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Marvel Omega is home to some of the best writers in fanfic. And with Spotlight, readers will get the chance to learn more about their favorite writers here at the site, through an interview where they answer questions about their craft as well as pick some of the best stories they've turned out for the site.
This is always the first question, isn't it? That existentialist evaluation. Simply put, I'm a middle-aged guy living in the Midwest, writing when I can find the time -- even when the stories are constantly playing out in my mind. Dabble a little here-and-there in the other arts (mostly vocal music), but other than that, mostly your normal kinda guy. How long have you been writing for? In the community, I've been producing since about 1998, but don't hold me firm to that date. I discovered Marvel-X when I was in college and it just seemed like the right fit. Professionally, my first piece was published in 2004. How the hell did a classy guy like you get mixed in with this group of misfits at MO? Heh. Not often that I get accused of being classy. I found Marvel-X (Omega's predecessor) through the wonders of search engines back in the day. I came aboard with an anthology story that centered on The Winding Way but through a strange bit of fate, my first published piece through MX was when I took over the title of Maverick. I spent a good bit of time with Marvel-X -- writing, editing, and guest scripting -- before branching out to other sites. And somewhere along the way, I guess I crossed path with enough of the "misfits" that I surround myself with these days. What are your biggest influences? Writing-wise, you have to pull from several forms of media. Recognition of solid writing can come from so many directions -- film, television, magazines, books, comics. If I had to name a few, I'd probably side with Joss Whedon (mostly his television stuff -- great use of show-don't-tell and dialogue), Kurt Busiek (seriously, pull out his Astro City stuff -- I dare ya), Greg Rucka & Ed Brubaker (extra bonus if you can get em both on the same piece -- like Gotham Central), and some of Brian Michael Bendis' less-profiled work. I also love Mike Carey's work on Lucifer, which is still levels and levels above his mainstream stuff (with the possible exception of his original Ultimate Fantastic Four stuff). Let us know what you're working on, both at MO and at other sites. My fanfic is kinda pared down now -- at least more than it used to be. I have Captain America at Avengers 2000 and Planetary at JLU: 2001. There's a couple other projects out there that are seemingly stalled in infancy, and maybe a couple on the horizon that I'd rather not talk too much about until I've gotten some solid ground underneath them.Mutant Underground is all about badass mutant spies and with a few exceptions, they're all original characters. Why did you go this route when there are existing mutants like Sabra, Maverick, Pete Wisdom, etc. who would fit really well into this world? At this time that I picked up Mutant Underground, there was a strong base of characters that were slated for other books. Some of those books had rather expansive casts, and that dwindled the pool a little bit. Also, there was a desire to play the title along the lines of Xavier's original conception of the Underground -- a group of mutants and humans working together but separate from the X-Men mythos. Now, Xavier is dead, but the organization was already in play, and it's hard to scuttle an entire secret operation and start again from scratch without word getting out there. So, the major players in the five cells elected to continue operations alongside Xavier's notions for the team -- or so it seemed.To accomplish that, I wanted to think outside the box of the normal X-Men characters. The title had been in the works for several years -- way back in the Marvel-X stages of the site, and several of the original characters had been created long ago specifically for their use in this title. But funny you should mention Maverick...I think we'll be seeing a little bit of him in an upcoming arc. Do you feel writing a fanfic title in the MO-verse with mostly original characters is more or less challenging than writing one with existing characters? I think it's quite a challenge, actually. In a normal fanfic situation, you're picking up characters with established relationships and notions of how they react against one another. When you throw a new character into the midst, you start to play with those dynamics a bit, but you're still set to act along specific guidelines (aka, Cyclops would like this guy because he's regimented and listens well). However, the more "new" you start adding to the picture, the more you start to upset the niche, and then the safety net begins to dissolve. It becomes a matter of keeping on eye on the balls you're juggling with, making sure they move in the right orbits at the right times, lest they should collide in unforeseen ways. Of course, sometimes those collisions are the right ingredient for the story to move forward -- whether it's in the intended direction or not.What made you choose the existing characters you do write in Mutant Underground, like Rogue and Switchback? I like Rogue, pure and simple. She's got a bum rap because of the relationship with Gambit and the angst that typically comes along with that. Granted, I also like Remy -- which is why I had both of them on the team at the time. However, the key element was moving them beyond the relationship/flirtation and into a realm where they could exist as their own persons. Unfortunately, the journey and its precipice carried Gambit out of the Underground mythos, but sometimes, that's the way the story works.Switchback is another story. Originally a character from the Age of Apocalypse, she was the gateway character for Warren Ellis's X-Calibre. But, to my knowledge, she'd never made any appearances in the regular Marvel universe. I wanted to change that, especially since she had such a dynamic power. And the arc of the character (who she is, what she does, why she is) developed mostly from that power set. Seriously, how could you not be an accomplished spy/assassin if you had the power to roll back your personal timeline and fix any mistakes you made, gather your own intel (with certainty, no less!), or cover your tracks? What can we expect on the horizon with Mutant Underground? The next thing from Mutant Underground is an exploration of the secret history of the organization. I'll be utilizing heretofore unseen fifth cell for this one, and that cell contains a number of familiar faces as this is the team that Xavier built as his trust fall team. It's also the team with the closest ties to the X-Men. And yes, this team will also feature the return of Jessica Drew to our pages.After that, we're going to resolve Apex's identity problems, which may or may not include a trip to the elysian future he left behind (when he followed Reysa Devare to the present), and then we come full-stream into the Underground War. The war has been building since the series launched and will feature faces from all five cells. From there...we'll see what happens when the dust settles. Since the launch of Marvel Omega, you've stuck with Mutant Underground. Have you had a desire to take on any other books outside of the mutant realm? What characters might you want to tackle in the Omega-verse? I briefly flirted with the idea of doing a Shang-Chi book, but my reasons for doing it would have been wrong. It would have been a vehicle to push myself into writing more action-oriented material, and I think that would have been the wrong reasons to do the book. Aside from that, I think I'd have fun with something more mystical -- maybe a Thor or Doctor Strange type book. And there's always some Daredevil, Thunderbolts or Avengers on my mind, but those books are in solid hands currently. What would you like to see at MO, either in terms of new books or a change in direction? This is a hard question, as Omega seems to have a wide degree of books available. A solid Iron Man title would be nice,Just wait, it's coming. Which books at MO give you a tingly feeling inside? Curt's work on Fantastic Four is exceptional. I've always liked Derrick's Hulk. And it's time well spent to dive into anything produced by Chris Munn. Say you die in a horrible plane crash. Who would you specify in your will to take over Mutant Underground? Oh jeez. Have you heard of any plans to put me on an unstable aircraft? Should I start checking over my shoulder? In all seriousness, though, I'd probably have to think on that one. Chris Munn would be awesome to see run with it. Steve Seinberg could bring a very dangerous feel to the title, as could Meriades Rai. Mike Rasbury or Matt Pierce could bring it into a new stratosphere of military and/or sci-fi storytelling. Name one title you want to see so bad at MO, you would hold Ryan Krupienski's puppies hostage until it came out. Very tempted to say Uncanny X-Men here, but I'd probably have to side more with X-Corporation. There are a number of characters sitting in obscurity with that title, and it'd be nice to revisit them or even to free them up to appearances elsewhere.And finally, pick the five best stories you've written at the site -- either story-arcs or single issues. 5. Hurt (Mutant Underground #5) - This was the first of the
spotlight issues on a single character, and I chose Panic for a reason.
This story will be very important coming up. For more works by Michael Franzoni at the site, check out his listing on the Staff page.
PREVIOUS SPOTLIGHTS #1
- Ryan Krupienski (March 2006)
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For
Spotlight #4, we checked in with Michael Franzoni, or the Franz as he's become known to many. He's been with