r/books • u/JasonStarrBooks AMA Author • Dec 07 '15
ama 3pm I am Jason Starr, bestselling thriller author (Savage Lane), and comics creator (Wolverine, Punisher, Ant-Man, Batman). AMA
Great to be at my first AMA! Proof: https://twitter.com/JasonStarrBooks I'm the author of many crime novels and thrillers including Cold Caller, Fake I.D., Twisted City, The Follower, Panic Attack and The Pack. I’ve also co-written four novels with Ken Bruen for Hard Case Crime, including the forthcoming Pimp. My new thriller, just published in the U.S. and Europe, is Savage Lane. Just back from a great book tour in Europe. I also write comics and graphic novels for Marvel (The Punisher, Wolverine), D.C. (The Avenger, Justice Inc, Doc Savage, Sand, Batman), Boom Studios (The Returning), and Vertigo (The Chill). My prose novel Ant-Man: Natural Enemy was released by Marvel with the Ant-Man film last summer. I’ll be on here at 3PM EST, answering all of your questions for the next few hours, and will check back this evening, and continue answering questions over the next few days.
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u/TheBigBrainOnBrett Dec 07 '15
How difficult is it to write characters that have similar personalities (Batman, Punisher, and Wolverine being gruff, tough guys, for example) while making sure you aren't just writing the same way for all three? That is, how do you make sure that similar characters don't become the same character?
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u/JasonStarrBooks Dec 07 '15
I think creating unique characters in comics poses the same challenges as creating unique characters in novels. It’s all about the attitude of the characters. I feel if I understand the character, I know what they want and what they fear, and if I know what drives them, that this will make them stand out. So when I think of Wolverine, Batman, and The Punisher there are big differences in the characters. Wolverine is driven by rage, but he’s also dealing with—at least in the my Marvel Max incarnation-- the weight of a seemingly endless life. Batman is messed up psychologically—he’s a vigilante, trying to fix a deep hurt in his past. And The Punisher is also a vigilante, but he lacks Batman’s moral center. The Punisher is a killing machine with no conscience—very different from Batman.
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Dec 07 '15
What do you prefer to write, novels or comics/graphic novels? What differences do you like the most from the public of novels and comics?
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u/JasonStarrBooks Dec 07 '15
I'm primarily a novelist, and I love the private/secretiveness of writing a novel. I usually don't share many details of a book until it's done, and even when I show a partial manuscript, it still feels like a very intimate process. Comics writing is much more collaborative. I write scripts--I don't draw--so the artists are obviously hugely important. And editors also have a lot of input....Ideally I like writing books and novels simultaneously. Writing novels can be lonely at times, so it's nice to have the balance of collaborating.
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Dec 07 '15
Are there any comic characters you'd like to see created or existing characters that you'd like to work on in the future that you haven't yet? Thanks for the AMA!
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u/JasonStarrBooks Dec 07 '15
I’ve written original graphic novels (The Chill, The Returning) and there are more of my own characters I’d like to work with, or possibly continue The Returning. Re super heroes: I’d love to do more with Batman. I wrote Batman as part of the First Wave series for DC, where Batman teams up with Doc Savage. Love Batman’s brooding darkness, and that he’s such an emotionally complicated character. Also, would love to write Deadpool someday...or James Bond.
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Dec 07 '15
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u/JasonStarrBooks Dec 08 '15
I don't know if the characters I write for comics influence my novel writing, but there are some similarities. For example, the characters in Savage Lane are very real people. The book is set in present day Westchester, and they could be your friends and neighbors. And in Savage Lane I really try to get into the psychology of each character as this is such a driving force of the book. Obviously Wolverine is a very different sort of character, but I think it's important to find humanity in superheroes and villains. I always try to give comics characters psychological depth. My hope is that if I can make readers understand the characters' motives, they will be invested in the characters' fates. Yeah Wolverine is a mutant but he is a regular guy too. He can come into a bar in Timbs and jeans and sit down next to you.
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u/waltztheplank Dec 07 '15
How did you get started in writing for comics? Just wondering what lead you to that position, and what you had done prior.
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u/kirstincarnage Dec 07 '15
Thank you for doing an AMA! What do you do when you get writer's block?
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u/JasonStarrBooks Dec 07 '15
You're welcome! I usually just revise. It's a great way to get my head back into the work. Also good trick is to end day before when you know what's going to happen next!!
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u/Br00ce Dec 07 '15
ok so I never understood ant man. He has 4 times his normal (large) strength when he is small yet doesnt when he is large? How does the suit do that and wouldnt it be better for him to have super strength at a normal size like other heros?
also did you like paul rudd in that movie or would you have casted someone else? I like Paul rudd but I think maybe a different actor would have been best personally.
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u/girlwithcoffeecup Dec 07 '15
I watched the movie, and from what I understood his strength basically increases the smaller he becomes because his mass remains the same. The suit contains special particles called Pym particles (created by Hank Pym, the previous Ant-Man) that reduce the distance between atoms. Thus a man's mass can be reduced to ant-volume without causing problems due to density.
Disclaimer: I watched it a few months ago and may not recall exact details. This is the gist.
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u/Br00ce Dec 07 '15
but wouldnt that only keep his original strength not increase it? Or am I thinking too critically about a fictional character?
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u/girlwithcoffeecup Dec 07 '15
Considering strength is the ability to inflict a strong force, I would say the force remains the same but the surface area decreases leading to increased pressure. So think of him as more of a needle or a knife.
Plus there's Spoiler about Ant-Man which defies the principle of the Pym particles. So maybe they decrease the empty space inside the atom - we had this allegory about the nucleus being a tennis ball in a football field-sized atom in school. Anyway, don't think too hard, it's just meant to be enjoyed.
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u/Br00ce Dec 07 '15
I have a thing about analyzing movies too much, people hate to watch movies with me since I call out the inconsistencies (not in the theaters mind you).
thanks for the explanation tho!
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u/JasonStarrBooks Dec 07 '15
Hey it's Marvel technology. It just has to make sense within the context of the story.
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Dec 07 '15
I think that the casting of Paul Rudd was in part because he doesn't seem like the normal "superhero" type in that he's not a handsome, chiseled dude and more of a realistic "Everyman", someone who you could see as being that dude standing on the curb waiting for the light or as your neighbor.
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u/JasonStarrBooks Dec 07 '15
I love Rudd in the role! He is the perfect Everyman and has the inherent likability that the character needs. He's an ex-con and in a super hero it's important to make morally ambiguous heroes likable, and Rudd really nails this
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u/Menaception Dec 07 '15 edited Dec 07 '15
What was the first comic series that you read when you were a child? Are your comics inspired by it?
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u/Chtorrr Dec 07 '15
What were your favorite books as a child? What books made you love reading?
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u/JasonStarrBooks Dec 07 '15
Big Curious George fan as a kid! Huge....In my 6th grade yearbook I listed my favorite book as The Baseball Life of Willie Mays. I read a lot as a kid, but really only liked comic books, sports books, and the backs of baseball cards. This may be a very unusual path to becoming a novelist (my parents were sort of shocked when I returned from college after freshman year and announced I wanted to be a writer), but I didn't really get into reading literature until I was in my 20's. I was turned off earlier because I didn't like having books assigned to me in school--reading always felt like work. I didn't know reading for pleasure was possible. I read a lot in my twenties to make up for lost time (and am nearsighted because of it).
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u/Chtorrr Dec 07 '15
What are some of your favorite books and authors?
Have they influenced your writing?
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u/JasonStarrBooks Dec 07 '15
I've always been a fan of spare, simple writing. Similar to comments Elmore Leonard has made, I don't like the words to get in the way of the story. So Hemingway and Carver were big early influences. I studied Playwriting in grad school and wrote Off-Off Broadway plays in my 20's, and Beckett and Mamet were huge favs. When I got into crime fiction, I also went for the spare, hardboiled masters---Thompson, Cain, Highsmith, Leonard, Higgins. I think everything I have read has influenced me in some way, but it's mainly all about figuring out your own voice. You want to learn from the masters then make it your own.
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u/browneagle44 Dec 07 '15
As trite and obvious as this question is, as someone with dozens of comic and story ideas, where's a good place to start for getting these ideas published?
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u/deck_hand Dec 07 '15
If a hero is less susceptible to damage than ordinary humans, is he really heroic? I feel as if most of the "super heroes" are like full-grown pit bulls fighting kittens. They have very little risk to themselves; so why do we consider them heroes?
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u/JasonStarrBooks Dec 07 '15
My fav super heroes aren't indestructible. The key to a great super hero character is establishing what the character's vulnerability, or "Kryptonite" is. Some like The Punisher have no powers and can be killed. Batman can die. Another key is to have them go against seemingly insurmountable villains. Wolverine is tricky because of this because he can recover from any injury. But then Marvel changed all that and made him "killable."
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u/tanzil_ben_hassan Dec 08 '15
What is your opinion about DC comics creating separate universes for TV and Big screen?
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u/Fuzzwy Dec 07 '15
When you are co-noveling, how do you decide who writes each part of the novel?
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u/daddymojo Dec 07 '15
Old school Spidey (back in the late 70s) got me hooked on reading and comics. Is there an all age title that you like now?
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u/knotswag Dec 07 '15
Do you snack on anything while writing? What would be your go-to if so?
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u/One_Apple_A_Day Dec 08 '15
Do you have a personal favorite batman comic? If so, which one? Thanks!
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u/Phallicmallet Dec 07 '15
Who are your favorite and least favorite comic book characters that you are not associated with?