Interview: Meet Jonathan Maberry
April 24th, 2009 | Blog | No Hugs Yet. Add One Now »
Join me for a chat with bestselling author Jonathan Maberry as he discusses “Ghosts,” a story recently released in Marvel comics’ upcoming new book Wolverine: The Anniversary . Learn how this Bram Stoker Award winning author became a first-time comic book writer.
Michelle Lauren: Jonathan Maberry: My editor at St. Martins Griffin, Michael Homler, sent an advanced reading copy of my new thriller, PATIENT ZERO, to Executive Editor Axel Alonso. He read it, liked what he saw, and called me to ask if I’d be interested in possibly writing for Marvel.
GHOSTS was actually the second project I wrote for Marvel. I did PUNISHER: NAKED KILL, a 32-page special, but that won’t be out until June. Axel was so pleased with NAKED KILL, and with my turnaround time, that he asked me to jump in with the 8-page Wolverine story. I was delighted.
Michelle Lauren: How much editorial control did you have over the storyline?
Jonathan Maberry: Quite a lot, though it’s important for comic book writers to realize that they’re working with someone else’s character. Wolverine and Punisher were invented by other writers. They’re part of a vast ongoing continuity. Unless there is a specific reason to reinvent the character, you have to work with the character as he currently exists.
That said, the story is up to the writer. I sent in a short pitch and once that was approved I wrote a beat-sheet, which is an outline that shows how the story would be broken down over a series of pages.
The editor often makes suggestions at this point — sometimes for the sake of the overall continuity and often because the editors are pros at this stuff, and they know what will and won’t fly. To a great degree the editor schools the writer on how to write a comic; but it’s down to the writer to actually write the script.
Then the artist comes in, and sometimes he’ll make some suggestions. For GHOSTS, Tomm Coker made a few 
suggestions that changed the visuals I scripted. They were damn good changes, though. He’s an artist, I’m a writer, and comics are collaborative efforts. Much like movies. A lot of pros are attached to it at different phases.
Michelle Lauren: A lot of writers have portrayed Wolverine. How is your take on his character different?
Jonathan Maberry: Wolverine is a warrior philosopher. His age and his vast experience have deepened his understanding of the complex natures of life and death. He’s also a romantic. I wrote GHOSTS to be a brief and very private glimpse into the conflict in his heart. On one hand you see the vicious and powerful warrior; on the other you hear his thoughts and know that he’s a man in hell.
I think this story could have worked as a longer book, but I’m glad that I only got those eight pages. It says what I wanted to say, and Tomm Coker’s art beautiful completes the outer and inner message.
Michelle Lauren: Did you face any special challenges writing a comic book as opposed to a novel? (i.e. reader expectations, pacing, character development, etc.)
Jonathan Maberry: Yeah…in a novel you get a lot of time to explore complex characters, their relationships, the subtext of what they imply as opposed to way they say and do. In comics you have to nail that in a few pages or a few panels. It’s a remarkably effective tool for refining your storytelling process. It teaches you to get right to the heart of each scene, each theme, each plot and subplot. I love it.
It’s much more like writing for film or TV. You can tell so much of the story with visuals that it allows you to dial down the dialogue and narrative and let the read fill in the blanks. And I think that’s one of the most important things for a writer to bear in mind when scripting a comic. The readers GET this stuff. Comic readers are deeply knowledgeable about the characters, their histories, and the continuity; but more importantly, they’re skilled at grasping the meaning implied by images and the few words that are on each page. Readers are absolutely part of a co-creative process that is at the heart of the magic of comics.
When I write scripts –and I’m currently working on my sixth script—I write for the reader and there’s a lot of respect for that reader’s perception and intelligence.
Michelle Lauren: What is your advice for writers interested in pursuing a career in graphic novels and/or comic books?
Jonathan Maberry: Check your ego at the door. Be part of the team. There’s plenty of opportunity to be creative and to establish a unique voice, but a comic is rarely a one-man show. Also, listen and learn from the other professionals involved in the process. Artists, colorists, letterers, editors and assistant editors…they all bring their A-game to this. Share in the team win.
The other thing is…read comics. Read a lot of them, deconstruct them. Look at the panels, look at the script, and find the interior scaffolding on which the story is built. When in doubt, take a comic and write the script for it. It’s a useful form of retro-engineering that gives a writer a sense of how the comic was built.
Michelle Lauren: Do you have a favorite Wolverine storyline?
Jonathan Maberry: I have to go with a three way split on my favorite. Mark Millar’s OLD MAN LOGAN, Jason Aaron’s MANIFEST DESTINY and Barry Windsor Smith’s WEAPON X. But really…there are a lot of damn good Wolverine tales.
Michelle Lauren: If you could write a story for any comic book character, who would you choose and why?
Jonathan Maberry: I have a few…I’d love to do a Fantastic Four story (the first comic I ever bought was FF #68); I’d love to write some retro SHIELD stories, and then I’d like to take a swing at Deadpool.
Michelle Lauren: What was your favorite part about working on Wolverine: The Anniversary?
Jonathan Maberry: Seeing Tomm Coker’s pencils. Holy crap!
Michelle Lauren: Please tell us about some of your upcoming writing projects (comic book-related or otherwise).
Jonathan Maberry: The only one I can talk about is PUNISHER: NAKED KILL, a 32-page uber-violent story for the adults-only Marvel MAX line that comes out June 3rd. It deals with the Punisher going primal on a group of bad guys making snuff films. The twist is that the films are being made in an ultra secure facility, so the Punisher can’t bring in any weapons. He goes undercover as a janitor and has to rely on what mayhem he can inflict with cleaning products.
Marvel will be making some announcements soon about my other projects, but at the moment I have to stay mum. They’ll send Rulk after me if I blab.
Michelle Lauren: Where can people find you online?
Jonathan Maberry: I have a website/blog in which I interview key people in publishing, and in which I’ll be interviewing some comic industry heavy hitters. That’s www.jonathanmaberry.com. I’m also on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Michelle Lauren: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today. For those of you who haven’t picked up a copy of Wolverine: The Anniversary, find it at your local comic book store here.
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Jonathan Maberry is a true renaissance man. A multiple recipient of the prestigious Bram Stoker Award for his works in horror writing, he is also a magazine feature writer, a playwright, s content creator, a writing teacher/lecturer and a founding member of the Liars Club.
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"I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'” - George Bernard Shaw
