TOJ Interview Part One

by Nightvision (Brekat)

For the first part of the interviews of the creative team of Titans of Justice, I had the honor to interview one of the creators of ToJ Power Guy.

Nightvision: What inspires you to create the new heroes and villains of ToJ like Sargona, Power Guy, Venus, etc?

Power Guy I draw on the great memories of my favorite childhood cartoons and comics. It should be no surprise to anyone that the Challenge of the Super Friends show and the satellite-era JLA are the biggest pools from where I draw ideas from.

Nightvision: With the guest writers and some references thus far, we have links to the DCU 52, teases about Amazon Attack like reference and Titans, are we going to see concepts like the multiuniverses, Crisis, or is the focus going to be on the base characters?

Power Guy: I don't plan on using the Crisis too much in Titans East as I think all the changing origins and multiple worlds make people's heads spin. There is one minor Crisis-related tweak coming up but that's it.

Nightvision: With some recent stories, it seems like the mystery of Wonder Warrior's history is questioned by Wonder Man. Are you going to do like a Time Pasts story or reveal the fate of Paradise Island and the Amazons?

Power Guy: Wonder Warrior's origin will be dealt with in the near future in a story in Titans EAST. I've had Wonder Warrior's origin planned out since day one and made sure it was ok with the Archkid that I borrowed Wonder Warrior to tell the tale. Needless to say, I think most people will ask themselves why they didn't figure it out when Wonder Warrior first appeared. As for the Amazons and Paradise Island, they are safe and happy under Queen Diana's rule (for now).

Nightvision Speaking of figuring out, you have introduced mystery characters Sportsmaster and Venus. It has the feel of some mysteries used in Justice League America. What helped you develop mystery characters like these? Venus-what connections does she have to the other members of Titans East or Titans West?

Power Guy: Honestly, Scotty & I came up with Venus together. We tossed around several ideas before we decided on what she was going to be all about. The mystery of Venus has been slow-building (and on purpose) but look for us to pick up the pace a bit more in the near future. As for the Sportsmaster, that was all Green Lantern's idea and I have to say that he did a bang-up job. I like the Sportsmaster so much that I am thinking about using him myself in a future story.

Oh - in regard to Venus' connections with Titans East and West, she's slept with Wonder Man but only considers him a good friend, she's friendly with both Sargona and Black Vulcan, and now she has her eye set on Palome'. Where that goes is anyone's guess.

Nightvision: You said earlier that your favorite cartoon and comics in memory inspired some of these characters, yet the team sees to get along better and not want to disband as much as their parents' team did. Why do you think the teams get along so well together for the most part?

Power Guy: Well for one, they have a big thing in common; the hero business is pretty new to them. None of them saw much action before the Legion of Doom came to the present from the past. Since then, they've seen their share of cases which has forced them to bond.

Nightvision: What character have you been most surprised with in his or her development? Why? Which character do you think has more development or an untold story to be told? Why?

Power Guy: I would say that the character that I'm most impressed with is Sargona. I thought everyone would think the granddaughter of Sargon The Sorcerer was a lame idea and they would instantly hate her but she seems to have the opposite effect. I've gotten several positive comments on her and that really makes me happy.

As for the character that needs the most development, I'd say Power Guy. I have to admit that I've been kind of "scared" to use him too much as I don't want people thinking that I'm arrogant as he's based on myself.

Nightvision: Are we going to read more about what happened to the parents and family of the ToJ? Will some appear?

Power Guy: Yes, the first and second generation of heroes will not be forgotten. Look for several current generation heroes to appear in chapter 32 and then down the road, two members of the Super Friends are slated to appear in an upcoming chapter.

Nightvision: Recently we are getting more about the heroes lives when their masks are off. What should readers be looking forward to about finding out about their favorite heroes under the mask? Where they live? Their status (marriage, single, widowed, etc)? Are we going to see more of supporting casts of some the heroes?

Power Guy: Actually, I'm not going to dig too deep into the heroes personal lives too much as we have such a large cast and I like to keep the focus on the action but every now and then, we'll see a glimpse of what they do when they're not in costume.

Nightvision: What are some of your favorite characters from comics and cartoons that have yet been used yet that you think would be great additions to the stories going on?

Power Guy: let's see, Hal Jordan, Vixen, Zatanna, Apache Chief, Rima, Wildcat, The Joker's Daughter, & Red Star.

Nightvision: As a fan, I know you are not a fan of "creating a character only to kill them" like Isis in 52. Would we expect the same in your writing?

Power Guy: Oh yes except in maybe a very rare case like if I created a Jericho-related character. ;D

Nightvision: I know you said you were not developing the supporting cast of the heroes however how do the people feel in the cities and worlds connected to the ToJ?

Power Guy: Do you mean how does the world see the Titans?

Nightvision: yes see and feel about them

Power Guy: Well most of the world is uncertain about them especially Amanda Waller which is why she forced the team to accept Thunderstorm(now Black Vulcan II) on to the team. Amanda didn't count on the Titans continuing such a clean record. The only major mishap they've had was the death of Vibe II but Amanda didn't hold that against them as she is used to loss having ran the Suicide Squad for so long.

Nightvision: As a JLU figure fan, what 6 figures with accessories would you like to see in the first wave of ToJ figures? If you had 6 3 packs, which would you put in each pack?

Power Guy: Ha! Great question. Let's see. My 6 single-carded figures would be: Wonder Man w/Lasso, Huntress w/Crossbow, Nightvision w/Batarang, Starman w/Cosmic Rod, Dr. Poison w/Gas Grenade, & Sportsmaster w/Baseball Bat & Surfboard.

As for the 6 3-packs, they'd consist of: 1. Power Guy/Celsius/Amazo, 2.) Sargona/Green Lantern/Sonic Boom, 3.) Fausta/Male Cheetah/Giganta, 4.) Strato Hawk/Junjie Quic/Mordru, 5.) Venus/Palome'/Black Vulcan II(new costume), 6.) Jemstone(new costume)/Nucleus/Stranger.

And of course I'd need an Invisible Jet and Hall of Justice.

Nightvision: Which would you rather see more-a cartoon series made for the Titans of Justice or a comic book monthly? Why?

Power Guy : I'd rather see a comic as there would be more versatility there. But a cartoon would be uber-sweet too!

Nightvision: Who would you like the regular writer, artist, and cover artist to be if it could be a comic?

Power Guy: Regular writer? Me! With Scotty2Hotty and Green Lantern filling in when I need a break. As for the artist, Phil Jimenez(with Alex Ross on covers)!

Nightvision Back to the chapters, what can you tell readers about the appearance of the Hall of Justice. Is it more like Superfriends or more like the one shown in Justice League America #7?

Power Guy: It's an exact copy of the one from the Super Friends. The give-away is that it's located in Metropolis rather than Washington D.C. There will be an explanation for it's location as we are trying to stick as close to DCU continuity as possible.

Nightvision: What new characters should readers expect to see in the near future?

Power Guy: well, recently we've introduced Power Lad and Rapido. What do they have in common? They're both teen sidekicks. Anyone with a minute amount of intelligence can figure out where we're going with this.

Nightvision Like with 52 and Countdown in the DCU, what teases can you give us about the next chapter and chapters coming up?

Power Guy: well in our next chapter, the Titans West will guest-star and they'll meet their present day parents. Imagine that your kid has been missing for a few weeks and when you finally find them, they're 5 years older than when you saw them last.

Beyond that, there will be 2 separate stories with ties to the Super Friends. Down the road, look for the new Legion of Doom to finally rear it's ugly head with an even deadlier roster than before!

Nightvision Sounds Great!!!! Thank you for your time and look forward to reading the next chapter real soon.

Power Guy You're welcome. The fact that people even read my stories is enough gratitude in iself.

Look for Titans East Chapter 31 and Titans West Chapter 5 coming out real soon .

TOJ Interview Part Two

For the second part of the interviews of the creative team of Titans of Justice, I had the honor to interviewing ArchKid whose idea it was to do these interviews.

1.) How do you land the "duty" of the writer of Titans West?
Well, honestly, I wanted to write the original Titans West for ToJ: Classified, then it turned into a chapter of Titans of Justice. Pretty soon, Power Guy asked me if I was interested, and I was!

2.) What inspires your writing of the stories?
It's hard to say, I'd have to say the writing talents of Keith Giffen, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are the major inspirations, but not the only.

3.) I see you are using more and more Global Guardians references. Are more from the Superfriends Global Guardians which Fire debuted, the Dome that had stories in Blue Beetle and New Teen Titans, the Morrison Ultramarines/Global Guardians story or a combo of all of them?
It's more of a JLI meets the Global Guardians deal. They're not as problematic as the JLI, but yeah, there are enough references to different incarnations that should at least interest people, not necessarily like them, but interest...

4.) I have seen with the HQ as the Dome that it is in between 2 dimensions. What can you tell us about the dimensions and the significance to the Dome's location?
Hemispheres, and honestly, the big significance is they're in a spot that is the same distance from everywhere. However, dimensional stuff might involve the Guardians...

5.) What character not presently in the ToJ universe would you like to see and why?
If you mean based on a member on these boards? Wild Card. He's an interesting take on Harlequin, and who knows what he's got to give to the ToJ universe?

6.) If there was a ToJ Draft, who would you draft for Titans West? Also, who would you trade for a #1 draft choice and who would be the #1 draft choice for you?
A draft? Hm. I can't really answer this one; it's too hard to choose.

7.) What makes Titans West unique from Titans East besides the characters?
Titans West relies on more self-contained stories, in the end they tell a larger story, and we do have arcs, but you should be able to read one chapter and get what's going on, and have a good laugh. Titans West pokes fun at itself, that's why I love writing it.

8.) How does your typical story plotting go? Do you have an initial story and work with the editors and writers to develop it or it is more brainstorming for all the editors and writers involved?
I have story ideas, some of them I run by Power Guy, but I mostly wing it when plotting, creating twists and turns and making sure the characters don't get along.

9.) If there was a Hall of Mentors in the Dome, who would you put in there for the various members?
The ones you know so far? Commander Steel-Commander Steel. Impala-Impala, Rocket Red #9-Rocket Red #4 and for Ice-Warrior-Ice and Guy Gardner.

10.) Would you like to see a comic book version or cartoon version of ToJ? If comic, who would you like to see write and do the art? If cartoon, who would voice which character?
Yes. For the entire ToJ, I think Power Guy could write it, but if it's Titans West, me or better yet, Keith Giffen. As for art, Eric Powell could be a good fit.

11.) If ToJ had a Marvel Legends line, who would be in Wave 1 including any variant costumes? Who would be the hero or villain assembled by the parts in each package?
Marvel Legends, nice pick for me...

Wave 1, just for Titans West? Starman, Wonder Warrior, Arachnid, and Supergirl. For a build a figure, Gigantus, why not, he's their biggest foe to date. Variant costumes would feature Wonder Warrior actually wearing red, and Supergirl in her original costume.

12.) What prisons are there in the future for the villains when they are captured? Arkham? Phantom Zone? Blackgate?
Gigantus was sent to Arkham. The Super-Max will be featured a bit, mostly 'cause the West Coast needs its own prison. As for the Phantom Zone, well, it'll come up...

13.) To you see your Titans West team doing more as a whole team each chapter or do you like to mix it up sometimes with Team-ups?
The team-ups just happen. I pick out a small roster, and roll with it. The left behinds get to shine soon enough.

14.) With the characters you have written thus far in the chapters. Who has developed more than you thought? Who would you like to develop more?
I think I developed Supergirl more than I planned to, it's subtle, but it's there. As for who I'd like to develop more, well, Jemstone and Icemanling are going to get their chance to shine.

15.) Like with 52 and countdown, what teases and/or pieces can you give us for future chapters?
Earth-3's out there, imps are always fun, clowns are a'happening and Global Guardians in Russia! That enough of a tease for ya?

If not, expect an old-school Wonder Woman foe to appear, and look for the return of Gigantus!


Thank you to Archkid taking his time for this interview.

-Nightvision