Marvel: Tony Bedard's Exile...

[Local Hero]

Posted 08-06-2004
Source The Pulse
By JENNIFER M. CONTINO

Who is the mysterious Timebroker and just why do the Exiles appear to jump through hoops for the Timebroker? Writer Tony Bedard is going to be examining the Exiles relationship with the Timebroker and so much more in upcoming months. Bedard's planning shorter arcs and other things to get new and keep existing readers interested in their adventures. Ego the Living Planet, Kulan Gath, and many more surprises await these heroes in upcoming issues. With artists Mizuki Sakakibara and Jim Calafiore, Bedard has lots on tap to keep things interesting in the Exiles world.

THE PULSE: Most people don't really associate you immediately with superheroes. A lot of people know you from your work with Vertigo and then CrossGen. How big a fan of the superhero genre are you?
BEDARD: I’ve loved superheroes ever since I started reading comics, back when I was fifteen. They’re the modern-day equivalent of the Greek myths I enjoyed as a kid. I’ve certainly never sought to avoid doing superhero books. Like a lot of people, I wish the American comics market wasn’t so completely dominated by capes and tights, but that doesn’t mean a superhero tale automatically has less merit than any other genre. It’s all in the telling.

THE PULSE: Which superhero comics are your favorites?
BEDARD: I’ve always been more focused on creators instead of characters. So the short answer is whichever superhero comics happen to be written by Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, Mark Waid, Warren Ellis, Brian Bendis, etc, etc. I’ve loved the cosmic ones like Mike Baron’s NEXUS and Simonson’s THOR, and the more “street-level” heroes like Miller’s DAREDEVIL, or Owsley’s POWER MAN & IRON FIST. Hell, I’ll read “Forbush-Man” if the tale’s told well. In fact, sometimes the very best books happen when a writer taps the potential of the silliest heroes, as Moore did with MARVELMAN. Of course, the superhero genre reached a zenith back in ’86 with WATCHMEN and DARK KNIGHT that I don’t think we’ve ever managed to top. Still, there are some damn good books out there these days. Guys like Brian Vaughan and Judd Winick make me feel like hanging up my powerbook on a monthly basis. And there are up-and-comers like Dan Slott to look out for, too. His ARKHAM ASYLUM and SHE-HULK are awesome reads!

THE PULSE: How do you think the comics industry has changed since you first began working in it?
BEDARD: I got into the business at Valiant Comics in 1992, just as the speculator bubble was building and story quality was taking a nosedive everywhere. Of course, I didn’t know any better and I thought sales would just keep going up and up. Cut to 1995 and I’m getting laid off as Valiant and the rest of the industry implodes. That was probably a good initial experience, because I never took an audience for granted again. These days, as our readership threatens to evaporate completely, you have to really earn a following. So it’s ironic that at a time when the future of comics might look as bleak as ever, we’re putting out the highest quality stories. It’s a new Golden Age for today’s reader, and the Big Two publishers are really competing to outdo each other on a story basis, rather than who can do the splashiest chromium cover. If we can find some way to break through to a wider audience, we have, by and large, the best content to hook them in years.

Another big change is that comics have become geared toward movie development. That is, you might not turn a profit selling in comic stores, but you can cash in if your property is optioned for film. This focus on developing film properties leads to some strange publishing decisions, but I’m just glad there still is a way to make a buck in comics.

THE PULSE: What do you think are going to be some of the upcoming trends in comics?
BEDARD: Chromium covers? Characters with weird ammo belts strapped to their thighs? I honestly don’t know. One thing’s for sure – it ain’t Sigils! You can point to technological changes in lettering and coloring, production and printing, or you can follow the pendulum as it swings from Marvel to DC and back, but that stuff’s impossible to predict. The core of what we do is timeless – the rules for storytelling and drama are basically the same no matter what you’re writing. The one upcoming trend I’m most hopeful about is that more people will read my stuff and say with satisfaction, “Well…that didn’t suck!”

THE PULSE: What did you know about the Exiles before agreeing to write the series?
BEDARD: Just that they jumped from one alternate reality to the next, saving the world from all kinds of cosmic menaces. I knew that anything goes in that kind of series, so it was a terrific chance to tell no-holds-barred stories. Then I read through the Judd Winick/Mike McKone issues and I thought “Damn, I am never gonna be able to top this!” If you haven’t read those, you should. They’re outstanding. So now I have to live up to that standard. Challenges are good…right? >gulp<

THE PULSE: Who are the Exiles? If someone is just jumping on board with your work on the series, what can you tell him/her about the Exiles to bring each up to date, so to speak?
BEDARD: The Exiles are six mutants who have been plucked out of their respective alternate realities by a being called the Timebroker. Their mission is to fix parallel universes that are somehow flawed – to “mend the broken links in the chains of Time.” So a typical Exiles adventure has our heroes appear on some version of Earth about to be devoured by Galactus, or conquered by Dr Doom or some such menace, and it’s up to the Exiles to prevent these tragedies. Every so often, one of the Exiles is killed and replaced by a new alternate-reality Marvel hero. Currently, the Exiles are Blink (teleporter from the Age of Apocalypse universe), Mimic (who can reproduce the powers of other mutants), Morph (wisecracking shapeshifter), Sasquatch (a female version of the ALPHA FLIGHT character), Namora (a female version of Prince Namor the Submariner), and Beak (from Grant Morrison’s NEW X-MEN).

THE PULSE: Who is the mysterious Timebroker and just why do the Exiles go on missions for the Timebroker?
BEDARD: The Timebroker claims to be a manifestation of their collective subconscious -- an expression of the Multiverse’s need to be repaired -- so he’s really not a living being at all. But there’s a lot of mystery surrounding this, and we’ll soon learn more about the true nature of the Timebroker in my upcoming issues. As for why our heroes carry out his missions, it’s because they’ve been told that their own “home realities” have been altered to their detriment. Should Morph decide not to cooperate, he’ll be returned to a reality where he’s just a sentient liquid in a test tube. Mimic will return to a cell on Death Row, Blink would return to a reality where she was never born…you get the idea. So they don’t really have much choice but to carry out the impossible missions given to them by the Timebroker. It kinda sucks to be an Exile. It’s interesting, but it sucks.

THE PULSE: You seem to be focusing on a lot of classic X-Men characters and villains - at least with the plans you told me for the upcoming issues. What is it about those characters that intrigued you as a creator?
BEDARD: UNCANNY X-MEN was the first superhero series that really hooked me. Actually, I got into comics reading SECRET WARS, which piqued my interest in the X-Men. At the time, Paul Smith was the X-Men artist, and I couldn’t get enough of his stuff. I went back and discovered the Byrne and Cockrum books, and that sealed it. So I got to enjoy a lot of those classic X-Men tales as they came out, or soon after they did. Now, the thing about EXILES is that it is a book in the X-MEN family, featuring mutants, so it naturally draws upon the classic X-Men lore. When Judd wrote the book, he revisited such high points as the death of Phoenix, the Sentinels, the Mojo stories, and so on. I’m just following in that vein. On the other hand, I am just as interested in the rest of the Marvel canon, so I’m doing a lot of Fantastic Four and Avengers-related stuff as well. But I’ll always be one of those readers who wishes Kitty and Colossus had worked things out and views guys like Gambit and Bishop as Johnny-come-latelies.

THE PULSE: How much research are you doing into the world of the X-Men, Exiles, and related characters and how much of this is just your memories from reading the original comics when you were younger?
BEDARD: A lot of my upcoming storylines pick up on my favorite tales from when I was new to comics. We have a couple of issues featuring Ego the Living Planet, whom I loved in Byrne’s FANTASTIC FOUR, and another storyline picking up on the time Kulan Gath transformed Manhattan into a medieval kingdom in UNCANNY X-MEN #191. So I’m definitely drawing upon fond memories there. But I stopped avidly following the X-MEN around issue 210, so I have lots of gaps to fill. I’ve been buying up a lot of back-issues to figure out the Age of Apocalypse or who the heck Gambit is, for example. Some of those are pretty interesting, and some make me want to eat a bullet, but I have to know what’s come before. It’s tricky, because you can read a bunch of really bad issues to find out about a certain character and it can kill your enthusiasm for that character. I guess the trick is just to identify the core traits of that character and then try to forget you ever suffered through ten issues of the Clone Saga, or Heroes Reborn or whatever.

THE PULSE: What are some of the things you think sets this team of heroes apart from the X-Men or The Avengers or, even, The Invaders? What makes them so special?
BEDARD: The Exiles pretty much have to save the universe every time out. Theirs is a very heavy burden, indeed. And there’s no guarantees that they’ll all survive any given adventure. The possibilities are wide open in this series, which is very exciting. They are carrying out a mission of cosmic significance, taking on the very worst villains the Marvel Universe can throw at them. You just don’t get more “widescreen” than EXILES. Soon, we’ll find out more about the whole Timebroker operation and come to understand just how important the Exiles are to the Marvel Universe in general. Another cool thing is that the roster keeps changing and you’ll see characters here that you can’t see in a regular Marvel Universe book anymore. Mimic, Blink and Morph don’t even exist in the mainstream continuity! Dead characters like Thunderbird and Magick have been on the Exiles team. Anything goes!

THE PULSE: How do you regard each of the leads in this series? If you had to describe each character to someone who has never heard of any Exiles, how would you introduce the cast?
BEDARD: The team leader is Blink, who is pink and teleports. Her boyfriend is Mimic, who possesses the powers of Wolverine, Colossus, Cyclops, Northstar and the Beast. Together with the shape-shifting wise-ass Morph, they’re the heart of the team. Also along for the ride is Sasquatch (the team doctor and powerhouse), Namora (whose arrogant attitude provides plenty of friction) and Beak (who gives us the ordinary-guy’s viewpoint). They’re all very different, but they’re good at pooling their talents so that the team is greater than the sum of its parts. And if there’s a member you don’t much care for, don’t worry – chances are they’ll get wiped out and replaced soon enough!

THE PULSE: How much of what has gone before in Exiles is going to be involved in your direction for the series?
BEDARD: I just hope I can live up to the high standard set by Judd Winick in the early issues. There have also been hints about the Timebroker that I’ll follow up on. But the nature of the book is such that each adventure stands alone pretty well. The thing to tie it all together is the relationships between the cast members, which Judd set up so well from the start. The one thing I’d like to change is the reactive nature of the Exiles’ situation. I’d like for them to take more control of what they do, rather than be forced into whatever mission they’re handed. But we’ll get to that soon enough.

THE PULSE: A lot of your stories just seem to be two parters or one parters - at least from what you told me. Why do you think it's important to do shorter stories instead of longer arcs?
BEDARD: I think it’s good to mix it up. I have a Kulan Gath three-parter coming up, followed by a four-parter that exposes the truth about the Timebroker. But it’s best to keep the stories fairly brief and self-contained. It keeps things moving at a brisk and interesting pace, and it’s new-reader-friendly, too. Guys like Bendis and Warren Ellis can do 22 pages of talking heads and make it utterly compelling. I’m not in their league, so I just try to keep things moving and keep you guessing how it’ll all turn out. Plus, I stopped reading X-MEN back in the day because certain plotlines seemed like they’d never, ever get resolved and I got tired of waiting. Shorter story arcs and snappy pacing give the reader more of a sense of resolution and satisfaction.

THE PULSE: Who are some of your influences for working on this? IT would seem you could draw on stuff from not just in comics but a lot of stuff outside the typical realm.
BEDARD: I watch and listen to a LOT of news, which informs the stories. A ROUTE 666 tale I did about a man forced to drink gasoline was based on a true account of one of Saddam’s sons-in-law. I also try to do as much research as possible because it keeps things fresh. In his book called Story, Robert McKee says research is the best way to avoid cliché. And God knows there’s enough cliché in the comics genre already!

THE PULSE: What do you think of the artist you're working with on this series?
BEDARD: Since EXILES comes out 18 issues a year, I actually work with two artists. Mizuki Sakakibara has a graceful style that works really well in quiet moments. Her characters, particularly the female ones, are lyrical and engaging. You can’t help but love them. And her covers are eye-catching and cleverly composed. Jim Calafiore’s strengths tend to run in a different direction. His work is very hard-hitting and action-oriented. He’s an outstanding storyteller, too. The funny thing is that Jim and I worked together before, on MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER at Valiant. I wrote some god-awful stuff back then, so I’m hoping to make it up to him with some way-cool stories this time around. Between Ego the Living Planet and the nightmare world of Kulan Gath, I think he’s having a good time.

THE PULSE: How did recent events at CrossGen affect the way you view the comics industry?
BEDARD: Not very much. The Valiant experience, plus subsequent stints with Broadway Comics and Crusade Entertainment prepared me well for CrossGen and I went in with my eyes open. I liked what CrossGen set out to do – expanding beyond the superhero genre and the Direct Market – but I went into the job figuring it would only last for about two years before the market found a way to crush us. It turned out to be three years, so I guess I made it to the Bonus Round. A lot of the fellas in the studio looked forward to profit-sharing and credits on movies and such, but I always figured that stuff was pie in the sky. On the other hand, it was a great working environment, collaborating directly with my art teams and having an unprecedented degree of control on the finished product. I loved working at CrossGen, made the most of a good opportunity to grow as a creator, and tried to steer things in the right direction as much as I could…which wasn’t that much. But I went in braced for the worst and wasn’t caught off-guard when it happened. And just as Valiant inoculated me to the vagaries of the comics biz, so too will the CrossGen experience prepare some of the other creators who went through it for their future challenges.

THE PULSE: Some of the other creators who were still on staff at CrossGen have said "don't count CrossGen out yet." How do you feel about it? Do you think like another X-Man CrossGen can rise from the ashes?
BEDARD: CrossGen was a great opportunity for me, and we managed to put out some books I’m very proud of. We also put out some dogs that pretty much killed the brand. Frankly, CrossGen stayed open about six months longer than I ever expected, shambling on like a zombie that refuses to go down. Whether that zombie will rise back up from its Chapter 11 grave remains to be seen. Comics are famous for characters returning from the dead, and Marvel managed to bounce back from bankruptcy, so you never know. I wish CrossGen the best and have no axe to grind there. In the meantime, I’m thrilled to be doing work for Marvel and I only hope what I’m giving them rates highly enough to win me more Marvel work. I’ve known Joe Q since we both worked at Valiant a decade ago, and I’m in awe of the turnaround he’s helmed at the House of Ideas. Mike Marts, Tom Brevoort and Axel Alonso are all people I like and respect, who know and love this medium. I’m thrilled to be aboard with the likes of them.

THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on?
BEDARD: In addition to my ongoing stint on EXILES, I have an X-MEN-related miniseries coming up to be illustrated by one of my CrossGen compatriots. He’s one of the very best I’ve ever worked with, and he will absolutely kick ass on this project! I’m going to remain a bit coy because I’m sure Marvel will announce all the details when they’re good and ready. Suffice to say that if you pick up EXILES #50 & 51 you’ll get some clue as to what this miniseries will be about. I’m VERY excited about it, and I think it’ll be a chance to really “plant a flag” at Marvel and make people sit up and take notice. I’m pursuing some other Marvel projects, too, but they’re all still just a gleam in my eye and a pitch on someone’s desk in New York. I also have a creator-owned horror book coming up with Avatar. William Christiansen was kind enough to call and invite me to dance, so I was only too happy to accept. This four-issue miniseries is loosely based on the experiences of a friend of mine who spent a decade counseling terminally ill patients and their families at a local hospice. Some of the things she’s told me are literally hair-raising, and they provided fertile ground for a really whacked-out horror tale. Anyone who enjoyed ROUTE 666 will dig this one. I’m sure Avatar will announce the title and details soon, and I’m just glad to be included among the incredibly good writers they publish. I’m busy putting pokers in other fires, so we’ll see if this is the year I finally “make it.” It seems like every few years we graduate a new class of writers. Garth and Warren blew up around the same time. Bendis, Judd, Vaughan and Geoff Johns made it big a few years later. If I can sneak in now with guys like Dan Slott and Robert Kirkman, I’ll be one happy little comics geek.