(From the Y3 archives-- originally published in... September? October? A few months ago, anyway.)
Megatalented comics writer James Robinson recently arrived on AOL, and was gracious enough to grant an interview for YADDA (I'd like to think it was because of my screen name... ;-}). Robinson's the man behind STARMAN, THE GOLDEN AGE, LEAVE IT TO CHANCE, an upcoming stint on ASH, a successful CABLE run that boosted Joe Casey onto the scene, and, as was just announced, is gearing up for a new JSA series with his partner David Goyer. Robinson answered questions about the majority of these series, as well as some film work, for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.--Starting off with the "breaking" news... you just announced at the San Diego Con that the much-rumored JSA series you were working on with David Goyer is in fact a reality. What's the story with it? Will it be focused mostly on the second generation characters, like Jack Knight and Jade, or will we get Times Past-like flashback stories of the originals with the same frequency that they occur in STARMAN? In short, what can you say about the series in general?
The new JSA will comprise old and young members so the stories will reflect a little of both. It won't just be the "old guys" back in action. Nor will it just be Infinity Inc, with a new name.Re. Times Past... Yes, there will be the odd one or two, but nothing like as many as are in Starman. JSA will be a more dynamic traditional book, with less opportunity for those kind of narrative detours.
--You're one of the several, but also one of the first, comic writers to get involved with scripting film projects lately, foremost amongst them being "JASON VS. FREDDY". Is there a release date or other production info for it yet? And what other film projects are on your plate? I heard you're working on one with the perennial David Goyer...David and I are no longer involved with Freddy Vs. Jason. We wrote another movie together-- "Evermere" which we sold to Kasser and Vanja's new company. The director attached is Chuck Russell and it should be a big movie in 2000.
I'm also writing a movie for Paramount, and have other projects developing for the rest of the year. Some of the future film work I'll do in collaboration with David. Other work I'll do by myself.--Upon arriving on AOL, you announced that you'd be trimming your writings back to only your film work, STARMAN, and the now-finalized JSA. Where does this leave series like LEAVE IT TO CHANCE and ASH?
As of last week I believe that Wildstorm has put "Leave It To Chance" on hiatus due to poor sales. I would have kept working on it if Wildstorm has stuck with it, but I'm too busy to go through the ordeal of finding a new publisher and being involved in a relaunch. For this reason, I doubt there will be much more of Chance Falconer after Issue #12. Unfortunately. The failure of this book is one of the great disappointments of my career in comics. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Shortly after this interview, it was announced that DC purchased Wildstorm-- DC has expressed some interest in the continuation of LEAVE IT TO CHANCE; a return is possible).Re. Ash... I agreed to write the first five issues. They're already all scripted and I believe will be published (when) Joe Q gets around to finishing it when he's done with the current arc of Daredevil.
--And now onto the STARMAN-centric questions. Now that you've joined up with Goyer, your intentions to resolve all the long-standing plotlines-- and there are plenty-- in the series has been made plain. Is the rest of the run going to be devoted to weaving all those threads together and finalizing them, or are there more unseen or unpredicted plots still waiting?It's not so much tying up loose ends, as bringing all the plot points to fruition. That will be the bulk of Starman for the future, but there are still one or two unexpected plot twists to come.
--The upcoming Jack In Space arc is apparently going to have plenty of guest stars, like Starboy, Will Payton, Adam Strange, and the other spacefaring DC characters. But is Space Cabbie actually in there? If so (to be brutally frank), are you out of your mind? Not that I and the other faithful STARMAN fans don't trust you to make him interesting, but... it's Space Cabbie. Any guest stars that didn't get named on the horizon, as well?Space Cabbie is only in one issue, so have a little faith. Also look forward to meeting Jor-El, Tigorr of the Omega Men, Fastback of the New Gods, Ultra the Multi-Alien and Space Ranger.
--You announced way back that Jack Knight would cease to be Starman in January of 2000. However, you recently said that the series would be continuing long after that date (issue #64), all the way to issue #85. Has Jack's retirement been pushed back, or does he have a replacement coming? I know you've said you'll finish writing the book as of 2000, but will you have advance-scripted or will your departure be immediately reflected in the book?The book will continue past Jan. 2000 because there were more stories that needed telling. All will feature Jack. I'll probably be done with the book by 2000, but I'll have advance scripted it through to its conclusion.
E-mail the interviewer
