Micah Wright: The Driving Force Of The New StormWatch
By Sam Evans
Have you ever been new to something? Like the first day of school. The first dance, the first kiss. Well I'm no old pro as a matter of fact, this is my second interview. I hope to do a series of interviews with the likes of some of the greatest comic pros in the business. What do I have to offer? Nothing. Will this change the course of history? No. Will I someday become one of these guys? No probably not. But, everyone should take a chance.
On with the show.
Micah Wright is the author of Stormwatch: Team Achillies. After reading the first issue I was impressed with his detail and style to the art of comic book fighting. So what's up with Micah and his new series? Sit back, grab a beer and shake off your knickers; it's time to get personal.
Sam Evans: I just read Stormwatch: Team Achillies. Why Stormwatch and why now? It was all but buried a few years ago, becoming the now defunct The Authority. What's the motivation to begin with a new Stormwatch team? Micah Wright: The new Stormwatch book comes in reaction to the events of The Authority #'s 13-29. When The Authority set themselves up as a world Superpower, they assumed a lot of responsibility that I don't think they've done a good job of carrying through on.
Now it falls to Humanity to protect itself from the Ubermen, seeing as how The Authority doesn't do it.
SE: Point taken. How does it feel to tread in waters once explored by men such as Warren Ellis, Mark Millar and Tom Peyer and Mark Millar again? One could see it as a chance to really show one’s worth. It has to be intimidating even though it is a separate entity. Just the name Stormwatch brings those names into my head.
MW: Well, if we're talking about Stormwatch on it's own, only Warren has actually written on that title out of your list... and he liked the book. He reviewed it on his forum and gave it his approval, which really meant a lot to me.
As for Mark Millar, well, his stuff on The Authority was great, and is directly responsible for inspiring this series. I don't think it would have been logically feasible to position a new SW against superheroes if we hadn't had a great example of a superteam going "too far."
SE: I hear ya. Time to get to the heart of this interview. Tell me a little about yourself. What kind of crazy shit did you ever do? Anything in your personal life that you draw inspiration from? MW: Any writer worth his salt uses their personal life as inspiration. In my case, I've been all over the world and seen all kinds of stuff, which I use, as material. I was an Army Ranger for four years... all of the characters you see in the new StormWatch are based on people I've known or met.
SE: Well there goes any idea I had on talking any smack to you. To go from being an Army Ranger and into comics must have been quite a change. Did you ever see any action?
MW: I participated in Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama.
SE: It's a relief to see someone who writes about something they know. Do you think that there are creators out there that just pretend to know what it takes to be in a fight. Like on page 11 of SW #1 you describe in detail how close quarters combat is fought. I know in most cases the man who's closer and lower wins the fight. If someone actually "wins" in a fight. I took some training too *grin*. How does it make you feel to pick up a book with these guys who are supposed to be the world’s greatest fighters and know it's just not done like it's shown? (You know, hands up at their shoulders getting ready for a big roundhouse which should never land.)
MW: I would always laugh when I watched the Superman cartoon... he fought like such a girl. In fact, I wrote an episode of Superman where the ex-Soviet Superman of Russia comes to Metropolis in order to kill Superman for Lex Luthor... he defeats Superman by simply outfighting him. Supes limps away with a broken knee and a shattered forearm and has to go to Batman to learn to fight. The episode never got made, but everyone who reads it immediately recognizes that the big stupid roundhouse punch is Superman's total weakness... he fights like he learned to fight by watching movies.
Conversely, you can get too detailed: one of the most effective grappling systems ever invented is Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but a lot of those triangle moves involve shoving your crotch close to another man's face... it's effective and will choke off the guy's oxygen in short order, but it looks hilarious to the uninitiated. So funny, in fact, that most people would just laugh out loud if Superman did it to someone... and then DC would pulp the book because it looks "perverted" or something silly like that.
There's also the concern that I have that I don't want to be writing a "How To" book for domestic terrorists. I once saw an interview with Bruce Dern about the movie Black Sunday where he plays a terrorist who tries to set off a bomb at the Superbowl... he said that he was very uncomfortable with the amount of "how to" in the film. I went out and rented it after seeing that interview, and sure enough, among other things, they show the average viewer how to create a VERY effective pistol silencer out of a 2-liter coke bottle. I know a lot of little tips like that, and I want to be careful that I'm not merely making this book into an "Anarchist's Cookbook" of comics. That said, I don't plan to shy away from horrible graphic violence in the book... one of the things which angers me about America is this notion we have of "glorious" war... or "heroic battlefield death." Nope. You're just dead. You only have to see one guy with the top of his head blown off to immediately dispel the notion of patriotic sacrifice. What's that line from Patton... we don't want to die for our country; we want to make some other poor dumb son of a bitch die for HIS country. I'm paraphrasing there.
SE: American TV is like that. Any other work for TV we should know about?
MW: Sure. I worked at Nickelodeon Animation for seven years where I worked on shows such as The Angry Beavers, Hey Arnold!, The Wild Thornberries and Invader Zim.
While at Nick I created and produced the first true American Anime, "Constant Payne" (which you can see at my website MicahWright.Com).
I've also written an episode of Ossie & Drix, the TV-spinoff of Osmosis Jones. That was fun.
SE: Have you worked on any other comics?
MW: StormWatch: TA is my first published comic... I am currently pitching a few other projects around. One of them, American Cross, is about the War of 1812 in America. The question now is whether I can convince anyone to publish a book with such unusual subject matter.
SE: Very Impressive artwork there. Who drew it?
MW: American Cross is drawn by Niko Henrichon, a Belgian illustrator. He rocks.
SE: How did you and Whilce hook up?
MW: Whilce and I hooked up when I first visited the WildStorm offices. He was working on something else, but came free later and chose to do SW:TA out of many other possibilities he had open to him. I'll always be thankful for that because his name got the book picked up.
SE: What's to come in the months ahead for the team?
MW: In the months ahead, we've got a crossover with everyone's favorite superteam, The Authority, in issues 4-6, then in 7 we see SW resolve some of their funding problems, and in #8, we learn the story of one of the more interesting SW team members, Jukko Hämäläinen, one of the last 2000 Finnish people left on Earth.
SE: Alright, The Authority pops back up. And, for all those fans out there you heard it here first. Is there anything you can give me on The Authority guest appearance? Is it going to be a slobber knocker?
MW: The Authority guest appearance is the first time anyone's really addressed any of the geopolitical decisions that group made during the Millar period. StormWatch confronts them over the situation that they created in Chechnya when they forced the Russians out. One of the things about politics is the inevitable Law of Unexpected Consequences... for example who in the Reagan administration looked forward 25 years and predicted that the Afghan rebels they were arming and funding against the Soviets would later end up as our enemies, The Taliban? That's the type of thing which happens in Chechnya... the Russians are forced out, but no one good rises to take their place... and the place goes to Hell. It's going to be a fun story.
SE: Okay time for the questions people would expect me to ask. You know with the loyal fan base that I have. *grin* I have no fan base.
#1) Last good movie you saw?
MW: I liked Minority Report. I'm really looking forward to Gangs of New York.
SE: #2) CD that's in your CD player?
MW: Philip Glass, Koyaanisqatsi
SE: #3) Favorite quote you use?
MW: "When I was a child I was told that anyone could grow up to be President. Looking at George Bush, I realize that it's true."
SE: #4) Should you break wind on the first date?
MW No, but you should jump off a roof with a broom and try to fly like Harry Potter.
SE: #5) Your dream car?
MW: I'm driving it: Honda Civic Gas-Electric Hybrid. I get 50 miles per gallon.
SE: #6) Do you watch porn?
MW: Only Alien porn.
SE: #7) If not, why not?
MW: No need to answer.
SE: #7) If so, what was the title?
MW: Horny for Humans 12
SE: #8) Worst place you've ever had sex?
MW: Is this a MAXIM interview or a comics interview? I guess I'd say "Oklahoma."
SE: #10) Say something cool for the audience.
MW: I guarantee that you can change the world. Now go do it, you lazy bastards.
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