JOHN ROGERS: TAKING THE BEETLE SOLO

[MattBrady]

by Vaneta Rogers

When Keith Giffen announced he was leaving Blue Beetle after issue #10, he assured fans that the direction and style of the comic would be maintained as he turned over solo writing duties to his co-writer John Rogers.

Leaving because his schedule had just gotten too full, Giffen said he felt secure about leaving this title because he had not only put together a two-year plan for the character with Rogers, but he had complete faith in his co-writer's ability to successfully carry on what had been started back in March when the series was launched.

The series follows the adventures of Jaime Reyes, an El Paso teenager who found the seemingly magical scarab which formerly belonged to the men who carried the mantle Blue Beetle. The scarab fused itself to Jaime's spine while he slept, and Jaime soon found out that it provided him with a powerful suit of armor whenever he was in danger.

Soon after finding the scarab, the teen played a pivotal role in saving the universe from the threat of Brother Eye in the DC universe-encompassing Infinite Crisis minseries, then was thrust one year into the future at the beginning of his own new title. Now that the series is approaching the one-year mark, readers are finding out there is a lot more to the scarab than they thought, and Jaime is soon going to have to deal with the aliens who seem to have built the thing.

As the series approaches Giffen's last issue and the point at which his co-writer takes over the series, Newsarama sat down with Rogers to see if he also feels as confident about the direction, how his job will change now that he's flying solo, and what fans will see next in Blue Beetle.

Newsarama: We just found out that you're going to be taking over Blue
Beetle with issue #11. How has it been working with Keith and how will your writing duties change as you go forward?

John Rogers: I've finally thrown off the shackles!! No, it's going to be a lot of fun. You know, Keith brought me onto Blue Beetle on the first issue back when he found out that DC had made the decision to kill off Ted as part of the Infinite Crisis build-up. And he saw me writing on the web, basically bitching about Ted's death. He knew me from mutual friends, and he had read my adaptation of Matt Wagner's Mage and really dug it.

NRAMA: So he saw you complaining about Blue Beetle's death in Countdown to Infinite Crisis?

JR: Yeah. And he said, "You know what? You want to get in on the ground floor and really do something different and kind of cool? Come on!" And so, he was nice enough to sort of give me my apprenticeship, which was letting me learn how to write comics. Because comics is the most difficult form of writing I've ever encountered. It's brutal. It's much more difficult than TV and movies, by far. I worked in TV, so I kind of picked this up in addition to TV.

NRAMA: How is it more difficult?

JR: Just pacing and everything -- it's unspeakable. And Waid and Warren Ellis will tell you this -- after I wrote my first comic story for Zombie Tales for Ross Richie's Boom! Studios, I told them, "I am so sorry I have given you crap for years, and this absolutely kicked me. This is brutal."

Because when you're a screenwriter, you're taught to give up certain elements to the director. You write, but you write straight to the scene, and you don't have to worry about camera angles, you don't have to worry about editing, and what has to go where. Your job is nailing the dialogue and the moment and the emotion. In comics, you do all the writing and directing and editing every single panel. And there's also pacing over 22 pages. And it's just an enormous amount of work. I was really grateful for Keith helping me through that and getting me up to speed on how to do that on a monthly book.

NRAMA: He does seem to know what he's doing.

JR: Oh, you don't get a better teacher than Keith Giffen. I mean, you know, there aren't a lot of guys that have been doing it as long as him or as well as him. To sort of do masters class on your first book.

NRAMA: Then you got the chance to write issue #7 alone. Giffen said you were completely on your own for that issue?

JR: Yes. They gave me #7 as a one-off, as a solo book, to see if I had my feet under me. And #7 didn't just go well -- it was actually one of the best received issues. And that's when Keith, looking at his workload, said, "OK, time for me to go. There are a few things I can look at to let go, and Beetle's the one I know I can because John's there, so it's in good hands."

NRAMA: So the process will be the same as it was for you when you wrote
#7?

JR: The process as it moves forward now is me solo-writing the book very much following the plotline that Keith and I beat out. That would take us through the first two years of the book.

NRAMA: OK, we're part way into that two-year plan. Can you bring fans up to speed on what's going on with Blue Beetle in the title right now?

JR: We know, as of #6, that the scarab is actually alien technology, and we know as of #7, from the flashbacks, his adventures on Brother Eye during Infinite Crisis. That issue #7 served more than one purpose. One: It reintroduced the idea of what Jaime's relationships are to the rest of the DC heroes, which is rocky. And for us to understand how difficult it's going to be for him to integrate with them, but also to see the personal relationships that are in play when we start to see these characters popping up in the book occasionally. Two: To hammer home that this is very much a "guy-in-over-his-head" story.

NRAMA: And he's not just in over his head because of the alien technology, but because of those aliens themselves, right?

JR: Right. It's alien tech he's got welded to his spine, and the people who made it are showing up real soon to get it back, now that it's woken up.

NRAMA: So we're going to see him dealing with that?

JR: The next year of Blue Beetle is really the split I just talked about. It's Jaime dealing with the big bad aliens who built the scarab showing up and wondering what he's done with their property, and also slowly integrating him into the DCU now that he's established with his own fan base, his own character roster now that his family is very well established.

NRAMA: You've kept him kind of separated from the rest of the DCU so far, with a few cameos here and there. But now you're going to let him integrate a little?

JR: Yeah. I feel a little more confident about letting him interact with the rest of the DCU without him getting overwhelmed as a character.

NRAMA: Can you give us any details about the next few stories you'll be telling?

JR: At the end of the first arc, end of the first year, his friend Brenda has found a Mother Box, and so he goes on his first off-planet adventures for Issues #10 and #11. Issue #12, he's trying to establish himself as the local hero in El Paso, and that's when the makers of the scarab show up again. Year two is Jaime fighting with the aliens who built the scarab, trying to be El Paso's only teenage superhero, and trying to finally learn how to be friends with the costumed freaks that frankly terrify him from the DCU. So it's a pretty full year.

Some of the characters that we've seen peripherally in the previous year are going to show up to kind of rectify their relationships with them. At the same time, this is not going to be "the DCU comes to El Paso." This is still very much what Keith always intended it to be, which is that this is our Silver Age, teenage kid with powers book. It's a book that I think the DC didn't really have up to this point.



NRAMA: Let's get back to this mention of a Mother Box. We're talking New Gods now, right?

JR: Yeah, you know, I came to comics kind of late in my life. I actually started with like, war comics and G.I. Joe in my youth. I didn't read supers books until college really. So I have a late introduction to the New Gods, and it's just fantastic. I mean, it's so mad. And it's kind of beautiful and pure. Grant Morrison once talked to me about comics and said it's sort of this pure kind of mad heat that comes right through your brain onto the page, and that's exactly what all of Kirby's New Gods stuff was. It was just inspired.

So yeah, some of the New Gods who are kicking around the universe, as a warm-up to what I believe is a universe-wide event that will re-launch the New Gods into the new century.

NRAMA: Is this something Jaime will run into a lot or is it just a one-time thing?

JR: Jaime's job, as far as I'm concerned, in the DCU is to be the ordinary person's view to the events that the rest of the DC characters take in stride. When he meets the New Gods, he's not going, "Hey, what's going on with the Source Wall? Whatever happened to Orion? What's going on with Scott Free? Where's Darkseid?" He's much more, "Who are these crazy huge guys with amazing powers, and what the hell are they talking about?" This is very much him just dipping into the New Gods world and having this mad Kirby adventure, and then getting the hell back to El Paso and sort of shaking his head, and going, "Wow, that was just insane!"

NRAMA: And then back to his life as Jaime again?

JR: Yeah. He's constantly trying to balance his real world, going to school, taking exams, with the fact that he's got this pretty impressive piece of power welded to him, and he's got a responsibility to use it right.

NRAMA: What can you tell us about Rafael Albuquerque, the new artist who will start with issue #11?

JR: Well, Keith has raved about him. I haven't really worked with Rafael before. I knew him from Savage Brothers over at Boom! Studios. And Ross Richie, every time I was talking to him, was like, "This kid is amazing! Oh my God! He's fast! He's a great design guy! And he's a beautiful storyteller!" And, you know, it was just sort of ad nauseum how much he thought this was the best new artist he'd seen. Ross has been doing this 20 years -- he's a freak for this. He's got an eye for talent. And then Giffen -- he's a hard guy to get a compliment out of. But he could not stop talking about how much he liked this guy -- how old-school work ethic he was, and at the same time this clean line.

You know, Cully's really popular. He's really in demand. And he's just genetically wired for the six-issue arc. They really wanted him for Year One for the Black Lightning thing, so we needed to find somebody. Keith knew him, I knew of him, and Joan loved his work. So he just sort of slotted right in. And the design stuff he's done is just great and keeps the tradition that we're a little retro, we're a little Silver-Agey, and we don't look like every other DC book out there. And I'm really pleased with that because Jaime is in his own corner of the DC Universe.

NRAMA: Anything else you want to say to fans of the title as you and Rafael take over?

JR: We've got a really great fan base. We've got a lot of new fans who have come to comics because Blue Beetle is the type of hero they haven't had at DC in awhile. And Keith leaving is tough because it's been a really great apprenticeship, but I'm putting my head down and going to carry on the tradition that Keith started, and then bring us as far as we can go.

[EvilErnie13]

When do we find out about why Blue Beetle freaks out when there is a Green Lantern around???

[CYOTI]

I believe they already established that the makers of the scarab and the green lantern rings have an antipathy to each due other.

[GSHAG]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

So yeah, some of the New Gods who are kicking around the universe, as a warm-up to what I believe is a universe-wide event that will re-launch the New Gods into the new century.


You know, Cully's really popular. He's really in demand. And he's just genetically wired for the six-issue arc. They really wanted him for Year One for the Black Lightning thing, so we needed to find somebody. Keith knew him, I knew of him, and Joan loved his work. So he just sort of slotted right in. And the design stuff he's done is just great and keeps the tradition that we're a little retro, we're a little Silver-Agey, and we don't look like every other DC book out there. And I'm really pleased with that because Jaime is in his own corner of the DC Universe.

oh wow, did he just spill that there definatly is a new gods revival AND cully hammer is drawing BL: Year One?

but yeah i loved issue 7, i got faith in him doing this without giffen

[tralfaz]

Blue Beetle is one of my favorite books. It reminds me a lot of what Spider-man used to be. I hope beetle sticks around for a long time

[DeTroyes]

I'm mildly disappointed tbat Giffen has left Blue Beetle so soon after the series started, but I'm happy that at least its been placed in good hands. Looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

[Darthphere]

#7 was easily the best issue of the series so far, so im sure its in good hands.

[greenflameuk]

Originally Posted by GSHAG

oh wow, did he just spill that there definatly is a new gods revival AND cully hammer is drawing BL: Year One?

The Black Lightning story was released a few weeks ago, but i think this is the first time a writer has confirmed that there will be a big event with the New Gods. It's just been a rumour so far.

[hugo]

Originally Posted by tralfaz

Blue Beetle is one of my favorite books. It reminds me a lot of what Spider-man used to be. I hope beetle sticks around for a long time

Yeah, I really see him as "DC's Spider-Man" too
There was just a great job on the supporting cast and the main character since the beginning of the series.

Ted was a great character but they had the intelligence not to make of Jaime "the hispanic Ted". That's how the legacy thing should always work.

Originally Posted by Darthphere

#7 was easily the best issue of the series so far, so im sure its in good hands.

Agreed.
It was a nice "flash-back tie-in" to Infinite Crisis.

The scene when his sister comes to a crying Jaimie was very moving

I have faith for the future of this series.

Hugo, loving both Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes

[Erikcrusade]

Originally Posted by GSHAG

oh wow, did he just spill that there definatly is a new gods revival

DiDio's been hinting at this since the end of IC.

[I am MODOK]

I'm just hoping we do see what happens to Scott Free!

I tried the first 4 issues of this book and dropped it, but it sounds like it might getting a little "bigger" in scope of the story, and the action in those stories, so I may give a random issue a shot.

Damn, between a new writer on Flash, and the New Gods showing up in BB, Firestorm, and Hawkgirl, DC is really making a push to get me back as a full raving fan.

[Ye Olde Iowa]

I really think that it is a huge shame that more people aren't reading the new Blue Beetle series. I imagine it must be hard for longtime fans of the previous Beetles, but I think that steps are being taken to rectify that and in the meantime, if you are holding out on buying this book because you are still mad about Ted's death (arguably one of the best and most effective comic book deaths in recent years, in my opinion), you are only robbing yourself of reading one of the best books on the market today.

I find it really interesting that the first reappearances of the New Gods prior to their (presumably) momentous revival are in underrated books like Firestorm and Blue Beetle. Although, it looks as though Big Barda is joining the Birds of Prey and we have seen some hints of the New Gods in 52. Either way, I'm guessing their reintroduction is going to be huge.

Back to the article, I think that the book is certainly in capable hands with Rogers. Issue # 7 was certainly the best of the book thus far and I look forward to seeing where he takes the book when Giffen bows out. I do like the style that Albeqerque will be bringing, but I really wish that Duncan Rouleau would be taking over for Cully; his fill-ins have been awesome.

[Ye Olde Iowa]

Whoops, double post. Sorry!

[kingofcities]

Great interview. Love this book.

[Thalya]

Originally Posted by Ye Olde Iowa

I find it really interesting that the first reappearances of the New Gods prior to their (presumably) momentous revival are in underrated books like Firestorm and Blue Beetle. Although, it looks as though Big Barda is joining the Birds of Prey and we have seen some hints of the New Gods in 52. Either way, I'm guessing their reintroduction is going to be huge.

And you've got pre-Green Lantern Manhunter stuff over in Manhunter, you've got Ion, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, the Omega Men, Mystery in Space, stuff in Hawkgirl.. And remember how big Devilance was in 52? Of course the New Gods are gonna be huge.

In any event, Rogers taking over for Giffen is excellent news if his issue #7 is any evidence. Blue Beetle has been getting progressively better, and should be awesome when it makes the jump to Kirbyspace (and this from a gal who had a crush on Ted -- where have all the geekboy representatives gone from the pantheon of DC's heroes?!).

[EvilErnie13]

Originally Posted by EvilErnie13

When do we find out about why Blue Beetle freaks out when there is a Green Lantern around???

Originally Posted by CYOTI

I believe they already established that the makers of the scarab and the green lantern rings have an antipathy to each due other.

Really? Thanks for the loads of obvious info.
Does anyone else know anything besides this guy?

[MattBrady]

Originally Posted by EvilErnie13

Really? Thanks for the loads of obvious info.
Does anyone else know anything besides this guy?

dude - chill - you asked a question, the poster offered up what he knew. No need to be a jerk.

MattB

[Skinshark]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

Because when you're a screenwriter, you're taught to give up certain elements to the director. You write, but you write straight to the scene, and you don't have to worry about camera angles, you don't have to worry about editing, and what has to go where. Your job is nailing the dialogue and the moment and the emotion. In comics, you do all the writing and directing and editing every single panel. And there's also pacing over 22 pages. And it's just an enormous amount of work. I was really grateful for Keith helping me through that and getting me up to speed on how to do that on a monthly book.

Wow, I couldn't disagree more.
For years the artists job is to be a good storyteller and how is that even necessary if they have no breathing room from the writer?

It's always been to my knowledge that the writer writes the story and dialogue and makes clear the intention, and that the artist directs his actors upon the page using the story and dialogue, always adding to the process...and so on to the inker and colorist.
I'd still think the same rules apply to comics writing as it does to screenplays with nothing more than suggestions of CU, MS or LS to give the artist a springboard.

I mean it's not helping the artist any grow as a storyteller if you tell them to put the camera birds-eye OTS on the right side of the character and then describe exactly everything that camera sees. I mean it's helpful...but...yeesh.

[Tony Lee]

I think it's a mixture of both.

I can see what he means - as a writer, I pace the story out so the cliffhangers come at the page turns, the dialogue fits the right pnels, etc. But in a script format, the writer ALWAYS says his/her 'direction' of the story. You'll have 'Close up.X is sad' followed by 'Ground shot. X punched Y through a wall!' Etc.

Yes, the artist is an integral part of the process, and more times than not I've had artists suggest ideas that make the story better. But read an Alan Moore script. He builds the direction to the eighteen nuance.

But even with a well directed script, the artist can grow. And it's crazy to think otherwise. But to think that a comic script is just a 'suggestion' to the artist?

Man I couldn't disagree more to THAT.

[Kolimar]

I think BB is good hands. Time will prove me right or wrong.

[Erikcrusade]

Originally Posted by Skinshark

Wow, I couldn't disagree more.
For years the artists job is to be a good storyteller and how is that even necessary if they have no breathing room from the writer?

It's always been to my knowledge that the writer writes the story and dialogue and makes clear the intention, and that the artist directs his actors upon the page using the story and dialogue, always adding to the process...and so on to the inker and colorist.
I'd still think the same rules apply to comics writing as it does to screenplays with nothing more than suggestions of CU, MS or LS to give the artist a springboard.

I mean it's not helping the artist any grow as a storyteller if you tell them to put the camera birds-eye OTS on the right side of the character and then describe exactly everything that camera sees. I mean it's helpful...but...yeesh.

Not neccessarily true. As a matter of fact I find this is sometimes the opposite.

I've had artists tell me they prefer a full script with everything planned out on the page for them. This means less time they need to waste on worrying about layout and more time they can spend on the specific artwork.

I think you also run into situations where a relationship develops along the way but initial want from both sides is to have as much detail as possible.

Not to mention, once receiving a full script, there's nothing stopping an artists from calling the writer and discussing changes that they thing might enhance the story. I remember reading that Geoff Johns writes very detailed specific scripts. But I've also read that he is very open to collaboration, so often artists come back to him and suggest changing things that will work better and tell a better story.

These kind of things are what make comics such a uniquely collaborative experience.

I know there are times when I'm writing scripts where, within the same single issue, I have specific framing references from specific scenes in a book where I have a vision of how a specific scene or page will play out best through the framing in my own head, and other pages where I'll tell the artist to try to frame it however he/she thinks it will work best.

I think it also depends on how much history an artist and writer have together too. I think (even though I think they work plot style) a book worked on between Chris Claremont and Alan Davis for instance is entirely different then a book worked on by Chris Claremont and a relative newcomer.


Regardless, I don't think anything Mr. Rogers says above is hard and fast. I'm sure there's some wiggle room in there depending on the skills of a given artists and the relationship between artists and writer.

Plus it could be that receiving specific full scripts from a writer actually helps an artists develop their storytelling ability.

[Kolimar]

Originally Posted by Erikcrusade

DiDio's been hinting at this since the end of IC.

And Morrison who will probably be the event's main writer. And I think Wacker and Giffen said something at one point, as well.

[Thalya]

Originally Posted by Kolimar

And Morrison who will probably be the event's main writer. And I think Wacker and Giffen said something at one point, as well.

And didn't Busiek drop off of Aquaman for something Big Event-related, also? Were there others too?

[Kolimar]

Originally Posted by Erikcrusade

Not neccessarily true. As a matter of fact I find this is sometimes the opposite.

I've had artists tell me they prefer a fulls cript with everything planned out on the page for them. This means less time they need to waste on worrying about layout and more time they can spend on the specific artwork.

I think you also run into situations where a relationship develops along the way but initial want from both sides is to have as much detail as possible.

Not to mention, once receiving a full script, there's nothing stopping an artists from calling the writer and discussing changes that they thing might enhance the story. I remeber reading that Geoff Johns writes very detailed specific scripts. But I've also read that he is very open to collaboration, so often artists come back to him and suggest changing things that will work better and tell a better story.

These kind of things are what make comics such a uniquely collaborative experience.

I know there are times when I'm writing scripts where, within the same single issue, I have specific framing references from specific scenes in a book where i hav a vision of how a specific scene or page will play out best through the frmaing in my own head, and other pages where I'll tell the artist to try to frame it however he/she thinks it will work best.

I think it also depends on how much histiry an artist and writer have together too. I think (even though I think they work plot style) a book worked on between Chris Claremont and Alan Davis for instance is entirely different then a book worked on by Vhris Claremont and a relative newcomer.


Regardless, I don't think anything Mr. Rogers says above is hard and fast. I'm sure there's some wiggle room in there depending on the skills of a given artists and the relationship between artists and writer.

Plus it could be that receiving specific fulls cripts from a writer actually helps an artists develop their storytelling ability.

I couldn't agree more.

[Kolimar]

Originally Posted by greenflameuk

The Black Lightning story was released a few weeks ago, but i think this is the first time a writer has confirmed that there will be a big event with the New Gods. It's just been a rumour so far.

More than a rumour. Like Erik said, Didio started hinting at it around IC but later he and Morrison confirmed there were plans for a New Gods event in the not-so-distant future.