Two Mean Mothers: An Interview with David Hine
David Hine has been involved in comics since the late 1980s, and it looks as if he has no intention of slowing down. He is currently revitalizing Spawn (along with artist Philip Tan) and is representing the X-Men during the current Civil War. I recently chatted with the acclaimed writer about man-crushes, Lawrence Fishburne, and a highly unlikely team-up.
ROBERT MURRAY: The first question I’ve gotta ask: Do you have a man-crush on Bishop? Seriously, though: What’s the connection or fascination with him? What compels you to write X-stories involving Bishop?
DAVID HINE: I guess I just have a thing for big moody guys with big guns. The real true honest answer is that I’ve been asked to do books featuring Bishop. To date the only character I’ve actively gone after to write and gotten was Daredevil in the Redemption series. Having said that, I enjoyed writing Bishop in District X. I felt like he had been depicted completely differently by every writer who got their hands on him, so I just took the basics of his background story and went for a totally new angle. The Bishop of Civil War: X-Men is not exactly the same personality who was in District X – he definitely becomes more macho when he dons the costume. It’s fascinating to see how Yanick is taking him and transforming him into a more brutal version of himself, closer to the badass future cop of his very early appearances.
RM: How has the writing experience been for Civil War: X-Men? Is it similar in some ways to Mutopia X, since your writing this in the middle of a huge crossover event?
DH: Mutopia X remained a self-contained book – no guest appearances apart from a couple of Sentinels. It was a kind of distorted mirror-version of the regular District X title, playing with the concepts from House of M. I still felt this was my book, my characters and I felt totally in control of the book. Civil War: X-Men has been much more restrictive in the requirements that were placed on me. I was basically given a plot direction and a list of characters to include. The 198 needed to be broken out of the Xavier Institute by X-Force, then Bishop, Sabra and Micromax go after them while Cyclops, Beast, Ice Man and Archangel set out to protect their freedom. During the plotting the new Sentinels were thrown into the mix too, so all those elements needed to be accommodated.RM: What can we expect in the last few issues of Civil War: X-Men?
DH: I’ve used that basic plotline as a springboard to question what the Civil War scenario really means to the protagonists, the way the hero community is turning on itself in an incredibly self-destructive way. The last two issues focus on the Cyclops/Bishop face-off and their conflict becomes a microcosm for the whole concept of Civil War. The contenders are forced to face up to the consequences of their decisions. It has been said that there is no clear reason for the schism between the two factions and I tend to agree. These are people who should be united. It’s the intrusion of outside influences that have split the community of superhumans and a lot of them have reacted instinctively. The response has been knee-jerk rather than rational.
To return to your question, this literally becomes a struggle for the survival of the mutant race. One way or another that conflict will be resolved and the series will establish a whole new status quo for the 198.
RM: Have you been approached to write any spin-offs from CW: X-Men?
DH: No. I’m looking to concentrate on books and characters that are a little less tied up with continuity. That’s not to say I wouldn’t do another mutant book but I’d want to go back to the feel of District X – more character based than event led.RM: Has the Civil War editorial influence been a godsend or a hindrance in regards to your scripting for the series?
DH: Let’s say it was a challenge.
RM: This is a complete digression, but I loved Daredevil: Redemption! Any plans to return to Daredevil? How about any other non-mutant Marvel Heroes?
DH: Redemption is the series I have been happiest with. It was also the lowest selling. I’m not sure what that says about the market out there… I’d love to write another Daredevil book some day. I’ve been pitching for non-mutant books since I started working for Marvel but somehow most of the books I’ve ended up with are X-books. I guess it’s my fate. My next published project will be a What If: Deadly Genesis one-shot. I’ve really enjoyed doing it too. There really were no restrictions on this one. Being a What if…? book I had carte blanche to mess with the characters any way I wanted which was very liberating. The book teams me with David Yardin again for the first time since District X. David has been itching to draw X-characters and he’s doing an amazing job on it. I think this is the book where the genius of Yardin will be recognised.
RM: Let’s talk about Spawn, which is one of the main titles on my monthly pull list. How did you become involved with the series?
DH: Right place. Right time. Brian Haberlin is the editor on Spawn and also the brains behind Avalon studios. Lots of artists work under the Avalon umbrella, including Lan Medina and David Yardin who were the main pencillers on District X. Brian’s studio was also colouring the book. One way or another, he was seeing a lot of my work and had also read Strange Embrace. I’m guessing it was the combination of an independent approach and the ability to hold down a mainstream title that convinced him I could handle Spawn. He put my name forward to Todd McFarlane and we hit it off immediately. My ideas for the book coincided with Todd’s vision. We both share a love of Asian horror movies and a skeptical view of religion among other things.
RM: How did you conceive of the current Armageddon storyline?
DH: I wouldn’t claim that as my concept. It seemed to me this was where the book had always been heading but it kept going off on detours. I felt that this constant state of coitus interruptus was frustrating the readers so I put it to the Todd and Brian that maybe we should actually go all the way and plunge the world into the Apocalypse. They were up for it, so that was it. We did initially plan to let the arc run for around fifty issues. It took a while to articulate, but I think we all felt that was too long. We have so many ideas for Spawn post-Apocalypse that we really wanted to get to it faster. I remember getting an e-mail from Brian where he said something like “Let’s wind this up guys…” and my immediate reaction was “Yes, that’s exactly what I want to do. Speed things up.” So there’s been a gradual acceleration and we’re now on a breakneck ride towards Apocalypse.RM: You’ve been bringing the shocks with each issue of Spawn, particularly the last two (Issues 157 & 158). What can readers expect in future issues? Any bigger shocks you want to hint at?
DH: I’ve enjoyed the challenge of ending on a real cliff-hanger every issue and also having at least one major revelation every month. We have plenty more twists to throw into the mix. Whether they work or not is all in the timing. We always knew what we were going to do with the Twins and we walked along a razor edge for months teasing the readers, throwing out clues that were just below the radar so no-one actually guessed – or if they did they didn’t admit to it in advance. I read the message boards on the Spawn website with my fingers crossed every month. There were a couple of times I thought we might have given it away when Katie wore her “L’il Devil” T-shirt and Jake had “Boss Man” on his shirt. What we needed to do was put enough in there so when the revelation came it made absolute sense.
For the future, clearly the big challenge is to follow the end of the world. In some sense it is bound to be a re-set. I’m hoping the readers will like the way we’ve chosen to do it. I’m very aware of the loyalty readers have to the characters and concepts and I want to stay faithful to the past and keep the things that work best. This should feel like a logical development that is consistent with the character but also feels like a new direction for the book.
RM: Describe the Man of Miracles and the role he fills in Spawn.
DH: Man of Miracles is a nebulous and enigmatic character who has been depicted in a number of ways since s/he appeared in issue 150. The last couple of issues have revealed why s/he was so hard to pin down. That was another of those developments where we were teasing the readers with clues, like the acronym itself. There are one or two readers who have felt we went a little over-the-top with the revelations but honestly, I think Spawn is a book where you really can go to extremes and break a few rules.RM: Was there any research you did to bone up for this run on Spawn?
DH: The research never stops. I’m constantly re-reading the whole run of Spawn. My ultimate challenge is to tie up every plot thread and answer every question about every character. I’m restricting myself to the core title though. There have been a huge number of series Spawned (ouch!) by the core title and a lot of them are decidedly non-canonical. There was a Cy-Gor mini-series that had an appearance by the Hindu goddess, Kali, but I didn’t want to be tied to that interpretation. I couldn’t accept that Kali could be taken out so easily by a cyborg monkey!!
I also do masses of research on mythology and religion and particularly the Judaeo/Christian Apocalypse myths.
RM: What kind of fan reactions have you received in regards to Spawn?
DH: Largely positive. The consensus seems to be that we are providing a direction where the book had meandered a little over the past few years. I think they also appreciate that we are taking risks. I don’t ever want the book to get into a rut, so we’re going to be experimenting a lot when the current storyline is over. I’m sure there will be occasions where we screw up but at least we will screw up in spectacular fashion.
RM: Talk about the two artists you’re working with in CW: X-Men and Spawn, Philip Tan & Yanick Paquette.
DH: I’ve worked more closely with Phil than any other artist. Almost daily contact by e-mail and regular phone-calls. We also shared a hotel room at San Diego this year and I can tell you Phil is so into Spawn he even talks about it in his sleep. I don’t know if the readers appreciate how hard he works. He consistently turns out 22 pages of art a month, plus covers, sketches and character designs. He has even done a beautiful illustration of Spawn for my son. He’s a dedicated man.Yanick Paquette is another superb artist and a total perfectionist. His style is a perfect blend of American and European influences. Unlike a lot of mainstream superhero artists who are all flashy style and no content, Yanick has complete mastery of figurework, composition and storytelling. I met up with the whole Civil War X-Men art crew at San Diego, Yanick, inker Serge LaPointe and colourist Stephane Peru. The three of them share a studio and obviously have a similar attitude to their art so the finished result is always flawless. I’m lucky on both Civil War: X-Men and Spawn to be working with teams who work so well together. It ain’t always so…
RM: You’ve been writing comics for quite a while now. What do you think is your favorite work?
DH: For Marvel, Daredevil: Redemption, District X and <>Son of M. Spawn has to be the most fun and the place where I get to let rip with whatever images and ideas my mind conjures up, not to mention being able to cuss. I’m also really looking forward to Poison Candy from Tokyopop. That’s another one where I’m able to escape from the restrictions of 22-page episodes. Each of the books has different appeal to me as a creator, but I guess in the end Strange Embrace is still my favourite firstborn child.
RM: Any plans to reprint any of your 2000 AD work?
DH: Nope.
RM: If you had to describe Al Simmons to a newcomer, how would you describe him?
DH: One mean motherf****r. He’s a deeply, deeply flawed personality but he is also a total individual. No one is ever going to push him around. He will go up against God, Satan and all the demons of Hell. But he will also go after anyone who messes with his buddies, even if they are homeless alkie bums. On the face of it, he’s one of the least sympathetic characters in comics but kids and puppies love him. The relationship that interests me most is the psychic empathy between Cyan and Spawn. Al Simmons never had a child with his wife, Wanda. After Al’s death, Wanda married Al’s best friend and Cyan was born. But somehow Cyan has always been closer to Spawn than anyone else, as if she were the child he always wanted. Cyan sees straight through the rotted flesh and bad attitude to the soul of Al Simmons. It’s that relationship that humanizes Spawn. Al’s reason for survival, the one thing that gives keeps him going, has been said to be his love for Wanda, but to me his need to be a father to Cyan has become his over-riding motivation.RM: Same question, now regarding Bishop.
DH: One mean motherf****r. He’s a deeply, deeply flawed personality, but he is also a total individual. No one is ever going to… Well you get the idea. These two characters have certain traits in common. Bishop is a man lost in time. He comes from a future where mutants are branded and raised in camps. He became a cop and returned to the late twentieth century in pursuit of fleeing mutant criminals. The key to his character is that feeling of displacement. I imagine myself going back to the late nineteenth century and trying to fit in. Sure, I’m familiar with the period from novels and history books, but I’m damned sure I would feel very out of place. I’ve always shown Bishop being awkward in social situations and making little errors in his analysis of a situation based on his misreading of history. He’s an immensely loyal person and has always hero-worshipped the X-Men who were a legend in his future lifetime. So it is tearing him up to be going up against those same X-Men in Civil War. He has had to accept that these are not mythological heroes but fallible human beings, capable of making mistakes. There’s an air of disappointment about Bishop as if life is always failing to meet up to his expectations.RM: What comics are you reading right now?
DH: A lot of it is homework – all the Civil War titles and back issues of characters that I’m writing. I’ve bought all the big black-and-white collections of Essential X-Men and Fantastic Four, which I am wading through. Comics I read purely for pleasure: Ex Machina, Love and Rockets, DMZ, American Virgin, All Star Superman, Elephantmen, lots of manga, especially Deathnote, Monster, 20th Century Boys, and everything by Junjo Ito. Then western OEL manga: MBQ, East Coast Rising, Afterlife. I’m getting Justice for the amazing art by Dougie Braithwaite and Alex Ross. The most impressive thing I’ve read recently is Night Fisher by R. Kikuo Johnson. I was also knocked out by the Carey Bachalo X-Men. And too many more to remember.
RM: Who would you cast in the role of Bishop in a big-budget movie?
DH: Laurence Fishburne. Last time I was asked this I think I went for Dennis Haysbert because I was watching 24 and his performance as President Palmer was knockout, but I can’t really see Haysbert kicking ass on the streets. So it would have to be Fishburne.
RM: Any plans to team Spawn & Bishop (wink, wink)?
DH: Yeah, wouldn’t that be cool though. It’s a little-know fact that the alleys where Spawn hangs out are actually located in the Mutant Town area of New York so it could happen.
Discuss this interview on the Feature Fiends Forum!