A new age begins–officially, at least–today with the release of Savage Dragon #169, Malcolm Dragon’s first full issue as the titular protagonist after last issue’s, ahem, electrifying conclusion. A new era for us here at DragonQuestions, too, as we head back to our original home at Comic Related. Starting next month, the column will be running predictably on Wednesdays at Comic Related, although this month’s interview is going to be handled in a kind of odd way. Gavin’s questions, which nobody’s seen or heard before, will be published here and now, while tomorrow an expanded edition will go live over at Comic Related that will feature not only Gavin’s questions for Erik on the occasion of this momentous issue, but a number of questions transcribed from the podcast interview I did with Larsen last month (which have never appeared in the column, only on The Related Recap.

Speaking of the Comic Related podcasting network, this Monday I launched Panel Discussions, a biweekly podcast that will, after the technological fiasco that was our first episode, feature me with a rotating cast of guest-hosts. This week was just me, however, talking with J.M. DeMatteis about leaving Booster Gold in May to make way for Flashpoint and Troy Brownfield (formerly of Newsarama fame) about the Buck Rogers annual he recently wrote with former ‘Rama honcho Matt Brady.

All that said, let’s make way for Gavin and Erik to talk about a very special episode of Savage Dragon.

Gavin Higginbotham: The opening sequence being a reworking of the opening sequence from the very first issue was perfect. It’s a great way to introduce new readers while also giving a massive nod to old readers who were around at the very start.

Erik Larsen: That was fun to do. There are a few outright swipes there from myself and other panels that were simply reminiscent of what I’d done before. I think they work both as an introduction to something new and as a callback for old readers. (more…)

The first question here is a biggie, I’ll tell you that up front. And while many fans (notably Kevin Allen, who often comments on The Gold Exchange and who posts regularly on Boosterrific.com) have already guessed at it, it’s something that not only hasn’t been officially announced yet by DC, but which delayed the whole Gold Exchange interview by almost a full day while Dan Jurgens called around to get clearance and make sure we weren’t breaking any rules. So I’m happy to make it the first thing I ask in our last Gold Exchange here at Blog@Newsarama.

Time Masters: Vanishing Point #6 hit this week and has already been stirring up reactions from non-Booster Gold readers with a chalkboard at the end of the issue that’s dangling a number of enticing Flashpoint plot threads in front of readers months before Geoff Johns’ ambitious time-travel crossover story even begins in May…and with a “to be continued” tag at the end of this story that says Booster Gold #44 and Flashpoint #1, it seems pretty likely that DC’s premier behind-the-scenes time-travelers (That’s Rip and Booster) will play a fairly substantial role in that story.

The Gold Exchange: So—as we’ve done once or twice before, last thing first: Back when it was announced you’d be leaving Booster Gold for a while to take on Time Masters: Vanishing Point, it became public knowledge after an issue of Booster Gold had “To Be Continued In…” tagged at the end. Now that story is finished and the last issue of Time Masters says “To be continued in Booster Gold #44.” Will you be the one continuing your storyline in a new title here, as you did after The Tomorrow Memory?

Dan Jurgens: Yes. I’ll be jumping back to Booster Gold as of issue #44, which I’ve just started drawing. It’s good to be home! (more…)

Okay, folks—I’m really sorry about this one. It’s crazy late, and everyone from readers to Gavin have sent me hate mail. The reasons are many and unpleasant, but Gavin was on time and this should have been posted a long while ago. Rather than taking more time transcribing my extensive conversation with Erik Larsen, which has already been playing for a while on the Related Recap podcast (found here, at the once-and-future home of Russ Burlingame, Comic Related), I’ve decided to include the link and run Gavin’s questions. It’s a huge, huge issue and deserves better, but off we go…!

Gavin Higginbotham: That first page is a pretty powerful image! Malcolm unloading on his old man with his lightning punches as Angel lies bloodied and dead on the floor… The art and coloring really combine well here. Nikos looks to be on fire! Didn’t this issue have to be completed in record time in order to get to the presses on time?

Erik Larsen: Kind of. I actually drew issues #167 and 168 at the same time because I wanted to make sure it all fit in the space I had available. So when I finished inking #167 I was able to roll right into #168 without a break to pencil and script it. It was a bit more frantic than usual but it wasn’t as crazy as you might have thought. I inked the issue in six or seven days, which is stepped up quite a bit, But both Tom and Nikos were up to the challenge and they were as determined as I was to make that deadline. I was happy with how well it turned out. (more…)

[UPDATE: I began responding to reader comments, and when my comment block started filling with text I decided instead to put it up top here. For about two seconds I felt really bad about Aaron Poehler's insinuation that I was asking stupid, shallow questions--but then I remembered the function this column serves and wanted to really explore that a little in this space.]

I see this column (and the similar work I’ve done with Savage Dragon, Young Liars, Echo and The Life and Times of Savior 28) as a kind of running commentary for the individual issues, not unlike what you get on a DVD. Occasionally, especially around big, landmark issues, the commentary might reach out into the deeper, more profound and important thematic elements of the series–but for the most part this is a visceral, immediate opportunity for me to ask the questions that occur to me about the issue and for the writers to clarify some points, tease some upcoming beats and elaborate on where an individual issue falls in the grand scheme of the title and the character’s history.

Honestly, the “director’s commentary” nature of The Gold Exchange column doesn’t always allow or demand a lot of answers from the subject or for me to be too very clever. I used to be a lot more in-depth and analytical when doing commentaries for the trades, but DC recently stopped providing me comp copies and so I now tend to pick them up whenever I pick them up, rendering those interviews rather moot.

A source of real frustration, if there is one, when dealing with DeMatteis isn’t what he won’t or can’t answer but what he doesn’t know. Because his scripts happen over Keith’s outlines, he’s often only an issue or two ahead of us (if that). It makes for a strange and exciting writing process for him, but it also makes it harder for the pair of us to look at the long-term ramifications of the individual issues and to assess where any 21-page tale might play into the grander scheme. Additionally, the Giffen/DeMatteis team have a lot less affection for subtle references, in-jokes and continuity porn than the Johns/Katz/Jurgens/Rapmund gang did. It makes the commentary-track nature of these things come off a little flat at times, I think, because we’re more used to Jurgens, who has a Grand Master Plan in place for Booster. Honestly I think the biggest issue at play is that DeMatteis doesn’t have a ton to say about Booster that isn’t there on the page…and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that.

Certainly there is an element of showing a creator the respect he’s due, too. I try to broach topics like a silly, campy villain in Hit Point in such a way that it doesn’t alienate J.M., make him feel attacked or hurt. Because frankly you never can be certain when someone’s writing is intentionally or unintentionally campy. And the recurring, monthly nature of this column means that the writers’ feelings are something I have to consider. I can’t just say whatever I want or ask whatever I want in the service of a single story. And while DeMatteis and I get along very well, I’ve been friends with Jurgens for ten years (I met him over the phone for the first time on the very first day of my internship at the late Wizard magazine in 1999). Every so often I’ll say that something in the art reminds me of some old story from the ’80s or something and instead of engaging, J.M. will ask, “Can we remove that? I don’t want the artists to misinterpret it as a dig.” That wouldn’t ever happen with Jurgens because over the course of the time we’ve known each other I think I can safely say that he’s learned the strange way that my brain works to some degree.

Booster Gold has been a title where Ted Kord and the characters’ history with the Justice League International has played a big role ever since the title started, but since Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis took over, that relationship has been on full display, on the covers and pages of the book. This month’s Booster Gold #40 is the first issue in quite some time that doesn’t revel in the past—and it takes little time in sending Booster back to the future. What went into that decision? We talked to co-writer J.M. DeMatteis about the issue and what to look forward to for the rest of the story that started two weeks ago.

Gold Exchange: So, first thing’s first–what’s the deal with the green noggin?

J.M. DeMatteis: Ask the colorist! (more…)

It’s a story as old as time itself—or at least as old as ongoing, in-universe superhero stories. A writer whose run on a book is either seminal, or at least considered the defining one for the characters or title. He leaves—either as a result of executive meddling or the creator getting bored and running out of ideas—and ultimately you’re left with two negative results: First, the guy who takes over is nowhere near as good; and second, any dangling plot threads left by the maestro vanish completely into oblivion. Sometimes, though, the stars align, the readers’ voices are heard and the writer in question gets back on the horse and takes another shot at the story. It doesn’t always work, particularly when the same factors that forced him out in the first place are still in effect at the publisher…but sometimes you strike gold.

[Note: Since this story discusses dangling plot threads both resolved and unresolved, please not that SPOILERS ARE ON. And since not all comebacks yield the results the creators want, I’ll be editorializing a bit on whether or not these stories worked. Remember that your mileage may vary and try to remain calm when commenting. And last but not least, remember that I’m only considering creators who were gone from the books for at least a few years. That means Brian Michael Bendis’ relaunch of Ultimate Spider-Man doesn’t count, and neither does Marc Andreyko’s on-again, off-again relationship with Manhunter. This list is in no way meant to be complete or comprehensive, but instead a representative sampling prompted by the recent conclusion of arguably the most fully successful such stories—my first example below.] (more…)

If it really is darkest before the dawn, that’s a really good sign for next month in Savage Dragon–right now it’s looking pretty charcoal. In the second of two issues whose covers Larsen had embargoed before publication, Emperor Kurr’s people come to Chicago just as Kurr faces off against Virus–who still has a fraction of his mind controlled by Dragon–along with Malcolm, Angel and OverLord in the ashes of the city while Kurr’s people drift overhead, led by their new emperor, Krull.

It’s important to note that these columns are meant as a creator commentary to the comic, to be read by those who have already seen the issue in order to illuminate the content. SPOILERS ON is a serious understatement for the next two months, as we’ve got some pretty massive developments coming up and it would be impossible (and lame) not to ask Erik about them here.

Gavin Higginbotham: The initial four page sequence as a reworking of SD 0 was an interesting way of introducing us to Emperor Krull, and re-introducing us to some of Kurr’s people. Was there any temptation to have Kurr’s heir be a girl or had you always had Krull in mind since you did the origin story? Or had you never really intended for these characters to return originally?

Erik Larsen: Early on I didn’t want to reveal Dragon’s origin so this really wasn’t something I had given much thought. Once I decided to go this route–I decided to go with a male because I wanted somebody that looked like Dragon and I was concerned that his daughter would look too similar visually to Mutation–a character already in the book.

Russ Burlingame: Does introducing Krull give you a chance to create some genuine suspense about Malcolm’s face-off with Kurr next issue? I mean, having a male who looks like Dragon and has a decent soul in circulation provides an opportunity to kill Malcolm if you really wanted to and still have a potential main character out there.

EL: That wasn’t entirely the reason but it’s there. Certainly Krull looks the part a lot more than Malcolm does.

(more…)

With the appearance both on the cover and at the end of the issue of mastermind villain Dr. Zoom in last week’s Time Masters: Vanishing Point, Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund have made the tie between Bruce Wayne’s return and Geoff Johns’ upcoming Flashpoint miniseries much clearer. Still, what his involvement is exactly and how he plays into both the apparent death of Batman and the just-resolved tale of mystics and mayhem both at the end of time and in the distant past is unclear. For a little illumination, we talked to writer/penciller Dan Jurgens, who…well, we’ll see…

The Gold Exchange: Is the flashback/flash forward framing device going to play directly into the A-plot? The attacks on the Carter family make me wonder if we’re going to see who the attackers are here.

Dan Jurgens: Yes, the flashback sequences will play into the “A” plot, but perhaps not quite so much as what you’re asking. It’ll be a bit more subtle than that. (more…)

You know, it seems like just last week that we were talking to J.M. DeMatteis about Booster Gold…but here we are again! Between this one, and tomorrow’s Dan Jurgens interview about Time Masters: Vanishing Point, we’re all caught up here at The Gold Exchange and looking forward to what promises to be an exciting new year for the character and the creators. Booster himself spent a lot of this issue bumming around thinking about old times…which of course means it’s time for us to talk about it.

The Gold Exchange: First thing’s first…how many graves does Ted have? For a guy with no actual corpse to bury, he’s got one outside time in the (now-destroyed) Vanishing Point and one here…I also feel like we’d seen one before that people pointed at when they were saying the Vanishing Point grave was not correct, continuity-wise…and then there’s that big-ass statue J’Onn made during “52″ that’s a monument to fallen Leaguers since the first Crisis.

J.M. DeMatteis: Ted has exactly 462 graves.

I think. (more…)

The owls are not what they seem, in this strange, fun, interesting and–honestly?–sometimes a little violent kids’ adventure movie from Warner Animation. While the box art on the Blu-Ray Combo Pack tells viewers that it’s “From the Studio that Brought You ‘HAPPY FEET’”, this movie that centers around warring factions of owls is not nearly as kid-friendly as its flightless, arctic cousin. I watched it with my three-year-old niece and she was alternately rapt, bored or repulsed by the animation, the lulls and the violence that make up Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.

The environmental subtext of almost every animated animal movie these days is something impossible to escape, and while it doesn’t beat you over the head in this movie as much as it did in Hoot a few years ago–the last big owl movie I can remember–it’s there on the extra footage, where one of the mini-documentaries is all about the plight of owls. These things always seem a little out of place in a kids’ film to me, and even though I’m a commie pinko leftist, it still stinks to high heaven of indoctrination.

While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the movie for most viewers, the part that both Gracie and I enjoyed the most was the Looney Tunes cartoon that’s included on the disc as a bonus feature.

Ben Affleck may have become a cocktail party joke after roles in Daredevil and Paycheck, but his return to the screen in Hollywoodland, combined with two of the most legitimately entertaining thrillers in recent years (those being Gone, Baby, Gone and The Town), have turned him into a filmmaker to be reckoned with. Between the roles in Daredevil and Hollywoodland, his friendship with Kevin Smith and his role as a comic book illustrator in Chasing Amy (reprised in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back), it’s likely that we’ll all see Affleck coming back into the comics or genre movie fold, so it’s worth taking note when something of his hits the theaters or home video, particularly when it’s something you really can’t help but like.

The Town is a complex and fascinating crime thriller, but one without pretense, making it more like one of the “Ocean’s” trilogy than something by David Lynch. And while many people may feel like the features are pretty bare-bones for a movie that was talked up early in the year as an Oscar candidate, I’m content just to hear Affleck’s thoughts on the film–let alone that he does the very rare thing of having a commentary track on both the theatrical AND director’s cuts of the film. John Hamm and Chris Cooper have great supporting roles in this picture, where almost every minor character is played by an actor who’s extremely talented, extremely famous or both. Check it out on DVD and Blu-Ray Combo Pack.

Inception, Chris Nolan’s second geek opus in less than five years (following The Dark Knight) hits DVD and Blu-Ray combo pack this week. Is it the best picture of the year? Well, for a lot of people it’s the thing to beat (everyone else, of course, is voting for The Social Network, but that doesn’t have nearly as much genre cred). And while it’s unlikely that a sci-fi movie that came out several months ago will actually win, hopefully for Nolan he’ll at least get his (deserved) nomination this time around.

The Blu-Ray combo pack is one of those great packages that reminds me why I don’t miss videocassettes. Getting insight from a talented auteur like Nolan is an incredible treat, and so the various documentaries on the making of the film are worth the cost of admission by themselves. While that might not be important for the rental market, or the very casual fans (who, let’s face it, are still buying most of their stuff on DVD anyway)? No, but it’s absolutely essential in moving units come three months from now when Netflix has the feature film (but nothing else) available on Watch Instantly.

I can’t believe how long it’s been since this interview was conducted! J.M. DeMatteis shared his thoughts on Booster Gold #38 with Blog@Newsarama for this month’s Gold Exchange column, way back when the book was actually new. I’m going to let him speak for himself (with my help, of course) in order to get the story out there!

The Gold Exchange: This issue retains something that Dan Jurgens had done at the start of his run–once you get to a certain depth chasing a MacGuffin, there comes a point where it’s OK to just start the new issue with the story over with. What drove that in terms of Booster’s quest for the Almost-But-Not-Quite-Book of Destiny.

J.M. DeMatteis: Honestly, I think it was just time to jump into the next story. We’d pushed the Book about as far as we could. I thought Keith’s idea to wrap it up so simply, and so quickly, was great. (more…)

UPDATE: All of the photos have been spoken for, but five runners up will be eligible for a digital copy of the “Dual Spires” episode from Amazon.com.

Hey, fans!

As a quick follow-up to yesterday’s interview with Psych‘s James Roday about the extra-sized “Dual Spires” episode tribute to Twin Peaks, I’ve got a quick offer for viewers.

The first five people who can e-mail me with the correct answer to the question below will receive a signed, 8″x10″ promotional photograph of James Roday. You must respond by e-mail. I want to be able to accurately datestamp responses, and I don’t want to have to watch this spot all day.

Question:

What is the very first Twin Peaks reference seen onscreen in the Psych episode “Dual Spires”?

If you think you know it, e-mail your answer to theghostoftomjoad@gmail.com, and I’ll get a photo in the mail to you in time for Christmas! I’ve got an idea for some consolation prizes, too, so we’ll see what kind of response I get and how generous I’m feeling!

Thanks to James Roday and his representatives at Principal Entertainment for the photos.

Big ups to Gavin Higginbotham, who once again did all the heavy lifting for this month’s Dragon questions. A crippling computer virus took me out of the game and by the time I’m back at 100%, Christmas will have passed. I am therefore going–with an extremely heavy heart, since this was probably the single most exciting issue of the title since we started this column–to go ahead and run his interview uninterrupted by anything from me except formatting. Spoilers on, folks, as this month’s issue was a huge one for Savage Dragon continuity. So huge that even the COVER will be held until after the jump. (more…)

On Psych‘s first season DVD set, showrunner Steve Franks identifies star James Roday as the biggest Twin Peaks fan he knows in the commentary track for the pilot. It’s relevant, because one of the guest stars in the Psych pilot is Don S. Davis, who played Major Briggs on David Lynch’s quirky mystery show.

This week, in recognition of Twin Peaks‘ twentieth anniversary and Roday’s fandom, Shawn and Gus finally head out to the Cinnamon Festival in “Dual Spires”, a small town with a strange cast of characters and some dark secrets. Featuring not one, not two, but seven former Twin Peaks cast members (six in their Psych debuts), the show has been one of the most heavily-promoted in Psych‘s history, and Roday has been doing a full-court press, doing dozens of interviews about “Dual Spires,” an episode he championed, co-wrote and says is the Psych episode he’s most proud of. Recently, the star spoke to Blog@Newsarama about the tribute show. (more…)

It’s very telling, when you look at the DVD for Dr. Who: The Complete Fifth Series (available yesterday from BBC Home Video), the extent to which the studio believes Amy Pond (played by Karen Gillan) is an asset to the show. The lovely redhead is featured on the art on the front of the first disc–a position that’s often reserved for the main character. She really steps up and is more front-and-center with more consistency than other assistants I’ve seen (although I’ll admit, it’s pretty well-established that I’m not a Dr. Who expert).

The great thing is, this box set is packaged for people who want to know each and every little thing about the show, so everyone can become a pseudo-expert in the course of the time it takes them to watch the hours of special features.

That said, both Gillan and Matt Smith are terrific, and this series is a clever, exciting one–which is exactly what you need, I imagine, to placate longtime fans when you segue between Doctors. A discouraging outing his first season, and a new Doctor could quickly become the Timothy Dalton of the series (the “short-lived and not well-loved” part, not the part about getting to sleep with Linda Hamilton in new episodes of Chuck).

Check this one out–coming from a guy who was left cold by the episode where Smith was introduced, he’s really stepped into the role and the writers’ room clearly are playing to his stengths.

Time Masters: Vanishing Point #4 hit stores this week, and the central cast finally found themselves in the same place—a series of dark cells. While Booster, Superman, Rip and Hal Jordan try to escape from the cells, the evil wizard Serhattu discovers a new way to travel and manipulate time, and Supernova spends the issue facing off against the Black Beetle, the Time Stealers and the Linear Men. It’s a tall order for a guy who’s been superheroing for a little under two years, and never been in a fight without Rip’s help. As the conflict spirals out of Rip’s control, the voice in Daniel Carter’s head seems to be taking charge of the situation. Who’s that, and what does it mean? Dan Jurgens sheds a little light on the proceedings…!

The Gold Exchange: A couple of hair observations to start with: First, I like that Rip has blonde hair as a kid. Was that something that you had to confer with Hi-Fi on, given that he doesn’t in the present day anymore?

Dan Jurgens: It was planned all the way, to match up with the way we’ve seen Rip earlier. Whether it’s hair color or the beard, he does various things to alter his appearance. But, no doubt about it… blond is his natural color. (more…)

Back in the saddle again! After a month away from DragonQuestions (as stated on another page, I got married and have been preoccupied with planning, marrying and honeymooning), things here at Chez Burlingame are in a semi-regular rhythm, which includes getting DragonQuestions and The Gold Exchange back on track! This month saw Emperor Kurr start killing superheroes instead of villains for the first time in a while, and both Gavin and I were pretty surprised to see one of the casualties.

Gavin Higginbotham: What exactly was it that prompted you to included Captain Four-Color in the pages of the issue?

Erik Larsen: I’ve always liked those kinds of characters– super-powered product pitchmen like Captain Tootsie and whatnot, whose whole purpose is a very focused one–and that is to encourage people to eat Tootsie Rolls of drink a certain kind of soda or whatever. Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff in Concord, CA had put out a comic featuring Captain Four-Color and it struck me as a fun idea to have him appear in an issue of Savage Dragon. I talked to Joe Field about it and together we decided doing an exclusive cover for their store and having their store mascot fight the Dragon would be a great way to celebrate the store’s anniversary and so that’s just what happened. (more…)

After more than a month off, The Gold Exchange is back with a vengeance; yesterday we talked to Dan Jurgens about last month’s Time Masters: Vanishing Point #3, today we discuss the two part “Ted Kord—Chipmunk” story arc from Booster Gold #36-37 with J.M. DeMatteis…and then between Wednesday and Saturday of this week (depending on e-mail response times and the day job), Dan will be back to talk about the upcoming Time Masters #4. So it’s a golden week, even if the stupid Rangers are in the World Series and there’s no new episode of “Bones” on TV.

The only other observation I’ll make about this month’s Exchange is that since I did actually CONDUCT the interview with DeMatteis last month, and simply failed to post it, some questions may seem a little odd in the context of the new issue. I’m not going to edit them, for fear of losing content. It’s also worth noting that DeMatteis, who has said before he doesn’t really read superhero comics for recreation anymore, gets taken aback every so often as I explain some of the more horrible or preposterous stories of the last few years in DC. That’s worth a chuckle at least.

The Gold Exchange: OK, so I’ll give you that you were right: TED KORD – CHIPMUNK! made sense in context. That said, are you a little sorry that using the teaser probably blew the punchline a little bit when the reveal was made about 1/3 through the issue?

J.M. DeMatteis: Perhaps.  But it was worth it just to have that teaser:  TED KORD – CHIPMUNK! isn’t the kind of “next issue” blurb that comes up very often! (more…)

As Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund’s Time Masters: Vanishing Point reaches its midway point this month, things really start to take shape. Some connections are beginning to form between the Rip Hunter and superhero (Hal/Booster/Supes) subplots, and the Time Stealers unearth some very important hostages while Daniel Carter and Rose Levin continue to skulk around in the background, waiting for their time to do their thing. Since the column is already crazy late, I’ll jump right in.

The Gold Exchange: Are you collaborating with Grant Morrison (writer of the main “Return of Bruce Wayne” books) on this project? The notion of science and mysticism intersecting that seems to be at the heart of “Time Masters” is just the kind of story he likes to tell.

Dan Jurgens: “Collaborate” might be a bit too strong. TIME MASTERS is more of an accompanying project, reflecting events of Grant’s story, than a truly integrated crossover. (more…)