Tynion talks RHATO: “I want to tell the biggest story possible”

fuckyeahrhato:

ComicVine interviewed James Tynion yesterday at WonderCon Anaheim 2013. You can watch the whole thing here, comments on Red Hood and The Outlaws start at minute 04:35.

Highlights:

  • On the Joker’s trick with the mask, he said the story will focus more on the emotional consequences of that accident. What’s going on with Jason’s face will be totally clear on the next issue. He thinks people will be happy about it.
  • He talks about how the Joker tainted Jason’s good memories by implying he controlled them, so Jason is going to go back to the old cast and try to figure out how to move forward.
  • Chesire will be back. She and Roy’ll meet for the first time in the Annual in May!
  • It’s going to be a big story. It’s an adventure series. New characters are coming in the future that he’s been waiting to introduce for a long time.

Give the interview a chance and watch it, it’s just 10 minutes!

So, are you excited?

Tomasi talks the future of Batman and Robin

robinless:

Spoilers for Inc., so read at your own risk. Let me just highlight a couple things:

Batman and Robin #18 is an entirely silent issue; no text, no sound effects (…) The title of the series for the next several issues will change, the first being “Batman And Red Robin,” the second being “Batman And Red Hood.”

Complete interview here.

SPOILERS


This is very cool. Well, except for the Damian part. Seriously :’( I really like how Pete Tomasi writes Jason. 

jamesthefourth: redhoodoutlaws: Boom! Here’s the Red Hood And the Outlaws Facebook page’s Q&A with new series  writer James Tynion IV: http://redhoodsden.blogspot.com/2013/01/tynion-talks-outlaws-1172013-edition.html Afterwards, check-in on our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/RedHoodOutlaws AWWW YUSSS! - Read up, you magical tumblr beasts! I got answers for you!
Pop-upView Separately

jamesthefourth:

redhoodoutlaws:

Boom! Here’s the Red Hood And the Outlaws Facebook page’s Q&A with new series  writer James Tynion IV:

http://redhoodsden.blogspot.com/2013/01/tynion-talks-outlaws-1172013-edition.html

Afterwards, check-in on our FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/RedHoodOutlaws

AWWW YUSSS! - Read up, you magical tumblr beasts! I got answers for you!

Source: redhoodoutlaws

Jason has been through a lot of terrible things. He had an incredibly rough childhood, his tenure as Robin was defined by the fact that he was impulsive and tended to follow his emotions rather than his orders, then he died terribly and was resurrected in a way he still doesn’t quite understand. But every step of the way, he wanted to do what’s right. Even coming to Gotham City and becoming a murderous vigilante was a plan to clean up crime in a way that he felt was more concrete and final than what Batman had to offer. His moral compass is pointed in the right direction, but the darker moments that defined his past have led him to a darker path of heroism.

In reading those stories, you can see that he’s evolving, re-evaluating his morality every step of the way to make sure he’s on the right path. And I don’t think he is sure. He knows that he has a deep rage and sadness in him that pushes him in the wrong direction. I think he’s doing his best to master that and try and become a better Jason Todd. Whether his interpretation of what’s better matches what Batman would think is another thing entirely. But Jason is a constantly evolving character, and I think that’s what makes it so exciting to write him, and bring him to the next step on his journey forward.

Interview with James Tynion IV at Comic VIne

When Jason and the Outlaws, who are just this moment leaving when the call goes out, learn that Red Robin is unable to deal with his particular Talon, Red Hood steps in to help.

That said, there is an awesome scene between Jason and Tim that is going to have people spitting out their Cheerios and standing on their breakfast table shouting with glee! It is one of my favorites glimpses into both Jason and Tim’s life that I’ve gotten to write since the New 52 started. …

There is zero interaction between the two (Batman and Jason). There was going to be a one-page cameo where Jason dropped a defeated Talon onto the floor of the Batcave in front of Batman and says, “Don’t say I’ve never done anything for you,” but it got edited out because it didn’t fit into the Batman story.

Scott Lobdell talks RH&O for the upcoming Night of the Owls crossover event to CBR.

The scene with Jason and Bruce would have been quite awesome. Very interested in the scene with Tim and Jason since the last time they’ve interacted in the DCU was Battle for the Cowl (and it’s not clear if that still exists in the new DCU…)

And he adds in another head-desk worthy moment of calling Kory a “lil’ princess” — coming after his “cute little bikini clad friend” comment.  Is there no one who can tell this guy that maybe these fairly dismissive comments aren’t cool? 

With the graphic novel, (Lee) Bermejo wanted to appeal to casual consumers of Batman entertainment, be it the occasional comic reader or movie watcher who maybe doesn’t know exactly how many Robins there have been in Dark Knight history.
At the same time, he’s amazed at how many people know that one of the Robins died on Batman’s watch. “My mother knows that,” Bermejo says. “That’s more part of the canon of Batman that the general public knows about, as well as the ’60s Batman and now the darker, more serious interpretations.
Lee Bermejo discusses using Jason in Batman Noel. Via USA Today. Jason appears as the Jacob Marley type character (and is only featured in flashbacks and memories, not in a speaking role — but it’s still Jason as drawn by Lee Bermejo - bangs and all!)

Scott Lobdell talks Red Hood, Starfire, sex and gender inquality

In an interview with Newsarama’s Vaneta Rogers:

Lobdell: I know as of right now, the action shares equal time with the emotional core of the characters in issue #3, issue #4 and #5 is more horror but still maintains a high level of action, and issue #6 is as close as this series will come to a “love story” as we learn how Jason and Kori first met.
 

The issue is called “Before” — and it is actually planned to be a quasi-ongoing series of stand alone issues throughout the series where we’ll be going back and revealing things that happened before the events of issue one.

Nrama: Let’s talk about Jason Todd. He was shown with a bat symbol on his chest, yet he obviously wants to distance himself from the Bat family. Now that the nature of his character has been revealed in issue #1, how would you describe his motivation and status in this series?

Lobdell: I think Jason sees Batman — his mentor — as an exceptionally flawed hero obsessed with cleaning up the streets of a city that will, frankly, never ever be cleaned up.



To that end, as far as Jason is concerned, Batman is on something of a fool’s errand trying to accomplish something that will never happen.
 
To that end, Jason sets much smaller and manageable goals for himself. Break Roy out of prison, check. Investigate slaughter of ancient assassin monks, check. Destroy the Untitled, check.

When Jason sees a problem, he’s going to deal with it — with a degree of finality that a Batman does not, because of his rather rigid moral code.

In issue #6, we’ll learn exactly why the bat is on his current costume. 

Read more under the cut!

Nrama: There seems to be almost a “buddy movie” type relationship between Roy and Jason. Were you going for that type of feel? And will we find out more about their dynamic in upcoming issues?

Lobdell: Phew! This is twice now you asked if I was going for the feel that came through in the book — and twice now I can say “Yes!” I must be doing something right!

Like most “buddy movie” relationships, they work because the two guys come from two different places. Jason, as we saw in the first issue, is a planner. He’s always ten steps ahead of everyone else — he didn’t even step foot into the prison until he made sure he had back-up in place in case things got crazy. (Could he have planted explosives along the road from the prison? Sure. But he didn’t have to because he had asked Kori to join him on this adventure and he knew she was infinitely more effective than C-4.)
 

Roy, on the other hand, is much more impulsive. Give him a target and he’ll hit it… he’s not real big on the details. Also, there is a very David versus Goliath quality to Roy: In issue #3 we see him go up against a threat that we don’t think he can possibly prevail — and yet he throws himself into the fray without a moment’s thought.

Nrama: Scott, I’m sure you’ve heard about the negative reaction some fans had to the portrayal of Starfire in Red Hood and the Outlaws #1. Did it surprise you?

Lobdell: It didn’t surprise me that there were some people who didn’t like it.

 

What surprised me was that it almost caused the Internet to melt.

 Mostly, what has surprised me has been the very vulgar way that people believe they are coming to the defense of Kori: they hurl words like “slut” and “whore” and expressions too disgusting to repeat here that are only used to demean women.

Lets consider an imaginary woman who has more than one or two lovers. Is it fair to label her with dismissive and derogatory language? Because we disagree with the choices she makes, to do what she wants with her own body? Are we still at a place in society where we’re going to call a woman — any woman — names that reinforce gender inequality?

The good thing is that the story has gotten people to talk about issues they are passionate about — and that can only ever lead to a better understanding on everyone’s part.

Nrama: The character is obviously very comfortable with nudity and sex, which isn’t exactly new to her character, but was really played up in the art here. Was that the intended message behind the way she was visually portrayed?

Lobdell: I’m not really sure one draws a Koriand’r in a bathing suit on a tropical island without making her sexy.

Also, I don’t think a beautiful and confident woman needs to apologize to anyone for the way she dresses, on a beach or off.

Nrama: How do you see Kori in the first issue? Was she meant to come across as a little weak as she leaned on Jason for decisions and offered sex to Roy, or was there another meaning behind her actions? What can you tell us about how she acted in the story — and why?

Lobdell: I think in a courthouse this would be called “leading the witness. “

In the first issue Kori shows up only when she is needed to rescue the guys. Once that is accomplished — between panels as a way to show how her sudden appearance completely changes the power dynamics present so far in the story — she politely asks her friend if there is anything else she can do to help. Polite is the new weak? Would it have been a better portrayal of the character if she had said “I will fly ahead and kill everyone in your path, Jason?”

Read more of the interview at Newsarama! 

Scott Lobdell Interview

Hey Hoodies, got some smoking hot news here, I scored the first Post-Starfire-Crisis interview with Scott Lobdell, before any other comic news outlets. Check it out here 

http://www.redhoodsden.blogspot.com/

And our facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Hood-the-Outlaws/115273201894401

FYJT: This bit sounds good: “I don’t see Jason as someone who walks around with his emotional baggage. Yeah, he’s clearly been a bit obsessed about Batman and the Joker for a while now… but we’ll see over the next few months that he has a lot more going on in his head and his heart than that.


Without trying to sound sappy, redemption is more about how to move forward than about dwelling on the past.”

And this bit… hmm, a little more unsure about since it would be great to see more ladies round out the roster once Crux gets on board: 

 Mike: Can we expect another woman to be joining the Outlaws anytime soon?


Scott: Nope. At the risk of sounding sexist (Who, me?!)… Princess Koriand’r is proving to be more than woman enough for the series!