April 17, 2009 Cat Rambo, A.V. Club, Enemies And Allies

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April 17, 2009 Cat Rambo, A.V. Club, Enemies And Allies

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http://www.avclub.com/denver/articles/k ... son,26704/

by Cat Rambo April 17, 2009

Novelist Kevin J. Anderson has produced more than 100 books in his 20-year
career. And while the Colorado resident is recognized for many original
creations, he's best known for the licensed universes he's written in, including
Dune, Star Wars, The X-Files, and Titan A.E. With an appearance at this
weekend's StarFest on the horizon, Anderson spoke with Decider about his
two recent novels set in the world of DC Comics: 2007's The Last Days Of
Krypton, which describes the calamities precipitating Superman's arrival on
Earth, and his upcoming Enemies And Allies, which chronicles the epic first
meeting of Superman and Batman.




Decider: Enemies And Allies squares Batman off against Superman.
Which character was more fun to write?


Kevin J. Anderson: Batman traditionally is more fun to write than Superman.
He's the dark, tortured tough guy willing to break the rules. He's not as bound
by legalities as Superman. But when I recognized that, I spent a lot more time
and effort on Superman. Instead of just having him be this brave hero fighting
for truth, justice, and the American way, I really wanted to understand this guy.
Because he's an outsider—the only one left of his race. He's been raised to
believe that the law's the law, and that there are certain rules that need to be
obeyed in order to keep society going. It's a real conflict when you put Batman
and Superman together because they have totally different approaches to how
you're supposed to solve a problem.





D: In Enemies And Allies, Batman has all sorts of cool gadgets, such as
the motorcycle that leaves "breadcrumbs" of infrared paint. How did you go
about imagining and researching his gadgets?


KJA: I worked for 13 years at one of the largest research laboratories in
the country, so I've dealt with scientists and their whacko ideas that sometimes
work and sometimes don't. The constraint here was that the book is set in
the late '50s. So, Batman is not like his current incarnation in the comic books,
with graphic computer displays and all sorts of interactive things. He deals with
reel-to-reel magnetic tapes. I had to give him high-tech gadgets, but they still
needed to be stepped back to '50s-era technology. I made up things that seemed
plausible—that somebody operating outside the government at that time could get.





D: In researching for The Last Days Of Krypton, how much reading of
Superman comics did you have to do?


KJA: I read tons and tons. I have been reading comics all my life, but as
any comics fan knows, you will rapidly go insane if you try to make sense
of every Superman story because there are dozens of contradictions.
Interestingly, I did manage to pull together almost all of the character's major
conflicting story lines in The Last Days Of Krypton. What couldn't fit were the
ones in the current Smallville TV show, which are so far outside the other
Superman continuities that you can't even pretend to explain them. But when
you deal with the last days of Krypton, Superman's home planet, you go back
to the fundamental story that everybody knows. It's this advanced planet, and
Superman's father, Jor-El, is the smartest man on that planet. He says the
world is coming to an end, and he believes it, so he builds a little spaceship
to put his own baby in. Everybody knows that part of the story, but if you stop
and think about it for a few minutes, then you go, "Wait, if this is the most
advanced planet in 28 galaxies—a super-powerful technological society—why
was there only one spaceship on the entire planet? Why was everyone home
the very day Krypton exploded?"





D: Did forcing all that continuity together get you some feedback from
diehard Superman fans?


KJA: They loved it. The Last Days Of Krypton is one of the best reviewed,
best received books of the 100 or so I've written. The fans know there are
contradictions, but this book pulled them all together. I'm primarily a
science-fiction writer, and now I've written an epic science-fiction novel
about a planet everyone's heard of. They know about General Zod. They
know about Brainiac. But they never saw all the pieces put together like this.





D: What's the biggest challenge in writing prose about superheroes?

KJA: Things that work in a comic book can seem unrealistic and silly when
you're writing a novel. In a comic book, when Superman shoots heat rays out
of his eyes, that's fine. But when you're in a novel and inside Kal-El's head,
and he's got to shoot heat rays out of his eyes, it's hard to write that in a way
that doesn't sound silly. I hoped I pulled it off in the book, but that's the problem:
How do you deal with a guy who says,
"I'm going to exhale and use my Arctic breath to make a gun freeze?"





D: Were some things inherently easy about the project?

KJA: Everybody knows these people. The cover of the book Enemies And
Allies has the Batman logo and the Superman logo. Before you even pick up
the book and turn to the first page you know who Bruce Wayne is, and you
know who Clark Kent is. You don't have to waste a lot of time telling people
where they are.





D: Are there any other superheroes you would really like a chance to
write about?


KJA: The next big one, obviously, is Wonder Woman. That's the big three:
Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. DC Comics loves the books that I'm
doing, so we're talking right now about what my next project for them might be.
I'm sure I'll be doing something else—we just don't know yet what it is.





D: What about supervillains? Any of them you're dying to get at?

KJA: That's another thing I did in Enemies And Allies: I really developed and
got into Lex Luthor's head and made him into a really nasty villain who's
understandable. And I liked him so much I might stick with him next time.
I wanted to do the Joker, but I think after Heath Ledger's performance, you
don't even want to go there. It's been done as well as it could be.




...
When a brand knew urinal puck showed up in the bathroom of my studio, I knew what I had to do.
-AToE
D Pope
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Posts: 476
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Re: April 17, 2009 Cat Rambo, A.V. Club, Enemies And Allies

Post by D Pope »

Just an interesting tidbit in Comments at the end of the interview.
0 Reasonable Discussions Are Occurring
When a brand knew urinal puck showed up in the bathroom of my studio, I knew what I had to do.
-AToE
D Pope
Archivist
Posts: 476
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 12:16 pm

Re: April 17, 2009 Cat Rambo, A.V. Club, Enemies And Allies

Post by D Pope »

D: Did forcing all that continuity together get you some feedback from
diehard Superman fans?

KJA: They loved it. The Last Days Of Krypton is one of the best reviewed,
best received books of the 100 or so I've written. The fans know there are
contradictions, but this book pulled them all together. I'm primarily a
science-fiction writer, and now I've written an epic science-fiction novel
about a planet everyone's heard of. They know about General Zod. They
know about Brainiac. But they never saw all the pieces put together like this.
I know some die hard Superman fans and they have never heard of this book.
"...one of the best reviewed,best received books of the 100 or so I've written."
One of the least known, almost secretly published books, that hasn't made it
into the hands of anyone who cares enough to make a stink... well done 14evin!
The only problem is all the haters on amazon that were offended by your
dictahiked emissions.
When a brand knew urinal puck showed up in the bathroom of my studio, I knew what I had to do.
-AToE
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