Erik Larsen once wrote and penciled Spider-man stories for Marvel Comics. In
1992 he left Marvel to help form Image Comics and produced his own comic
called the Savage Dragon. While continuing Savage Dragon, he has recently
sent proposals to write Marvel and DC titles. Erik will be writing Aquaman
starting with issue #50. With this interview, we ask him about his
Incredible Hulk proposal, The Savage Dragon, Aquaman, and writing in general.
Coville:
Erik, Sorry to hear you didn't get the Incredible Hulk job. How were you
told that you didn't get the job, and how do you feel about it?
Larsen:
I got a phone call from Bobbie Chase and she gave me the news. I don't
feel too good about it, as you might expect.
Coville:
Can you tell us any details about your Hulk proposal?
Larsen:
Yes, but I'm not going to. It was pretty involved--eight pages, single
spaced. There's no point going into it.
Coville:
Some people are still suspicious about you proposing for two books that
Peter David just left. Why did you propose for these books?
Larsen:
Well-- I just thought I needed to get out and do something else for SOMEBODY.
It's been six years since I've done any work for anybody but myself and I wanted
to get my name out there. I was talking to Chris Eliopoulos and frankly, I don't
know anybody up at Marvel or DC anymore. I asked him to let people know I was
looking for a book to write and Kevin Dooley at DC called me about Aquaman.
Now, I've never read the book so I had nothing to go by. Kevin sent me a few issues
and I visited an Aquaman website to get up to speed on the basics. I thought
about it and put together a proposal.
Later, Peter left the Hulk and since that was the book I always wanted to
do--I HAD to do a proposal for that even knowing that it was a long shot since
most hiring at Marvel goes to their lunch buddies.
It wasn't so much of a "Peter David thing" as it was "these are the books that
are open." Had Kevin offered me Green Lantern, I'd be doing a Green Lantern
proposal and trying to get caught up on that title.
Coville:
Will you be sending proposals for other Marvel and DC comics?
Larsen:
Not to Marvel-- I've had my fill. At this point I'm a little burned out of
the whole proposal process. At some point I've got to think that perhaps my
body of work can speak for me. I really hate to piss away days out of my
schedule to have the job be given to whoever shows up at the door. It's quite
frustrating.
Coville:
Are you trying for *any* writing job or are there characters in particular
that you want to work with?
Larsen:
The Hulk was a character that I was very familiar with and I wanted to
write--Aquaman was just the book that was available. I'll make something out
of it and I'm sure I'll think he's cool as all hell in a few months but I
never thought of it as a book that I desperately wanted to do.
Coville:
What Marvel or DC character currently without a title would you like to
do a new series with?
Larsen:
I'm not so ambitious that I want to do that at this point in my life. I liked
Nova at Marvel and some of the Kirby characters that have been folded into
Jack Kirby's Fourth World at DC such as the New Gods and Mister Miracle but
those are hard to sell without a strong artist attached to the project. It's
much easier to keep a boat floating than to build or repair a boat. You just
look out for rocks and icebergs.
Coville:
Writing wise, how many other books can you take on?
Larsen:
If I wasn't drawing--a lot. As it is--maybe four.
Coville:
Over the last 5 years with Savage Dragon, you have chosen not to use
gimmicks like special covers or major crossovers. Why?
Larsen:
I'm more interested in doing cool comics. I've tried a few things to get some
attention but I keep falling back on doing what I think are cool comics.
Coville:
What can you tell us about Savage Dragon #50?
Larsen:
It's the conclusion of the Unfinished Business story where Dragon goes back to Chicago.
The Dragon takes on the Vicious Circle in a final desperate battle.
Carnage is the order of the day as the S.O.S. comes in to help Dragon
against the most vile group of bad guys imaginable. An extra-length dose of
Savage Dragon for those diehard Dragon fans! Dragon faces Horde at long last
and damn near everybody gets into the action.
It's a 100 page spectacular! Featuring pinups by the best guys in comics--
Todd McFarlane, Greg Capullo and more than a few surprise artists (superstars >all)!
Wizard Comics' much sought after Savage Dragon 1/2 is reprinted for the
first time along with Mighty Man stories that detail the past of Dragon's most
despicable bad guy--Horde!
Plus, a never-before seen Freak Force yarn by Larsen, Vic Bridges and Al
Gordon tells the story of how that team came together band more Desparate
Times from Chris Eliopoulos!
Savage Dragon #50 wraps everything up in a nice neat bundle and paves the
way for a brand new story in a completely new direction. It's great jumping
on point for new readers!
Comes with our Highest Possible Recommendation!!
You'll blow a fat $5.95 on this thing.
Coville:
You have created a lot of weird villains in Savage Dragon. Who are
your favorites and why?
Larsen:
Whoever I'm doing at the time. BrainiApe is a lot of fun to draw as is
Octopus and OpenFace.
Coville:
Will Savage Dragon ever become a cop again?
Larsen:
That would be telling. I don't like to give away much of anything.
Coville:
Are you involved with the Savage Dragon appearance in Big Bang
Comics? If so, are you a fan of the Silver Age?
Larsen:
I'm involved as a reader. I enjoy the book a lot. I'm a big fan of comics
from all ages.
Coville:
You have taken books like A Distant Soil by Colleen Doran "under
your wing" into Image. Are there any new books coming in under you that
we should watch for?
Larsen:
Desperate Times by Chris Eliopoulos.
Coville:
Will you be giving Aquaman any new powers?
Larsen:
Coville:
What makes Aquaman an interesting character?
Larsen:
He's underwater--his world is a different world than the one we live in. The
fact that he's a king. There's a lot of cool stuff and potential.
Coville:
Do you plan on creating any new villains or supporting characters
for Aquaman? If so can you tell us about them?
Larsen:
There will be a LOT of new stuff.
First there's Noble-who comes from the hidden city that is deep below where
Atlantis now sits. It was his understanding that HE ruled the sea and since
he's never run into Aquaman and since his race predated the sinking of
Atlantis--se seems to be in the right on this one. Noble is young and
handsome--He's clean shaven, dark haired and has a cleft in his chin--very
dashing. Think Lancelot. He sweeps Mera off her feet and forces poor Arthur
to fight for her affection.
Lurkers-- are Noble's people. They've dug a maze of tunnels through the earth
that are like subway tunnels to other oceans. This is all in the darkest
depths of the ocean and very appealing to the Atlantians and Aquaman in
particular. These tunnels will lead to the discovery of many undersea races
and cities all over the globe.
Rock Creatures-- are the race of lava men whose path the Lurkers crossed to
build theit underground tunnels. They're stupid and deadly.
Land Lovers. Blubber, Sheeva and Lagoon Boy are three characters who fall in
love with and want to explore the surface world. Blubber is an intelligent
whale (son of Pakkul: Aquaman's whale friend while growing up) who's an
inventor. He's fashioned mechanical legs and arms for himself and a wheel
chair for the mermaid Sheeva. Lagoon Boy is a kid version of a Creature from
the Black Lagoon type who can puff himself up like a blowfish to frighten off
prey. This intrepid trio is earthbound for adventure.
Plus a lot more--especially villains.
Coville:
Do you have plans for other DC heroes appearing in Aquaman?
Larsen:
Not right away. Okay--some right away but none are there to hang out for
long. My first issue Aquaman #50 has his birthday and folks drop by to pay
their respects.
Although Aquaman is in the Justice League-- I'm not going to dwell on this.
In terms of the character and the book--Aquaman should never seek their help.
That's not to say that they wouldn't ever show up but that he'd feel that
asking for their help was a sign of weakness--to Aquaman, they need HIM--not
the other way around.
I want to make this a great comic that stands up on its own--not one dependant
of guest stars to keep it going. That means I'm going to have to make
Atlantis and Aquaman the focus-- not dwell on other characters from comics
outside of my influence. I can't plan anything long term with a guest star so
why go there when I can do something better that's internal and can have
lasting effects on the book?
Coville:
Thanks again for the interview. Any other comments you want to add?
Larsen:
Buy lots of my funnybooks so my kids can eat.
