Post by wenxina on Jun 5, 2010 9:44:49 GMT -5
With the recent release of a new Serenity book ("Float Out") and the up-coming Riley one-shot and Joss' finale on Buffy Season 8 on the horizon, I thought it was fitting to touch base with editor Scott Allie. Scott was gracious enough to answer a few questions from me and a few SlayAlive members. Onward then...
Having read “Float Out” several times over to fully appreciate it, I found it to be a fitting and somewhat sentimental nod towards one of the most beloved Whedonverse characters. Through the tales of these three men, we’re reminded once more of the fine qualities that Wash possessed: he was brave, resourceful, a leaf on the wind, and devotedly loyal to his friends. That’s my fanboy perspective.
However, from the production point of view, why this story now? “Float Out” is the first story set in the post-Serenity world, and with that closing image, it leads to the obvious fan conclusion that there must be more to come. I mean, the image of Zoe standing proudly with her swollen baby bump, proclaiming that their daughter would inherit her father’s qualities kinda blurs the line between metaphor and literal there; that a new future is afoot. Will we be seeing more of the ‘verse soon, excluding “A Shepherd’s Tale”?
SA: Somebody better spoiler-warn these questions, or there’ll be hell to pay. The simple answer to why now is that we were excited to work with Patton, and this was Joss’s favorite of the couple of ideas Patton pitched him. A reflection on Wash from the POV of characters you’ve never met before probably does not satisfy the jones that hardcore Browncoats have been feeling since "Better Days". But that wasn’t the job we set out to do here. The job here was to do a good comic, good art, good writing, and I’m happy with what we’ve done in that regard. Everyone nailed it. I do love that we’ve moved the story of Serenity forward for the first time in a number of years, and that it opens the door for future stories.
Along those lines, since “Float Out” was originally an idea pitched by Patton Oswalt to Joss, did it just fall perfectly in line with what Joss imagined the future of the ‘verse would be? Has Joss shared his vision of the future of the Serenity franchise with you?
SA: Joss helped tailor Patton’s story to fit the overall vision. Joss was as hands on with this as with Season 8—so it’s a broad mix of Patton pitching a good idea, Joss giving Patton room to tell his story, and Joss massaging it a bit to get it to move the verse in the right direction. Joss and I have talked a lot about what to do next with Serenity, but our focus remains, right now, on big plans for Buffy. There’s not a grand scheme for Serenity right now, but I’m happy that in 2010 we’re eulogizing these two great characters, Book and Wash, and I hope that while launching Buffy Season 9 in 2011, we manage to take the next step with Serenity.
Backtracking a little, let’s talk about the narrative structure of previous Serenity comics. This one comes from Hellbound Hyperion. Before “Float Out”, we had two 3-part arcs. Has there been any talk about switching to an on-going structure rather than short arcs?
SA: When fans kicked up speculation that IDW would license Firefly from Fox for a monthly series, I asked Joss if he wanted us to do that, and he did not see that for Serenity at the time. Patton brought us a good story here. Joss had the Shepherd Book story that he wanted to tell. I’m going to put some more energy into bringing more stories to Joss in the future in the hopes that we find the thing that he wants to do.
As for one-shots, back at Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC) 2010, you mentioned that there was a possibility of a Mal and Zoe one-shot in the future. Is that still a possibility? Given Patton’s adept handle of the characters, is it possible that he would land the gig, should that possibility become reality? (Thanks, VampSlayer)
SA: That was more me spitballing, throwing out examples of what could be done. I think someone asked if we were going to do one shots for each character, and I said no, not everyone would lend themselves to oneshots. Then again, who thought Wash would be the first oneshot we’d do. It’s all about finding the right story. But I think a flashback book of Mal and Zoe would be a no brainer, just like The Hero Of Canton is a no brainer. Why aren’t we doing a Jane ongoing …? As for Patton, we’ve talked about other stuff, but not specifically about him doing more Serenity. But shit … who’d be better to write my Hero Of Canton monthly series than Patton?
Back at ECCC 2010, you stated that 2011 was going to be the year that Joss’ projects got some aggressive promoting. Other than the follow-up to Buffy Season 8, do Whedonverse fans have anything else to look forward to?
SA: Nothing I can say right now except that Season 9 is shaping up to be bigger than I’d imagined. I think we’ll be announcing a few things at San Diego, but nothing before then.
So… I guess we should talk about the up-coming Riley one-shot coming out in August. How did you guys decide that Riley’s story was the one worth telling?
SA: Quite simply, we needed something to fill the hole in the schedule, and we talked through a bunch of options, including a sequel to Goddesses and Monsters and another Tales of the Vampires oneshot, or even a two parter. We talked about an Angel/Twilight oneshot that would fill in some perspective on him. We were looking at things that needed some explanation or context at this point in the story, and we felt that Riley had some unanswered questions that we wanted to answer, and which would not be answered in the final arc. We didn’t want to retread ground covered in the other oneshots, and we didn’t want to deal with Angel too much outside the regular monthly—that’s the place for that info, for the most part. But that’s basically the thought process. We certainly didn’t say, Which character could we sell the most copies of, who are the fans really dying to see more of. We thought this served the overall story.
How did you arrive at the decision to have Jane Espenson write the Riley one-shot? What qualities do you see in Jane as a writer that makes her scripts work?
SA: If you have Jane Espenson’s phone number, you call Jane Espenson. I love working with Jane. She has all the qualities I want in a writer. I love her. I worship her. I can’t live without her.
Back in the day, you mentioned that a contender for the one-shot would have been a Tales of the Slayer-type story, possibly from either the perspective of a Slayer that was not enrolled in the Slayer army, or more interesting still, Simone, our resident pink mohawked troublemaker. Are these still stories that we’ll see one day, or is that door closed?
SA: This won’t happen within Season 8, but it’s all on the table still for Season 9. Simone won’t get dealt with in Season 8, but she won’t be forgotten.
Back to the Riley one-shot. CBR released some preview pages today, and they were quite intriguing. We first see Riley and Sam in some idyllic provincial area, cornfields and all (Iowa?), and then suddenly, there’s some kinda secret military base with a giant missile or something. The shock factor kinda feels like the Initiative, but on a grander scale. Which leads me to my question: Aside from covering the expected bases (i.e. what happened to Sam? How did Riley end up being a double-agent? etc), can we expect any shockers to unfold?
SA: I don’t wanna promise shockers, but it’s way more than a fun Mission: Impossible romp with Riley and Sam. It’s beautiful character stuff from Jane, and it does pull together some of the most important material in Season 8. For careful readers, there’s a lot to think about in the oneshot, in terms of the bigger themes and problems of Season 8. And there’s a character who’s never appeared before in Season 8, who I was happy to bring into it. I know some fans are gonna say, “Goddammit, you guys will shoehorn in EVERYONE but MY favorite character ________,” but what it came down to was that we had an empty space in the story that required a certain kind of character, and we talked about how to introduce such a figure, and realized there was someone who made perfect sense to have a small role in Season 8, in this one particular bit of business. We didn’t set out to reintroduce this character, this character just made too much sense.
Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions, Scott. Also, for those of you interested, SlayAlive is also currently running a Buffy Season 8 art competition with some sweet prizes courtesy of both Georges Jeanty and Dark Horse Comics. For more details, check it out HERE.
Having read “Float Out” several times over to fully appreciate it, I found it to be a fitting and somewhat sentimental nod towards one of the most beloved Whedonverse characters. Through the tales of these three men, we’re reminded once more of the fine qualities that Wash possessed: he was brave, resourceful, a leaf on the wind, and devotedly loyal to his friends. That’s my fanboy perspective.
However, from the production point of view, why this story now? “Float Out” is the first story set in the post-Serenity world, and with that closing image, it leads to the obvious fan conclusion that there must be more to come. I mean, the image of Zoe standing proudly with her swollen baby bump, proclaiming that their daughter would inherit her father’s qualities kinda blurs the line between metaphor and literal there; that a new future is afoot. Will we be seeing more of the ‘verse soon, excluding “A Shepherd’s Tale”?
SA: Somebody better spoiler-warn these questions, or there’ll be hell to pay. The simple answer to why now is that we were excited to work with Patton, and this was Joss’s favorite of the couple of ideas Patton pitched him. A reflection on Wash from the POV of characters you’ve never met before probably does not satisfy the jones that hardcore Browncoats have been feeling since "Better Days". But that wasn’t the job we set out to do here. The job here was to do a good comic, good art, good writing, and I’m happy with what we’ve done in that regard. Everyone nailed it. I do love that we’ve moved the story of Serenity forward for the first time in a number of years, and that it opens the door for future stories.
Along those lines, since “Float Out” was originally an idea pitched by Patton Oswalt to Joss, did it just fall perfectly in line with what Joss imagined the future of the ‘verse would be? Has Joss shared his vision of the future of the Serenity franchise with you?
SA: Joss helped tailor Patton’s story to fit the overall vision. Joss was as hands on with this as with Season 8—so it’s a broad mix of Patton pitching a good idea, Joss giving Patton room to tell his story, and Joss massaging it a bit to get it to move the verse in the right direction. Joss and I have talked a lot about what to do next with Serenity, but our focus remains, right now, on big plans for Buffy. There’s not a grand scheme for Serenity right now, but I’m happy that in 2010 we’re eulogizing these two great characters, Book and Wash, and I hope that while launching Buffy Season 9 in 2011, we manage to take the next step with Serenity.
Backtracking a little, let’s talk about the narrative structure of previous Serenity comics. This one comes from Hellbound Hyperion. Before “Float Out”, we had two 3-part arcs. Has there been any talk about switching to an on-going structure rather than short arcs?
SA: When fans kicked up speculation that IDW would license Firefly from Fox for a monthly series, I asked Joss if he wanted us to do that, and he did not see that for Serenity at the time. Patton brought us a good story here. Joss had the Shepherd Book story that he wanted to tell. I’m going to put some more energy into bringing more stories to Joss in the future in the hopes that we find the thing that he wants to do.
As for one-shots, back at Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC) 2010, you mentioned that there was a possibility of a Mal and Zoe one-shot in the future. Is that still a possibility? Given Patton’s adept handle of the characters, is it possible that he would land the gig, should that possibility become reality? (Thanks, VampSlayer)
SA: That was more me spitballing, throwing out examples of what could be done. I think someone asked if we were going to do one shots for each character, and I said no, not everyone would lend themselves to oneshots. Then again, who thought Wash would be the first oneshot we’d do. It’s all about finding the right story. But I think a flashback book of Mal and Zoe would be a no brainer, just like The Hero Of Canton is a no brainer. Why aren’t we doing a Jane ongoing …? As for Patton, we’ve talked about other stuff, but not specifically about him doing more Serenity. But shit … who’d be better to write my Hero Of Canton monthly series than Patton?
Back at ECCC 2010, you stated that 2011 was going to be the year that Joss’ projects got some aggressive promoting. Other than the follow-up to Buffy Season 8, do Whedonverse fans have anything else to look forward to?
SA: Nothing I can say right now except that Season 9 is shaping up to be bigger than I’d imagined. I think we’ll be announcing a few things at San Diego, but nothing before then.
So… I guess we should talk about the up-coming Riley one-shot coming out in August. How did you guys decide that Riley’s story was the one worth telling?
SA: Quite simply, we needed something to fill the hole in the schedule, and we talked through a bunch of options, including a sequel to Goddesses and Monsters and another Tales of the Vampires oneshot, or even a two parter. We talked about an Angel/Twilight oneshot that would fill in some perspective on him. We were looking at things that needed some explanation or context at this point in the story, and we felt that Riley had some unanswered questions that we wanted to answer, and which would not be answered in the final arc. We didn’t want to retread ground covered in the other oneshots, and we didn’t want to deal with Angel too much outside the regular monthly—that’s the place for that info, for the most part. But that’s basically the thought process. We certainly didn’t say, Which character could we sell the most copies of, who are the fans really dying to see more of. We thought this served the overall story.
How did you arrive at the decision to have Jane Espenson write the Riley one-shot? What qualities do you see in Jane as a writer that makes her scripts work?
SA: If you have Jane Espenson’s phone number, you call Jane Espenson. I love working with Jane. She has all the qualities I want in a writer. I love her. I worship her. I can’t live without her.
Back in the day, you mentioned that a contender for the one-shot would have been a Tales of the Slayer-type story, possibly from either the perspective of a Slayer that was not enrolled in the Slayer army, or more interesting still, Simone, our resident pink mohawked troublemaker. Are these still stories that we’ll see one day, or is that door closed?
SA: This won’t happen within Season 8, but it’s all on the table still for Season 9. Simone won’t get dealt with in Season 8, but she won’t be forgotten.
Back to the Riley one-shot. CBR released some preview pages today, and they were quite intriguing. We first see Riley and Sam in some idyllic provincial area, cornfields and all (Iowa?), and then suddenly, there’s some kinda secret military base with a giant missile or something. The shock factor kinda feels like the Initiative, but on a grander scale. Which leads me to my question: Aside from covering the expected bases (i.e. what happened to Sam? How did Riley end up being a double-agent? etc), can we expect any shockers to unfold?
SA: I don’t wanna promise shockers, but it’s way more than a fun Mission: Impossible romp with Riley and Sam. It’s beautiful character stuff from Jane, and it does pull together some of the most important material in Season 8. For careful readers, there’s a lot to think about in the oneshot, in terms of the bigger themes and problems of Season 8. And there’s a character who’s never appeared before in Season 8, who I was happy to bring into it. I know some fans are gonna say, “Goddammit, you guys will shoehorn in EVERYONE but MY favorite character ________,” but what it came down to was that we had an empty space in the story that required a certain kind of character, and we talked about how to introduce such a figure, and realized there was someone who made perfect sense to have a small role in Season 8, in this one particular bit of business. We didn’t set out to reintroduce this character, this character just made too much sense.
Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions, Scott. Also, for those of you interested, SlayAlive is also currently running a Buffy Season 8 art competition with some sweet prizes courtesy of both Georges Jeanty and Dark Horse Comics. For more details, check it out HERE.