Marc Guggenheim: Charting The New Flash's Course

By Tim O'Shea

Marc Guggenheim, who just last week saw his second Flash (DC) issue released, is the kind of writer who makes it easy to research for an interview. In addition to his screenwriting for series as varied as The Practice to Law & Order to Brothers & Sisters. Guggenheim has a presence on the Internet, responding to readers of his work. We recently exchanged emails to discuss his work on Flash.

Tim O’Shea (TOS): As a person who has written episodes of Law & Order and CSI: Miami, and given the fact that Bart is training to be an LA police officer, what are the odds you might get a chance to do a police procedural kind of plot somewhere down the road?

Marc Guggenheim (MG): Extraordinarily good. In my second issue, in fact. I wanted to show Bart in his new status quo straight off the bat.

TOS: In your first issue (Flash 9), Bart has to choose between the JLA and Teen Titans. Of course, I'm not going to ask who he chooses, but I am curious, what dynamics did you enjoy about writing each team?

MG: Well, the Titans don't really make an appearance as a team in my first issue and the JLA really has what I'd call an extended cameo. But it was run to right the Leaguers because they have this deep history. Even though this version of the League is relatively new -- heck, it's not even officially formed as "the League" at this point -- the characters have all known each other for years and years, so that makes for a fun dynamic. They're kind of like a family at this point.

TOS: The Rogues Gallery makes an appearance fairly early in your run, no matter which Flash it may be, or who writer is writing the book--it always seems that some of the best Flash stories involve the Rogues. Would you agree with my view on that?

MG: Yes.

TOS: What is it about the Rogues that makes the stories work so well?

MG: Well, I think that every super-hero has his or her own "rogues gallery." What makes the Flash rogues different -- and, therefore, special -- is the fact that these guys have enough smarts to know that the only way they stand a chance against the Flash is to team up. And I think that combination of characters is oddly compelling. They're all very colorful. They're not particularly dark. Certainly not Joker-level dark. So there's something fun about these guys all working together.

TOS: Speaking of your television work, when writing for shows like Brothers & Sisters, where (by the nature of episodic TV) you have cast regulars and sometimes have to introduce new characters within a short window, as a result you have to be economic with your plot and dialogue at times. Does having that skillset for scriptwriting translate into an asset that you use to your advantage in writing Flash?

MG: I hope so. It's not a perfect transplanting of skills, however. TV is very talky by its nature. If I'm not careful, I could end up with 22 pages of characters just talking to each other. So I need to adapt that skillset, as you put it, for work in comics. It's a different medium, so I have to exercise and work different muscles in order to make the end product compelling.

TOS: What has it been like collaborating with Ron Adrian? Are you giving him highly detailed scripts of exactly how you want a scene to play out, or have you developed a shorthand after an issue or two and you just need to give him a general idea of what you're aiming for in a scene?

MG: Sadly, Ron and I only had a chance to work together for one issue, so I can't say that we really fell into a particular groove, working together-wise. In general, my script that he drew contained my usual level of detail -- i.e., if I'm seeing something with particular clarity in my head as I'm writing, I specify what I'm seeing, always with the caveat that if Ron, or whoever's drawing the script, has a better idea, I'm all for it. It's too bad Ron left the book after my first issue (was it something I said?) because (a) I like Ron's stuff and (b) I usually need a couple of issues working with an artist before I'm able to fully write to their strengths.

TOS: A few years back, there was a trend of animators jumping into comics because the "gratification factor" (developing a story and getting that story in its final stage for the public) in comics was a much quicker turnaround time. Would you say that appeals to you as well, given that on a given season of a series, you might have the time to write a few episodes, while on a comic, you're given the chance to write several "episodes" in a given year.

MG: Good question. I'd say there is definitely a "gratification factor" at work. However, it's not so much in terms of, as you suggest, productivity or output, so much as it's about creative control. I have far more creative control on my comics than I do on my individual episodes of television. The mediums are just set up differently. Also, I've grown up with comics -- not that I haven't also grown up with TV, but... -- so that's a huge, huge part of the whole "gratification factor."

TOS: Writing is a family affair with you, you co-wrote a film with your brother a few years back and your wife, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0125322/>Tara Butters, also writes for television. Do you find yourself brainstorming plot problems or dialogue elements with your her?

MG: A little bit. We talk out story points and plot problems more than dialogue elements. But it's not a common occurrence. I'm a lawyer by training, so when Tara was writing on http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0771259/>Law & Order: SVU, I'd lend some legal expertise, but apart from that we really just give each other moral support.

TOS: Any chance she and her writing partner, Michele Fazekas, would ever delve into comics?

MG: I think there's always a chance. Tara and Michele both enjoy comics. They're not avid readers, but their husbands are and we occasionally rope them in to whatever we're enjoying. Michele just read my copy of the first Y: The Last Man trade and she loved it.

TOS: Why I ask is that Reaper, the show they are developing for CW really sounds like it would be a great comic book.

MG: I agree. I've already called dibs on it.

TOS: I know you post on John Bryne's message board--

MG: You've really done your homework on me!

TOS: --but I could not run across reaction to the 2004 season finale of Law & Order, where you killed a character named John Byrne. Was he amused at the mention?

MG: I think so. He knew it was coming. In fact, he visited the set during the preproduction on that episode.

TOS: Have you been able to slip other comic names into your TV scripts?

MG: The episode in question makes reference to, as I recall, the Wayne Foundation. And I've slipped in a few other comic book references over the years, but I'm drawing a blank on specific examples at that very moment.

TOS: Which is a more daunting prospect for you, the revision process on a comic book or the revision process for writing an episode for TV?

MG: Good question. I'd have to say the revision process in TV. I'm not exactly sure why that is. I think it might because I have to serve many more masters in TV, so the revision process has to make a lot of people happy -- studio execs, network execs, actors, directors, etc. In comics, I usually only have to make my editor happy.

TOS: Clearly Bart is going to be his own Flash, influenced by past incarnations, but I was curious will you try to introduce some new powers or new applications of his speed skills to the mix?

MG: Definitely trying to introduce new applications to his powers. No new powers, but I'm definitely trying to drive home the idea that it's a different guy in the suit and, therefore, he's going to use these powers a little bit differently.

TOS: In writing the Flash, what kind of stories do you hope to tell?

MG: Good ones? I should probably be more specific than that, right? I'd say my overarching concern at the start of my run is getting people to accept Bart as the Flash. So I'm concentrating on stories that firmly establish him in that role. Apart from that, I just want the stories to be fun and true to the heritage of the character while still charting their own course and shaping their own identity.