Post by brentlambert on Apr 26, 2012 19:26:23 GMT -5
JAMIE PRIMAS INTERVIEW
Marvel Anthology: What appeals to you most about Marvel Anthology as a site?
Jamie Primas: The range of the titles and the overall look of the page really does a lot to pull my attention to it. In a perfect world, we’d have something for everyone that might trip upon the site and Marvel Anthology is the closest thing to that. What keeps me around is the people I’ve met and the friends I’ve made. We have a strong community at MA that spreads through most of the corners of the globe and I’m happy to have met everyone. We all seem to share a passion for what we do here.
MA: Top three favorite titles at the site. Put them out there. Why do you like them?
Jamie: Despite the trouble I have reducing the good stuff down to three titles; I’ll do it since you asked so nicely.
Primarily, you can’t go wrong with the Defenders. Ed Ainsworth is my hero for all that he has done and all that he will do in the future. It would be fantastic if he spun the book into two interconnected titles so that we could follow all of the threads he’s plotted that he has so deftly crafted. Plus, Defenders has Namor.
Freedom Force is another that jumps out at me, even though it seems it has only scratched the surface of what it can be. The characters assembled give the book a remarkable sense of realism despite the environments they live in. With the relative obscurity of the characters, I think it gives the book a sense of dread as I wonder if they’ll actually survive whatever is around the corner. With Namor in Defenders, I don’t have to worry about him but with Colonel America in Freedom Force, who knows?
Lastly, Yellowjacket always leaves me satisfied. Anthony Crute’s handle on Hank is possibly the most true to any character I’ve ever read in fanfiction. I have enjoyed Yellowjacket so much that I left Hank and Jan off of any of my Avengers teams so that they can run wild around their own series without me in there to muck things up.
MA: Who's your favorite writer at the site?
Jamie: This one’s a no-brainer. I’ve seen Ed Ainsworth sing praise at me so it’s time for me to return the favor. I feel like both Anthology sites would be shadows of their currents selves without his contributions. His style and excitement is unparalleled and it’s always a treat to see what he comes up with next. His stuff is always interesting and always unexpected, never conventional and definitely worthwhile.
MA: What do you like the most about what you get to write at Marvel Anthology?
Jamie: I love the collaboration that goes on as I work on the Avengers books. I know my name is on quite a few books within the Avengers line but I truthfully only do about half of the work. Whether it’s with Erik Fromme on Avengers Infinity or Donovan Topp on Secret Avengers, I’m never at a loss for where to go next. If I ever write myself into a corner, I know that someone else is there to write me out of it.
Plus, it’s the Avengers. What can there be to not like?
MA: Your dream title. What would it be? And if you're already on it, then what would be your dream title you'd like to see someone else write?
Jamie: My dream title is Agents of Atlas, which I currently write but I haven’t produced anything for it in a while. I love everything that has anything to do with the characters involved with the Atlas Foundation and I promise that I’ll be getting back into it in the very near future.
As for dream titles by other writers...I could make a list. But to keep from rattling on, I’ll stick to the big one. Erik Fromme on Daredevil.
MA: Who's your favorite character at the site to read about?
Jamie: I look forward to seeing what’s up with all of my old favorites that I failed to snatch up when I came aboard. Hercules, Dr. Strange, Namor, Hulk, Yellowjacket and Wasp, Captain Britain, Motormouth, Spider-man, Iron Fist, Mockingbird, Blazing Skull...There’s a character in every book that’s makes me want to read it.
MA: Who's your favorite character under your pen?
Jamie: As I tried to think of the answer to this question, I was convinced that the answer was going to be one of the big guys or at least a B-Lister, but nope. This might be a strange admission, but it has to be Dr. Zu from Agents of Atlas. That weird old dude is a ton of fun to write.
MA: Which character do you most look forward to writing?
Jamie: Everyone has a Big Three. The traditional Avengers’ Big Three is Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. I’m really looking forward to continuing work on my own personal Big Three. You and all of the Marvel Anthology readers can look forward to big things coming from Jack of Hearts, Shroud and Bill Foster. And Jarvis makes four.
MA: So what are all of the titles you write at Marvel Anthology and how do you feel that they fit into the wider Anthology universe?
Jamie: It's quite a list but, as I said earlier, the amount is alleviated by the help I receive. I currently work on Avengers and Agents of Atlas, both of which I write solo. Throughout the spring of this year, the Avengers line will explode with three additional books, all of which I am around as a co-writer. Mighty Avengers, which is a joint effort between myself and my brother Patrick (whoops, I forgot he wanted to ghost write), Secret Avengers by myself and new-comer Donovan Topp, and Avengers Infinity, the long awaited Space Avengers book along with Erik Fromme.
The world needs the Avengers, and apparently they need at least four teams of them in various places doing various things. The adjective-less Avengers will be the more traditional book, based in Avengers Mansion, working with the governments of the world, etc. The Mighty Avengers are the globetrotting, dimension hopping, less publicly acceptable group, working out of Thor’s home in Asgard. Avengers Infinity operates in space and I really want it to be renamed “Space Avengers.” And the Secret Avengers are so secret that the Avengers don’t even know that they exist. As for Agents of Atlas, although they aren’t an Avengers team, there will be threads sewn through their book that will entrench them heavily into Marvel Anthology’s future.
All of these books serve a different corner of the Marvel Anthology universe. With what I have in mind for the Avengers, one book would not do them justice. Plus, there are so many characters that I really want to write that I couldn’t narrow the roster down to just seven or eight characters. Thus, five books...
MA: What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer? And/or weakness?
Jamie: I’m not sure if I have a greatest strength or not. I try to write something that I would want to read and I usually succeed, so I suppose that’s a strength. As much as I like to think that I’m a good writer, I struggle to suppress such thoughts so that I avoid falling into my greatest weakness: Extraordinary Egomania.
MA: Which writers do you draw influence from and why?
Jamie: I’m influenced by all of the writers at Marvel Anthology as I see what they’re doing and don’t want to be excluded from their universe. Every issue that comes out encourages me to add to their task of creating worlds and showing everyone else what they can do. It’s writing for fun, not for practice or money.
As far as comic influences, I have four that I usually always go back to for inspiration. Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern, Jeff Parker and Peter David. They’re real writers, even if they don’t write real books (although some of them do).
MA: Ok so you are writing a lot of the Avengers line at the site. Rattle off the rosters of your various titles so readers can get a good idea of who’s showing up where.
Jamie: The Avengers consist of Captain America, Photon, Goliath, Wonder Man, Ultra Girl, Texas Twister, Shooting Star and Archangel. Jarvis, as always, will be there as well.
The Mighty Avengers has Thor, Shroud, Jack of Hearts, Spider-Woman, Medusa, Brother Voodoo, Vision and Coat of Arms. Cloud 9, Geirrodur, Balder and Heimdall are part of the supporting cast.
Avengers Infinity has a large cast, but primarily we’ll be seeing Adam Warlock, Ms. Marvel, Nova, Genis-Vell, Machine Man, Mantis, Starfox, Rom and Cerise with Thanos, Gamora, the Rigellian doctor Mari Tarl and an ever changing menagerie of alien characters.
Secret Avengers are a secret, but I’ll make an exception here. Mikel Fury, son of Nick, assembles Tigra, the Black Hulk, Puck, 3-D Man and Kasper Cole, the White Tiger, into his operation that has been under construction for years. There are other operatives spread throughout the Anthology’s world that we’ll come into contact with as we go.
MA: In the next year or two, which character or characters do you think are going to change the most heavily under your pen?
Jamie: Characters I have big plans for include (I’ll go with one per title) Bill Foster, Starfox, Geirrodur and 3-D Man. However, people should keep their eyes on Mikel Fury, Mari Tarl, Jarvis and Coat of Arms as these lesser known or usually supporting characters really get a chance to shine in the next year of Avengers stories.
With Atlas, look forward to each of the characters getting the spotlight over the next 6 issues plus the formation of a back-up Inner Circle to take their place should something happen to them.
MA: So give us a bit of insight into the antagonists that the heroes under your pen are about to face. Which ones in the next year or so do you believe are going to be the most threatening?
Jamie: Throughout all of these titles, there will be an over-arcing presence behind the scenes. The Congress of Realities is a group of reality manipulators and time travellers that have pulled together to force all divergent realities and alternate timelines into a singular timestream and universe with them at its controls. The Infinity Gems have something to do with their plans. We’ll see their involvement through subtle hints as we begin. They have already had their hands in the Avengers’ world during the Mad Jim Jaspers debacle and they’re just getting started.
Beyond that, the Masters of Evil are reforming into a stronger and much more malevolent organization while AIM, with MODOK at the helm, is gearing up to oppose their every move.
Baron Karza and his despicable horde from the Microverse are launching an assault against the Earth above them, starting with the enslavement of the Eternals.
An Elder of the Universe has decided to conquer the entire Kree Empire while the Shi’Ar are on the verge of declaring war on Adam Warlock.
Lord Mar-Vell has opened up a gateway to the Cancerverse on Earth with the intention of spreading the influence of the Many Angled Ones throughout this reality.
Also, we’ll get to read a murder/mystery to find out who killed a Watcher.
All of these will be pretty threatening so it’s hard to choose between them. I want to make sure that everything that is going on is as high stakes as possible. There is a reason these guys are the Avengers; they’re going to have to prove it with everything that is coming at them.
MA: Power wise, who do you feel are some of the most lethal characters at your disposal whether they protagonist or antagonist?
Jamie: Anyone that might get their hands on an Infinity Gem would be someone to consider a threat. There are several parties in contention for the Gems are they will be a focal point in the future. Anything goes when it comes to the Infinity Gems.
When you’re dealing with characters like Jack of Hearts or Nova, things need to be powerful and the adversity needs to be lethal, otherwise we wouldn’t have a story worth reading. When there are heroes that could destroy planets, the ante is upped.
MA: So you have your own personal Big Three. Why are these guys your Big Three and how do you intend to make them worthy of that title?
Jamie: Shroud, Jack of Hearts and Goliath have been favorites of mine since I was a kid. Back when there was only one Avengers book and secondary characters actually got a chance to make appearances that didn’t result in them dying, second and third string characters were all over the place. Although these guys never got a chance to really be Avengers (Jack was only briefly an Avenger while Shroud and Bill Foster were never members), I intend to make them worthwhile and important members of both the Avengers and the hero community of Marvel Anthology as a whole. They are the heart of my Avengers and I don’t think I would be doing what I’m doing at MA if I did not have them in my arsenal.
MA: So what made you decide to go with Mad Jim Jaspers as the villain for your first Avengers’ arc? He’s very much a nontraditional choice.
Jamie: He was my choice because he was nontraditional. Of all of the characters that I could have used, he stood out as the most threatening that the Avengers had never faced. An additional benefit to the character is that he’s completely whacked out of his mind, so I could alleviate the fact that I might not have been a good choice for the new writer of the Avengers with humor and insanity if I wasn’t succeeding. The guy can do anything he imagined, so why not rule Asgard for no other reason that he hadn’t done it yet? His motivations could and did change at the drop of a hat and it was easy to justify it because he’s a loon.
MA: Scarlet Witch’s pregnancy ended in a shocking way. Do you feel children in comics are doomed to failure?
Jamie: I don’t think children in comics are necessarily doomed to failure but in this instance, it just wasn’t something that I wanted to write about. What happened with Wanda at the end of Avengers #12 does more, in my opinion, for her and Wonder Man’s characters than had it been a happy ending. I don’t think that either reading or writing about Wanda and Simon changing diapers and getting puked on is really a compelling Avengers tale.
If Avengers #12 had been my last issue as writer, the result would have been different though. I’d hate to drop the bomb that I dropped onto my successor, although I have passed the Scarlet Witch to X-Factor so that he can deal with the tragedy instead of me. So I guess I might be contradicting myself.