J.M. DeMatteis: Fantasy Life

By Mike Jozic

J.M. DeMatteis and CrossGen are out to prove that comics aren't just for adults anymore.

In his newest monthly series for the Florida based publisher, DeMatteis has crafted an all-new coming-of-age fantasy tale that he describes as “a rich, character-driven fantasy tale in the tradition of L. Frank Baum, J.M. Barrie, C.S. Lewis, Dr. Seuss, Madeleine L'Engle and so many other great writers."

In Abadazad, DeMatteis focuses on a young girl named Katie Jameson who, like Lewis Carroll's Alice, finds herself transported to a land "far stranger than any fictional world." While there, Katie searches for her long-lost brother Matt who had disappeared five years prior, and whose fate, unil now, had been a mystery. Over the course of her journey through the world of Abadazad, DeMatteis hopes to thrill and delight readers with the richly textured world and characters he has created with the assistance of legendary fantasy artist, Mike Ploog.

Although DeMatteiss' accomplishments in the field are too numerous to mention in this paltry introduction, he is perhaps best known for scripting the popular and comedic adventures of the Justice League with Keith Giffen, and for his seminal graphic novel work, Moonshadow, which, in the '80s, introduced many-a-reader to a new level of sophistication and fantasy in comics.

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the writer about Abadazad's themes, Ploog's triumphant return to comics, and what the early buzz from the DeMatteis household is on the new series.


MIKE JOZIC: So, How did you get hooked up with CrossGen? Did you take the idea for Abadazad to them, or did they ask you to develop a project for their Code 6 imprint?

J.M. DEMATTEIS: Abadazad is an idea I've been nurturing for years. I submitted it to Crossgen: they read it on a Wednesday and approved it on Friday. Then they went out and recruited Mike Ploog. You can't ask for better service than that!

JOZIC: Unlike most comic books these days, Abadazad is being specifically targeted at younger readers. What do you think they will find engaging about this series?

DEMATTEIS: When I look at fantasy books I've enjoyed - from Alice In Wonderland to Oz, from Tolkien to Ray Bradbury - I think it comes down to one essential ingredient: the sense of wonder. Whether you're seven years old or a jaded adult, if your sense of wonder is blown open, if you're drawn into a world that intrigues and excites you and if you believe in that world, then the story is going to appeal. Which is why the best fantasy seems to work on so many levels, for so many age groups.

Abadazad is filled with magic and wonder and dark shadows. Interesting characters with interesting problems. And it's got one of the greatest fantasy artists around, the aforementioned Mike Ploog, creating miracles on paper every month. I think those ingredients will appeal across the board.

JOZIC: The way distribution is these days, are you concerned that kids may not have an opportunity to even see Abadazad, let alone read it?

DEMATTEIS: I have confidence in CrossGen, in their desire and ability to get the material out to the world beyond the comics shops - into book stores and schools and so many other venues - so I try not to worry too much about that. And, as noted, I think the fantasy-loving comics readers who frequent the shops will also embrace Abadazad.

So I'm hoping we get the very best of both worlds.

JOZIC: What is the basic background to the story of Abadazad?

DEMATTEIS: Five years ago, nine year old Katie Jameson took her six year old brother, Matt, to a Brooklyn street fair - where he disappeared. Was it kidnapping, murder? No one ever finds out. But five years later, fourteen year old Kate has evolved into a surly, cynical, depressed teen, carrying around a horrible guilt she can only express as anger.

Kate's only solace, and her way of connecting to the spirit of her lost brother, is found in the pages of the Abadazad books: a series of tales written a hundred years ago by a writer named Franklin O. Barrie. Matt adored these adventures of Little Martha and her magical friends. And Kate clings to these stories desperately.

But soon after Kate meets an old black woman who claims to actually be the Little Martha of the stories, she finds herself thrust into the real Abadazad. As she searches for Matt, Kate discovers that this Abadazad is far stranger than any fictional world.

JOZIC: We’ve mentioned series artist Mike Ploog a couple of times here, now, and I wondered how simpatico your collaboration with Mike has been? From other comments I’ve read, you guys seem to be tapping into the same idea-well, as it were.

DEMATTEIS: I've been a Ploog fan since his Marvel work of the 70's. But being a fan and working well with someone aren't always synonymous. I'm happy to say that, from Day One, Mike and I have had a wonderful creative interplay, both professionally and personally. Watching him bring this world to brilliant visual life has been one of the great joys of my career in comics.

JOZIC: A great deal of your other work involves characters seeking purpose, place and, often enough, the meaning of life. Do you see Abadazad as a diversion from these themes, or just a continuation of them?

DEMATTEIS: Abadazad isn't an overtly spiritual/metaphysical work. No discourses on the levels of reality and the nature of God or anything like that. But, like many great fantasies, this is a quest. And all fantastic journeys - whether in books or in our own lives - seem to bring us back to the world inside our own heads and hearts.

Kate is looking for her missing brother, she's also looking for herself. For an innocence that she lost. In a way she's like Moonshadow, making that voyage from unconscious innocence into pain and confusion and loss and then, we hope, to a more conscious innocence.

So the themes are there, but only because I think those themes are just about everywhere. It's the theme of our lives. The focus of Abadazad is on the adventure, the magic. The journey.

JOZIC: Kate’s search is kind of mirrored in the story’s antagonist, Lanky Man, is it not?

DEMATTEIS Yes, what Lanky Man wants is, in many ways, the same thing: the innocence of children. But he wants it for far darker reasons.

JOZIC: When you finally see your ideas brought to life by Mike Ploog, are you ever delighted or surprised at what the two of you have created?

DEMATTEIS: Delight is definitely the word. And often surprise. Mike sometimes takes the ideas in my head and reflects them exactly as I imagined them. At other times he jumps off from the descriptions and takes a left turn into something astonishing and unexpected. There's a lot of back-and-forth that goes on between us as the characters take shape. We're both open to different points of view and happy accidents, and the end result, I think, is a group of wonderful characters inhabiting a beautifully realized world.

JOZIC: I’m curious, what exactly is the origin of the name, Abadazad?

DEMATTEIS: You'll have to ask Queen Ija or The Floating Warlock. They named it long before I ever discovered it.

JOZIC: Your answer seems to speak to the story virtually writing itself. Is that what you’re finding as you go further and further down the proverbial rabbit hole?

DEMATTEIS: Absolutely.

Here's a great example: I sat down to write issue number three and, as soon as the words hit the page, there was a new character there I had never heard of before! I mean, in all the preliminary work I'd done-all the character designs, back story, histories - the vaguest concept of this character, called Master Wix, had never crossed my mind. Yet there he was, newborn and full-grown, on the screen in front of me.

I thought, "Hmmm. That's interesting." Then, as I worked on the issue, I was finding myself getting stuck again and again, the story just wasn't coming together until I realized that Master Wix wanted to be introduced sooner and be far more involved in the issue. As soon as I did what the character wanted the story started flowing. In fact, I soon realized that he was very important not just to this chapter but to the entire series. It was like Wix was just channeled through from Abadazad and I had to get out of the way and let him in! When that kind of thing starts happening, it's a sure sign that I'm onto something good.

Hey...maybe I can just turn the computer on, walk away, and let the Abadazadians write the whole thing!

JOZIC: We talked about how the series is aimed at younger readers, but what do you see as the ideal age group for picking up Abadazad?

DEMATTEIS: I'd say anyone from seven on up, but I'm really writing this for myself and for my daughter. Everything beyond that is gravy!

JOZIC: Was Mike Ploog on a wish list of artists that you had for the series or did CrossGen literally pull him out of a hat?

DEMATTEIS: No. He never even occurred to me! Not because I didn't want to work with him but because, as far as I knew, he wasn't doing comics any more. I believe Mark Alessi was the guy who contacted Mike and reeled him in. The fact that Mike chose Abadazad as the vehicle for his return to comics totally delights me.

JOZIC: Is Mike working from full scripts or loose plots?

DEMATTEIS: Full scripts.

JOZIC: I’ve read that the two of you worked closely to develop the look of the characters, but I get the impression that once you hand the story over to him he has a lot of freedom in exactly how he brings it to life. Is that an accurate assessment?

DEMATTEIS: Yes, I wrote detailed character descriptions and histories and probably drove Mike crazy during the back-and-forth process of designing them all.

The scripts are very clear and detailed but Mike knows that, as long as the story is being told clearly - and Mike is one of the very best visual storytellers I've ever worked with - he can play with it. He's not the kind of guy who's going to come in and start changing everything - and, frankly, on a project like this you really can't - but what he does do, so brilliantly, is make artistic decisions that allow the story to flow in the clearest possible way. That's one of the things I'm really impressed with: the absolute clarity of his storytelling. Which, in comics, is the single most important factor.

That said, I look over every page as it comes in and suggest changes where I think they're necessary. And Mike is totally open to that. Just as he knows he can call me up and suggest a different image or a different way to tell a certain segment of our story.

He's usually right, too.

JOZIC: When it comes to putting your name and the concept of fairy-tales together, it’s pretty impossible not to think of your brilliant, and very personal touch on Moonshadow. Are you concerned that people may be walking into Abadazad expecting Moonshadow lite?

DEMATTEIS: I hadn't even thought of that. I suppose someone intimately familiar with Moonshadow might think that. But, really, these are very different stories. Yes, they both have teen protagonists and both involve fantastic voyages but, in tone and execution, they're very different animals.

Where they are similar, for me as the writer, is in the creative rush I'm getting from the work itself. When I wrote Moonshadow, every issue was a creative voyage of discovery for me, and Abadazad is very much the same. It is allowing me to expand my vision and work in new ways. And of course the collaboration with Ploog is every bit as stimulating and exciting as my collaboration with Jon J Muth.

And, considering how much I loved working with Muth, that's high praise indeed.

JOZIC: In this and other interviews you’ve introduced the reader to the main character of Kate. What other characters from Abadazad can you give a tip of the hat to this early in the game?

DEMATTEIS: Aside from Kate and her brother Matt, I'd rather keep a lid on details about the characters. I want the reader to discover them along the way. I think the previews of Mike's visuals will give people a wonderful sense of what's to come without giving away too much.

JOZIC: I’m curious if your daughter has had any sneak peeks at Abadazad and what the early buzz from the DeMatteis household is?

DEMATTEIS: I've been telling her Abadazad tales for a few years now and, as I complete each issue, I read them to her. And I also show her all of Mike's art as I receive it. To say that she's totally thrilled is the understatement of the year. She wants to star in the movie!

JOZIC: I know that Mike is currently working away on the artwork for the early issues of the series, but how far ahead have you scripted or plotted Abadazad?

DEMATTEIS: I've got our first thirteen-issue arc outlined and broken down, issue-by-issue. That said - and as Master Wix clearly demonstrates - that's a framework that has to allow for spontaneous shifts into uncharted territory. New characters, new directions. I need to be surprised in the course of the writing. I'm not a writer who likes to be married to an outline. I think it's important to have one but I think it's equally important to know when to throw it out the window.

JOZIC: On top of Abadazad, what else can fans of your work look forward to seeing in the near future?

DEMATTEIS: I've got a comics project in the works for '04 that I think – hope - will delight a lot of people. But I can't say what it is - or even who the publisher is - right now. Top-secret stuff!

I'm working very hard on a movie project that is extremely exciting: a supernatural thriller that I'm writing for producer Dean Devlin, the guy who did Stargate, Independence Day and The Patriot, among others. But I can't say much more about this one, either!

I'm also writing a couple of episodes of the Cartoon Network Justice League show. These episodes won't air till next season so, guess what? I can't say much about them, either!

	Mike Jozic has spent the last several years interviewing comic book creators and other entertainment related personalities for various publications. He has been published both online and in print, with his work appearing in The Comics Journal, FearsMag.com and Silver Bullet Comicbooks. He maintains his own website at www.meanwhile.net and currently serves as the Features Editor for SBC.

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