- Why is it some characters haven't been seen for chapters at a time?
We have a big cast. They can't all fit in one issue. Sheryl and I are both Legion of Super Heroes fans so I guess it makes sense that the Explorers would grow to a point where you need a score card to keep track of everyone. Though I don't think all of them were meant to appear more than once. (Ilsalynn and Wilson). Others were only meant to be mentioned and never appear. (Malcolm and Joshua) Only I changed my mind on one for a gag.
- Will any of those other characters be appearing again?
Since this is a round robin so I can't honestly say. I do know that if it were up to me that there would be at least one more Lucas and Ellie issue. Probably the last issue. I have my doubts about some of them but the joy of round robins is that you don't know what the next contributor will do. I get accused of being of a pain in the ass by playing "Continuity Cop." Though I try not to be too intrusive and use the Roy Thomas school of retroactive continuity whenever possible.
- What made you bring Chloe back?
A couple things. I originally tried to do an old school Vertigo style story. All dangerous cults and dream like imagery and she seemed to be a perfect fit for that kind of story. I started writing it like that but it just didn't work out. I wrote a completely different version of the penthouse scene where Chloe's fear did come to pass. She was originally going to be (on a technicality) be the third woman Andrew mentioned to Wilson.
- If it was supposed to be a Vertigo style story why did it turn out so silly?
Well- two things happened. First, I've found my writing style wasn't poetic enough to pull off a successfully riff on Gaiman I think I have too much compassion for most of my characters to ape Ennis. It came as a total surprise to me that I have too much coherence to be Morrison.
The bigger problem was that Amazon.com had both a cheap TV to DVD sale combined with a BBC sale. The prices for Red Dwarf were cheaper than Shatner's toupee. I felt it was the right time to replace my old VHS tapes. At the time I wrote that chapter I was average two pages of the Explorers a night and a season and a half of Red Dwarf a week depending on if Stewart and Colbert were on that night. In fact I had to rewrite some the dialogue to make it slightly less Grant Namloresque. I had to stop myself from writing Andy from saying: "Well, I do have an IQ of six thousand." Or having the "Ace" the technician bumble his way through military procedure.
- Where did the idea of teaming up Chloe and Angelica come from?
I don't know really. I had wanted to write an Angelica centric chapter for awhile. Once I knew I was writing Chloe, I thought using her as a means of communication between Chloe and the others would be a logistic necessity. Most great drama and comedy come from pairing characters who have both a lot common ground and a lot of differences. In some ways they are the mirror image of Andy and Lucas who have common ground of Ellie's welfare but don't really get along. Angelica and Chloe are actually friends. I generally think Chloe is more trusting but Angelica is a little more uncertain about life.
- And the ending?
Not to sound like a non sequitur but: sausages and boxer shorts.
