Buddy Scalera is a very busy guy, putting pen to numerous comic book scripts, plus a whole slew of other projects. We spoke with him recently about August's Weapon X crossover event, and his book Weapon X: Sauron.
Jason Brice: What attracted you to the gig?
Buddy Scalera: Mike Marts and Frank Tieri gave me an offer I could not refuse.
JB: Broken knees or write a comic? How does it tie into the overall Weapon X storyline?
BS: We all wrote a one shot story that ties into Frank's ongoing series. Frank will deal with the characters and situations that we set up. So he had heavy input in the stories that we created.
JB: Is it weird coming into a mult-writer environment after doing stuff by for self-published books?
BS: Not weird... more exhilarating. I had always heard about writers and editors getting together to hash out storylines. I even got to sit in on one when Fabian [Nicieza] relaunched Acclaim Comics. But it was really cool to be part of one. We all went out and had drinks and Mexican food. It was Frank, Mike Marts, Mike Raicht, Matt Nixon and Me. Very cool.
JB: What about Sauron appealled to you?
BS: He's very ugly. Seriously. Thats what I liked.
JB: I can appreciate that! Was it hard finding a voice for the character? He's often just a bit-player in a larger story, am I right in saying this is the first time he's had a whole comic to himself?
BS: It wasn't too tough. Frank sat with us and gave us the lowdown on all the characters and motivations. Between Frank and the Mikes, you know exactly who the character is. I just sort of played around with Sauron and the new character that I introduced. It was fun to have them interact because they were both so different. Not complete, polar opposites...but more like guys who would never hang out together on a little adventure.
JB: Would you like to write more Sauron?
BS: Heh, yeah, he's really an untapped treasure. He's got this rich history that could be pulled together for some really intriguing stories. Sauron could be like the Thing was in the 80s. The Thing had a long ongoing series where they told small "adventures." Those Thing stories were consistently fun reads. I think a modern take on those stories would be great if they featured Sauron.
JB: And what about the new character you created for the book? Tell us about him.
BS: Jack. His name is Jack and you'd really like hanging out with him. He's just a generally nice guy with a few powers that makes him desirable to Weapon X. He's sort of the opposite end of the spectrum of most Weapon X recruits. He's on the "nice and normal" side. So he offers an "everyman" quality to the story. It's a good contrast to Sauron.
JB: Sounds very cool! Where to from now? What other projects have you got in the works?
BS: July and August are pretty good months for me. Next week in Chicago, we see the release of Decoy: Storm of the Century #1. It's a 4 issue mini-series and it's really a fun adventure about a cop who is befriended by a little green space alien. August we have Weapon X: Sauron. And also in August, I have my self-published humor comic, Parts: The SitComic.
JB: A sitcom comic?
BS: Yeah, Parts is cool because it reads like a primetime sitcom. Same pacing, same kind of humor. I hope to appeal to a wider audience with this book. I'm hoping that people read Parts and hand it to a friend, preferably one who has never read comics before. It's new reader friendly. It's got a realistic feel to it because I wasn't going for parody. I think parody has its place, but too many comics parody the same thing.
JB: What kind of show would you compare it to?
BS: Reading Parts is like watching The Drew Carrey Show or Will and Grace. It's going to appeal to a mainstream adult reader. But it has no profanities or nudity, so you can let your mom and dad read it too.
JB: I hear you are venturing into electronic publishing, too.
BS: That's right. In Sepetember I have my Visual Reference For Comic Artists: Vol. 1 disk coming out. That's 500+ images on CD rom of stuff artists can use to draw better comics. I have male and female models in dramatic superhero poses. I got rave reviews for it in Philadelphia. I am going to have some copies in Chicago too. But mainly people can get it through Diamond, so it will be available in comic stores too.
JB: And you've got other activities planned for Chicago?
BS: Yeah, this week is Wizard World Chicago and I will be hosting all of the Wizard School panels. There are lots of great guests and this is a terrific place for aspiring writers and artists and inkers to get insight into breaking into comics and improving their craft. Folks can view the panel list on my website at http://buddyscalera.com/news/chicago_2002.html
JB: Thanks for your time Buddy, a pleasure talking with you!
