Spike (Darkhorse)

As I have promised earlier today, here is the interview with Victor. We talked a little bit about himself, about his work, and about the mini story that he wrote for Dark Horse Comics.

I just want to thank, again, Victor for taking the time to answer. And for doing me the honor to host the interview at my blog! And for actually replying to all those questions so fast!

And a special thanks to Stoney, Anca, Elena, Viara, Ivana and Assia, for either coming up with some questions, or for helping me think about them with all that chatting we’ve been having, so much time now :)

Georgia: First of all, I want to thank you for the interview. And I’d like to start it with questions about you. I know that many of the online Buffyverse fans, myself included, hadn’t heard of you before. So, what made you decide to become a writer? And how did you jump from that to the comic industry?

Victor Gischler: I guess I just love stories in any form. From a young age I loved novels and movies. So I wanted to be one of the guys making the magic, telling the stories. I still write novels too, but comic book work is steady and a lot of fun. My agent has good contacts in the industry and was able to get me on the phone with an editor at Marvel, so that’s how I got my feet wet with comics.

Georgia: How hard is it for you to communicate effectively with an artist?

Victor: Not too difficult really. I just try to be as clear and direct as possible. Also, I’ve been lucky to work with some very professional artists. They’re pretty good at understanding what I’m going for.

Georgia: I know that it is easier for someone to write a story about a plot he’s given than thinking of what to write. But is it easier for you to write a story for a novel, or for a graphic novel?

Victor: It’s different every time whether novel or graphic novel. Sometimes the story arrives like a gift. Other times it’s a struggle. Sometimes with comics it can be slightly harder. With a novel I can go on and on as long as I want. But with comics, the story must fit exactly into twenty-two page chunks. Pace is so important.

Georgia: I really liked your work on Spike. And I am planning on reading more of your work. In which other ways can someone support you, besides purchasing your work?

Victor: Thanks! I feel honored I was allowed to write Spike. As far as support, I’d say that if I wrote something you liked, then talk about it — Twitter, Facebook, whatever. Writers like me live and die by word of mouth.

Georgia: I would also like to know what is the procedure, and how a plot in somebody’s mind becomes a comic. How do you communicate with your editor? Does he actually edit your work? How do you communicate with the artist?

Victor: Yes, editors are very important. It’s really a team effort. We’ll talk about the direction of the comic before scripting. Then after the script is written, I’ll get input. Maybe a scene is too long or too short. Maybe one of the characters is acting in a way that is inconsistent. It could be any number of things. I’m not always the best judge of my own work when I’ve just written it. The editor provides a fresh set of eyes.

Georgia: Do you see the result before getting published? And if you don’t like some things, is it easy for you to have them changed? Maybe things that you have written and want to change them, or for example if you don’t like the way something was drawn, or if you spot an error, etc

Victor: Mostly. Sometimes the editor handles things. Sometimes it’s me. Generally I’ll get a chance to look things over to make sure everything’s come out right. At a certain stage it’s difficult to make a change. If I see something I don’t like in pencils, usually that’s no problem. After ink and coloring it becomes more of a hassle. So catching mistakes early in the process is obviously better.

Georgia: You’ve one mentioned that you met James Marsters at Wizards World in New Orleans. Do you feel that your encounter influenced your take on Spike and the way you’ve written him?

Victor: No, not really. Except possibly in a vague way. Mr. Marsters was a hell of a nice guy, so maybe on some level that made me try harder … ?

Georgia: Whose idea was the plot of Spike’s mini? Which elements were introduced by you and which by Scott Allie?

Victor: Hmmm. That’s hard to say. We went back and forth a good bit and really collaborated. (Also it’s been several months.) And also we were picking up where Spike left off in the main Buffy book, so we already had our beginning. We had a spaceship. We had bugs. I do clearly remember that Scott didn’t want a 5-issue mini of Spike just getting into fights and kicking ass. It was important that we get inside Spike’s head. Although he kicks a bit of ass too. So I followed Scott’s lead on that which wasn’t a problem since I agreed it was a good way to go.

Georgia: Was it hard to talk to 3 different people, Andrew Chambliss, Christos Gage and Scott Allie, in order to get all 3 books in order and the plots connected to one another?

Victor: Well, no. Not a big deal. The editors really do most of the heavy lifting on that. Once or twice I’d get an email saying to change something minor because of something that was happening in another book. Those folks are pretty on the ball with that kind of thing.

Georgia: Were there any elements that were actually introduced by Paul Lee? For example, I remember you mentioned in your blog that “To me it’s very dramatic to experience the violence indirectly. Instead of seeing what Spike is doing, we’re looking at Pearl’s reaction with a little blood splatter thrown in. Just very cool for me. Paul did a great job.”

Victor: It was my idea, but of course Paul must interpret and implement all of my instructions in the script, and he does a fantastic job, I don’t remember a single page that made me think Paul didn’t get what I was talking about.

Georgia: What was your favorite cover of Spike’s miniseries? All 11 included.

Victor: The one where he’s about to kiss Morgan. I think the ambiguity really captures the mood of the comic. Is he about to kiss her? Or is he pulling away? And I love the way Jenny draws both Spike and Morgan. Just top notch stuff.

Georgia: Whose decision was to have a succubus, or a courtesan demon, as Spike’s mini female leading role? And is there actually a difference?

Victor: Well, in the comic I mention that “succubus” is maybe a general term and “courtesan demon” is like the high end version of that. Although I don’t have a Demon Zoology degree or anything. Ha! She was my idea. I think it was important to have a female character that could have been an option for Spike … by which I mean simply an alternative. Is Spike interested? Not? Is he over Buffy enough to move on? He can muse on these notions abstractly in his own head space, but it means more if a possible alternative is standing right in front of him.

Georgia: So, what do you believe that Spike feels about Buffy after the end of his adventure? Or how different does he feel?

Victor: I think his feelings are more mature. I don’t want to say anything more. (Partly because I don’t know everything.) Let’s just see what (if anything) happens in season 10.

Georgia: Are there any characters that you would have loved to write in that mini, but you didn’t get the chance because of the way the story had to take place?

Victor: Oh, all of them. Would love to write the scoobies. I was a big fan of the show and continue to be a fan of the characters.

Georgia: Which of the characters was the easiest to write? And which the hardest?

Victor: I think they were all easy and hard at different times. If a scene calls for subtlety or complexity it can make it difficult to make the characters fit into the scene while still retaining the proper character traits.

Georgia: A question that has been bothering me for a couple of months. Since Spike knew that there was no way to open a Hellmouth without magic, why did he agree to take Morgan to the Easter Island in the first place?

Click on the link for more :

http://leykimayri.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/spike-a-dark-place-victor-gischlers-interview/