Action Jaxon: Dave Gibbons on Thunderbolt Jaxon
You probably know Dave Gibbons as the artist of the landmark series Watchmen—and he's just fine with that. Recently, though, Mr. Gibbons has taken on a number of high-profile writing projects at DC Comics, notably the Infinite Crisis tie-in series Rann/Thanagar War, an upcoming revitalization of the British 
hero Thunderbolt Jaxon, and an acclaimed graphic novel titled The Originals, which he also drew. Dave Gibbons was gracious enough to chat with me about his current projects, and a few that may or may not be coming in the future...
Shaun Manning: Whenever you have a new project announced, your name is frequently followed by some phrase such as, "of Watchmen fame." Does this association inform the type of work you do, or the projects you are offered? What do you think fans expect from you based on this? I do think it's interesting that much of your recent and upcoming work (Rann/Thanagar War, Green Lantern Corps, Thunderbolt Jaxon) sees you on the writing side, yet your most famous work was as an illustrator.
Dave Gibbons: I’ve got used to being Dave (Watchmen) Gibbons and it’s never done me any harm. I have done a lot more than that, both in the US and the UK. It only took a couple of years of my >gulp< thirty-year career. One advantage, soon after it was done, was that it gave my name a kind of “marquee” value and I probably got offered my first writing gigs on the strength of it. However, I wanted to write for other artists to be certain, in my own mind at least, that the stories had a value in their own right, rather than as just supporting my art.
Growing up, I wasn’t originally aware that comics weren’t produced by a single author and kind of fell into just doing art. I’d always wanted to write as well, so I’m glad of the chance to finally polish that skill.
SM: On to Thunderbolt Jaxon. What is this series about? I understand there is a long and storied history behind the character, and most Americans will not be familiar with this. How do you approach writing to two audiences, one that will recognize every subtle reference to the past and another that is seeing this character for the first time?
DG: I don’t feel I’m writing to two audiences. The current British audiencewill be just as much in the dark as the American audience about the character! I’m really using the old character just as a jumping off point, keeping the basic premise (kid finds the belt of the Norse god Thor and gets his powers) and taking it in a modern direction.
My pitch was “Shazam meets Get Carter” (the Michael Caine original) and that just about sets the tone.
SM: I'm thinking "modern direction" will apply both to the form of storytelling and also what is included in the story. To address the second part, what will most influence Jack, Billy and Saf? What sort of threats will they face?
DG: Here's what I wrote in the original pitch:
"In keeping with the Albion mini-series, I propose to bring the character of Thunderbolt Jaxon into today’s world; a world not of orphanages, radio sets and street-corner pickpockets, but one of broken homes, cellphones and the drugs trade. The setting is the wintry, windswept northeast coast of Britain and our principal characters are everyday kids from the backstreets of a grim city that might well be Newcastle-On-Tyne. The story concerns their desperate and often violent struggle against the forces of crime and ancient magic."
SM: Will the belt give the user any of Thor's other attributes? And will other gods make their influence known?
DG: Thor's belt gives the wearer the strength and personality of the ancient god. The latter is as much a curse as a blessing.
Several of the other gods are around in earthly guise and most definitely make their presence known!
SM: You recently finished up Rann/Thanagar War, one of the miniseries leading in to Infinite Crisis. Were you given any specific guidelines as to what had to be in place before Infinite Crisis #1, or was DC's attitude more like "Tear a hole in space—we don't care how!"
DG: I was very specifically directed, given a cast of characters and events and told to fit it into six issues. It got pretty hectic and the action precluded a lot of character development but we just about completed the mission. The rip in space was a very late addition! The whole thing was a good exercise in flexibility and writing to fit and I couldn’t have asked for a better artist than Ivan Reis.
Thunderbolt Jaxon and, to an extent, the Corps feel a lot less compressed than Rann Thanagar and I’m really enjoying the extra breathing space!
SM: Were you told not to let Kyle Rayner swear, even mildly or in $#*(@! language? I believe you mentioned elsewhere that he couldn't be an ambassador to other worlds with a potty mouth, but that he would be a bit more suggestive in Green Lantern Corps…
DG: There was no particular directive. I just went with what had gone before. I liked the suggestion someone made on a message board that “Great Guardians” was a ring-generated “bleep” for bad language! I don’t recall making the comment you mention.
SM: Related to that, we're now in the midst of Green Lantern Corps: Recharge, and I must thank you for bringing Kyle and Guy back into the spotlight, along with a whole new cast of fantastic-looking aliens.
You're also scheduled to pen a GLC ongoing after the miniseries concludes. Without giving too much away (since I'm sure you won't), what role if any can we expect Kyle Rayner to play in GLC, now that it's been revealed he'll star in another series as Ion?
DG: I hate to spoil anything, so let me just say that the events of the Rann/Thanagar Special which appears, I believe, between Infinite Crisis #s 4 and 5, have a pivotal effect on Kyle. He’ll be going on to a series of his own and play only a small part in the Corps, at least to begin with. Hal and John are likely to be similarly off center stage for a while in the Corps.
SM: Do you have any upcoming projects we might not know about, that you can announce or at least hint around? Any rumors you can confirm or deny? Any rumors you'd like to start?
DG: The Corps is going to keep me busy for a while, since I’ll be pencilling the opening arc of the ongoing, then alternating with Patrick Gleason. Somewhere down the line I’d like to do an issue of Solo. Er, and I do have some unfinished business with a certain Frank Miller...
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