LANDRY WALKER Interview

PFB recently caught up with Landry Walker, creator of LITTLE GLOOMY and KID GRAVITY; and writer of the newest book in DC's all Ages JOHNNY DC line, SUPERGIRL: COSMIC ADVENTURES IN THE 8TH GRADE. Here's what he had to say:

SEBASTIAN PICCIONE: SUPERGIRL: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th grade, is this something you pitched or did DC come to you?

LANDRY WALKER: Eric and I sought out a meeting with Jann Jones via Bob Shreck. Before the meeting, Eric and I discussed what characters we might like to work with that would fit an all-ages description; Supergirl was the top of the list, so Eric put together 3 different Supergirl drawings, all in different styles. Jann just happened to be on the lookout for a creative team to tackle Supergirl, so she asked us to put together a full pitch based on one of the drawings. That was back in February, and as I recall the book was approved within a month.

SEB: This book is a Universe to itself, yes? What I mean is, it’s not a part of other Johnny DC titles, Super Friends, Brave & Bold, Magic of Shazam, etc.

LAN: That’s pretty much correct. Though from what I’ve seen, there’s no reason the book couldn’t share a theoretical universe with the Shazam book.

SEB: That would be cool! We’ve already seen Superman. Will we see your take on any other DC staples?

LAN: On the superhero side, unlikely. Even Superman will have a fairly remote role for the majority of the series. I think that exposing Kara to many other heroes at this stage would weaken her, as a character -- the isolation and loneliness she must feel from being cut off from her family and surrounded by the unfamiliar, both literally and culturally, has to be the focus.

SEB: What’s it like to work on such Iconic characters?

LAN: It’s a bit like one of those free-drop rides at an amusement park, if that makes any sort of sense. It’s intensely satisfying and horribly terrifying all at once. On the cover of the first issue, there’s my name right under a Superman head. That’s a strange thing to see.

SEB: This is a six issue mini. Is the whole thing part a single story, with a definitive end, or is it more situational?

LAN: I’m trying to ride the line with that one. With a book like this, you really want young readers to feel like the story has an ending. So each issue, for the most part, is designed to give at least a slight sense of closure. But there is an overall arc to this six-issue run, and there is an ending to that arc, though ‘definitive’ is a strong word to use.

SEB: If the sales are there, is there any chance we can see this ongoing?

LAN: Not really up to me. I certainly hope so. I assume there are myriad factors at play with a decision like that -- sales certainly being an important part.

SEB: You’re working with your longtime collaborator, Eric Jones, is this something you guys had talked aspired to before? A stint with DC?

LAN: I can cite a conversation I had back in 1993 with a friend in a small art collective comic publishing company called Puppy Toss. I stated that I wanted to work on a DC book at some point, and he accused me of wanting to sell out. I argued that it would hardly be selling out, as it was something I wanted to do. I’ve wanted to work for DC since I could read. And I was an early reader.

SEB: How is working on Supergirl different from other projects you two have done, like Little Gloomy or Kid Gravity?

LAN: The vast history behind the character, for starters, and the pre-built fan base, for another. Just in terms of character, Supergirl is a bit more fun to work with: Gloomy is a cynic; Kid Gravity is self-absorbed; Supergirl is a bit more three-dimensional.

SEB: So, with all the ups and downs that the current DCU Supergirl title has had, how does it feel to have written a clever and entertaining origin in one issue?

LAN: I’m very glad that people are responding well to it, and I wish I could take all the credit for producing something that might be referred to as clever and entertaining, but I had a lot of advantages. I wasn’t hamstrung by continuity because it’s not a part of the regular DC Universe, and the story I’m telling is built on the work of many talented writers. I also worked very closely with Editorial on this first issue, so the credit must be shared.

I think anyone trying to take Supergirl and reinvent her, in continuity -- while satisfying the adult fan base -- has a tough job. Comparatively, I took the easy road. It’s always easier to succeed when you avoid the more challenging path.

SEB: I recently spoke to Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle about the DCU Supergirl and her growing role, now you have this all ages book. What is it, do you think, about Supergirl that continues to appeal to audiences?

LAN: It doesn’t hurt the popularity of the character that she is an icon of what is supposedly a simpler time. She is comforting in that regard. For younger readers -- most particularly younger female readers -- she represents an ideal.

SEB: When you think Supergirl, what comes to mind? Who is she to you?

LAN: A young girl with no immediate family who suddenly has great power bestowed upon her; the emphasis here being on the ‘young girl’ part – super powers should never define a character. She’s on a strange new world, constantly bombarded with bits of culture that we take for granted. She’s understandably naïve. She’s also a very empathic character. She has a tendency to try to fix things around her. When Superman (who is very much human in his way of thinking) encounters a problem, he will handle it in a comparatively human way. Supergirl is less likely to punch a bad guy, and more likely to find a way to stop the bad guy from needing to be punched.

SEB: Between your Disney and Slave Labor work, and Now with Supergirl, you have quite a cache of all ages material under your belt. How important is it to you, that comics be accessible to younger kids?

LAN: I spent the first few years of my career writing very adult-oriented material. And I mean that in many of the wrong ways. It was adult-oriented from the perspective of a 20-year-old. It didn’t take long to get tired of watching kids try to pick up my comics at a convention, and having to shoo them away. At the time when Eric and I switched to producing all ages material, there was a comparative lack of comic book options for kids. So it seemed very important to create something in that vein, if we wanted to have anyone around to buy our comics 10 or 20 or 30 years later.

That said, I’m about ready to work on something very much not all ages again. Diversity, spice of life, that sort of thing.

SEB: Your books are all-ages, but you don’t “dumb it down”. They really are for “all ages”. What goes in to making a book with a sort of universal appeal?

LAN: I just try to write comics I might enjoy reading. I remember being a child quite vividly, and I hated material that treated me like an idiot. So I try not to write comics that would have irritated me as a youth.

SEB: Now, I personally picked up copies for myself (36), and my two daughters (3 & 7). What, if any, is the target age range that you’re writing this for?

LAN: Honestly, I try not to think about it. I think the book gets a bit darker and more serious in some ways come issue 4, building to a conclusion with issue 6. Consequently, I hope that parents participate with their younger kids so that when some of the more emotionally sensitive issues come up they can answer any questions asked. I don’t think that there is anything in the series that is unsuitable for children of any age, as long as the parents participate.

SEB: Will you be doing any other work for DC?

LAN: I’d certainly like to. They’ve been really great to work with, and they have a wonderful pool of characters to draw from. But I have yet to really explore the possibility, in part because I have had a very specific focus this last year with Supergirl, and in part because I never have any idea how to go about making these things happen. I’ve worked in comics for sixteen years, and I only just now had my first book published by DC. Obviously, I’m taking the slow and steady approach, for some reason that even I cannot answer.

SEB: Anymore Little Gloomy in the future?

LAN: There’s an anthology in the works with stories written and drawn by other creators. That’s been slow going, unless you count the almost instant turnaround by Jaime Smart, of SLG’s: “Bear”, “Ubu Bubu” and “Space Raoul”. He produced 3 really amazing pages in what must have been one hour. Which kinda scared me.

Little Gloomy has also been optioned for TV and movies, so Eric and I spent a week in Paris last year working on a series bible. That was okay. A free week in Paris. Whether that gets off the ground is anyone’s guess.

SEB: Do you and Eric have any as yet unpublished ideas you’re working on?

LAN: Several. Many. Lots. But there’s just so little time. I’m both happy and sad to be at a point where I have to weigh creative output with financial return. I have to pick what I’m working on based on what it will pay. I hate that I have to do that, but I’m not 20 anymore. Equally, I love that I have to do this, as it means I’m not couch surfing. I did that for many years.

SEB: Other than your own creations, is there any dream project you’d love to do? Any characters out there that would scratch that fanboy itch within?

LAN: Doctor Who and Conan. In that order. Anything with Robin or Nightwing. I have a photo of me meeting Burt Ward when I was 4. So working on something Robin-related would pretty much be the fulfillment of all my old childhood musings.

SEB: Do you have any advice to those who’d like to write comics of their own?

LAN: Read everything and write all the time. And don’t be afraid to trash a scene or a story if it’s not working, because they won’t all work.

SEB: Any parting words?

LAN: What, I haven’t made enough of a fool of myself yet?

SEB: Well, thanks for talking with us, Landry, it’s been an honor.

LAN: You’re absolutely mad to be thanking me. I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak.

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LANDRY WALKER: Eric and I sought out a meeting with Jann Jones via Bob Shreck. Before the meeting, Eric and I discussed what characters we might like to work with that would fit an all-ages description.......

Wait... um... huh?