Post by goldenfist on May 22, 2008 8:00:48 GMT -5
Here's an interview with Matt Fraction on Young Avengers Presen
ts Hawkeye.
Young Avengers Presents was first announced at the Mondo Marvel Panel at Baltimore Comic-Con in September 2007 as a five-issue limited series with each issue written by a different writer spotlighting one or two members of the next generation of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
So far, we’ve got award-winning and up-and-coming writers, playwrights, novelists and screenwriters such as Ed Brubaker, Brian Reed, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Paul Cornell and Kevin Grevioux with their respective tales spotlighting Patriot, Hulkling, Speed and Wiccan, Vision and Stature.
There is, however, one other member of the Young Avengers yet to be featured and she is Kate Bishop, the team’s co-leader who’s now assuming the Hawkeye mantle. The sixth issue, which is scheduled to hit stores on June 25th, will shine the spotlight on her and will reportedly involve a team-up between her and Clint Barton, the original Hawkeye.
Oh, yeah. And the creative team involved? The writer is Matt Fraction, Marvel’s rising star writer and 2007 Eagle Awards winner of Favorite Newcomer Writer. And he is paired with one of comics’ living legend, Alan Davis, who supplies the artwork for the final issue of Young Avengers Presents.
The following is our conversation with Fraction, who not only talked about the Young Avengers but also provided teasers about his other comic book projects as well.
Newsarama: Hi, Matt. How did you get involved with this last Young Avengers Presents issue spotlighting the current Hawkeye?
www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/YoungAvengers/Hawkeye/yngavngrspr006_cvr_col.jpg
Matt Fraction: I love the series-- what Alan [Heinberg] and Jimmy [Cheung] did was just a phenomenal book that I was a fan of as a reader and an admirer of as a writer. When the Young Avengers Presents project was announced, they said they had six parts and five writers, with Ed Brubaker leading off with Patriot. So I wrote Ed and asked if [Executive Editor] Tom [Brevoort] and [Senior Assistant Editor] Molly [Lazer] had the sixth writer yet. He wasn't sure, so we asked Tom and Molly and it turns out they didn't-- they just knew it was for the Kate issue. I basically wrote up a little scene and sent it in by way of a pitch, and that got me the gig.
NRAMA: You're no stranger to writing legacy characters since you're also currently chronicling the adventures of Danny Rand, the current Iron Fist, with co-writer Ed Brubaker. What do you see in a character like Kate Bishop?
MF: She's at the very dawn of her time as Hawkeye-- will she even make if off the launchpad? Or is she just a blip in some future volume of Marvel Universe? I wanted to write about a girl grappling with the burden of her legacy's meaning for the first time... does she really have what it takes to make it, or is she just a tourist playing dress-up?
NRAMA: In your opinion, is she living up to the former Avenging Archer's namesake? After all, her predecessor started out as a villain, led the Thunderbolts at one point, ventured into Hell and back… Heck, he even died and came back. How do you think she could top all that?
MF: That's exactly what Clint Barton wants to know...
NRAMA: That’s the set-up for the issue then? After all, Kate and Clint, who was then assuming the Captain America mantle, had a brief encounter in the second issue of Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America…
MF: Clint's decided it's time to check in the bearer of his name, and his gear. Clint-- like the rest of us -- wants the Young Avengers out there in the world, active and doing good and being the superteam we all know they can be. Maybe Clint wants to see if Kate wants to do it as much as he wants to see it.
NRAMA: Does she now know that Clint was the Captain America she'd met previously?
MF: No.
NRAMA: In that same issue, she said that "if Hawkeye were alive, I'd call myself something else." However, as per the solicitation text for Young Avengers Presents #6, it looks like Kate's not willing to give up being Hawkeye yet. Does it mean that she's settled in comfortably into her role as Hawkeye then?
MF: That's one of those things where you sort of pretend like you're going to pick up the dinner tab, but only because you know someone else is going to... like, it was almost like Kate was just being polite. When she's actually called out on it, she discovers she's maybe not so altruistic and doesn't want to let it go without a fight. And she doesn't. She's gotten used to being Hawkeye, and isn't gonna just hand it over.
And she'll be dead and buried before she calls herself "Hawkingbird."
i.newsarama.com/marvelnew/YoungAvengers/Hawkeye/YoungAvengers3.jpg
NRAMA: Back then, she made an impact to Clint as her words convinced Clint to relinquish Cap's shield and costume to Tony. Now, why doesn't he think that she deserves to be the next person to take on the Hawkeye identity? After all, he's now known as Ronin…
MF: Deserves has got nothin' to do with it. Lots of people deserve lots of things, but you can't, as they say, always get what you want.
NRAMA: And speaking of codenames, is Clint encountering Kate as Ronin?
MF: Yeah, he's decked out as Ronin.
NRAMA: From the traumatic incident that she went through in Central Park to the Young Avengers' first adventure with Kang the Conqueror and Civil War/The Initiative, she's certainly gone through a lot in a short period of time. What is her state of mind like as your story begins?
MF: I think she-- like the rest of us!-- is kind of wondering where she is, where the Young Avengers are, and what's coming next. Are they just playing around? Are they a team? Is she a leader? Is it weird to be the leader of your friends? What's up with her and Eli? Who's Tommy, and why does he always look at her like that?
I think Kate's adrift, and she's reaching out for anything-- or anyone-- to hold on to.
NRAMA: In Secret Invasion #1, a "Hawkeye" came out of the Skrull spaceship that crash-landed in the Savage Land. Is this issue happening before or after the said event?
MF: Uh... yes? No? I have no idea. Sure. No! Wait. Maybe. If I say yes, does that make Young Avengers Presents #6 a Secret Invasion tie-in? I'd love to nail some of those crazy tie-in numbers. It's also a Civil War tie-in. Yeah!
In all seriousness, this comes before Secret Invasion.
NRAMA: Wrapping things up, you've got more than a handful of projects on your plate. Would you like to take this opportunity to tell our readers about what’s coming up in some, if not all, of these projects?
i.newsarama.com/marvelnew/YoungAvengers/Hawkeye/YoungAvengers8.jpg
MF: Let's see. The next Immortal Iron Fist is #15, and it's a stand-alone issue called "The Story of the Iron Fist Bei Bang-Wen -- The Perfect Strategy Mind and his Miraculous Travels to the Dark Continent, and What Mysteries of the World and of the Self that He Learned There (1827-1860)". It's about-- well, sort of exactly what the title says. Then me and Ed's last issue is #16, and it's called "Happy Birthday, Danny", which is about-- again, I suppose the title really tells you all you need.
Over in Punisher War Journal, #19 really kicked off the Jigsaw storyline in earnest. My co-writer Rick Remender and I have gone to great lengths to craft what we think is the ultimate Punisher/Jigsaw story, and it is berserk in ways great and small. Living legend Howard Chaykin is on the art, so it looks great, too.
My time with Ed on Uncanny X-Men starts with #500 in July. The team moves to San Francisco! Then they have lots of sex, things explode, and everybody dies. I just turned in the script for #502 and so far am having a blast.
[The first issue of] Invincible Iron Man [came out on May 7], just in time to ride the cresting wave of Iron Mania. With art by Salvador Larocca, and covers by a cast of thousands, we're primed and prepared to put Tony Stark into the spotlight and deliver an Iron Man book worthy of such a great flick. The first storyline, called “The Five Nightmares” finds Tony having to face not just Iron Man 2.0... but Tony Stark 2.0 as well.
Secret Invasion: Thor kicks off in August, and is a three-issue paean to violence, loyalty, honor, duty, and smashing aliens in the face with giant, lightning-infused hammers.
Thor: Ages of Thunder was the first of three interconnected oneshots with Patrick Zircher and Khari Evans on art chores. These are pre-continuity Thor stories that predate his time spent as the mortal Donald Blake, and a chance for use to riff on classic Norse myth, the Stan-and-Jack reinterpretations of those myths, and our own peculiar brand of hyperviolent remix. It might be the most visually stunning book I've been associated with, I dunno.
And Casanova #14 [came out on] May 14th (how fitting!) and is the best thing I've ever written.
Holy crap! I write a lot.
NRAMA: Sensational Spider-Man Annual and Immortal Iron Fist have both been nominated for the Eisner Awards. What do you think of chances of winning either one or both categories?
MF: Oh, I have absolutely no idea. I think it's a testament to the brilliance of all my collaborators, whether it was Salva on Spidey or Ed, David, Matt, and the Wrecking Crew on Iron Fist. It's tremendously flattering to be a part of these nominated books.
NRAMA: Did you know that many fans are somewhat disappointed that Casanova didn't make to the list? What about you? Were you discouraged?
MF: Aw, really? That's sweet to hear-- thanks, gang. I'm disappointed in that I feel like I failed my Casanova collaborators, somehow-- both Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon were nominated for everything they touched this past year except for Casanova.
NRAMA: What plans do you have for Casanova Quinn?
MF: “Gula,” the second storyline, wrapped up in #14. It, and the whole of Gula, are maybe as good as I've got in me at the moment. After that's all said and done, Casanova goes on hiatus while the twins go out and do some paying work, become big time rich and famous gods of comics, and then come back to our weird little spy book next year for Casanova V3: Avarita.
NRAMA: What else are you working on?
MF: I'm doing reading and research for a graphic novel about Lincoln's presidential reelection campaign of 1864, and playing with my son as much as humanly possible.
www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/YoungAvengers/Hawkeye/YoungAvengers16.jpg
ts Hawkeye.
Young Avengers Presents was first announced at the Mondo Marvel Panel at Baltimore Comic-Con in September 2007 as a five-issue limited series with each issue written by a different writer spotlighting one or two members of the next generation of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
So far, we’ve got award-winning and up-and-coming writers, playwrights, novelists and screenwriters such as Ed Brubaker, Brian Reed, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Paul Cornell and Kevin Grevioux with their respective tales spotlighting Patriot, Hulkling, Speed and Wiccan, Vision and Stature.
There is, however, one other member of the Young Avengers yet to be featured and she is Kate Bishop, the team’s co-leader who’s now assuming the Hawkeye mantle. The sixth issue, which is scheduled to hit stores on June 25th, will shine the spotlight on her and will reportedly involve a team-up between her and Clint Barton, the original Hawkeye.
Oh, yeah. And the creative team involved? The writer is Matt Fraction, Marvel’s rising star writer and 2007 Eagle Awards winner of Favorite Newcomer Writer. And he is paired with one of comics’ living legend, Alan Davis, who supplies the artwork for the final issue of Young Avengers Presents.
The following is our conversation with Fraction, who not only talked about the Young Avengers but also provided teasers about his other comic book projects as well.
Newsarama: Hi, Matt. How did you get involved with this last Young Avengers Presents issue spotlighting the current Hawkeye?
www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/YoungAvengers/Hawkeye/yngavngrspr006_cvr_col.jpg
Matt Fraction: I love the series-- what Alan [Heinberg] and Jimmy [Cheung] did was just a phenomenal book that I was a fan of as a reader and an admirer of as a writer. When the Young Avengers Presents project was announced, they said they had six parts and five writers, with Ed Brubaker leading off with Patriot. So I wrote Ed and asked if [Executive Editor] Tom [Brevoort] and [Senior Assistant Editor] Molly [Lazer] had the sixth writer yet. He wasn't sure, so we asked Tom and Molly and it turns out they didn't-- they just knew it was for the Kate issue. I basically wrote up a little scene and sent it in by way of a pitch, and that got me the gig.
NRAMA: You're no stranger to writing legacy characters since you're also currently chronicling the adventures of Danny Rand, the current Iron Fist, with co-writer Ed Brubaker. What do you see in a character like Kate Bishop?
MF: She's at the very dawn of her time as Hawkeye-- will she even make if off the launchpad? Or is she just a blip in some future volume of Marvel Universe? I wanted to write about a girl grappling with the burden of her legacy's meaning for the first time... does she really have what it takes to make it, or is she just a tourist playing dress-up?
NRAMA: In your opinion, is she living up to the former Avenging Archer's namesake? After all, her predecessor started out as a villain, led the Thunderbolts at one point, ventured into Hell and back… Heck, he even died and came back. How do you think she could top all that?
MF: That's exactly what Clint Barton wants to know...
NRAMA: That’s the set-up for the issue then? After all, Kate and Clint, who was then assuming the Captain America mantle, had a brief encounter in the second issue of Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America…
MF: Clint's decided it's time to check in the bearer of his name, and his gear. Clint-- like the rest of us -- wants the Young Avengers out there in the world, active and doing good and being the superteam we all know they can be. Maybe Clint wants to see if Kate wants to do it as much as he wants to see it.
NRAMA: Does she now know that Clint was the Captain America she'd met previously?
MF: No.
NRAMA: In that same issue, she said that "if Hawkeye were alive, I'd call myself something else." However, as per the solicitation text for Young Avengers Presents #6, it looks like Kate's not willing to give up being Hawkeye yet. Does it mean that she's settled in comfortably into her role as Hawkeye then?
MF: That's one of those things where you sort of pretend like you're going to pick up the dinner tab, but only because you know someone else is going to... like, it was almost like Kate was just being polite. When she's actually called out on it, she discovers she's maybe not so altruistic and doesn't want to let it go without a fight. And she doesn't. She's gotten used to being Hawkeye, and isn't gonna just hand it over.
And she'll be dead and buried before she calls herself "Hawkingbird."
i.newsarama.com/marvelnew/YoungAvengers/Hawkeye/YoungAvengers3.jpg
NRAMA: Back then, she made an impact to Clint as her words convinced Clint to relinquish Cap's shield and costume to Tony. Now, why doesn't he think that she deserves to be the next person to take on the Hawkeye identity? After all, he's now known as Ronin…
MF: Deserves has got nothin' to do with it. Lots of people deserve lots of things, but you can't, as they say, always get what you want.
NRAMA: And speaking of codenames, is Clint encountering Kate as Ronin?
MF: Yeah, he's decked out as Ronin.
NRAMA: From the traumatic incident that she went through in Central Park to the Young Avengers' first adventure with Kang the Conqueror and Civil War/The Initiative, she's certainly gone through a lot in a short period of time. What is her state of mind like as your story begins?
MF: I think she-- like the rest of us!-- is kind of wondering where she is, where the Young Avengers are, and what's coming next. Are they just playing around? Are they a team? Is she a leader? Is it weird to be the leader of your friends? What's up with her and Eli? Who's Tommy, and why does he always look at her like that?
I think Kate's adrift, and she's reaching out for anything-- or anyone-- to hold on to.
NRAMA: In Secret Invasion #1, a "Hawkeye" came out of the Skrull spaceship that crash-landed in the Savage Land. Is this issue happening before or after the said event?
MF: Uh... yes? No? I have no idea. Sure. No! Wait. Maybe. If I say yes, does that make Young Avengers Presents #6 a Secret Invasion tie-in? I'd love to nail some of those crazy tie-in numbers. It's also a Civil War tie-in. Yeah!
In all seriousness, this comes before Secret Invasion.
NRAMA: Wrapping things up, you've got more than a handful of projects on your plate. Would you like to take this opportunity to tell our readers about what’s coming up in some, if not all, of these projects?
i.newsarama.com/marvelnew/YoungAvengers/Hawkeye/YoungAvengers8.jpg
MF: Let's see. The next Immortal Iron Fist is #15, and it's a stand-alone issue called "The Story of the Iron Fist Bei Bang-Wen -- The Perfect Strategy Mind and his Miraculous Travels to the Dark Continent, and What Mysteries of the World and of the Self that He Learned There (1827-1860)". It's about-- well, sort of exactly what the title says. Then me and Ed's last issue is #16, and it's called "Happy Birthday, Danny", which is about-- again, I suppose the title really tells you all you need.
Over in Punisher War Journal, #19 really kicked off the Jigsaw storyline in earnest. My co-writer Rick Remender and I have gone to great lengths to craft what we think is the ultimate Punisher/Jigsaw story, and it is berserk in ways great and small. Living legend Howard Chaykin is on the art, so it looks great, too.
My time with Ed on Uncanny X-Men starts with #500 in July. The team moves to San Francisco! Then they have lots of sex, things explode, and everybody dies. I just turned in the script for #502 and so far am having a blast.
[The first issue of] Invincible Iron Man [came out on May 7], just in time to ride the cresting wave of Iron Mania. With art by Salvador Larocca, and covers by a cast of thousands, we're primed and prepared to put Tony Stark into the spotlight and deliver an Iron Man book worthy of such a great flick. The first storyline, called “The Five Nightmares” finds Tony having to face not just Iron Man 2.0... but Tony Stark 2.0 as well.
Secret Invasion: Thor kicks off in August, and is a three-issue paean to violence, loyalty, honor, duty, and smashing aliens in the face with giant, lightning-infused hammers.
Thor: Ages of Thunder was the first of three interconnected oneshots with Patrick Zircher and Khari Evans on art chores. These are pre-continuity Thor stories that predate his time spent as the mortal Donald Blake, and a chance for use to riff on classic Norse myth, the Stan-and-Jack reinterpretations of those myths, and our own peculiar brand of hyperviolent remix. It might be the most visually stunning book I've been associated with, I dunno.
And Casanova #14 [came out on] May 14th (how fitting!) and is the best thing I've ever written.
Holy crap! I write a lot.
NRAMA: Sensational Spider-Man Annual and Immortal Iron Fist have both been nominated for the Eisner Awards. What do you think of chances of winning either one or both categories?
MF: Oh, I have absolutely no idea. I think it's a testament to the brilliance of all my collaborators, whether it was Salva on Spidey or Ed, David, Matt, and the Wrecking Crew on Iron Fist. It's tremendously flattering to be a part of these nominated books.
NRAMA: Did you know that many fans are somewhat disappointed that Casanova didn't make to the list? What about you? Were you discouraged?
MF: Aw, really? That's sweet to hear-- thanks, gang. I'm disappointed in that I feel like I failed my Casanova collaborators, somehow-- both Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon were nominated for everything they touched this past year except for Casanova.
NRAMA: What plans do you have for Casanova Quinn?
MF: “Gula,” the second storyline, wrapped up in #14. It, and the whole of Gula, are maybe as good as I've got in me at the moment. After that's all said and done, Casanova goes on hiatus while the twins go out and do some paying work, become big time rich and famous gods of comics, and then come back to our weird little spy book next year for Casanova V3: Avarita.
NRAMA: What else are you working on?
MF: I'm doing reading and research for a graphic novel about Lincoln's presidential reelection campaign of 1864, and playing with my son as much as humanly possible.
www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/YoungAvengers/Hawkeye/YoungAvengers16.jpg