DC/Marvel: The Merging - A Roundtable Discussion

In early 2000, a new fanfic site was made. Its premise was different from so many others, which is probably why it is still going one year later. Most fanfic sites dealt with one comic book universe, or the other, rarely ever mixing them up. DCM shook the two biggest comic universes and made a great fanfic site, gathering an impressive array of writers in a short amount of time.

Several writers sat down for a discussion, exclusively for Heroes Magazine. These writers (in no order) included Chip Caroon (Spider-Man, X-Men, The Shadow 2000, etc.), Paul Hahn (Young Justice, Excalibur), JM de Joya (Sandman Mystery Theater, The Brotherhood), Black Condor (Batman, Iron Man, etc.), Bob Young (JSA, etc.), Ritchie Filippi (X-Men, Green Lantern), and Kevin Maxwell (Wonder Woman).

Paul Hahn: Chip, tell us how DC/M first came about. What was your inspiration for this site? And what are your duties as Editor-In-Chief like?

Chip Caroon: I had already started my own Marvel related fanfic site, but it wasn't doing so well. After two or three months of being up, there were only three staff writers, including myself.

So, one night while surfing the net, looking for fanfic, I came across the Future Shock sites. I thought about how it would be cool to do a futuristic themed fanfic. However, I couldn't decide if I wanted to do a DC or Marvel related fanfic. Somehow the idea of merging the two universes together popped into my head.

So, I had an idea, but needed some help. I went around to various message boards, posting my idea. The response was overwhelming. I had more people e-mail me about my new idea in the first couple of days than I ever did with my first fanfic site.

I decided to shut down the other place, and start up DCM. Most of them wanted to merge retroactively, and they helped me make my decision. (Up till that point, I was still leaning somewhat for the merge in the future and start a new generation of heroes.)

My main job as EiC is getting the issues ready for posting. The writers send them to me. I read over them, check spelling, grammer, dialogue, and all that good stuff, and then I HTML them. I'm also responsible for scheduling the new issues, and for coordinating a lot of the major events. Fortunately now, I've got some assistant editors to help keep track of continuity in DCM.

JM de Joya: For fun only, how would you define your writing, as well as each other writer/staffer in the DCM? And what are your focuses/goals as a writer in, let's say...Spider-Man

Chip: My writing is . . . well, I can't really define it. It just is. I do know, that I like to set up sub-plots, and let them drive a series. I also like developing the character behind the mask a little bit. As some readers may have noticed, there have already been 2 issues of Spider-Man where the webslinger didn't show up.

As for other people, there are a few things to distinguish. For instance, I'm beginning to think that Paul Hahn is like Peter David [NOTE: Paul gave a big smile hearing this comment]. First of all, he writes a lot of stuff, and second, he adds a bit of humor into his books, especially into the dialogue. Just check out any issue of Young Justice. Toby Kernan is into the smaller, second-rate heroes and the big cosmic stuff. JM de Joya (or Shady, as most of us are starting to call him) also likes the mystical stuff. Most of their preferences also comes across in their writing style.

On Spider-Man, I take that one chunk of issues at a time, then come up with a subplot which will be resolved at the end of that chunk. Most of my stories lead up to that. Right now, I'm leading up to #25. After that, I'll be leading up to #50.

I also try to find ways to introduce elements from classic Spidey continuity into the merged universe, as well as add some of my own stuff. Spidey is my favorite book to write because I can do almost anything I want to, plus I am very comfortable with the characters.

Question: Why don't we go around the staff, have the writers tell us the books they write, and maybe give us some hints of what's to come?

Paul: I'm Paul Hahn, and I currently write Young Justice and Excalibur, with Exiles starting this summer and plenty more work on the horizon.

Young Justice is the book I've been having a lot of fun with. In my first story arc I retold the Dark Phoenix Saga, giving it my own spin, and it was a lot of fun. I've got some big stuff coming up, including a showdown with the Avengers League in #25.

Excalibur is a newer series, and it's a lot more slowly paced than YJ. I'm trying to work in some more sub-plots, so we'll see how that goes.

Exiles is a new idea I developed alongside Ritchie, with Gambit the loner suddenly finding himself a father figure to a group of teenage mutant kids as they travel across the country keeping one step ahead of the secret villain chasing them.

I'm looking forward to an upcoming YJ/Generation NeXt cross-over, a Starjammers limited series, a Captain America limited series, and an eventual X-Force ongoing. I've also got a teen-angst type book in the works as well. I'll be keeping busy, so keep an eye out for my stuff.

Chip: How do you manage to do so many books?

Paul: It's definitily tricky. Sometimes I just get an inspiration somewhere, and over the course of a few days I can pump out four or five issues. I work in spurts, I guess. Deadlines don't motivate me, though, they usually only hurt me because the story is forced. I usually rely on books like Thunderbolts or Young Justice to get my creative juices going. And another thing that helps is a love of the characters. One thing I've never really done with any characters I've written is dealt with their pasts...and one thing I'm definitely trying to do in upcoming issues of Young Justice is deal with that very topic. First up is more on Wonder Girl and Arrowette, with Robin and maybe Superboy to follow shortly.

Kevin Maxwell: Hi! I'm Kevin Maxwell, I write Wonder Woman and Sensation Comics. In Wonder Woman, the upcoming stories will feature one of the X-Men (from 'real' Marvel continuity). Sensation Comics starts off with a storyline that involves Hippolyta, two twin valkyries, and Zatara the magician.

I prefer writing single character books, because I tend to give the spotlight to my favorite character in team books. I chose writing about Wonder Woman past and present because Wonder Woman (be it Hippolyta or Diana) has always been a favorite character of mine; I admire strong female characters and I love mythology and the martial arts, all of which are big parts of Wonder Woman.

Bob Young: Hi all, I'm Bob Young. I write 'JSA'. I co-write 'The Shadow' and 'Avengers League', and I've got two new series coming up in DCM Wave 2--'Doom Patrol' and 'the Inhumans'. I'll also be writing a few issues of the 'Flash'. I've got some anthology stories coming up too.

I love the Golden Age. To me, I enjoy the mythic nature of writing heroes of the past. Writing JSA is like writing about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table. It's like creating the legends of our modern DCM continuity.

'Doom Patrol' is going to be something different for me because it'll be serialized rather than episodic. It's also a mystery. Hopefully people will like the slower pace.

I prefer team comics because I enjoy the character interactions & the oportunity to do multiple plot stories. But in the future I'm going to develope a single-character series. ('I have 'Shadow' and 'Flash' but I'm only co-writing them. I never wrote a single character series by myself. Yet.)

It's a pleasure to co-plot and collaborate with some of the excellent writers here at the DCM.

JM: Hey, this is JM de Joya, writer of the upcoming Sandman Mystery Theater,Sentinels of Magic and the Brotherhood. It's been a lot of fun collaborating with everyone, although things don't go as usual stuff do, and will still be fun in the future DCM. SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER, although has not started, is more on mysteries and focuses on Urban Horror in the 40s (something that should be touched on), as Wesley Dodds dons the Sandman costume to battle crime and...some other things. But along the way, he'll also learn the mysterious origin of his dreams, and emcompass a journey of understanding...I'm also going to drop this; Wesley Dodds is still alive in current DCM! Why's that? Just stick around the series to find out...

SENTINELS OF MAGIC...familiar name? They are the earth's mytics and magicians gathered forth to battle against supernatural evil. Since the return of the Gods, magick has been running abundantly, spilling from every realm in existance. That's an obvious guess, but secrets are afoot, as each member has its secret, a reason to join the group...each member has an anxiety...and soon, one of Earth's mystics will use that to turn against them. Who is the Lord of Entropy? Who is the Dust King? Watch out for many familiar faces in both DC and Marvel Universe mystical sides as SENTINELSOF MAGIC runs throughout CURRENT DCM.

THE BROTHERHOOD, although there's one in X-men, is not one which you should relate to them. They are different from those who gather the limelight fame. They are NOT terrorists, just mutants watching out for mutants. Until you push them, they shall stay dormant, gathering their forces. And when that time comes, be wary, for humankind shall realize their brothers are hiding in the dark...no longer.

Well, that's most of it I guess. Stick around the DCM for other exciting tales as well, because who knows what may happen? Anyway, just watch out for me scripting GENEXT soon, as well as the upcoming mini-series (or limited? I don't really care), SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER: HOUSE OF FEAR AND OTHER TALES, come this October.

Whew!

Chip: Chip Caroon, also known as the Editor-in-Chief. I write Spider-Man and The Shadow 2000, and I co-write Avengers League, X-Men, and The Shadow.

In Spider-Man, I'll be dealing with the pending corporate takeover of the Daily Planet. Along the way, I'll be experimenting with different types of storytelling, as can be seen in #13. Then, #14-15 will guest star Generation Next, co-plotted by SM Shook. I have an interesting mystery planned for Spider-Man month in September (ending in October). After that, I have a few more stories leading up to the big 25th issue.

Avengers League will have a couple of major plotlines running through it, and both will be resolved in major story arcs as the series moves into it's second year. The first will be a Point of View story that will have tie-ins in all of the members books. The second will be a crossover that will guest star a lot of DCM characters.

Ritchie is the main man behind X-Men, so he's got the series mostly planned out. I do know that we will be doing some very interesting things to the X-Men, something you haven't seen in the comics in a while. Also, coming up soon, the X-Men will be facing off against the Avengers League.

The Shadow 2000 is a limited series that wraps up soon, and the Intergang subplot will be concluding at the end of the six issues. I do intend to keep The Shadow 2000 around for a while. He will still have an annual every year (this year's Annual #1 ties into the Return of the Gods event), and he will show up as a supporting character in Spider-Man occasionally. He'll also pop up in a few crossovers, and maybe some arcs in Detective.

I tend to stay with the single character series, because I feel that I cannot properly balance the teams. Sometimes, I end up with too much about some characters, and not enough about others.

Alex Nejako: My name is Alex Nejako, otherwise known as Black Condor.

I currently write Batman and Iron Man, and I help out with Avengers League. I also helped script issues of Detective Comics starring Martian Manhunter and the Shadow.

I hope that you are enjoying the Batman and Iron Man series so far. With BATMAN, I am trying to get him to a mixture of being grim and gritty with the world-traveling, rich-guy flair he had in the mid-to-late seventies. You won't see the Batman/Joker dynamic in my series, because it has been done to death. A major subplot is building in Batman related to both his origin and the political stability of the world as we know it, so stay tuned.

IRON MAN is a hard title to do anything different with. I'm trying to keep him as high-tech as possible while keeping the character consistent. My Tony Stark is not going to de-age or shoot Yellowjacket or even turn into an alcoholic...but you're going to see his heart broken big-time, which is something that happens in the real world. Watch for a lot of guest stars that you never expected to see in Iron Man, and for some Iron Man villains you have not seen for 20 years to reappear..

Anyway, happy to keep writing these titles and to help others out when they need scripting help.

Chip: Speaking about the Batman/Joker dynamic - the main reason Joker was shifted over to Spidey was for that very reason (and that I wanted a DC villain to be the burgler that killed Uncle Ben).

Ritchie Filippi: I guess I'm last to go. Well, I'm Ritchie Filippi and I co-write X-Men with Chip, and I'm writing upcoming limited series for both Green Lantern and Superman. Also, I'm the head artist and I over look everything mutant related.

While on the subject of mutants, huge things will be happening with the X-Men. The first few issues were action packed and got a lot established. The main thing we wanted to do first was set up future plotlines and create a theme for the series. The first arc was a struggle between different groups of mutants who stand for much different things (mainly the X-Men and the Brotherhood), with the Government playing a key role in the background. The second arc will focus more on two unlikely groups coming together to oppose a common foe. A twist to the series was the addition of Clark Kent, Superman, to the team. He has always been the boyscout that all normal people and even heroes look up to, now, he is an outlaw mutant who is feared by the public. It's a little different, and he finds out some interesting truths in upcoming issues. These truths will isolate him even more and maybe drive him to do things that he will regret. Lex Luthor will be a huge villain in the series, as shown already by his actions in the first few issues.

I hope everyone is enjoying things so far and hopefully that willn't change.

Chip: So, DCM has some big events coming soon. Anyone care to start discussing them?

Ritchie: Well, recently the Manhunter Agenda was kicked off (began in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #10) and the affects will be felt all around the DCM Universe. I have read the upcoming issues of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I was blown away. Everyone is in for a big treat with this "crossover". I can't say much about future storylines but I can tell you to read in between the lines of what is happening in many different series, you never might know when they could affect another series or the universe as a whole. In other words, expect anything and don't believe everything you read at first glance. The Green Lantern limited series will be pretty big and we will see and learn much more about the Green Lanter Corps (you know those powerful and evil guys that have made a few appearences in both Spiderman and JSA).

Chip: We also have the "Gods" trilogy starting up soon. This was mostly the brainchild of Toby Kernan. He came up with the idea, and a bunch of us helped flesh it out. Bob Young started it in JSA #11-12 (part one now posted), and Toby will continue with a limited series in June called "Twilight of the Gods." The rest of us come in July, and help out on the crossover between the annuals called "Return of the Gods." Each installment of the trilogy takes place in a different time frame: Golden Age, 1960s, and 2000, respectively. It should be a big epic. It will involve a lot of supernatural characters like Mephisto and Asmodel. I've read over the JSA issues, and the first few issues of "Twilight", and it's amazing.

That's about all we have time for. Now we all have to go and write more stories for DCM.

Right now, we are having some problems with web hosting, and we are moving the site, so we are not sure where the site will end up, but you can always find out where the site is by going to our message boards at http://pub20.ezboard.com/bdcm or our mirror site at http://members.nbci.com/ncaroon

We hope that you'll come to read our work.

-Chip Caroon, EiC DCM