Sunday, May 24, 2015

Convergence, Secret Wars And Deadpool Mr. J Chats With Fabian Nicieza


Convergence, Secret Wars And Deadpool  Mr. J Chats With Fabian Nicieza

By: Mr. J's Comic Reviews

This past weekend I got a chance to attend this year’s Tidewater Comic Con. I had a blast at the con. I bought a ton of great stuff, and I even got to do a few in character interviews with some awesome cosplayers. If you want to see those check out the vlog channel J and Corey’s Adventures In Geekdom that I share with my friend Corey from Sheek Geek Reviews. Along with all that I got a chance to sit down and chat with Fabian Nicieza, a long time comic writer for both Marvel and DC. We talked about his Convergence tie ins, his upcoming Secret Wars, mini-series, and his  thoughts on the Deadpool movie and the FOX X-Men franchise.



Mr. J:  For anyone who's unfamiliar with your work Mr. Nicieza can you give the fans a highlights list?

Fabian Nicieza: Creator of Deadpool, writer of X-Men, X-Force, New Warriors, Nomad, Gambit, Thunderbolts, Cable & Deadpool, Robin, Red Robin and about a thousand other comics. If you're unfamiliar with my work, then you are probably just too young to give a damn.


Mr. J: Great work on your Convergence tie-ins especially Superboy and Titans. What drew you to those particular titles? And what was that experience like?

Fabian Nicieza: I thought the 2-issue series premise was simple and structured in a way to generate great conflict for all the characters involved. My love and knowledge of the history of the DC characters helped me increase my initial assignment on Titans into opportunities to write Superboy and Justice League of America.

I enjoyed working on the books, I enjoyed the artists assigned to each series and I always enjoy working with Marie Javins because she's one of the best editors out there.


Mr. J: As a DC fan I loved the nostalgia that all these tie-ins brought, but this honestly feels like a filler event. Care to comment on that? And can you tell the fans anything about the impact of Convergence? That is if you know anything.

Fabian Nicieza: Well, in a way it IS filler. It was necessary to publish something while DC moved its entire company from NY to California! So what? The real issue is: are the stories good? Did they entertain you? I could care less if it "matters" to some larger continuity because the only thing that matters to me as a writer is: "did you enjoy my 2 issues of Titans (or Superboy or JLA)?"


Mr. J: Okay moving on from one big event to another, let's talk Secret Wars. You showed me at the con that you were working on the Age Of Apocalypse mini-series. Can you tell me a little more about it, as well as what fans can expect?

Fabian Nicieza: It's a 5 issue series set on Battleworld during Secret Wars. Battleworld is made up of "chunks" from various Marvel Universe Earths, so the AoA "alternate Earth" chunk that is part of Battleworld is NOT the original one or even whatever they did more recently with AoA. It is its own "free-standing" continuity that has many similarities to the original but is independent of that.The story is a ticking time bomb where the X-Men, who have basically lost in their decades-long fight to prevent Apocalypse from crushing humanity and creating a domain where mutants are dictatorial rulers, must prevent the remaining human resistance from one final, desperate retaliation that could mean genocide for mutants and humans alike.


Mr. J: I'm a big fan of your New Mutants run. How does it feel to be back in the X-Men universe? Even if it is only for 5 issues?

Fabian Nicieza: Well, my "New Mutants run" was only 3 issues long, since I only worked on #98-100 of New Mutants before it became X-Force. :-) And my original writing tenure on the X-Books was always a time of tremendous excitement and opportunity combined with tremendous frustration, so I'll always have conflicting emotions about those years. That being said, working on this series has been a total blast and I'm having a lot of fun!


Mr. J: I've noticed you have knack for writing underdogs. Why do you think people are drawn to those type of characters? And how fun is it for you to write them?

Fabian Nicieza: Partially people are drawn to them because most of us are underdogs! Mitt Romney isn't an underdog and he surrounds himself in a world of rich, successful captains of industry. Underdogs generally live among other underdogs, so we like to read aspirational stories of people emerging triumphant against difficult odds.

I like to write them because I think it's a lot more fun to write a story about Peter Parker than it is to write one about Mitt Romney.


Mr. J: Alright let me wrap this up with one last question. What's your opinion on FOX's X-Men film franchise? Deadpool is getting his own movie soon, and he is a character that you co-created with Rob Liefeld. I'm sure you're happy about the check you'll be getting though. Haha.

Fabian Nicieza: I'll be happier with the check I'm getting once the sequel is announced! :-)

I'm cautiously optimistic that it will be a fun movie. Since I have no participation or involvement, that means I have no say or control over its content, which basically removes me from worrying or thinking too much about it.


I'm happy it's being made, but it will be what it will be and I hope it's good!

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