Alternate Histories: An Interview with Greg Pak

Greg Pak (pronounced Pock) is an accomplished film director and comic writer with acclaimed runs on The Incredible Hulk, Hercules, and Action Comics, among others. In his ten years as a published comic writer, Pak has written tragedy, comedy, and high drama, he’s shaped the births of some of Marvel’s most dangerous villains, written DC’s flagship title, and even shown the world a gay, gubernatorial Wolverine!

In short, he’s a pretty impressive guy and it’s no surprise that he’s in high demand at the moment. Pak currently writes Superman in DC’s Action Comics and Batman/Superman, a revived Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for Dynamite, and is set to launch the first ever Storm series from Marvel next month.

I managed to talk to Mr. Pak at Special Edition: NYC. As you might guess, he was very busy but he absolutely insisted on giving thoughtful and intelligent answers to every one of my questions. I really appreciate him taking the time to talk to us and, if you do too, maybe you should pre-order Storm #1 at your local comic shop as the window to do is rapidly closing.

SENYC Report: The Days of High Adventure – An Interview with Tony Bedard

Tony Bedard has been a presence in comics since the early 90s, working for a huge number of publishers in nearly as many roles. Bedard excels at writing clever and engaging comics that often explore the edges of their universes, where his ideas are free to grow.

Bedard currently writes Supergirl for DC and, in reviewing that series, I realized how interesting it would be to talk to him for the site. It took a while to find a time, but I was able to sit down with Tony at Special Edition: NYC to talk about Supergirl, editing, and even superhero movies. I hope you’ll enjoy hearing from him as much as I did.

SENYC Report: Reimagining the Female Hero

Following Marvel’s Next Big Thing, room 1E19 was turned over to a very different sort of panel. At once more important but less serious, Reimagining the Female Hero was my favorite panel at Special Edition: NYC and, judging from the reactions I’ve seen, I get the sense I wasn’t alone in that.

In a stark inversion of horror stories from previous conventions where feminist panels were trolled by attendees waiting out more traditional fare, I noticed many fans sticking around from The Next Big Thing. In fact, despite taking place in the same room as DC and Marvel’s offerings, the panel gave us reason to hope and easily held its own in terms of attendance.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that the panel had some pretty excellent creators. The line-up included Jenny Frison, a talented cover artist for series including Revival and Red Sonja; Emanuela Lupacchino, the artist on DC’s Supergirl and the Superman: Lois Lane one-shot; Marguerite Bennett, the writer of Superman: Lois Lane and Batgirl #25 and #30; Gail Simone, feminist icon and writer on Batgirl; and Amy Reeder, the artist behind Madame Xanadu and Rocket Girl, who arrived from her dedicated panel a short while into the discussion.

It’s also worth mentioning that the panel had an excellent moderator in the form of Professor Ben Saunders of the University of Oregon. While I hesitate to devote too much praise to the only man involved with the panel, Professor Saunders did an excellent job of keeping the focus on his panelists, encouraging their relevant digressions, and recognizing their celebrity while keeping the mood light yet respectful.

In short I left the room with a greater respect for everyone involved.

SENYC Report: DC Comics – Batman 75th Anniversary Panel

DC really only had one big panel at SE: NYC but Batman’s 75^th anniversary is certainly nothing to scoff at. On Sunday, DC VP of Marketing John Cunningham hosted a panel with some of the most interesting voices currently writing in Gotham, providing hints about what’s coming for the Bat-family and an exploration of what makes Batman such a special property.

The panelists included Gail Simone, the definitive Batgirl writer in many minds; James Tynion IV, one of the key minds behind the flagship Batman: Eternal; Greg Pak, who writes Batman/Superman; and Francis Manapul, co-writer for Detective Comics.

SENYC Report: Marvel – The Next Big Thing

Marvel came out in force for Special Edition: NYC. Though they easily flattened the competition when it came to number of panels, this was the one to see if you wanted to know what was coming from the House of Ideas.

The panel was moderated by Senior VP of Publishing Tom Brevoort and featured a slew of top name talent. This included Senior X-Men Editor Mike Marts, fan favorite writer Peter David, Storm writer Greg Pak, and Deadpool editor Jordan D. White. There was even a surprise guest in the form of Katie Kubert, the former editor of Batman and Detective comics who had announced her departure from DC less than twenty-four hours before!