John Layman Interview, continued

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The interview continues as we turn to Detective Comics:

Zac Boone: How does writing Detective differ from writing Chew?

John Layman: Well, first and foremost, I don’t get to play god. And that’s fine with me. When I want to play god, I’ve got Chew. I had very realistic expectations, which is why it’s been going so well. I’m not trying to permanently change Batman. I’m not trying to shake up his world. My sole goal is to tell the best Batman story I can. It’s an icon that every single person in the world knows, and everyone knows his supporting cast, and I’m just getting to have fun with him, and if you go in just trying to do quality work, I think that’s the best goal you can have. I think the people who have trouble are the people who are like, “Here’s a story that I have to write that’s going to be the most important Batman story, and why can’t the editors see my genius and let me do this thing that changes Batman forever?”

Detective Comics #22

ZB: I’ve thought that.

JL: I’m a former editor; I know what they go through. I know how hard it is to juggle a world of continuity and I try to make it easier on them. I take requests. I say, “Hey, Mike [Marts, Batman group editor], who do you want to see in the next arc? Give me three villains,” and he’ll throw three villains and I’m like, “Well, how ‘bout I do this with this guy?”, rather than me coming in and saying I have to do this with this character. So I’m really flexible in working with this, and, you know, you just have to be willing to compromise and realize at the end of the day it’s a character that’s for lease that you’re just getting to use. If you’re Grant Morrison or Scott Snyder, there are people who come along once in a while who can actually shake the foundations. They can do that, and good for them, but that’s never been my aspiration.

ZB: You’ve actually used a lot of villains in your issues…

JL: Well, part of it was, I didn’t know how long I was going to be on and I really like, I really want you to get your money’s worth when you buy a $3.99 comic book, so I’m trying to tell these stories that stand on their own. Maybe they’re part of a bigger story arc, but they also give you a satisfying story in one shot, and so they’ve let me play with villains, and, again, I didn’t know how long I was going to last, so I wanted to use as many as possible.

ZB: I imagine it’s also a contrast with Chew, where you’ve got the long-form story.

JL: Yeah. Well, even with Chew, each one is a case.

ZB: Sure.

JL: I’m very much about “Make the comics you want to buy.” and I also want you to be satisfied in the short term. I don’t want you to have to wait for a trade; I want you to feel satisfied when you buy $2.99. It’s all about that.

ZB: You just hinted at Ra’s al Ghul (or Ra’s al Ghul, depending on your pronunciation preference) at the end of #21. Do you foresee building a larger arc there?

JL: Yes and no. I think I could be doing that, but I’m also prepared to change on a dime. Which is part of the way I see Batman. Chew is a symphony, and every note has to be perfect and in its place, but Batman is, there’s five other titles at the least, and there are crossovers, and all that sort of stuff; you gotta be able to turn on a dime, so it’s jazz. You’re doing improv. Am I doing Ra’s al Ghul? Yeah, unless I’m not. Unless something changes.

(Rob Guillory, the artist for Chew who is sitting nearby, chimes in.)

RG: Unless he’s going to be prominent in another storyline.

JL: Yeah.

ZB: That’s definitely a possibility [with Batman, Incorporated].

JL: You never know, because some editor can come up and say, “This guy’s off the market.”

RG: And that happens.

JL: Oh, it happens a lot. It just happened recently with this other character, and I had the editor apologizing, “Sorry, this book screwed up this plan.” That’s the nature of the beast.

(We pause as a con-goer approaches Mr. Layman with a stack of several dozen comics, from his tenure as editor, to have signed. Another asks to have an item signed with a line of writing advice. Mr. Layman asks them to return in half an hour so he can decide what to write.)

ZB: Ra’s has largely not appeared in the New 52. He may have had a minor appearance in Batman, Inc. but that’s hardly even part of the New 52.

JL: Yes. I think Grant Morrison’s stuff is both the New 52 and also exists in its own kind of reality.

ZB: It’s dictating the New 52, more than being dictated by the New 52.

JL: Yeah, absolutely.

ZB: So, have you had any ideas for any changes, or thoughts of the New 52 version of Ra’s?

JL: No, I’m not thinking that far, because I don’t know if I’ll get to that, so why invest a lot of mental energy in something six or eight issues down the road that may never happen? I’m mostly focused on the current issue and about three issues ahead.

ZB: You’ve got the Wraith coming up…

JL: The Wrath.

ZB: Wrath. I’m sorry, I misread my solicits.

JL: Yeah, I’m finishing that up. It’s weird, because I’m not thinking that far ahead, but now I’ve been planting seeds, and I’ve got characters now, especially Emperor Penguin. He’s in jail, but people liked him enough, they’re like, “You going to bring him back?” “Yeah!”

ZB: You’ve got material you can work with.

JL: Yeah. There are some cops that show up in #19, who kinda hate Batman, and they’re in the next arc with Wrath, because Wrath is killing cops. All these characters just sort of appeared, and without meaning to I’m creating my own tapestry and giving myself more to work with.

ZB: What makes the Wrath different? There have been a number of “anti-Batmen,” like Killer Moth.

JL: I’m not a super continuity guy, so I can take the basic concept and do my own thing with it. I’ve got him as this rich, playboy industrialist, who’s moved into Gotham. He’s more brash. He’s spending a lot of money. He’s contributing to charities, but he’s got a secret. He’s got his own mission based on his past, but his mission just happens to be to kill cops. He’s not trying to bring in bad guys, he’s trying to kill the good guys.

ZB: Well, we will look forward to meeting him…next issue, right?

JL: Yep, next issue.

ZB: Awesome. Is there anything else you want to say about Chew or Detective?

JL: Just thanks for the support, Unleash the Fanboy. We appreciate it.

ZB: Thank you.

After the interview proper was over, Chew came up again. Specifically, I asked if we would see more interplay between the food-based powers, as we did in issue 34. Mr. Layman said that would be the case, with the specific example of the Church of the Immaculate Ova beginning to take Tony’s powers into account when making their plans. I also got to check out the first few pages of issue 35. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say John Colby finds himself in a very awkward position.

Chew #35 comes out July 17th (just as Comic-Con begins!). Detective Comics #22 is out this Wednesday, July 3rd.

Zac Boone has WAY too much to do before San Diego Comic-Con. Probably more than most people. Watch his sanity unravel on twitter!