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Talking with Chuck Dixon!

Geek in the City is proud to present the first in a (hopefully) ongoing series of interviews with professionals and rising stars within the comic book industry. We couldn’t be happier to launch this new series with the one and only Chuck Dixon !

GitC – At what moment or with what book can you remember thinking to yourself? "Comics! That is where my future lies".

Chuck Dixon - I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn't interested in comics. I seemed to be drawing my own comics before I could talk and going through piles of them long before I could read. Since I have no talents or skills for anything else I just kept at it until someone noticed.

GitC – We have a lot of readers that are struggling writers and/or artists. (Though truthfully, when aren’t they)? What advice would you give them?

Chuck Dixon - First, become moderately successful in another medium. If you’ve written an episode or two of How I Met Your Mother you too can be a comic book master...

GitC – With comics making all the big bucks for film studios, do you think we’re entering a new era for comics? What do you think the long-term effect these films will have on the comic market?

Chuck Dixon - Comics are always entering a new era. But, this one has a lot more to do with public libraries than whatever they’re doing in Hollywood. Big box-office does not translate into bigger sales for comics. Never has. Never will. Comics have to survive on their own merits. It's a separate medium with no crossover effect as inexplicable as that seems.

GitC – I've read your stance on the use of sexuality within comics and for the most part I would agree, most of it reads like shock value. However, I’m curious. Is there ever a moment when sexuality (or other "real world" issues) are a legitimate form of storytelling and if so, when?

Chuck Dixon - I don't mind sexual content in a book so long as it has a place and is appropriate for the title. The whole "it’s two girls kissing!" approach seems tired and shallow to me.

Truth is, I got in trouble back when I was writing Savage Sword of Conan and had the ol' horndog Cimmerian gettin' it on with the ladies. Tom DeFalco was heading Marvel then and told me I had to stop that kind of stuff. I protested that every other writer had Conan bedding wenches left and right. Tom admitted the problem was that the parties involved seemed to be enjoying it too much.

So, there's your case in point. Sex for shock is okay. Honest physical contact between two humans. That’s a no-no. And by "real world issues" I assume you’re referring to topical "ripped screaming from the headlines" stories. I write escapist fiction. No cautionary tales about acid rain or the national deficit in my bibliography.

GitC – Okay, let me jump on over to your time at CrossGen. Everyone knows about the very public financial crash. What I’m curious is the concept. Do you think there is a place for a comic company that treats the creative process like a typical 9 to 5 ? Also, how can any smaller comic company attempt to create their own "superhero world" and not get brushed aside by the Big Two?

Chuck Dixon - Well, we’re talking comics freelancers here so, as much as the folks who ran CrossGen wanted it that way, there were lots of guys who couldn’t do the nine to five thing. Myself, I usually showed up around ten or eleven and stayed into the evening. When I got complaints I would point to how far ahead of schedule I was on my books.

I loved the studio and still miss my office every day. Unfortunately, no one will ever try this concept again after CG fell so hard so fast. And we didn’t get brushed aside by DC or Marvel. It was more like we kept head-butting them when the best thing to do was find our own path around them. We really were going for a different market and demographic than the Big Two. If CG had concentrated on the book market and slowly building a backlist of trades we’d still be here. We weren’t in the superhero arena. We weren’t playing the same game as the others.

GitC – Would you ever consider getting behind a small comic upstart again?

Chuck Dixon - Sure. I like spinning the wheel. Why? Do you know of any recent lottery winners?

GitC – Onto your current work… First off, let me just say how fantastic it is to seeyou back on a Bat books, Robin especially. Why have fans latched into Tim Drake as the best Robin?

Chuck Dixon - Dick took on his own crime-fighting persona. It’s hard to imagine Tim as anything but Robin.

GitC – How much forethought goes into your character development? In the case of Robin, it would have been very simple to make him a vengeance or guilt driven kid all over again. How were you able to avoid Jason Todd, Part II?

Chuck Dixon - Well, we knew that approach didn’t work. Readers didn’t care for it and never took to Jason even after a re-boot. Nobody’s fault. It was just a misstep. Robin needs to contrast with Batman for the mix to work.

So, where Jason was cocky and reckless, Tim was cautious and discerning. He was a character closer to what the average person could relate to with insecurities and fears to overcome to succeed in the life he chose for himself.

GitC – Speaking of Jason Todd. Without getting you in trouble with the higher ups, what are your thoughts on Jason Todd’s’ “return” to comics?

Chuck Dixon - You do what you have to do to capture the readers’ attention.

GitC – Since I’ve already gone down the path, what was your reaction to the death of Stephanie Brown, at the hands (or lack thereof) from a one Leslie Tompkins?

Chuck Dixon - Not happy. I thought it was un-called for and, in the end, only had a negative impact on readers.

GitC – Can you please, please give my readers a little tease…? Is Stephanie back? I know in my own fanboy world, Tim becomes Batman and Stephanie takes on the mantle of Robin and they raise little vigilante Bat-Babies!

Chuck Dixon - Ah, what a wonderful world you inhabit. Sorry, no hints.

GitC – As for your work on Batman and the Outsiders. Did you always plan to bring poor ‘ol Ralph and Sue Dibney back into the DC Fold? Also, any other surprise characters you can hint at? Any Haunted Tank rolling with the Outsiders?

Chuck Dixon - The Dibneys’ return was by editorial fiat from on high. And there will be surprises ahead. Some characters returning. Some leaving. Some morphing into a new form.

GitC – What do you say to people that claim you are just the "badass action guy"?

Chuck Dixon - That maybe they should check out the eighteen or so issues of The Simpsons I’ve written.

GitC – There is a rumor that one of the reasons you slowly departed DC was the rules coming down from Dan DiDio. This rumor earned some steam when readers started to see all the history you set down slowly get yanked or trashed. Now, I’m honestly not trying to get anyone in trouble or start any word wars. However, what do you say to fans that feel this way?

Chuck Dixon - Dan DiDio came to DC after my departure so he wasn’t in any way a factor in my leaving. That’s the problem with these rumors. They don’t look at the timeline. I didn’t even meet Dan until after CrossGen had imploded. And I don’t think he was responsible for undoing my contributions either. I know exactly whose doorstep to place that one on.

GitC – If you had the opportunity to crank out a company-wide “mega event”, how would it go down?

Chuck Dixon - On time.

GitC – Finally, in grand Geek in the City tradition, I need to ask one final question... In a no holds barred fight, who wins: Boon Sai Hong vs. Richard Dragon?

Chuck Dixon - Boon would win because he’d cheat.

I would like to extend a huge thanks to Chuck Dixon on behalf of everyone at Geek in the City. As most comic readers know, he is one of the busiest writers in comics and it was fantastic to read his thoughts on comics, characters, and the industry in general.

You can learn more about Chuck Dixon at Dixonverse.net