INTERVIEWS
6-30-08: David A. Flanary Talks PistolFist
David A. Flanary, Jr. is the co-writer of PistolFist, a comic about a runaway slave who becomes a hero during the American Revolution. The book is releasing this July, and David took some time to talk to us about the series and the challenges the book faced on the way to its upcoming release.
Secret Identity: For the uninitiated, can you give us the synopsis of PistolFist: Revolutionary Warrior?
David A. Flanary, Jr.: Absolutely. PistolFist is essentially the story of a runaway slave, set during the American Revolution. This former slave, Salem Attucks, is the fictional brother of real-life Crispus Attucks, who died during the Boston Massacre. Crispus' death looms pretty large over Salem, who becomes a masked hero fighting the British Empire. Over the course of the story, Salem comes into contact with a large number of real-life personalities, including Benedict Arnold, Ethan Allen, and, of course, Benjamin Franklin, who serves as our co-protagonist.
Secret Identity: When you were first batting ideas for this story around, did you come up with the setting or the character first?
David A. Flanary, Jr.: I remember speaking about this topic to J.S. Earls, who created the character. J.S. is a big fan of period stories, such as Zorro, and wondered why nobody had ever attempted to create a superhero tale set during the American Revolution. The character of PistolFist grew quite organically out of the setting.
I actually didn't enter the picture as co-writer of the series until after J.S. Earls had completed a rough draft for PistolFist #1. He read one of my prose short stories, A Monument to Suffering, which was published in The Sorrow: Stories in Honor of the National Association to Protect Children. Once J.S. decided that he needed a co-writer, he immediately contacted me. At that time, both setting and character were already firmly in place.
Secret Identity: While Pistolfist: Revolutionary Warrior is a work of fiction, the story has a lot of ties to real historical events and people. How difficult is it to weave the fictional and non-fictional events together?
David A. Flanary, Jr.: Not as difficult as you might think. PistolFist almost had to be co-written by J.S. Earls and myself, because his basic nature and my background made the blending of fact and fiction quite simple. J.S. is a meticulous researcher. Once he set his sight on historical fiction, he spent hours researching the people, places, and events that shaped the American Revolution. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in History, and spent a great deal of time studying the American Revolution in college.
Secret Identity: What are some of the themes in Pistolfist that could be applied to what’s happening around the world today?
David A. Flanary, Jr.: That's a pretty loaded question.
I think the notion of freedom is at the top of that list. Freedom has become a bit of a slogan, a word everybody uses but few people ponder. PistolFist serves, I believe, as a reminder of a time when we did not have the luxury to take freedom for granted. How someone applies that reminder to modern situations really depends on his/her individual viewpoint. That is one of the wonderful things about PistolFist: the themes the story deals with can mean different things to different people.
Secret Identity: Pistolfist has had a very interesting publishing history. How did the title end up with Bluewater Productions?
David A. Flanary, Jr.: Originally, PistolFist was scheduled to be released by Alias Comics. Alias went so far as to publish the first issue in October of 2006. The second issue was delayed for a while. Then, Alias sent out a press release to inform everybody that they would restructure the company and become a Christian publisher. Despite a positive critical response, PistolFist ended up being a victim of circumstance.
Thankfully, Darren Davis, president of Bluewater Productions, was a fan of what he saw of PistolFist. I'm unsure if Mr. Davis first contacted J.S. Earls, or vice versa, but an agreement was reached, and here we are.
Secret Identity: Rumor has it that Pistolfist may also be branching into other mediums as well. Can you give us the latest on where else we may see the character in the future?
David A. Flanary, Jr.: Last time I spoke to J.S. Earls, there was nothing concrete to report. Still, the concept of PistolFist lends itself to all sorts of mediums. It would certainly work as a motion picture or even a television series. Frankly, I could imagine PistolFist branching out into animation. PistolFist is so universal and versatile that it could be adapted to suit any medium.
Some time ago, I actually suggested to J.S. Earls that PistolFist should become an old-fashioned pulp magazine. I've always been a big fan of The Shadow and Doc Savage, and feel that PistolFist would work really well in that genre.
Right now, however, the future of PistolFist is wide open.
Secret Identity: Where can people go to stay informed about Pistolfist?
David A. Flanary, Jr.: To stay informed about the upcoming mini-series, check out the official website of Bluewater Productions at www.bluewaterprod.com. J.S. Earls' Storyline Studios is another excellent sources of information, and can be found at www.freewebs.com/storylinestudios. Finally, my own website is a fantastic resource if you want to stay informed about PistolFist, or any of my other projects, and can be found at www.freewebs.com/the_rage.
Our thanks to David for taking time to chat with us!
5-25-08: Finnish-ing up With Temo Vuorensola
Fans of the sci–fi comedy film Star Wreck already know who Timo Vuorensola is. For those who don’t Timo, welcome! Timo is the director of the soon to be classic Iron Sky! And thru the magic of the world wide interweb, Timo chats with us about being from Finland, Iron Sky and the incredible undertaking of making a feature film. And of course our thanks for taking time to chat with us.
Secret Identity: This is an alternate history where the Nazis went to the moon towards the end of World War II. Where did this idea come from?
Timo: It was born, as most good ideas from Finland, in sauna. We were sitting there with Jarmo Puskala who also wrote Star Wreck, and he popped up this idea of Nazis on the moon. The idea sounded so wicked and intriguing, that we wanted to start building it. It's an interesting mix of fiction, conspiracy theories and fact.
Secret Identity: Being Finnish, do you have a different view or thoughts about World War II than those in America or Canada?
Timo: I wouldn't say that on WW2 we have different views. We all agree that the National Socialism was history's greatest mistake. Finland has its own history with Nazis - we were oppressed by them, but never allied with them, although we were fighting against the Russia at the same time. That wasn't the proudest part in our history.
Secret Identity: The Iron Sky clip we've been watching has a 1950's sci- fi look and feel to it. Is this by plan or is this just how it turned out?
Timo: Let's say that I wanted to create a film that's stylistically interesting. We will definitively take influences from 50's type of films in general, and clash them together with today's filmmaking traditions, and hopefully come up with something new and interesting.
Secret Identity: On the site, you ask for people to help as part of the production team. How can they get involved and what are you looking for?
Timo: The way to work with us is to join the production via an internet platform we've built just for this, called Wreck A Movie (www.wreckamovie.com). It's a collaborative film production platform, where the film will be sliced into tasks and the community is asked to bring their ideas and creativity to the production. Later on we are looking to expand the platform to accept all kind of films to be set up there for filmmakers to find communities around them.
Secret Identity: What is it about the Nazis that make them so scary and relevant today? We know thru history the horror and atrocities that were committed, but what is it?
Timo: Probably because as everybody thought after the war that 'never again', but we've been seeing that kind of activism rising up in all corners of the world ever since, and Totalitarism is on the rise again. It's scary, 'cuz it's so close to where certain things are leading the world to.
Secret Identity: Will the finished film look like it does in the trailer?
Timo: The demo teaser is more like animated concept art instead of being actual material from the film.
Secret Identity: You have a great site with war bonds posters and blueprint sketches. How fun was it to recreate things like this with a bit of a ‘spin’ on them?
Timo: It was totally hilarious. We've always been very much working on stuff that we find fun and hilarious, crazy ideas that keep us alive.
Secret Identity: What are your hopes for Iron Sky? Is there a plan or hope for it to be on the big screen or will it just be a web movie?
Timo: We are aiming for the big screens, first and foremost, but are also seeking for an intelligent internet distribution option. Right now, all the big players are way in the woods with their VOD and Internet video plans, we might need to teach them a thing or two :)
5-2-08: Rebekah Isaccs Gets Drafted - The Interview
Secret Identity: Nice spelling on the first name. My daughter is an Old Testament spelling Rebekah!
Rebekah: Let's hear it for old-school Rebekah! You have good taste in names, my friend. I have to laugh when people assume my spelling is the new, trendy take on the "original." Hah! And since you seem to be familiar with the Old Testament, you can probably tell my parents thought they were being pretty clever putting Rebekah with Isaac(s).
Secret Identity: Since we cleared up the name thing, tell us a little about yourself?
Rebekah: I grew up in a tiny mountain town where no one really reads comics. I've always been into sci-fi, fantasy, and video games and I've drawn since I could hold a pencil, but it wasn't until I read Watchmen at about 16 that I knew I wanted to draw comics. Since then I've been devouring every title I can get my hands on. When I'm not doing that I'm still playing way too many games, geeking out over Lost with my boyfriend, and studying Italian for when I flee to Sicily and am never heard from again.
Secret Identity: So how does a girl get into the ‘man's only’ world of comic books?
Rebekah: I'm still not sure I'm fully in it yet, but attending Savannah College of Art and Design really helped. The professors there, though mostly male, are incredibly open-minded to women in comics and really bust their butts to help ALL their students find work. They never pigeonhole people, say, expect all the guys to draw superheroes and all the girls to draw manga. I'm sure I would have given up a long time ago if I hadn't had that support network in school.
Secret Identity: Has your gender ever gotten in the way of being taken serious as an artist?
Rebekah: Good question. I think very few people in comics knowingly harbor prejudice towards female artists, but it definitely still exists subconsciously. A comment I get often in portfolio reviews from male artists or editors is "wow, you draw like a guy!" I take that for what it is - a well-meaning compliment - but it's still makes me a little sad that there's still a "way" that women are expected to draw. I don't think I've ever had a problem being taken seriously, per se, but it has been difficult for people to see me not as a female comic book artist, but just as a comic book artist, plain and simple.
Secret Identity: Tell us about your previous comic book work or where we may have seen you before.
Rebekah: To be honest, I'm still pretty green, so I'm doubly grateful that Devil's Due took a chance on me as a series artist. I drew a graphic novel last year for the new Twilight Zone series for younger readers that'll be published in 2009. I'm a little embarrassed by my work on it, but at least it's a sign that I'm improving and learning from my mistakes. After that, I did 3 guest issues on Hack/Slash for the Tub Club arc. That was awesome; hot chicks, a giant flesh-stealing snake monster, and lots of good old-fashioned gore! It wasn't even like work!
Secret Identity: So how did you get the job on Drafted? I mean, this is a big book for Devil’s Due!
Rebekah: I had originally gotten in with Devil's Due when my former SCAD classmate Mike Bear (GI Joe and soon Voltron) recommended me for the guest issues on Hack/Slash. I sent over my scant portfolio and did a pin-up of Cassie that (writer) Tim Seeley really liked. After my 3 months on that were over, Drafted really just came out of the blue. Mike O'Sullivan (editor for both titles) asked me if I'd be up for another project, I said heck yeah, and there ya have it!
Secret Identity: Have you been reading Drafted?
Rebekah: I hate to admit it, but I read it for the first time after I was hired on. It has just slipped under my radar somehow, which is insane because I'm always looking for good sci-fi comics ... and believe me, this is the best out there. I go back through and reread sections periodically to remind myself of the character's histories and motivations. That's what I love about this series, it's not about airbrushed, veneered Ken and Barbie dolls running around in space, it's about real people!
Secret Identity: Well, good luck on Drafted and thanks for taking the time to chat with us!
Rebekah: Always glad to hear from Drafted fans! I just checked out your link and browsed around your site for the first time, actually. Looks like you've got tons of great stuff! I have a feeling I'm gonna be procrastinating there for a while!
Look for the first Drafted trade coming soon. When you’re done and wanting more (because it’s that good), look for Rebekah’s first issue hitting the stands next month! To get a sample of her incredible art, go to her online gallery at http://rebekahann.deviantart.com/. Our thanks to Rebekah for not reading the Devil's Due "Don't talk to Secret Identity'" memo.
4-9-08: Monkeying Around With James Vining!
Secret Identity: So who is the real James Vining?
James: I graduated from SCAD in 2000 and joined the Coast Guard so I could live in Alaska for a bit. Once my tour was up, I used the money I saved to work on First in Space without the little inconvenience of a day job. Currently I'm working full time illustrating flash games and going to school here in Indianapolis for my masters degree.
Secret Identity: First In Space is like nothing I’ve read before. Were you a comic book fan as a kid?
James: I didn't get into comics until junior high or so. Up until that point I was more interested in animation and strip cartoons. My first comics purchase included an issue of Batman, X-Men, and a back issue of Cerebus the Aardvark and Ninja Turtles. I did the whole Image thing and lost interest for a while-basically until college. That's where I was exposed to stuff that I'd never heard of before and got excited about comics again.
Secret Identity: It’s not obvious who your influences are, so please tell us…
James: Hard to say. There are folks that I like a lot, but "influences" implies that I'm trying on some level to be like them. Believe me, I tried for a while to be as awesome a draughtsman as Mark Schultz, or as brilliant a designer as Durwin Talon or Brian Stelfreeze but I quickly realized that I was going to drive myself nuts, so I came to the conclusion that I was better off trying to draw like me. I looked at Bruce Timm stuff when I decided to do First in Space because I wanted a more sustainable style for my first book.
Secret Identity: Where did the idea for First In Space come about?
James: I made a doodle at work one day of an angry chimp in a space suit with the title "First in Space." I thought that might be a good subject for my first book, so after some really awful fictional versions, I decided to do a little research and stuck with trying to make a little more historical based fiction.
Secret Identity: Did the story end the way you started it or did it change as you were writing it?
James: I pretty much knew that it had to end with Ham in the zoo. The point of the story is the disposable nature of not only the space animals, but those we use to achieve any ends. We have short memories and little appreciation for the sacrifices that are made in our names, militarily, scientifically, even interpersonally.
Secret Identity: As an animal lover, I never thought of the emotional toll or disposable lives these poor animals had. Was this what you were looking to get across?
James: See the above comment. Yeah, I hoped I'd get some of that across. Hopefully more people get that. I have read some reviews that are angry that I didn't push it further, but I didn't want to find myself pushing an agenda. The best way to get people to shut down is to tell them how to think about something. It's better if they come to your conclusions naturally, without conflict.
Secret Identity: What reaction have you gotten in the press or from the readers of First In Space?
James: It's been very positive. Schools and libraries have been picking it up pretty well, and there are lots of space enthusiasts. And I can't say enough nice things about Oni Press. They've been really great and supportive and have been good about nurturing my next project along. It's nice to be a part of that family because I have such good company creatively and personally.
Secret Identity: So other than this interview, what are you working on now?
James: Right now I'm up to my eyeballs in my thesis project. I've done my research for the next book which will likely be about Von Braun. It'll be a busy summer for me!
Our thanks to James for taking time away from the important things in life and chating with us. First In Space can be found at any online books shops or the Sixteen Acres Library In Springfield, MA. For more about James you can go to www.firstinspace.com.
3-16-08: Thomas Boatwright, the Interview!
Secret Identity: So who is this banjo playin, comic drawin’ guy from North Carolina?
Thomas: My name is Thomas Anderson Boatwright. I am 27 years old. I was born and raised here in North Carolina. I am an only child so I spent a lot of time alone making up stories with my toys. Not just "this guy punches this guy" but epics. I spent an entire summer once acting out a Ninja Turtles saga. I read a few comics my Dad had leftover form his time collecting them. He had sold all but a grocery bag by the time I got to them. I watched a lot of cartoons and daytime TV. Comic strips made more of an impact on me than comic books. It wasnt until about 2001 I got serious about making art a career. I took a few classes at a community college and spent a year at the Kubert School in New Jersey.
About the banjo… I've always loved old time music, so when drawing became more of a job and less just for fun, I picked up playing Clawhammer banjo back in March 07.
Secret Identity: How did you first hook up with your partner in crime, Ryan Rubio?
Thomas: I first worked with Ryan while he was writing the script for a monster movie I was doing concept art for. The movie fell through, but we enjoyed working together. He saw an image that I drew of a guy and his creepy sidekick killing a vampire in a crypt. We tossed ideas back and forth on that until we created Cemetery Blues. We self-published a three issue mini-series called Cemetery Blues: The Curse of Wallace Manor.
Ryan and I pitched Cemetery Blues to them and we all decided that a sequel was in order. If that sold well enough, they would package the first series and this new one in a trade. The first issue of Cemetery Blues: The Haunting of Hernesberg was released on January 16th 08.
Secret Identity: Your art style is both beautiful and a bit creepy at the same time and I mean that as a compliment. Where did this style come from?
Thomas: I've always been drawn to creepy stuff. Halloween is my favorite time of the year. I got a collection of Charles Addams cartoons when I was young. I discovered Edward Gorey a few years back when I realized the opening cartoon of Mystery was based on his art.
When I first got serious into doing comics, I was looking at all sorts of guys. And think Bruce Timm and Mike Mignola were the biggest. I sort of rediscovered Guy Davis though, and came at comics from another angle. I stopped trying to be somebody else and started drawing the way I draw. I figured I would just let it develop over time, which it has. I was just looking back at the first Cemetery Blues art compared to what just came and I've grown by leaps and bounds.
Secret Identity: I first became aware of your work when your bosses at Image sent us scans and pages of Edgar Allen Poo! Title and concept alone give it a 5 out of 5. How did you get involved with the book?
Thomas: Dwight MacPherson needed a fill-in artist for one of his webcomics, WHACKED! I sent him some links to what i had at the time and he gave me a three page script. When that was done he told me he had a project that my art would be perfect for. He liked my art and got me in on his next project "The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo". It started as a webcomic and then Shadowline Image Comics picked it up as an original graphic novel. It was published in August 07.
I didn’t get Edgar Allan Poo at first, but after seeing the characters as drawn by other artists, I saw the potential of what I could do with it. I really liked the idea of drawing Victorian mice in a city built out of Christmas decorations.
We started doing it as a weekly webcomic on Drunkduck.com. After finishing the first chapter/issue, we pitched it all around. Jim Valentino got back with us and wanted to do it as a graphic novel. It came out August last year. A second book is in the works, but I'm only doing the cover. Dwight has his good friend Avery Butterworth doing the interiors this time.
Secret Identity: What was the reaction to your art when that book hit the stands?
Thomas: General praise. There were a couple of people who would rather have had David Hartman, who did the cover art, do the interiors. For the most part however, reviews favored the art. Sometimes even more so than the story.
Secret Identity: Your current project is the above mentioned Cemetery Blues, a book you not only draw but authored with Ryan Can you tell us about this book?
Thomas: Cemetery Blues follows Ridley and Falstaff, two low-life henchman who work for the ghost of legendary monster hunter, Wilhelm Lear. It’s a horror comedy following in the footsteps of the films from Hammer Studios.
This is a sequel to a previous Cemetery Blues story that Ryan and I self-published in 2006. The first one was called The Curse of Wallace Manor and this one, now from Image Comics Shadowline, is called the Haunting of Hernesberg.
To find out more, or to contact Thomas, use any of the links below. Our thanks to Mr. Boatwright for taking the time to chat with us, via the world wide internet!
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/taboatwright
Deviant art profile: http://boatwright.deviantart.com/
and blog: http://boatwrightartwork.blogspot.com/
2-14-08: BioWare's Drew Karpyshyn on Mass Effect
Drew Karpyshyn has worked as a writer for BioWare on many of their most successful games, including Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire and Star Wars: Knights of the OldRepublic. Most recently, Drew was the lead writer on the award winning Mass Effect, which has sold over 1.5 million copies to date. Secret Identity chatted with Drew about the game and the universe that he helped create.
SI: Having been the lead writer for both Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) and Mass Effect, how did the writing process on KOTOR inform what you did with Mass Effect?
Drew: Obviously with each game we see the writing process evolving and improving. BioWare has always excelled with branching narrative storylines, ever since the days of Baldur's Gate. However, with KOTOR we made the dramatic leap to full non-player voice over, which forced us to change our writing style to make it more cinematic; dialog became tighter and punchier. This paved the way for us to add player voice over in Mass Effect, and to once again take another step towards a fully immersive dialog experience.
SI: Mass Effect is a game that players can experience in a myriad of different ways. How do you craft a story that people will be approaching from multiple angles?
Drew: Branching narrative is the most difficult part of writing BioWare style games; it really is something unique to the games industry. To manage it, we have a team of writers who are each responsible for a specific area, planet or region in the game, as well as a lead writer who oversees the writing process and helps to keep all those different areas and player choices on track. There isn't any real secret to it, however; it's just a talent the BioWare writers have developed over years of creating our unique style of games.
SI: In Mass Effect, players always have two NPCs in their party, which they pick from a roster of six. How difficult is it to make each NPC interesting enough that players will want to experience playing with each of them, as opposed to always picking the same two and overlooking the others?
Drew: The interesting thing about the NPCs is that we don't actually worry about players picking only their two favorites and using them all the time; if that happens, we're okay with that. What we focus on is making each character unique from each other character, and interesting on their own merits. That way we insure every player will have two (at least) party members they care about. Often, of course, players are intrigued by 3, 4 or more different party members, but we don't specifically set out to make this happen.
SI: It was great to see that Captain Anderson is the main character in the prequel novel Revelation. Was he always intended for the prequel story, or did that decision come about during the development of the game?
Drew: Anderson existed in the game before the novel was even begun. It took us almost 4 years to create Mass Effect, but only about a year to go from blank page to on the shelves for the novel, so the game had to come first. When I set out to do the novel, I knew I wanted to introduce Saren to the readers, and I knew I needed a strong, moral center in the novel to balance Saren's actions. Anderson - the player's mentor in the game - seemed like a perfect fit, and his history with Saren was already part of his background. All the pieces just fell into place.
SI: You’ve written games and novels based in the Forgotten Realms and Star Wars universes, both of which have established “rules” that you must play within. Do you find it liberating to write in the Mass Effect universe, in which you are making most of the rules?
Drew: There are good and bad elements to working in your own setting as opposed to an established setting. Obviously, Star Wars and Forgotten Realms have a huge audience, and as a fan of both settings I understand what readers are looking for when they pick up a SW or FR novel. With Mass Effect, the audience isn't established, so as an author you're taking more of a risk... you hope your instincts are correct, but you're never quite sure if you know what the fans really want. Also, the freedom to create everything from scratch also comes with a responsibility to explain everything so the reader can follow the action. For example, I don't have to explain the Force in a SW novel, but when I mention biotics in Revelation, I knew readers would need some exposition to help them grasp the concept.
SI: Is there anything you do differently when writing for a game like Neverwinter Nights, which has the potential for user created content, as opposed to KOTOR or Mass Effect, which do not?
Drew: We treat the user created content separately from what we are doing, so they don't really overlap. We used the same process on NWN to create the stories (and on the Hordes of the Underdark expansion) as we did on KOTOR and Mass Effect. The end user tools have more of an impact on the technical side of the game than the writing.
SI: Are there plans to take the Mass Effect into other mediums, either in-house or through licensing, such as comics or pen-and-paper RPGs?
Drew: Obviously we've already expanded into novels, so we are open to exploring other mediums with Mass Effect. However, there are no official plans in place at the moment.
SI: Last, but not least: Will the second installment of Mass Effect pick up immediately after the events of the first game, or will it be similar to KOTOR 2 where it will take place in a different time period, but feature cameos by some members of the original cast?
Drew: I can't say too much about ME 2, but you will expect to see both familiar and new faces. And of course, Shepard (your Shepard!) will be the main character.
Thanks again to Drew for taking time to answer our questions! For more info on Drew, head over to http://www.drewkarpyshyn.com. To find out more about Mass Effect, check out http://masseffect.bioware.com/
2-5-07: Talkin' Tardis with Gary Russell
Gary Russell is a lucky man! He was able to take his boyhood passion and turn it into a career. Lucky for us, Gary took the time to chat with Secret Identity. As recent converts to the good Doctor, Gary was able to help us with some questions we had. After all, Doctor Who has over 40 years of history, ten doctors and oh, head hurts! Help us Gary!
Secret Identity: When did you first discover the good doctor?
Gary: When I was but a babe, sat in front of the TV with my brothers watching William Hartnell turn into Patrick Troughton. Not that I realized what a momentous occasion that was then, to me it was an old man falling over but I can picture it vividly. The next few years kinda passed me by until 1968 and evil of the Daleks getting a repeat. From then on, I was hooked. That music, that credits sequence. Daleks! Old houses! Explosions! The Emperor! And Troughton. What wasn’t to fall in love with?
Secret Identity: For a British TV fan was / is it hard to follow the constant changing of doctors? In the states, we can't handle change in anything, including our stories.
Gary: Nope, easy because change was such a fundamental part of the programme. The supporting cast changed almost annually so when even the lead hanged, it really wasn’t a big deal. I mean, obviously each new Doctor is a HUUUUGE deal, but in terms of public acceptance, it was nothing. Perhaps it’s why we accepted every one of Blake Carrington’s kids growing new faces every so often 20 years later.
Secret Identity: Did your parents ever tell you "Dr. Who will rot your brains" or "all that knowledge won't get you anywhere?" If so, how was the gloating?
Gary: No at all. My mother was incredibly supportive of my love of Doctor Who right from the word go because it inspired me to be creative from a very early age. I was writing my own Doctor Who stories with Jon Pertwee’s Doctor from Day One. I was a very early reader too, I could read well from the age of three, if not a bit before, and lapped up books of all kinds, and that was because my love for Doctor Who inspired me to explore. She was less keen on Marvel Comics it has to be said, but every cloud and all that. And I’ve loved comics for over two thirds of my life now. I blame Roy Thomas and Rich Buckler for that.
Secret Identity: Since so much time had passed from the end and resurgence a few years back, were UK audiences clamoring for a return or was it just a pleasant surprise?
Gary: Like so many things in life, I’m not sure people realized how much they wanted Doctor Who until it was delivered to them on a plate. And to stretch that metaphor to death, it was a meal served up on the finest china, cooked with the finest spices and tasting of pure heaven, all of which is down to Russell T Davies, who just understood, on the nose, exactly what Doctor Who needed to be in 2005 that it wasn’t in 1963, 73, 83 or 89. Now I think people (and be people I mean the general viewing public rather than us hardcore fans) can’t imagine it not being here. And there’s finally a new Doctor to inspire this generation of kids to be creative and not mundane. And going by the pictures and letters that wend their way Cardiffwards, creativity is utterly the primary thing Doctor Who inspires, followed by loyalty and a basic feeling of all-round goodness. Russell is the Willy Wonka of TV without the bad hair or Ooompa Loompas, but with the wit, charm and imagination to fire the kids up. Actually, sometimes, the rest of us do feel a bit like Oompa Loompas. Minus the chocolate. Mmmm, chocolate....
Secret Identity: This may be a hard one, given the history, but whowas your favorite Doctor and why?
Gary: Jon Pertwee, ‘cos he’s the one I grew up adoring. No contest.
Secret Identity: Let’s talk current times. Tell us about your involvement with IDW's Doctor
Who comic, which is coming out in January.
Gary: They asked and I said yes. No one in Cardiff had heard of IDW but I had ‘cos of their CSI stuff and I knew the Star Trek license was theirs too, so I raved and cheered and generally explained in irrational terms how brilliant they’d be, and how important the show would be to a smaller company. And I think Chris Ryall charmed the pants of everyone, too. That helped.
Secret Identity: Why do you think the last three seasons of Doctor Who have struck on with American fans where past seasons didn't?
Gary: You know, I’m not sure. The oft-lauded stuff about it being appealing because of its British eccentricity is a bit hackneyed as an explanation and if that was the reason, the 1996 Paul McGann Fox TV Movie (which I still adore) would’ve worked cos it had that in bagfulls. Why has the new show worked then? I think it happened at the right time, and because it’s good. Russell, Julie Gardner and everyone else are never quiet about their love for anything Joss Wheedon, Smallville, Supernatural and shows like that. Fantasy TV now made for a wider audience. And Doctor Who is utterly the most unique show! There’s nothing like it, nor will there ever be. And no one need try, ‘cos this version’s not going away.