Tony Lee: I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper
Tony Lee is one of a new breed of British comics writers, who are eschewing the standard form of spending half-a-dozen years writing for 2000AD before being spotted by the US in favour of developing their writing talents outside of comics and then pitching – and having accepted – new ideas and fresh takes from this most untraditional perspective. Tony has written for British radio and television, had a piece accepted and published by Marvel in X-Men Unlimited, and now has written three graphic novels expanding the Starship Troopers universe for Mongoose (first volume due out in December).
SBC’s Craig Johnson sat down with Tony for a few words, to find out what makes him tick and why this iteration of Starship Troopers will banish the previous versions from memory.
On Tony:-
Craig Johnson: Tell us something about your writing origins, where you were first published, why the move into comics, what your favourite mediium for writing in is?
Tony Lee: I actually came from games journalism - my first writing assignments were for an eighties magazine called 'Your Sinclair'. I was a 'Joystick Juggler'. Its very similar to a name I'm often called these days *laughs*.
In the early nineties, I was offered a gig with Twilight Zone Comics, a UK indie press publisher. I did a five page story - 'Cost of Miracles' - that was to be used as a teaser for the new range of books. There was a length problem, and they cut a page off the end, taking the final panels from the previous page and re-writing them to end it abruptly. Suffice to say it was a bit of a shock.
At the time I was talking to Deadline about an ongoing called the 'Wanderer', but things just overtook me and I stopped comics altogether. I moved to radio, working for Radio 4, did comic sketches for 'Weekending' as well as 'Spitting Image', a TV show in the UK. I spent the next few years working in TV on various ad projects and in radio, planning campaigns. Alongside this I also worked in film and publishing.
It was actually only a year and a half ago that I decided to get back into comics as a medium - mainly because I regained my love for it. And comics is still my favourite form of writing, but I'm glad I know different disciplines, as some day I can't get my head around the panel to panel, and will continue on a novel, or a screenplay.
Craig: How does the mechanics of writing differ from one medium to another? What does comics give you that other media don't?
Tony: The budget in a comic is as high as the quality of the artist. Who needs expensive CGI in a comic? Actually, screenwriting and comics are quite similar - you tell a story in a way that someone else, be it artist or director can bring to life for you. Screenwriting is better for car chases or things like that however! I use Final Draft or my scripting, so there actually isn't much difference between the two.
Craig: Who would you say are your biggest writing influences, both inside and outside of comics?
Tony: Inside comics, I'd say there are several - Geoff Johns showed me how a good knowledge of the gameworld is paramount, and I'm a big fan of comics that bring back small characters that older fans will remember. Mike Carey is good at that too. Some people call it 'Fanboy writing' - but I love it. Mark Waid and Gail Simone are two other writers who I've learned from - and of course Bendis. I write a lot of dialogue, and BMB shows me the best way to do it. Actually of those four, Bendis is the only one I haven't spoken to. The other three have given me great support over the months.
Outside comics? In books I love Bernard Cornwall, Robert Ludlum, JK Rowling, David Gemmell, the list just goes on. I used to review books for a magazine, so I have tons of the damned things. Other influences would be Joss Whedon, JMS, James Cameron - people who can take a simple premise and make such a wonderful creation from it. 
Craig: Which piece of your writing so far are you happiest with?
Tony: The final four pages of Book Two [of Starship Troopers] are great. It really makes you think 'aha!' then kicks you in the head. Mythlands issue 1 is great in parts. The first page of the aborted Sage mini WILL be used somewhere. I think I like a lot of my work, but every now and then I go 'ooh, that's nice' in a certain part.
Craig: If you could work with any artist, from any era of comics, who would it be and why?
Tony: Hmm. Different horses for courses, I think. I have things I look at and go 'Jock would be great for this.' Frazer Irving and Dom Reardon. Gibbons. I would love to have Miller or Quesada draw something. Probably the biggest one however would be Steranko. God! The weird shit I could write with him drawing!
Craig: What would be your dream comics assignment?
Tony: Ooh. There are a couple that are already on the table and I'm waiting to see. I think my DREAM assignment however would be Nick Fury for Marvel, possibly Sage - of course, I grew up reading Spider-Man and would kill to write a fill in - and POWER PACK. I kid you not. I have some great ideas for them.
For DC I would love to do some stuff with some of the second stringers - A mini with the Royal Flush Gang would be good, kind of 'HUSH' meets 'THE WARRIORS' - you know,the movie? And Vertigo? John Constantine, all the way baby.
On Starship Troopers:-
Craig: Starship Troopers has an infamous comics history - Warren Ellis was down to script the Dark Horse series, but pulled out midway after interference. Have you had to make changes to your scripts?
Tony: Actually, I've been very lucky with my editor, Matthew Sprange. He's a font of knowledge, and we started with very tight briefs for each book, so by the time I started writing the scripts, there wasn't a large area for deviation. Not that I didn't, however! But there were small things - ship names, some technical terms, that kind of thing. Nothing as bad as Warren did. Saying that, I have had a couple of points where I have had to stick to my guns on a particular scene, but once I explain my reasons and pull out the voodoo doll, they soon relent.
Or beat me with hot pokers.
Craig: There has been some mixing and matching with the artists, what is the definitive line-up?
Tony: At the moment, there isn't a definitive line-up, purely to enable Paul Ridgon to sort out some personal problems in his life. Paul was book one artist but had to pull out at the last minute, and Sam and Rod moved up from book two. Jim Brady had a lot of work commitments and had to drop out of inking book one, but is still artist for book three. I'm hoping Paul will still be able to do book two, but at the moment, it's all dependant on his own state of affairs.
Craig: Have these changes affected scheduling at all?
Tony: At the most, it's delayed it by a few weeks, instead of late October it's now early December. Sam Hart is incredible - he's pumping out pages at a phenomenal rate. And Rod's inking is spectacular.
Craig: Are you concerned that maybe the reshuffling will lead to more of a rush job on the first volume?
Hell no! Sam and Rod have been with it since the beginning, Sam was over in May when we had our 'council of war' at the Bristol Comic-Con, and has been involved pretty much since day one. When he came onto the book one project he had already been working on promotional art for it.
Craig: What is the process for writing Starship Troopers? Do you and the editor discuss an outline, then write that up and turn it into Heinlein’s estate, they make revisions then you write the script or is it more streamlined?
Tony: When I pitched it, I had to write a very tight synopsis. Matt would then suggest changes, ask why I wanted certain scenes, etc and once we had a solid base, I'd script it. As I did it, each book is about ninety pages, I would send constant updates to Mongoose who would then send them to Sony, who have the rights to Starship Troopers at the moment, I believe. So it's actually quite streamlined, I just write and make changes when I have to. I use Final Draft, and it's not that hard a task to alter things here and there.
Craig: How much communication do you have with your artist on the project?
Tony: When it was Paul, quite a lot. We've worked together several times now, and are still working on an animated TV Show, MYTHLANDS together. With Sam however, it's a little more difficult, as he lives in Brazil. What did help was the fact that he was over when he got the gig, and spent a lot of time discussing things with Paul and myself.
I do speak to him quite constantly on email.
Craig: Tell us something about the arc of the three book series, and some specifics for each book?
Tony: I think I mentioned elsewhere that it's very much 'Sharpe in Space', taking the story of a green rookie and staying with him throughout the series.
We decided from the very start that we wouldn't use the established characters, because that limited us a hell of a lot in what we could or couldn't do. So we created Tamari's Tigers. We follow Will Tanner as he joins them. Will is a true hero type, his brother is a decorated veteran, and Will really wants to make him proud. He joins the Tigers with two other recruits, Felix and Singh, and although they're distrusted rookies to start with, they soon prove their mettle. As for the Tigers themselves, you have Tamari. She's hard as nails but at the same time she understands what the troops are going through - definitely a female Razak, if you've seen the Roughnecks show. Then you have sergeant Lock - He's the bad apple, he's the nemesis of Tanner and as the arc moves along, you realise that for either Lock or Tanner to succeed, the other has to go. Lock's main story ends in book one, but he's around for the other two. Man, is he around.
The troopers themselves are numerous and expendable. Hell, what did you expect from the Mobile Infantry? We have Haynes, the grizzled veteran, Baldwin the ballsy female veteran, Newton the slightly disturbed games and theory specialist, Maher the genial Irish 'expert', man, there's a lot of them - and each book has new ones as we kill them off in fun and interesting ways. There's a couple of in-jokes, a couple of U.S editors appear in it because I can, and the Skymarshall is a very good friend who gave me my start in the business.
The first book is a stand alone - The Tigers go to a research base to rescue some troops and all hell breaks loose. The second starts with the consequences of the first and concentrates more on the characters than the situation. And the end is something that so far nobody has expected when they've read it - and I'm not giving it away here, except to say that book three is Tanner, set loose and on his own with nothing to lose taking revenge in the bitterest way possible.
We play with the military, the bugs, but also with the politics on Terra - what constitutes a citizen, all that kind of thing.
Craig: Are you restricted as to who you can use or even kill from the Heinlein originals?
Tony: If Sony likes it, we can do it. However, we're tied by timeline. We're setting these books very early in the run of the Roughnecks TV series, so we can't have say Rico wander in and have his legs blown out, because he is still around later. We still use them here and there, but more as a side cameo, a nod to the creator. Saying that, I am using Zim quite a lot, and through the arc, you can see how Zim managed to get busted down to private to go fight the bugs!
Craig: Would you say you're more influenced by the book or the film version of Starship Troopers?
Tony: I'd say more the TV series. The film isn’t really used at all, except by the artists. I loved the book. I am a massive fan of the book, and several poignant quotes come from it. The first quote in the book is a quote from Razak in the first issue of Roughnecks, however. I steal happily from either.
I would say the book is the main basis for character development, however.
Craig: Do you see the movie as a humorous satire of a war mentality, or a serious story about humans fighting for survival? If the comic will be serious, will there be any humorous asides inspired by the movie’s flaws? (Imagery inspired by Nazi propaganda films, all the stars are pretty white people, etc.) And will the direct-to-video sequel play any part in your story?
Tony: Let’s take this in reverse - Starship Troopers 2 isn't anything to do with the book, as it's set five years further on down the line.
I wanted to do some 'do you want to know more' things, and we're hoping to put them into the third, where there is a lot more relevance. I loved the film as a separate entity, but it wasn't anything like the book. The book was very much Heinlein's own thoughts, and for the main there's not much fighting, it's a standard memoir. The film glorified the fighting though, as to be honest it needed to.
The comic is a mixture of both - I have a lot of black comedic characters purely to lighten the tone after a lot of death and sadness! And I can't really say 'it's a cavalcade of fun' after reading the end of book two.
Craig: Do you feel that you are confined by the history of what's already taken place, or are you able to create freely in this project?
Tony: Definitely restricted, as I can't have anything that happens later, happen now if you know what I mean. I can't use skinnies as they haven't arrived yet, that sort of thing.
Saying that, I'm able to play with later things. In book one I play with the creation of the C.H.A.S that turns up later in the TV series. We discuss the rumoured soon-to-arrive exo-suits. And I go off into another corner of the world and play with my toys.
Craig: Do you see any similarities/ironies between the current faceless "War on Terror" and the Starship Troopers’ struggle for survival? Which was the most important target when it came to writing Starship Troopers: the politics, or the big slimy bugs?
Tony: Slimy bugs. We're not Michael Moore. Bugs aren't terrorists. And although there is the similarities, a massive loss to the nation leads into retaliation, there's no 'liberation'. It's pre-emptive genocide.
Craig: Do you think that there's a place for political discussion, allegory and so on in comics? Should there be?
Tony: That's a very sensitive area, and depends on the comic style. I think an area like Wildstorm would be more suited than say DC comics - but at the end of the day, I don’t read comics for political discussion, I read them for great characterisation and exciting action. Saying that, I have read political comics - I just think the target market couldn’t really care that much.
A comic where you favourite superhero takes down a corrupt government in a style that is almost exactly the same as, say the Bush administration isn't a comic - it's propaganda. I liked Fahrenheit 9/11, but it was still propaganda.
On working for Marvel:-
Craig: How did you end up doing a story at Marvel? What’s your "secret" for breaking into the House of Ideas and getting to make off with their toys?
Tony: I was lucky. Pure and simple. I was in the right place at the right time, and when I was there happened to have a bag filled with examples of my work outside of comics. Radio, TV, that sort of thing. I got my foot in a month before EPIC, and made damned sure it stayed there. I got the X-Men gig due to tenacity more than talent! *laughs*
I would love to play with more of the toys - but the bigger boys keep stealing my lunch money.
Craig: Has getting a Marvel credit opened any doors for you that you feel would have otherwise remained shut? Do you feel it’s easier to have work placed at Marvel now – foot in the door, type of thing – or is it almost back to square one?
Tony: Working for Marvel is a double edged sword. I would be lying if I said it hadn't opened doors for me - I can go to a major editor and go 'I want to work for you' and when they say 'what have you done', I point at their comp box. I've got upcoming things with several other comic companies because of what I did with Marvel. But it was more due to my name being plastered all over the Internet rather than the quality of my writing.
As for work at Marvel, I'm still at square one, and each month the Unlimited books pump out two more writers on the same level as me. Marvel is an editorially driven beast, and editors have their favourites. I have a couple of things in the pipeline, one other project, the heavily rumoured 'Sage' mini series was delayed indefinitely due to scheduling - but I've made a lot of close contacts in the Marvel office, and there's a big thing that my fingers are crossed on.
Craig: How different was your experience at Marvel compared to publishing comics elsewhere?
Tony: Not really different, to be honest. You're playing with their toys, and they keep checking that you haven't scuffed them, but apart from that, Marvel was a great partner. Teresa and Mike and then Steff Moore all worked smoothly and seamlessly with me, and the book looked great.
My only gripe? Marvel's PR department. You really have to pimp yourself mercilessly to get any PR for Marvel. We did a Marvel panel at the Bristol Comic Con, and Marvel PR gave us nothing to use. In the end CBR's Rich Johnston was answering questions for us. I'd hope Marvel in the future would prod their PR guys a bit more.
Craig: If Marvel called you tomorrow and offered up any book or character, what would you choose and why?
Tony: Have you been bugging my phone? Seriously, there are a couple of things I would love to do. A proper Nick Fury book. Or rebuild SHIELD, in a similar style to Gotham Central. A Power Pack book - no, don't laugh, they'd be older now, it'd be like Teen Titans. A Sage solo, because she really could be used far more than she is - and I learned a lot about her when I did the story in UXM. I really am a fan of the solo book - I don’t know if (yet) I'd be ready for the Avengers. Although, I have a wicked plan for a book involving them that brings back a long dead character in a valid and rational way...
I have a Spider-Man one off that might be used as a filler, but I'd really love to do a four part hulk story.
On The Future:-
Craig: It’s been said that life in comics is both easier and harder for writers – on the one hand, it’s quicker to write a pitch or a script than draw it, on the other it’s hard to find good, reliable artists to see a project through. What’s your take on this?
Tony: It's easy to write a pitch. It's more difficult to write a GOOD pitch. And you're pitching multiple pitches at any one time, so you're juggling balls constantly.
But I will agree, I'd far rather write than draw. I know artists who spend their lives over a sheet of Bristol - I like the freedom of being able to write anywhere.
As for finding artists, I have been lucky so far. But the biggest problem is to get a project off the ground, you need a good artist. if you're an unknown quantity, and say you want an Image proposal, then you have to go for unknown artists, the type who work nine till five, which means that their work is slow, as it's second to real life. Gary Lister, my artist for 52 Pick up is a great artist - and I would wait for him to finish rather than find another, Alex Dai is a genius and also very fast.
But to be honest, it falls back into the previous 'Marvel' question. More artists will take a chance on an X-Men writer than a nobody.
Craig: What else do you have coming down the pipe? 
Tony: Now here's the long part! I'm finishing book three of the Starship Troopers books at the moment, and expect things to go mental after they're out, but at the moment I have 52 PICK UP currently in discussions with Image, WHERE EVILS DARE in discussions with a couple of publishers and Circle of Confusion, the guys behind the Matrix looking at possible movie options, I have another film, THE RELOCATOR about to have an imminent press release by another producer, MYTHLANDS - my project with Paul Ridgon - Imagine Lord of the Rings meets SWAT - is currently with House of Ra and might be an animated TV series. I have a story in Digital Webbings 18, which came out in September.
JENNI BLONDE is looking for a publisher, as is OF VENGEANCE, my demonic western and HUNTERS MOON. I have irons in the fire with Vertigo and Wildstorm, a secret work for hire for another publisher and I'm finishing the first book in a series for children called 'KING BILL AND THE SPIRIT OF ALBION' and am about to start 'KING BILL AND THE FORGOTTEN CHAMPION'. That's about it for the moment.
Craig: Anything with Avatar? We hear rumours of an upcoming relaunch of several of their old characters by new and established writer and artist teams. And in other interviews you've mentioned talking to them...
Tony: Wow. That would sound like a really great series of books to read, wouldn't they? I'd sure buy them all. I think you'd have to talk to William Christensen on that one. *laughs*
Craig: Prepping art for this from your website, I notice mention is made of UNDEADSVILLE, with Alex Dai, and that a deal is on the cards for this one…tell us more…
Tony: Well, my hands are a little tied in what’s going on with it, but here's what I can tell you. It's DEADWOOD meets DAWN OF THE DEAD with a little bit of Clint in the middle.
Basically, it's about Deadsville, Arizona - a frontier town made safe by the good ol' cavalry who evicted the previous tenants, the local native indians. Anyway, one of the shamans of the ousted tribe decides to get revenge a few years later as Boot Hill has been plonked on top of their sacred indian burial ground. Using his magics, he 'evicts' the new bodies in a 'tit for tat' gesture, which of course has them heading for Deadsville... now renamed UNDeadsville...
The main players in the comic are 'Mulehead' Pride, the young, ballsy female sherriff of the town, a cavalry officer named Tex Gallant who's only here to arrest a deserting infantryman, Running Wolf, the son of the shaman, trying desperately to stop his father's creations and a whole town of eccentric characters - the hotel owner who douses everyone in holy water in case they're Satan, the drunken Reverend, the sawbones with a secret - that sort of thing.
And the zombies themselves aren't the usual 'braaainss' type - they're as coherent as both you or me, which makes them a whole lot more dangerous.
It's a six part miniseries that we already know has a producer interested in a film option, so we're holding tight on it at the moment until we know more on the suits side.
But Alex's art is perfect for the style of the series, as he's a sick twisted little bunny. The sketches he did are incredible.
Craig: For UK readers, I understand you're hoping to be at the Bristol Comic Expo on 6th and 7th November - which leads to the obvious question, what do you drink?
Tony: Well, if I can get there, I'll be drinking soft drinks as I'll be driving between the Expo and a signing at Mongoose Publishing on the same day - although I'm also supposed to be in Latvia that day. It would be far easier if I was one of the Dan Abnett clones...
Craig: Finally, I have to ask - any relation to Stan Lee, Jim Lee, Jae Lee, Pat Lee, Alvin Lee, Andy Lee, Lee Weeks, or Kevin Smith?
Tony: I'm a clone made from the DNA patterns of all of them. Except Kevin Smith. He just shook the bottle.
Thanks very much to Tony Lee for taking the time to speak to SBC, be sure to check out Starship Troopers: Blaze of Glory, Book One: Alamo Bay this December, and for more on Tony visit his website: http://www.tonylee.co.uk
Discuss this interview on the Feature Fiends Forum!