With the impending re-launch of the core Wildstorm universe titles, through the Worldstorm event, Fractal Matter took the opportunity to sit down and talk with Christos Gage, writer of the new Stormwatch: PHD book. Christos’ previous work has included writing for film and television, penning episodes of both Law & Order: SVU and Numb3ers. He has also been involved in several comics projects published by DC (the recent Deadshot mini-series, an arc of Batman: Legend of the Dark Knight), by Marvel (the forthcoming Union Jack mini-series and a Spiderman Unlimited story), and has published his own creator owned book, Paradox.
You’ve worked for both Marvel and DC recently, how did you get involved in the Wildstorm universe?
It goes back a couple of years to when I met Ben Abernathy, Hank Kanalz, Scott Dunbier and the other Wildstorm guys at the San Diego Con. We hit it off, so I went down there for lunch and pitched some ideas, and they liked one of them. It was a hybrid of superhero adventure and police procedural, featuring the type of characters we’ve all seen in comics, but never in the starring role (sidekicks, tech guys, girlfriends, etc), devising clever, MacGyver-type, methods for normal human authorities to take down superhumans. A little while later, when the Worldstorm relaunch began to take shape, they asked me if I thought it would work as a Stormwatch book, and I said absolutely yes! Bringing in Jackson King and placing it squarely in the Wildstorm Universe opened up a ton of new possibilities. I love looking at the odd corners of superhero universes, and that’s what I get to do here.
Were you familiar with the characters and books already, or did you have to do research to get up to speed?
I had read the Warren Ellis issues, which I loved. When PHD started to take shape, I quickly got caught up and have now read every Stormwatch book ever published.
While the majority of the PHD characters are new, you are bringing back several members of Stormwatch Prime who appeared to be pretty definitively killed off by Warren Ellis in the Wildcats/Aliens crossover. Are you concerned with “rewriting” Warren Ellis, or are you focusing on making the characters resurrections believable to fans of the book?
Actually, the circumstances of their being alive are going to remain a mystery for a while, since the mandate with the new books is to look ahead, not back, until the titles are well established and stand on their own. I’m sure there will be some annoyed people out there impatient for answers, but they are welcome to vent at me, I can take it! I do have a story in mind, it’s just a matter of when it’s told.
As to bringing back the dead characters, believe me, it wasn’t a casual decision. I would be more concerned if I were bringing back Jenny Sparks, or another character Warren had created himself (I actually wouldn’t do that), but it was Jim Lee and his collaborators who created Fahrenheit and the others, and he was cool with them returning, so that made me feel good about it; as did hearing that Warren Ellis only killed them off because he was tired of writing about them and wanted to focus on the Authority characters. So I don’t feel like I’m undoing some heartfelt statement he was making; he’d just gotten bored and wanted to move on. Of course, “rewriting” Warren Ellis is always going to be a bit daunting, but I keep going back to the return of Bucky in Captain America…horrible idea, until you read it and see how well they pulled it off. If they’re good comics it’ll work, and if they’re not it won’t…it’s that simple.
Do you have any favourite characters yet? Any that have started to write themselves?
The Machinist is a favourite, because he’s an out-of-shape Greek guy, which I can relate to, and I’ve always enjoyed writing villains; especially when they’re trying to go straight and not having much luck. Black Betty is kind of surprising me by taking on a life of her own, which I attribute in large part to Doug’s wonderful character designs. She doesn’t really enter the spotlight until issue #4, but there’s a lot going on with her…I think she’s going to be a really cool character!
You’ve mentioned in interviews that the tone of the book is influenced by shows you’ve worked on like Law & Order and Numb3rs, that’s it’s going to feature street level detective work. With Stormwatch Prime still around in the background though, will we see any story arcs that feature these characters and the “widescreen” action of earlier Stormwatch incarnations?
We’ll definitely see Stormwatch Prime, especially in issues #7 and up. However, I’m mostly staying away from the “widescreen” action because it seems like Grant and Jim are covering that in Wildcats, and if you think I’m going to compete with those guys you’re nuts! I’ll be focusing on things like what happens to retired members of Stormwatch, the contrast between the A-list Prime and the D-list PHD…more character-oriented stories. That doesn’t mean there won’t be action, there’ll be plenty; but we’ll be blowing up a building instead of a continent. The impact will come from the characters; one building exploding is pretty tragic if it’s your building, you know what I mean?
How much interaction and communication is there between the various writers responsible for the Worldstorm event? Is there a Worldstorm bible that everyone has to adhere to?
I am aware of the broad strokes of what Grant and Jim are doing in Wildcats, and you will see references to that in Stormwatch, but Jim Lee’s management style is to give the creative teams a great deal of freedom on their own books. As long as you’re not messing up someone else’s plans, you have a lot of leeway to tell the stories you want to tell. So thus far the communication between writers has been mostly on the social, friendly side; it seems like Wildstorm wants the books to become established on their own, so there aren’t going to be a lot of crossovers and such, in the short term, that require more formal coordinating. Down the line I’m sure we’ll do some of that, but for the moment I and the other writers are enjoying the unbridled creative freedom that makes Wildstorm such a great place to work.
You’ve been teamed up with Doug Mahnke as artist for the book, have you had any pages in from him yet that just floor you? You just see them and go, “Wow, that’s amazing!”?
Pretty much all the above! Doug’s inking himself, and his two-page spread for the first issue knocked me flat. The level of detail is unbelievable. This guy can draw Daemonites like nobody’s business! He also absolutely nailed the character designs, and in some cases went above and beyond what I’d imagined, adding things that gave the characters extra facets I hadn’t even thought of (I don’t want to give it away, but keep a close eye on the forensic specialist, Dr. Mordecai Shaw)! I’ve been a fan of Doug’s for ages…his versatility amazes me. Anyone who can tackle books as diverse as Major Bummer, Batman and Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein, and make all those different genres work equally well, is a rare talent.
Any hints you want to give readers to whet their appetite for future story arcs? Anything fans of previous Stormwatch books should be looking out for?
For the first six issues, we’re taking almost a television-season approach…each issue stands on its own as a complete story, but there is a larger tapestry being woven. Each member of PHD will get a turn in the spotlight as we find out their backstory, as well as discover what their role is on the team. While we are taking pains to be new-reader-accessible, there should be something for fans of every era of Stormwatch to enjoy. In the first issue alone, you’ll see the return of some old favorites, including classic villains like Defile and Deathtrap. Issue #3 hearkens back to an issue from the first Ellis run. For Team Achilles fans, the resemblance is more thematic (regular guys taking on superhumans), but if I have my way, Ben Santini will show up at some point down the road! In our first few issues, PHD will face post-human crime bosses, alien menaces, supernatural threats, and an all-out attempt to destroy them. Then they’ll have to investigate a crime on Skywatch, the headquarters of Stormwatch Prime, in which a number of familiar faces are suspects!
Finally, is Stormwatch: PHD your main focus for the future, you’re going to stay with the book as long as it’s running? Or do you have other upcoming projects coming out soon?
I am staying on Stormwatch: PHD until they pry it from my cold dead hands! I do have other projects coming up from both Marvel and DC, including the Union Jack miniseries, and some other exciting stuff that hasn’t been announced yet, but if the readers enjoy Stormwatch as much as I hope, they can expect me to be around for the long haul!
- :Eddie Scrafton grew up in the UK in the Seventies and was exosed to Action, Logan's Run, 2000AD, Damnation Alley, Dr Who and a variety of other weird and wonderful things which had an effect upon him for the rest of his life. He and his family currently live on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.