Center Stage

Chuck Dixon

by Jennifer M. Contino

He’s written the Dark Knight, The Marvel Knights, the Birds of Prey, and, even DOOM! However, did you know that Chuck Dixon also wrote about Pooh? No, not that messy stuff, I’m talking our favorite Pooh bear, Winnie! That’s right, frustrated with comic books in the late 70s and early 80s, Chuck decided to give writing children’s books a try. He wrote a few Pooh tales and some Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy, before deciding that the Kiddie book market was even weirder than comics. He returned to his love of comic writing and has been very busy ever since! This summer is no exception. Chuck’s writing a lot of the 80 Page Giant annuals, scribing a four-part crossover with the Birds of Prey and Nightwing, penning a Doom limited series, working with the Marvel Knights, and more! Sequential Tart’s Jennifer Contino tracked down Chuck to ask him all kinds of questions about his life and future works.

Sequential Tart: I've always loved superheroes, so reading comics seemed natural for me. However, I discovered comic books by accident! How did you discover comics?

Chuck Dixon: When I was kid comics were everywhere. My dad would buy them by the bundle at the farmer's market. Drugstores all had them. Every kid I knew growing up read comics. They were more a part of a kid's life than they are now. But my abiding love for them was a little unusual.

ST: I consider my love of comics more like an addiction. When you were younger what comics were you addicted to and why?

CD: I was mostly addicted to the Fantastic Four and Spider-man. And what was there not to like? Fast paced stories with characters I really cared about. What brought me back to the FF again and again was Stan and Jack's way of writing the characters into corners you never thought they'd get out of. I was afraid to turn the page half the time. I loved Reed and Sue and Ben and Johnny so much that I was really worried that they wouldn't make it this time! Man, I wish I had that naivete back! And Spider-man was like Charlie Brown with super powers. A loser who made good for his mistakes but could never get his life in order.

I also loved Batman but when I was a kid his comics were God awful! But I saw the potentail there in the Golden Age reprints they'd run in the annuals.

ST: Did anyone ever try to discourage you from a career in comics? Was your family supportive of your decision to write comics for a living?

CD: My family was perplexed and probably privately worried. But they were never anything less than 100% supportive of me. My parents were absolutely the best.

ST: Where did you go to college and what was your major? Have you taken a lot of creative writing courses to prepare for your career?

CD: I took up time and space in local community college for about two years. I learned next to nothing. Then for years I worked donkey jobs. I'd take any job that would let me read. I worked a lot of graveyard shifts in convenience stores and as a security guard. And I read and I read and I read. And I guess some of it stuck with me. The jobs themselves were an education as I met a lot of potential comic book characters on those late night jobs.

ST: Who's been the biggest influence (comics and non-comics) on your career? Who's the influence that most people might be shocked to hear was instrumental in your pursuing this field?

CD: Archie Goodwin stands above all others to me. The guy did comics the way I wanted to do comics; perfect marriages of words to pictures. And you could tell he tailored each story to each artist and really seemed to understand how to bring out the best in them. And his love for the medium shone through. And his writing is so lean and sparse and beautiful. Even on stories he was assigned at the last minute and probably had to race through there's solid craftsmanship. I've read everything he's done and there's not a story there that fails to entertain.

Other big influences would be Harvey Kurtzman and Frank Robbins. Larry Hama did an awful lot to shape my career as well. No really shocking influences.

ST: You're written so many poignant tales — and, I'd wager the best is yet to come! what genre is your favorite to write about?

CD: Westerns would be my hands down favorite with police procedural mysteries a very close second. After that it would be historical fiction. But I'll write 'em all.

ST: You've too many credits to list them all! I know a lot of people ask you about your favorite story, but which work that you completed is your least favorite? Why?

CD: My run on Moon Knight was very frustrating. For 24 issues I couldn't find a direction for the character. My editor was no help for the most part. He made me shift directions with the wind. That's why I'm glad I'm getting a second shot at him in Marvel Knights.

ST: I just have to ask this... Why kill Oliver Queen (Green Arrow)?

CD: Editorial directive. Originally we weren't going to kill him. But the orders came from on high. So don't blame me. Just be glad his passing was in the hands of someone who cared.

ST: I can't even think of the name Batman without thinking of you, Chuck, some of my favorite stories in the Bat Family have your name attached to them! How does it feel to be so well respected and known for your work on the Bat family?

CD: Amazing and quite unbelievable. I never, never NEVER dreamed that I would one day write a Batman story. And certainly never thought I'd do so many. I don't know how well respected I am but it's been an incredible ride. I still get a thrill everytime I type the words "Batman and Robin."

ST: I think what I like best about your writing is that the women you write about are smart and intelligent and not seen as mindless sex objects or brainless bimbos. They have gasp brains! Who's been your biggest influence on how you portray the women you write?

CD: Well, I was raised with two older sisters. That kind of gives you the midset that every woman is someone's sister and you'd better show some respect. So I guess I'd have to cite them as an influence. Hell, I like women. I wonder about the guys who write them as sex objects. Do they really LIKE women? DO they KNOW any women?

ST: Teaming up Oracle and Black Canary seems like an unlikely alliance — considering I can't recall them ever meeting. When did you get the idea for Birds Of Prey and why those two women?

CD: That was Jordan Gorfinkel's idea. He thought they had just enough similarities and differences to make an interesting team. And he was right!

ST: Was there ever any other character you considered for Dinah's spot?

CD: It was always Dinah and Babs.

ST: Was BUMBLEBEEB always Ted Kord? What role will he have now that both *secrets* are out of the bag?

CD: Yeah, it was always the Beetle. It had to be established from the start so the clues would all work out. Ted and Babs have a lot in common as they're both techno-geeks. They'll become close friends but with no sexual tension there.

ST: Are there still plans to have a bumblebeeb.com website or something?

CD: Right now www.bumblebeeb.com is a promo site for the WB. They registered it and started using it to keep anyone else from stealing the site.

ST: Doesn't Dinah feel a little bit depressed that Oracle has not trusted her with her identity yet or met with her? I mean, basically Oracle knows everything about her — all her secrets — yet Dinah knows so little. I know I'd almost feel betrayed.

CD: Oracle's keeping her distance for now. Dinah doesn't seem to be questioning their relationship. That's one of Dinah's problems. She should examine her relationships more so she doesn't wind up hurt like she usually does.

ST: Why throw Power Girl into the mix? What dynamics does she bring to the Birds Of Prey?

CD: Power Girl will bring a bit of subtext and reveal some stuff about Oracle. They've worked together before and it ended unhappily. Also, I needed a super-powered member for the clinches. When Dinah's in a tight spot then Babs needs to call in muscle. I'll be adding some more muscle-for-hire in the coming year. By the end of 2000 Babs will have some heavyweights to call on when Dinah is in distress.

ST: How do you view Dinah Lance and Barbara Gordon? What characteristics are their strong points and what, if anything, is each one's greatest weakness?

CD: Dinah's weakness is that she leads with her heart. Barbara tends to be too analytical. That's how they complement one another.

ST: Who else will be guest starring with the BOP team in upcoming issues?

CD: The Hunt For Oracle cross over starting in Nightwing #45 will bring Nightwing, Robin, Blockbuster and his villains all into BOP. After that we have a few surprise bad guys. And we'll see the Ravens return before the end of the year.

ST: Why did Robin get a monthly series before Nightwing?

CD: Robin was white hot at the time. His three mini-series sold WAY beyond anyone's expectations. And the time was right to give him his own book coming out of the events in Knightfall. Nightwing has been tied up with Teen Titans continuity until about four years ago so it didn't make sense to give him a title of his own.

ST: Recently, Tim Drake (Robin) has been enrolled in private school. God, it must be hard to sneak off for superheroing on a campus like that! What are some of the biggest challenges that he will face? How long is he going to be enrolled in school?

CD: He'll be at Brentwood Academy for the foreseeable future. It will cause a LOT of complications and some unexpected adventures will grow from his new supporting cast. The biggest challnge of course is maintaining his secret in a very enclosed environment.

ST: What else is planned for the teen wonder this year?

CD: A team-up with Connor Hawk is coming soon as well as complications with Stephanie (Spoiler) Brown. Teen romances seldom go smoothly and they're in for some rocky times. There's also a Robin 80 Page Giant this summer which guest stars Black Canary and Wildcat and introduces a brand new villain. The art is by Diego Barreto, the son of Eduardo Barreto. And he's terrific!

ST: I really like The Spoiler! I think you've done such a remarkable job portraying her and her plight! Will we see more of her? Are there any plans for another one-shot or limited series?

CD: I have a proposal in for a limited series with Steph. It's awaiting a place on the schedule. She appears in a big way in the above mentioned Robin Giant.

ST: You've done remarkable work with Dick Grayson. Was he a character that you always wanted to chronicle? How did the Nightwing series come about?

CD: I got Nightwing when two other writers backed out and the scripts for the first issues were coming due. I enjoyed writing Dick Grayson in Knightfall and Prodigal. And I was especially pumped about working with Scott McDaniel. And Scott Peterson was editing so it was a no-brainer.

ST: I know due to necessity a lot of writers need to work ahead. Did the events of No Man's Land ruin or delay anything that you had planned on doing in Nightwing?

CD: I was delayed about five months and had to put off one story until next year. It was a prison story and would have been too soon after the Escape From Blackgate arc.

ST: Why did you have Dick join the police academy?

CD: It seemed a natural thing. Bludhaven's biggest problem is the massive corruption in the police department. He can't break that from the outside. And so he joins. I think he's also secretly glad that joining the force irked Batman so much.

ST: How do you regard Dick Grayson?

CD: Dick Grayson is the coolest character in comics in term of who you'd wanna be. What guy wouldn't want to be a babe magnet with the looks and the money and the brains and the athlectic ability? He's good at everything he tries. And the greatest thing about him is that he doesn't know how cool he is. No ego with this guy.

ST: Why do you think he has NEVER had a really long successful relationship with a woman? Do you think women intimidate him?

CD: I think his problem is that women are so easily attracted to him. He's never really had to work at it. That's what so different with his relationship with Barbara. He's having to TRY for the first time in his life and it's bugging him.

ST: Oracle's been a thorn in the side of a lot of "bad peoples." But, her thorniness is going to cause her some major problems with Blockbuster. Why is he hunting for her in the 4-part crossover between BOP and Nightwing?

CD: Blockbuster's just had it with Oracle. He wants to know who or what has been raking millions from his off-shore accounts. And who sicced the Pentagon on him as a decoy? Blockie doesn't like anyone having an advantage over him. But more than that he has a very personal reason for finding her that's the surprise conclusion to the crossover.

ST: What does he want with Gorilla City's location?

CD: Where else can a thousand pound man get a donor for a heart transplant?

ST: How does he get a hold of Nightwing and Nite-Wing? They're both pretty resourceful... hard to imagine your run of the mill thug can tackle them!

CD: Nothing run of the mill about it. Dick SEVERELY misreads Tad and his motivations and that leads to a series of disasters.

ST: Who is pressuring Black Canary for Oracles ID?

CD: Lady Vic and Brutale try to get the info from her. One guess how far they get with that.

ST: What ramifications will the events in The Hunt For Oracle have for all the heroes and villains involved?

CD: Birds of Prey continuity changes forever. And the first part of the long Tad saga comes to a conclusion.

ST: How will Dinah and Barbara's relationship be different once her secret ID is exposed?

CD: They'll be closer than ever. Then the problems start.

ST: When did you find out about the 'international' flavor of the DC summer annuals?

CD: When they told me they needed a script for the Flash Annual in four days.

ST: What is the Flash Annual about?

CD: The Flash travels to Argentina at the request of Salamanca, a sorceress from the wilds of Patagonia. There he races creatures from Argentine folklore to release a bunch of superheroes from down there. Jay Garrick is also held prisoner by a very evil magician. The art is by Alcatena and is a knock out. The guy's visuals are stunning. And he came up with the plot and characters as I know very little about Argentine mythology.

ST: Last years 80 Page Giants seemed to all be reprints — mostly. Are this year's all basically one long story with different chapters or is that just going on through some of the 80 Page Giants?

CD: They're all one story. One big honkin' story! I love it! Mine are broken into chapters mostly as a storytelling device. I'm not sure how others are doing it.

ST: Can you tell us a little about the 80 Page Giants you are working on? I've heard Batman faces the Calendar Man. Why pick such an underrated character from his rogues' gallery?

CD: I've had a Calendar Man story in mind for years. But there was never a proper venue for it. It works perfectly as a single long form story.

ST: The Robin Giant is supposed to tie-in to current continuity and have "lots of guest stars." Can you tell us a little about this story and name a few of the guest stars? What is in store for the teen wonder here?

CD: It opens with the Golden Age JSA in a flashback. Then the Spoiler and Dinah Lance and Wildcat. It's about a villainess the JSA once faced who has resurfaced in Gotham to cause problems at the wedding of Tim's dad and Dana Winters. Also, some of Robin and Spoiler's problems are on display here along with a new shift in Stephanie's life.

ST: What is the new Marvel Knights monthly series about?

CD: It's an anti-team book. It's a bunch of characters who are usually loners teaming up to battle threats too strong for them to defeat alone. Daredevil and Black Widow are the core of the book with Dagger, Moon Knight, Shang Chi and others forming a rotating roster and surprise guests. The Punisher plays a large part in the book as well.

ST: What is so intriguing about weaving together stories of loners who SHOULD have no real reason for hanging around or teaming up together?

CD: Well, there's no status quo. No ID cards or oaths or signal rings or headquarters. These guys could break up at any moment or change agendas or rosters from arc to arc. It's kind of like a team-up book with four or five characters teaming up. So there's no villain of the month syndrome. This allows for more fluidity and surprise in the storylines.

ST: Wow, Punisher and Daredevil in the same book? How can they function at all together when they hate the snot out of each other?

CD: Punisher is very much a behind the scenes manipulater here. And while he's a very tough guy he doesn't want a beating from DD every time they meet. So when they are together it's set up by Frank in such a way that Daredevil has to co-operate. Wait and see. It really works. They hate one another but fight so good together!

ST: You're no stranger to some of these characters. How do you feel about writing the Punisher again?

CD: Yee-Hah! My favorite character to write in comics and I get another crack at him. I get to correct what I think I did wrong last time I was writing the Punisher on a regular basis. He needed a goodguy nemesis; someone who would constantly be hunting for him. That brings more of a continuing tension to his story instead of find mobsters/kill mobsters/find more mobsters. In Marvel Knights he has a dedicated team of vigilantes on his butt.

ST: You've chosen some interesting characters to appear in the first story arc. Are Shang Chi and Dagger two of your favorites? I'm curious about their inclusion over some of the 'other' current heroes? (I LOVE both characters by the way and wouldn't mind seeing a limited series on either! BUT I know most younger and more recent fans are going to be like Shang Chi?? HUH? Heh!)

CD: They'll love Shang by the time I get done with him. He fits in well with the group and brings a voice of reason to balance Daredevil's passions. Plus he kicks tail better than anyone in the Marvel U. And he has a heck of a rogue's gallery himself.

I was a big fan of Cloak and Dagger. They got me reading Marvels again back in the early Eighties. They're classic Marvel characters (like Doom and Ben Grimm and the Punisher) in that they were born from deep tragedy. Dagger provides an "oh wow" factor to the book. She's still very naive despite her experiences and balances out these hardboiled heroes. I didn't pick all superstars for the book because that would be boring. I picked characters that would complement one another as part of a team even if it's a temporary teaming.

ST: Where's Dagger's longtime friend and partner Cloak? It's hard to imagine one without the other!

CD: We'll see his whereabouts starting in issue 2 of Marvel Knights. He'll provide a subplot for the book for the first two arcs. The third arc of the book will deal with Dagger's search for him.

ST: What's the genre of this series?

CD: I'm calling it superhero noir for lack of a better term. It's street level crime stuff with a Marvel edge. We'll be seeing some major league weirdo villains from the Marvel U. But this book will look at them through sort of an X-Files point of view.

ST: What other characters/heroes — whom current readers might not know that well — do you have plans on including in Marvel Knights?

CD: All plans are up in the air right now. I'm clearing characters I can use for future arcs. Dr Strange will definitely be showing up later in guest capacity.

ST: OK, so we've got these kick-ass way too kewl heroes in the tales. What kind of villains are we looking at? Who would have the "potential threat" to gather so many varied heroes together to face it?

CD: I don't want to give away the first set of villains. It's too cool a surprise. But Shang's old nemesis Zaran the Weapons master shows up in the second arc and it's brutal!

ST: I've read in some of your other interviews that these villains they face are ones the FF or Avengers could handle easy. So, why aren't they? (Besides the fact that there wouldn't be a book then, heh!)

CD: The FF and Avengers are always busy. And besides, they're not in Lower Manhattan and the outer boroughs LOOKING for trouble the way the Punisher and Daredevil do.

ST: Where will the majority of stories take place and why? I've heard NY... what is so appealing about NY as a base of operations?

CD: What's not to like? It's the greatest city in the world with a rich history and so many cool places to stage fights. Ed and I have the same photo books of New York and we're trying (with Jimmy and Joe's help) to keep the locales accurate.

ST: Is there a regular cast or will it always be rotating in story arcs? If so, who?

CD: The core will be Daredevil and Black Widow. But Shang Chi and Dagger are here for a while. I'll be introducing Moon Knight pretty soon. I also want to include the Shroud, Phalanx and Luke Cage down the road. And the Punisher will always be here lurking in the background.

ST: Is there going to be a supporting 'non-powered' cast? If so, who?

CD: This team needs no support. They're all loners. No HQ. No oaths. No security passes.

ST: Let's talk about your Doom 2000 mini. Dr. Doom is quite the tragic character! Why do you think so many readers both love and hate him at the same time?

CD: Well, he has some serious character flaws. He'd be so cool if he'd only drop this jealousy thing with Reed. It borders on childish. But that's what makes the guy so complex. He's so cocksure of himself in everyway. But mention Reed Richards and he's like Seinfeld at the mention of Newman. "Richards..." But you gotta feel for the guy. He lost everything he loved including his face.

ST: What qualities about Doom do you like the best? What qualities about him are you going to try to showcase in this series?

CD: His toughness and resourcefulness. Doom won't even THINK of defeat. It just doesn't enter into his equations. He literally starts with nothing and reclaims a world. There just aren't any other characters like that in comics. In many ways he's like Batman; a selfmade man. Or RE-made man. His enemies always learn too late that he's always three steps ahead of them. There's just no one cooler.

ST: How did you learn of Doom 2000?

CD: Bobbie Chase called and asked if I was interested. She got to the word "Doom" and I said, "Yes!"

ST: What is so intriguing about Dr. Doom and what makes him so unique in the long line of villains throughout comicdom?

CD: He really doesn't see what he does as wrong. He honestly believes that the world would run better if we all just did what he said. He's kind of like the Clintons in that aspect.

ST: What is Doomworld? Who created it and why?

CD: Doomworld was created by Franklin Richards as a gag to tie the Heroes Reborn stunt together. It's the world that Cap and Iron Man and the FF hung out on when Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld were calling shots. "Doomworld"'s a pretty apt name for it, huh?

ST: How does Dr. Doom wind up powerless and nekkid on his own home turf?

CD: A Celestial who's been battling Reed and Doom thinks its a great cosmic joke to banish them to two separate worlds with Reed trapped in Doom's armor and Doom in his birthday suit.

ST: Are the events here in this series going to tie into the current Fantastic Four series at all? How?

CD: Doom 2000 is kind of a backstory for events running in the FF this summer. I can't give away more than that.

ST: I was intrigued when I saw on your webpage, www.dixonverse.com, that you had written several children's books featuring some very popular characters like Winnie the Pooh and Raggedy Ann. How did you become involved with writing stories of that nature?

CD: I was frustrated with comics in the late 70's early 80's and took a whack at kiddie books. I wrote a Raggedy Ann book for Little Golden Books and two Pooh word books for Platt and Munk. I also wrote a few books that never got published. Kids books is a strange market. Much weirder than comics. I'm glad to be out of it.

Dixonverse.com
DC
>Marvel Comics
>bumblebeeb.com

[an error occurred while processing this directive]