Post by blinker on Jul 8, 2006 12:16:50 GMT -5
Newsarama reported this recently; Wonder Girl will appear in Teen Titans Go! #36 that will come out on October. Here is an interview with J. Torres on the upcoming issue.
Newsarama: First off J - obviously - from the cover...you've got someone new coming in. What can you tell us about Wonder Girl?
J. Torres: We jump right into the story and she comes over from Paradise Island to give her friends a hand with... an alien threat.
NRAMA: Bluntly, why wait this long to bring her in? This is your third anniversary issue, after all…
JT: Long story short: we basically had to wait to get the okay from the powers that be. She only made a couple of quick appearances in the last season of the show and we never really saw her in action. It's my understanding that there was some kind of licensing issue that prevented the animators from really using her. For the most part, we had to follow the show's lead in terms of new characters but now that it's wrapped, we have a little more freedom in that department.
NRAMA: So, with the animated series over, are you, in a way, freer to take things in whatever way you want to, rather than dodge and steer clear of the series’ plots?
JT: Well, we never really dodged the episodes and in fact we sometimes wove in and out of them with the producers' blessing and sometimes their help. For example, our Terra issues filled in some blanks between her episodes and showed events mentioned but not shown on TV.
But anyway, yeah, we have a little more latitude now but we still have to keep it all-ages, of course. And although I do have the freedom to expand on stuff and take things in different directions from the show, right now I'm being mindful of the work that they did on the cartoon and not undoing anything or killing people off and such just because I can. I enjoy and respect the work too much. But I'm trying to take certain characters and subplots to logical conclusions or progressions, and I hope the fans enjoy it.
NRAMA: So back to Wonder Girl. As we’ve seen that all the animated Teen Titans characters have some connection – some more direct than others – to their comic book counterparts, so how does this Wonder Girl compare and contrast to either Donna or Cassie in the comics?
JT: Well, the story is called "Troy." And she pretty much has the same powers as her DCU sisters. She may be different in that her attitude is maybe closer to Diana as a girl, or as I imagine she would be at 15 or 16.
NRAMA: How is Wonder Girl introduced in this story? All new, or someone that some of the characters know, but she just hasn't shown up prior to this?
JT: Yes, I'm playing it as if she's already a Titan and has worked with them before. After all, she was seen in "Calling All Titans" and "Titans Together" albeit as a headshot. But the insinuation is that she was there to help the Titans take down the Brotherhood of Evil. So, I write it like she has to sneak off of Paradise Island like a teenage girl not allowed to go out on her own and that explains why she's seen limited action thus far.
NRAMA: Speaking of the animated series, you've got quite the guest artist for the cover...who is this Murakami guy anyway? [laughs]
JT: Everyone knows Glen Murakami! He's had a hand in pretty much every DC cartoon project since Batman: The Animated Series as a designer, art director, writer, and/or producer. We're so lucky that he took the time to help us commemorate our third anniversary with such a cool cover. And would you believe it was as easy as me e-mailing him with a "Hey, Glen! Wanna do a cover for us?" Glen's been so good to us, and so generous with his time. Same with [head writer] David Slack and [producer] A.J. Vargas who I e-mailed throughout the series with questions about characterization and subplots and name spellings and all sorts of things...
NRAMA: So - tease a little...for those who haven't been following the series, what's been going on? You're still focusing on single-issue stories, rather than the longer arcs a la the animated series?
JT: Yes, we still have that mandate of single-issue stories. But I've gotten around that so to speak by running certain subplots through a number of issues, you know, for the fans who want to see more "continuity." And more recently I've written some issues that I call "sequels" to previous stories. The first one involves an amp'd up Private Hive being scouted if you will by General Immortus in one issue and a couple of issues later we see what Immortus' plan for him is. We'll probably see a kind of sequel to this Wonder Girl story, too.
NRAMA: Without the series currently running on Cartoon Network, are you worried at all about audience erosion, or has Teen Titans Go! been around long enough to establish and hold its own audience?
JT: There's always that concern, yes. But we're hoping that more fans of the show going through Titans withdrawal will check us out. We've already got many comic fans who pick it up if not for themselves then their younger siblings, sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, etc. Now if we could just reach more of that TV audience...
The problem, and I'm sure you've heard this from many comic creators, is distribution and access. Not a week goes by that I don't get e-mail or see a post from some kid online asking where they can find the comics. I wish it were as easy for kids to find the comics as it is for them to find the DVDs or video games. You know, I can walk into almost any drugstore or shopping mall in North America and find Teen Titans toys, party supplies, t-shirts, towels, school bags, etc. But if I want to direct a potential new reader to Teen Titans Go!, I have to give them an 800 number to locate a comic shop or give them URLs for places to order online or tell them to take their chances with the spotty newsstand distribution at Borders or Wal-Mart...
But things are getting better, especially compared to a few years ago. The digests seem to be doing well and they're relatively easier to find at or order from bookstores than the monthly issues. I just can't help pine for the days of the comic book spinner rack at the corner store. Sigh.
NRAMA: Many echo that sigh, I know. Wrapping things up for now - tease man, tease...where are things headed after WG shows up? Will she be joining the team? Are you looking at multi-part arcs? Carrying over some connections from the last days of the animated series?
JT: All of the above! Okay, maybe not all but most? The way the show left things it was almost like a set-up for a "Teen Titans Unlimited." I'd like to take that ball and run with it. I'm not saying abandon the main five but I think it'd be cool to see what happens if, say, Raven led the team or... if we saw more of what the Titans from other parts of the world are doing or... it would be fun to have a team consisting of the "original" Titans - Robin, Speedy, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wonder Girl - for one adventure...
More specifically, coming up we've got a Kid Flash versus Mas y Meno race, plus stories featuring Jericho, Herald, Thunder & Lightning, and villain appearances by Monsieur Mallah and the Brain, Phobia who we barely saw on the show and... wait for it...the Fearsome Five!
We've also got some super cool guest artists coming up including Sanford Greene, Fabio Laguna, plus more from Sean Galloway and Khary Randolph and... wait for it... Chynna Clugston - you read that right - CHYNNA CLUGSTON.
J. Torres: We jump right into the story and she comes over from Paradise Island to give her friends a hand with... an alien threat.
NRAMA: Bluntly, why wait this long to bring her in? This is your third anniversary issue, after all…
JT: Long story short: we basically had to wait to get the okay from the powers that be. She only made a couple of quick appearances in the last season of the show and we never really saw her in action. It's my understanding that there was some kind of licensing issue that prevented the animators from really using her. For the most part, we had to follow the show's lead in terms of new characters but now that it's wrapped, we have a little more freedom in that department.
NRAMA: So, with the animated series over, are you, in a way, freer to take things in whatever way you want to, rather than dodge and steer clear of the series’ plots?
JT: Well, we never really dodged the episodes and in fact we sometimes wove in and out of them with the producers' blessing and sometimes their help. For example, our Terra issues filled in some blanks between her episodes and showed events mentioned but not shown on TV.
But anyway, yeah, we have a little more latitude now but we still have to keep it all-ages, of course. And although I do have the freedom to expand on stuff and take things in different directions from the show, right now I'm being mindful of the work that they did on the cartoon and not undoing anything or killing people off and such just because I can. I enjoy and respect the work too much. But I'm trying to take certain characters and subplots to logical conclusions or progressions, and I hope the fans enjoy it.
NRAMA: So back to Wonder Girl. As we’ve seen that all the animated Teen Titans characters have some connection – some more direct than others – to their comic book counterparts, so how does this Wonder Girl compare and contrast to either Donna or Cassie in the comics?
JT: Well, the story is called "Troy." And she pretty much has the same powers as her DCU sisters. She may be different in that her attitude is maybe closer to Diana as a girl, or as I imagine she would be at 15 or 16.
NRAMA: How is Wonder Girl introduced in this story? All new, or someone that some of the characters know, but she just hasn't shown up prior to this?
JT: Yes, I'm playing it as if she's already a Titan and has worked with them before. After all, she was seen in "Calling All Titans" and "Titans Together" albeit as a headshot. But the insinuation is that she was there to help the Titans take down the Brotherhood of Evil. So, I write it like she has to sneak off of Paradise Island like a teenage girl not allowed to go out on her own and that explains why she's seen limited action thus far.
NRAMA: Speaking of the animated series, you've got quite the guest artist for the cover...who is this Murakami guy anyway? [laughs]
JT: Everyone knows Glen Murakami! He's had a hand in pretty much every DC cartoon project since Batman: The Animated Series as a designer, art director, writer, and/or producer. We're so lucky that he took the time to help us commemorate our third anniversary with such a cool cover. And would you believe it was as easy as me e-mailing him with a "Hey, Glen! Wanna do a cover for us?" Glen's been so good to us, and so generous with his time. Same with [head writer] David Slack and [producer] A.J. Vargas who I e-mailed throughout the series with questions about characterization and subplots and name spellings and all sorts of things...
NRAMA: So - tease a little...for those who haven't been following the series, what's been going on? You're still focusing on single-issue stories, rather than the longer arcs a la the animated series?
JT: Yes, we still have that mandate of single-issue stories. But I've gotten around that so to speak by running certain subplots through a number of issues, you know, for the fans who want to see more "continuity." And more recently I've written some issues that I call "sequels" to previous stories. The first one involves an amp'd up Private Hive being scouted if you will by General Immortus in one issue and a couple of issues later we see what Immortus' plan for him is. We'll probably see a kind of sequel to this Wonder Girl story, too.
NRAMA: Without the series currently running on Cartoon Network, are you worried at all about audience erosion, or has Teen Titans Go! been around long enough to establish and hold its own audience?
JT: There's always that concern, yes. But we're hoping that more fans of the show going through Titans withdrawal will check us out. We've already got many comic fans who pick it up if not for themselves then their younger siblings, sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, etc. Now if we could just reach more of that TV audience...
The problem, and I'm sure you've heard this from many comic creators, is distribution and access. Not a week goes by that I don't get e-mail or see a post from some kid online asking where they can find the comics. I wish it were as easy for kids to find the comics as it is for them to find the DVDs or video games. You know, I can walk into almost any drugstore or shopping mall in North America and find Teen Titans toys, party supplies, t-shirts, towels, school bags, etc. But if I want to direct a potential new reader to Teen Titans Go!, I have to give them an 800 number to locate a comic shop or give them URLs for places to order online or tell them to take their chances with the spotty newsstand distribution at Borders or Wal-Mart...
But things are getting better, especially compared to a few years ago. The digests seem to be doing well and they're relatively easier to find at or order from bookstores than the monthly issues. I just can't help pine for the days of the comic book spinner rack at the corner store. Sigh.
NRAMA: Many echo that sigh, I know. Wrapping things up for now - tease man, tease...where are things headed after WG shows up? Will she be joining the team? Are you looking at multi-part arcs? Carrying over some connections from the last days of the animated series?
JT: All of the above! Okay, maybe not all but most? The way the show left things it was almost like a set-up for a "Teen Titans Unlimited." I'd like to take that ball and run with it. I'm not saying abandon the main five but I think it'd be cool to see what happens if, say, Raven led the team or... if we saw more of what the Titans from other parts of the world are doing or... it would be fun to have a team consisting of the "original" Titans - Robin, Speedy, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wonder Girl - for one adventure...
More specifically, coming up we've got a Kid Flash versus Mas y Meno race, plus stories featuring Jericho, Herald, Thunder & Lightning, and villain appearances by Monsieur Mallah and the Brain, Phobia who we barely saw on the show and... wait for it...the Fearsome Five!
We've also got some super cool guest artists coming up including Sanford Greene, Fabio Laguna, plus more from Sean Galloway and Khary Randolph and... wait for it... Chynna Clugston - you read that right - CHYNNA CLUGSTON.