stark outing himself only happened like twice before in the past decade. And I don't believe for one moment that Spider-Man's identity will still be known to the world at large in, say, 2008.

So I don't see what Marvel and DC are doing different. Marvel has several good books (Cap, DD, TBolts, Runaways) and so does DC, and it usually involves creators who are respectful to the characters. That's all I ask, no Mark-Millarism, or Bendisianity, just some fun, written by someone like Busiek or Nicieza or Vaughan or Slott, who love comics, and who love comic book universes.

I'm all for diversity, but come on, look at what DC publishes, they're as diverse as Marvel! Until recently, just not as hype-obsessed though.