Judd Winick: Ring Slinging And Other Projects

By Jason Brice

Judd Winick agreed to do a tag team interview with the SBC staff, and, as usual, the creator certainly came off the best in the fracas. We need to get a new coach! Anyway, these questions were posed to Judd by Michael Franzoni, Rob Vollmar and yours truly, the Big Kahuna.

Silver Bullet Comics: Thanks for joining us at the SBC website! I know there are a heap of Winick fans amongst our regular visitors, but for the poor folks who have been living in a cave (a cave with internet access, though!) can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the comics medium?
Judd Winick: I'm known in many sectors as "that schmuck cartoonist from REAL WORLD, San Francisco", but I'm hoping to wear different hats. I did a comic strip for a couple a year years called FRUMPY THE CLOWN. I thought this was what I always wanted to do, but I felt real stifled creatively.

I began with ONI PRESS doing a short story for ONI DOUBLE FEATURE. ROAD TRIP, it was nominated for an Eisner (and being re-released this September in one volume). I then did THE ADVENTURES OF BARRY WEEN, BOY GENIUS for IMAGE, but brought it back over to my buddies at ONI.

And a few months after Bob Schreck [former editor at Oni] went over He asked me to take a shot at scripting GREEN LANTERN.

Along the way, actually when I was considering dropping my Comic strip, I started working on PEDRO AND ME, a non-fiction graphic album. That's due out through HENRY HOOLT & CO. this September.

SBC: Why did you find the format of FRUMPY stifling?
JW: Well, it's not very conducive to story telling. It's limiting literally in size, for art, for dialogue.

SBC: What can you tell us about Pedro And Me?
JW: I did an AIDS education lecture tour in 1994 and 1995. It began with me filling in for Pedro when he was sick. But after he past away the lecturing continued.

I was becoming too emotionally exhausted to keep doing it, but I felt the need to tell Pedro's story was still important. After several years of coming to terms with his passing, I began to create this graphic album, PEDRO AND ME. It's the story of our friendship, who we were before the show, and during.

And it's also about losing him. It's easily the most important thing I'll ever do.

SBC: How did Barry Ween evolve?
JW: After quitting my comic strip and finishing a draft of PEDRO AND ME I wanted to do something FUN. Something no-holds-barred, brakes off, having fun. Barry came out of the fact that I like writing and drawing kids.

SBC: When will we get to see Barry Ween again after his current series?
JW: More Barry next year.

SBC: Growing up, Green Lantern was always one of my favorite characters, due to the endless possibilities of the ring. Do you likewise have childhood memories of the Emerald Warrior, and if so, how do they affect your interpretation of Kyle as GL?
JW: I never thought about "WHY", I just thought he was cool. Maybe it was in part that anyone could be Green Lantern. You slip on the ring and you have the power. That was always kinda fun for a kid.

SBC: Having worked on a creator owned title, what made you choose to pursue a mainstream character?
JW: Because they ASKED!!

SBC: So do you see this as a well paying "work-for-hire" gig to help finance your less mainstream work?
JW: No, I see this as a chance to write GREEN LANTERN. It's fun and I love it.

SBC: As you assume the helm writing for Green Lantern, do you envision your tenure as one of a caretaker or a groundbreaker? Is there anything wrong with GL now that you are looking forward to improving on?
JW: I know these may sound like baseball quotes but I just want to write the best stories I can. What happens or what is perceived is up to the readers.

SBC: So once the script leaves your hands it is up to the readers to make an interpretation? That is something you aren't willing to do of your own work?

JW: Well, I mean that it's somewhat egotistical to define myself as a groundbreaker. I think that's an opinion of those who read the book. And to call what I'm planning to do "caretaking" makes it sound a little like I'm trying just to maintain a status quo. I'm not doing that either. And as far as me seeing anything "wrong" with GL that I want to change, well, as I said, Kyle is going to grow up. He'll be more self-confident. That's the simple answer. The long answer is in the book.

SBC: Writers often build a piece of themselves into their characters. Do you see anything of yourself in Kyle or are you keeping a safe distance from imposing yourself upon the character?

JW: Nah, I see a lot of me in Kyle, or rather I'm putting "me" in there. We're about the same age, we're both cartoonists, we've both been in outer space, etc.

I'm hoping to lighten him up some.

SBC: So Kyle in the past has been dealing with too much heavy-duty personal stuff, do you think?

JW: Nah, I just think he needs a sense of humor about much of his life.

SBC: There was a lot of controversy surrounding Kyle's placement in the DCU, though remarkably less about Marz's handling of the character. After 75 issues and six years in continuity, what do you think his place is in the DCU and how well does he stand up against heroes who have been around in one form or another for decades or more?

JW: Kyle is the current true Green Lantern. If he is living up to that mantel, we'll that's up to the readers. And it's up to me to try and prove it.

SBC: One of the centerpieces of Marz's run on GL was Kyle's romantic interests, tragic and varied as they may be. What is your take on Kyle's readiness to settle down with one girl? Will it be one of his existing interests or, perhaps, someone new?
JW: Four words: Jade will be back.

SBC: Both as a girlfriend and a super-hero? Will she sling a ring?
JW: Now, that would be telling, wouldn't it?

SBC: Some might say the defining characteristic of a writer's run on GL has got to be the ring's creations. Given your talent with humor and an apparent love for technical stuff (ala Barry Ween), can we expect some interesting surprises from Kyle's ring? Anything we won't see?
JW: Yes and no. I find silly constructs during action, well, silly, but there is other room for that sort of thing. But while we're on it, i think the humor will be more natural. Conversational.

SBC: So the constructs will be quite utilitarian? No giant boxing gloves, ray guns or baseball bats?
JW: Sometimes they will just be about getting the job done, other times, they'll be a little clever.

SBC: Others might suggest Green Lantern has always been a book about willpower and the strength of the human character. Do you have any opinions on how Kyle epitomizes this spirit?
JW: I'm being intentionally vague, but, Kyle's will shall be stronger.

SBC: Looking at the last two questions, which of those two aspects will be the most important in your Green Lantern? Is there something else about Green Lantern (both the book and the character) that you feel to be equally or more important?
JW: Kyle will be grown up. He is no longer the" new kid with the ring". He is Green Lantern. End of story.

SBC: What can you tell us about the new Green Lantern Corps?
JW: What new Green Lantern Corps?

SBC: The Corps we are being teased into thinking that might re-emerge from "Circle of Fire"...
JW: Yeah. I heard that, too. Maybe.

YES, I"M BEING COY.

Read the 5th week event and all will answered.

SBC: Any parting words or snippets of juicy information?
JW: Nope. Buckle up. There's quite a ride coming up.

Discuss this interview on the Feature Fiends Forum!