HOW CAN I WRITE A GOOD SCRIPT TO DRAW LATER?
There is no right answer to making a comic page. I do not say this lightly. There is no right answer. Different visions, different ideas and ideals. Do what feels right, get what's in your head on paper. I do have a Powers scriptbook for sale (check at your local store) that has writing essays and all kinds of behind the scenes going on. You absolutely cannot ever, ever, ever make everyone happy. All I can do is tell the stories I need to tell and tell them with total conviction. For most people the conviction comes through even if the story wasn't their cup of tea. I have won Eisners for stuff people fucking hate me for and vice versa, so hey... that's the world. Just be honest with yourself. But really, just the act of writing will bring on the concept. Put two characters in a room and let them start talking to each other.

DO YOU HAVE A PAGE PER DAY MINIMUM?
I have a "get something done everyday and try to write a comic every week" thing. But I don't have a page thing, you can't force it. Sometimes it comes in waves (like this week) and sometimes it does not.

HOW DID YOUR EXPERIENCE IN JOURNALISM HELP WITH YOUR WRITING TODAY?
A lot. Taught me how to focus my ideas towards a general audience and how that audience reacts when you do not. It also taught me how the news is skewed so bad it's not even worth reading or watching.

WHEN YOU DO THE WRITING AND ART, DO YOU SCRIPT FIRST, OR BLEND THEM TOGETHER AS YOU GO ALONG?
I blend.

WHAT PROGRAM DO YOU USE FOR WRITING SCRIPTS?
Final Draft - Website: Click Here.

ABOUT HOW MANY DRAFTS OF A SCRIPT DO YOU GO THROUGH ON AVERAGE BEFORE YOU CALL IT DONE?
I treat the Marvel books and books I own with the same passion. I do as many drafts as needed. There is no number I give myself. Or cap. I pick until I can pick no more.

YOU RECOMMENDED CHECKING ON A CHARACTER'S NAME TO SEE IF IT'S COPYRIGHTED, ANY ADVICE?
I have my lawyer do it, so I don't know.

IS IT DIFFICULT TO BE A SCENARIST THESE DAYS WHEN EVERYTHING HAS ALREADY BEEN THOUGHT?
Oh, it happens all the time, John Cleese said that when he was writing Python he would sometimes realize he wasn't writing, but remembering a bit he loved from the Goon Show, only after did he realize that he was doing it. Sometimes that happens and you toss yours out, other times you look at your thing and you realize that it is unique enough, or in the case of the superheroes, it builds on a theme of the character. I knew that DD had been outted before, I think ours was sufficiently more meaningful and different to go ahead with it.

DO YOU ENJOY WRITING PITCHES?
I hate pitches. I have never written a successful one. They are like book reports.

DO YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC WHEN YOU WRITE?
Not when I write, but lots when I am thinking of what to write.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU GET WRITER'S BLOCK?
I have a way to get into the writer's zone, but often I have so much in my head the problem is what to write first. Just how it goes, writer's block is a mental problem. I don't have it.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN SOMEONE ELSE WRITES SOMETHING YOU'VE HAD RATTLING IN YOUR HEAD?
Depends. I told Judd Winick I am pretty much shelving my Jewish mob graphic novel I have been picking at for five years. But other times, I know that what I have to say is very different from whatever the other thing is and I trust myself. Sometimes it's so important for me to tell my story that nothing will stop it. It's a case by case.

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHAT TO WRITE DOWN?
I write everytihng down. It's what I decide to show you that is the question. But the answer is -- I know suck when I see it.

DO YOU WRITE 7 DAYS A WEEK OR SET ASIDE SPECIFIC TIMES?
I really, really, really like to write. More than I think I can say. I do it all the time, to relax and to push my brain.

HOW DO YOU FIND THE TIME TO DO ALL OF THIS? DO YOU HAVE A TIME MACHINE?
No, but I have an avatar of one. I don't drink.

DO YOU WRITE DIFFERENTLY TO EACH ARTIST'S STRENGTH?
Yes.

IS YOUR ARTWORK SELF TAUGHT OR DID YOU GO TO ART SCHOOL?
I went to the Cleveland Institute of Art for five years.

WHICH DO YOU PREFER WRITING; SELF CONTAINED STORIES OR SERIALIZED TALES?
I like both. I like a complete story and closing the door (like Jinx or Alias), but I am so in love with the on-going discovery of Spidey and DD.

AT WHAT POINT IN YOUR CAREER DID YOU START MAKING MONEY?
My books always made enough to afford to make the next one. Sam and Twitch was a pretty good gig, but it was my first movie money that took me out of college loan debt. Comics ain't about the money. I'll take it, but it was so not the point.

WHAT'S THE BEST PART OF WRITING COMICS?
The best part is that every word I write, makes it to the page. Untouched. Movies? TV? Never happens.

SHOULD I SHY AWAY FROM TELLING TOUCHY OR SENTITIVE STORIES (LIKE 9-11, SPACE SHUTTLES, ETC.)?
Tell your story. Don't live in fear.

WHY DO 90% OF COMICS INVOLVE A FIGHT SCENE IN EVERY ISSUE?
Because Jim Shooter shoved them in there. I think it's lazy writing. It's the easiest way to pad a story, I see it all the time. It offends me to my very soul. Superhero books are indeed action genre by nature. I love a fight scene. But bad writing is bad writing. And shoving fight scenes into a story is bullshit that has been fed to us for decades. I am doing what I can to remedy it. :)

WHO WRITES THE RECAP PAGES IN MARVEL BOOKS?
I write mine.

HAVE YOU EVER CHANGED A COMPLETED SCRIPT BASED ON THE ART YOU GET BACK?
All the time.

DID YOU PITCH ALIAS OR DID THEY ASK YOU TO WRITE THE CONCEPT?
I came up with it all by myself. I wrote the first half of the first script and showed it to them, not knowing if they could publish it. They did. MAX be born.

WHEN YOU SIGN ONTO A BOOK, IS IT FOR A SET NUMBER OF BOOKS OR MONTH TO MONTH?
I have a contract with Marvel to do a certain amount of comics for you guys, but not on any particular title. But my plans for the Avengers are long term.

HOW MUCH INFLUENCE AND/OR DIRECTION DO YOU RECEIVE FROM EDITORS?
Not a lot, but I take good ideas and advice from any and everyone. I find my editors to be a fountain of support and ideas. The good ones I take, the bad ones I say, "Let me think about it.." and then never bring it up again. If a scene don't work, a scene don't work. I got a mom to tell me how great I am, I need people who have vision.

DO YOU GET EDITORIAL REQUESTS TO USE CERTAIN CHARACTERS OR ADDRESS A TIMELY TOPIC BECAUSE THE COMPANY WANTS TO CAPITALIZE ON A TREND OR PLAN?
Sometimes. And if I have one cooking, I'll cook it up [further], if not, I let the next guy do it. I had a Doc Ock story ready when they needed a Doc Ock story for movie time. Other things, I pass on.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A SPECULATIVE POST AND THOUGHT, "HEY, MAYBE I COULD TRY SOMETHING SIMILAR."? Sure, but not often. :)