W27 preview: an interview with Joe Quesada

One of the coolest things included in the collection, which debuts in a week at SPX, is one of the earliest pieces I wrote for our prospective publishing venture. Back in 2001, Dan and I and a bunch of other friends first started talking about creating our comics/prose anthology. I don’t remember the title at that time – it could have been Warrior27, though I do remember the title Mousetrap thrown around as well but can’t remember the significance of that one - but that doesn’t matter. 2001 was the first time we seriously discussed self-publishing.

The reasons why that initial attempt did not get off the ground are many, but much of it was a result of some being unable to hit their deadlines and others of us shirking the publication side of thing, leaving that to the one of us with publishing experience. None of us stepped up when we should have and plans languished for four more years.

But, some work did get done for that first issue even if it did not get published. With Joe Quesada only a year into his tenure as Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics and the excitement still revolving around this change, I thought it would be interesting to interview him for the book. I emailed him cold and, to my surprise, Mr. Quesada was willing to answer my questions and more than gracious in taking the time to type up answers for a dozen and a half questions. Really, I cannot thank him enough for taking the time to indulge me (someone he did not know) for a publication he’d never heard of (and which never got published).

It was fun to look back on this and prepare it for publication in our new collection (I had to re-type the whole thing as I only had a hard copy) Below is a short quote from the greater interview – almost 3000 words worth – just to whet your appetite. And don’t forget, if you’re in the Bethesda, Maryland area next weekend (September 11 & 12) come check out the show and make a point to stop by the On the Fly booth, even if it’s just to talk comics.

“What Marvel method does is it cures a lot of stagnant
talkie scenes that non-visual writers are prone to writing. This is what I’ve discovered in my days editing here at Marvel. If you have a writer with a great knack for dialogue, this particular writer may write the most amazing scene between two characters as they walk down the street. This can go on for five pages and the writer, even the editor, may not suspect how bland the action is because they are so overwhelmed by the naturalness of the conversation. This works well in novels, but in visual mediums it usually puts the audience to sleep."

Thanks,
chris