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Jason K Fulton
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 23 September 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 758
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| Posted: 19 September 2023 at 5:02pm | IP Logged | 1
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A spin-off of the Dark Phoenix thread, but - on a given title, how did you determine how often a given villain would show up?
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133711
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| Posted: 19 September 2023 at 7:03pm | IP Logged | 2
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Doctor Doom I scheduled for once a year. Others were more random
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Michael Penn
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Joined: 12 April 2006
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| Posted: 19 September 2023 at 8:15pm | IP Logged | 3
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> Doctor Doom I scheduled for once a year <
When you first signed onto to the FF, JB, did you already have ideas in store for Doctor Doom?
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John Byrne
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| Posted: 19 September 2023 at 9:16pm | IP Logged | 4
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I had a bunch of Doom ideas, but I used to keep plot elements bouncing around in my head until a story started to take shape, then I’d decide which villain would fit.
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Michael Penn
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| Posted: 19 September 2023 at 9:26pm | IP Logged | 5
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I can only imagine winning an assignment like the FF is a dream come true, but also kind of a nightmare of pressure to live up to Lee/Kirby. No little part of that must've been when and how to use Doctor Doom.
Once per year for him seems like a good plan. Not over-used for writer/artist, yet giving readers a regular chance to see a great character with enough space to appreciate a new story.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 19 September 2023 at 10:05pm | IP Logged | 6
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Taking on the FF was akin to saying “I’ve never tried drugs. Think I’ll start with heroin.”My FIFTH ISSUE was the 20th (!!) anniversary. No pressure there!
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Peter Hicks
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Joined: 30 April 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 1996
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| Posted: 19 September 2023 at 10:14pm | IP Logged | 7
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JB - did you set goals for yourself as to how often to introduce a new villain rather than rely on old favourites?
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
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| Posted: 19 September 2023 at 11:54pm | IP Logged | 8
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Not as such.
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Paul Wills
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Joined: 18 August 2018
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| Posted: 20 September 2023 at 12:12am | IP Logged | 9
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That must be such a wild trip to go from a kid eagerly reading those Fantastic Four stories and then fast forward some years to actually writing and drawing it. I can't imagine what that would feel like!My personal experience was such joy reading your issues as a kid. My only gripe was - why did It have to take a whole month to read the next issue? Little did I know what went into developing those issues!
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John Byrne
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| Posted: 20 September 2023 at 12:23am | IP Logged | 10
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I stopped reading the FF as a fan with #32 and became full time writer-artist with #232. Exactly 200 issues, or a wee bit less than 20 years. A lifetime, back then, the blink of an eye, now.
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Jason K Fulton
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Joined: 23 September 2016
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Posts: 758
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| Posted: 20 September 2023 at 2:23am | IP Logged | 11
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Did you find that writing a book like ALPHA FLIGHT (where you were creating the whole thing from scratch) worked different creative muscles than FANTASTIC FOUR?
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Josh Goldberg
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| Posted: 20 September 2023 at 9:28pm | IP Logged | 12
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When I was a very little boy (the 1970s) I was frustrated about the apparent infrequency of certain big villains. I was desperate to see Superman go up against Lex Luthor. Desperate to see Batman go up against the Joker.
It felt like that only happened very rarely. Too rarely. That being said, we're talking about a time when my age was still measured in single digits. Months felt like an eternity back then. Very subjective.
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