If you're a comics fan, you are probably already familiar with the name J.M. DeMatteis from his works on titles ranging from his own autobiographical comic Brooklyn Dreams to mainstreams titles like Spider-Man or his Eisner Award winning miniseries Formerly the Justice League. He's also written creator owned hits like Moonshadow. He has just finished the super hero drama/political thriller ˜The Life and Times of Savior 28' and is writing Metal Men with Keith Giffen. I was lucky enough to catch up with Mr. DeMatteis at the Baltimore Comic Convention in October.
Jesse Willey, CT:
By the end of the series, Hero Squared was a romantic comedy about a pacifist super hero. Savior 28 also deals with the idea of a pacifist super hero but in much more serious way. Was this conscious decision on your part?
JMD:
Oh yeah . . . definitely. Very conscious. One of the things that has always bothered me about super hero comics is the amount of violence. By definition, a hero should be much more high minded. Dropping buildings on people is not the way to solve problems.
JW:
Most of us are aware of the elements of drama. What are the elements of Bwhahaha?
JMD:
The key element of Bwhahaha is spontaneity. Keith [Giffen} and I will meet and work out the plot. Then we'll go off on our own and write a draft. We'll both come back a few weeks later and I'll have done something to surprise him. He'll do something to surprise me. We're working on Metal Men [in Doom Patrol] right now. There is a character that goes off in a direction that neither of us really planned but just worked so perfectly.
JW:
Which is easier to write - comedy or serious stuff?
JMD:
For me - funny stuff. It just flows a little faster. Though a lot of it is dialogue and sometimes that can take awhile. Whereas something like Savior 28, I have to put a lot of thought into it. It can be hard time sometimes. Working with Keith Giffen is just like play.
JW:
Isn't having 'Kraven's Last Hunt' and 'Best of Spider-Man' in hardcover kind of redundant?
JMD:
Actaully - I always preferred my run on Spectacular Spider-Man.
JW:
Kraven's Last Hunt is kind of creepy and violent for Spidey.
JMD:
But even then it is more about what is going on in each character's head.
JW:
It says a lot about Peter Parker that even when pushed to the brink, he tried to save Vermin.
JMD:
Which goes back to what we talking about before.
JW:
I spat out my milk reading Justice League Antarctica. Then I read 'Hunt'. I couldn't convince myself they were written by the same guy.
JMD:
I'm glad. I've always tried to do variety.
JW:
What is your greatest weakness as a writer?
JMD:
It is also my greatest strength. It's my personal perspective. It's my loves, my passions, my spiritual beliefs- from Spider-Man to Brooklyn Dreams. It can be overwhelming. People might say 'Why should I read this Spider-Man story when it's really just about this guy?' That makes it hard to do things like Justice League Unlimited with all the battle scenes to co-ordinate. Fighting does not interest me.
JW:
You have a reputation for being a deep thinking introspective man. That being said - what's your worst story?
JMD:
Ooohh - that's a tough question. Oh my god, there were lots in my early days at Marvel and
DC. There was a Legion of Super Heroes story I did with Steve Ditko. I think, at the time, I did not have the skill as a writer to make it work. To this day people say it is the worse Legion story of all time. There was also a Marvel Team-Up story I did with Spider-Man, Wolverine and Professor X. That one was just terrible.
JW:
What would G'Nort [Gah-Nort) do for a Klondike Bar?
JMD:
G'nort (Nort) . . . The question is what would G'nort do for a Klondike Bar? Probably anything you asked.