|
By: WinchesterBros.com Staff
Courtesy of Alex Irvine Alex Irvine is a writer and an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. Some of his original fiction includes ; ; and a collection of stories titled . Mr. Irvine’s interest also extends to the world of comic books, whereupon he drew inspiration to write and the soon to be published, . With such an extensive background writing science fiction and fantasy, is sure to be a pleasure to read. In anticipation of its release, we asked him if he’d be willing to answer a few questions; the interview was done via email.
We want to thank you for agreeing to do this Q&A with us. We truly appreciate it.
Happy to. Thanks for asking.
Q: Bearing in mind a comment about fanfiction communities you made in answer to a question in a recent interview, what are your thoughts with regard to the furor that happened over at LiveJournal where there was a mass deleting of groups, many of them dealing with fanfiction, due to the purity policing of some?
Actually, I didn't know a thing about it beyond seeing a squib on BoingBoing. Because of your question, I went and read around a little, and I guess the whole situation comes across to me like a predictable feedback loop of overreaction. Warriors for Innocence sound like a bunch of weird vigilantes, LiveJournal reacted with remarkable insensitivity to its users, and the communities in turn behaved like a collective Chicken Little. LJ's terms of service include a provision that they can kick anyone off at any time for any reason; that's their prerogative, and if they exercised that prerogative in a heavy-handed fashion, that's unfortunate, but it's hardly the end of the world. If the most important problem in your life is where you're going to post your A-Team slash fiction, you should consider yourself absurdly lucky.
As far as fanfiction itself is concerned, the great thing about it is that it's born out of a love people have for characters that have really affected them. Nobody would ever wish for that not to happen. And, as I said in the other interviews you mention, I've spent some time playing in other people's sandboxes myself, so I understand part of the attraction of saying, hey, what would happen if Starbuck and Cassiopeia...? It's all in good fun, and like I said, it's born out of love and devotion, which are what a writer wants from readers. Having said all that, though, there's a lot of fanfic that comes from completely different sources. Any topic can be a literary topic, but when a fanfic writer appeals to the ghosts of (let's say) Humbert Humbert and Leopold Bloom as a way of valorizing (let's say) violent fantasies about pedophilia...I mean, come on. I'm sick and tired of seeing so much 'writing' that is solely an excuse for the writers to get self-congratulatory about how transgressive they are. You want transgressive? Go read Kathy Acker and Gary Indiana and Monique Wittig and Brian Evenson...
I guess that response isn't going to make me any friends. People can write about whatever they want to write about. That doesn't mean that other people are obligated to encourage them or give them a platform.
Q: Hellstorm: Son of Satan - Equinox TPB, set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, was released on June 6. What was the reason behind choosing this time and place?
Well, there's an Egyptian theme running through Equinox, and I decided that it would be interesting to set the story in New Orleans because - as Daimon Hellstrom says in the comic - the parallel between two cities at the mouths of great rivers and prone to floods was too interesting to pass up. The Katrina story was unfolding when I started tinkering with the idea at first, and I remembered CS Lewis or somebody saying that despair is one of the openings that the devil uses to get into the human soul. Certainly there was plenty of despair in New Orleans in 2005 - also plenty of heroism and fortitude, incompetence and failure - and I thought it was a compelling setting for a story about one man's search for meaning and redemption.
Q: Can you tell us a little about The Ultimates: Against All Enemies? [To be released on August 28 - WB]
I'd hate to spoil it, but I can say a few things. It involves the Chitauri, who after the climactic battle that closes the first Ultimates story arc have to adjust their tactics. They get a little sneakier, and one of the things they do is try to provoke dissension among members of the Ultimates. That's a big-picture gloss on the story. Along the way, some of the characters have to confront the pertinent question of whether you should ever violate your ideals in order to uphold them.
Q: The "Supernatural" Book of Monsters, Demons, Spirits, and Ghouls' description presents the book as a tour guide which is led by Dean and Sam. Does it have a story frame?
Not in a narrative sense. The way the book proceeds is more or less by Sam and Dean reminiscing about their adventures, and along the way telling some stories about other supernatural encounters that haven't been in the show. There's also quite a bit of folklore, which the book can explore in more depth than the show, just because the show only has an hour, and I got to wallow in all kinds of legends and historical accounts for a lot longer than that.
Q: Does the book touch on the events from the two tie-in books, Nevermore and Witch's Canyon?
Actually, I don't know anything about those two books. The monster book was conceived within the framework of existing TV continuity, and I'm not sure whether that's the case with those books or not.
Q: Did you get any feedback from the cast and crew?
Eric Kripke read the book, and was full of compliments. I'm not sure who else involved with the show might have read it. I imagine they're all busy enough with their work, and of course waiting to see it in finished form--which, by the way, includes knockout illustrations by Dan Panosian.
Q: Did you get a chance to read the comic books? If so, what did you think?
I saw the script of the first one before it came out, and liked it a lot. After that, I was kind of buried in this book, and haven't caught up on everything else yet.
Q: You mentioned in previous interviews [Morgan’s Maniacs and Sequential Tart - WB] that you helped DC Comics with the background of different projects. Can you tell us about those projects, and what the background work was that you did?
It was related to this book, and other Supernatural-related books. There's not really much to add beyond that.
Q: Would you be interested in writing a Supernatural tie-in?
I might. That idea was bandied about when this first batch of projects came along, but I ended up picking this one because I got to exercise my nerd muscles doing all of the research.
What I really want to do is write an episode of the show. For that, I've got ideas...
Q: You said on Sequential Tart that a lot of the material you had on witchcraft didn’t find its way into the book. Is there a chance for a second Supernatural book?
Who knows? I have a feeling that might depend on how this one does. Certainly now that the show's coming back for a third season, there will be much more material for a second book. I guess we'll all have to wait and see how that sorts itself out.
Q: Were you given a free hand in choosing the mythologies, or were the instructions to focus on specific mythologies?
I had a totally free hand. The only constraint was the length of the book. I could have added tons of fascinating stuff, and I tried to drop in little pointers throughout the book to interesting mythologies that might not be as familiar to readers. Also, I wanted to continue the show's focus on Judeo-Christian demonology, so there's quite a bit of that in the book. But there's also little snippets from all over the world, and Sam and Dean do a lot of connecting the dots between different mythologies, looking for points of commonality.
Q: What is the book timeframe, as far as Supernatural is concerned?
The book is temporally just after "Heart," the werewolf episode (which, coincidentally, aired on my birthday). At least, that's the last episode whose details are dealt with directly in the book. I'd read all of the Season 2 scripts by the time I finished the book, and would have liked to use more of the material, but there were good reasons to situate the book the way we did.
Q: What do your students and colleagues think of your chosen writing genre?
Well, since I teach mostly creative writing, my students think it's cool that I'm actually a working writer, period. Lots of them are also big fans of genre literature, so they get a little more into what I'm doing. Far and away my most popular project with my students, though, has been the Hellstorm: Equinox five-issue comic mini I recently did for Marvel.
My colleagues have been entirely supportive. I've never had any problem with genre prejudice. That battle's pretty much over, I think.
Q: Would you have liked to concentrate on writing alone?
Yeah, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea. I like teaching, and it gives some structure to my days, so when I do get time to write I don't spend it staring out the window...which is what you do sometimes when you've got all day, and the bills are paid, and it's just you and the page.
Having said that, I'd be more than happy to spend all of my time writing.
Q: Do you have any current or future projects?
Sure, lots. I'm always writing short stories, and they turn up in various magazines. My next novel, a near-future thriller called Buyout, will come out next fall. I'm working on a couple of interesting online projects, combining gameplay and graphic narrative. And who knows what else might happen on the comics front...
Again, thank you for agreeing to do this Q&A with us.
Thanks for the interest. Hope everyone loves the book...and checks out some of my other stuff, too!
For more information on Alex Irvine and his work:
alexirvine.net - Alex Irvine's official web site
When You Stop Believing in It, It Doesn't Go Away - Alex Irvine's blog
Alex Irvine's MySpace
This story was an EXCLUSIVE to : WinchesterBros.com.
Reposted in MediaBlvd Magazine with permission of the Authors. Please do not repost. If linking to this story, please link to the original at WinchesterBros.com. |
