Courtesy of Newsarama

Quote:

Newsarama: First off Dan, Infinite Crisis #5 has jumped around a little on the calendar before finally settling in on this week. What happened?

Dan Didio: While the book was originally solicited for the second week of the month, we always knew we had the option of sliding the issue to the last week if we needed more time for production. Which you can clearly see, we did. But the reason why issue #5 is coming out March 1st rests solely on my shoulders.

NRAMA: How so?

Just as the issue was about to ship to the printers, I asked for a couple of last minute changes, which I felt enhanced the emotional impact of certain scenes. Geoff and Phil were great in understanding my concerns and they worked with Eddie Berganza to come up with some excellent fixes in a matter of hours. This meant adding a couple of extra pages to the story… so here we are.

NRAMA: Along with the time shift, Phil hasn’t been the sole artist on the book since issue #3. How related is that the book’s scheduling?

DD: The plan was always to bring in Jerry Ordway to do the Earth 2 sequences and George Perez to do scenes that paid tribute to the original Crisis. Phil is a huge fan of the original series and wanted to make sure they were involved in the sequel. Phil is also a perfectionist and realist, and he has always put the project first. As the schedule got tighter and tighter, he saw that Eddie Berganza needed to move heaven and multiple earths to keep this book on schedule, Phil volunteered to give up pages so that we keep the series on track. Eddie brought in Ivan Reis to help on the middle issues, that way Phil could focus on the final two. There has been a lot of crazy planning and juggling on these books, but everyone involved, from George to Jerry to Phil to Ivan to Geoff to Eddie and all our inkers, have been consummate professionals in their handling of this series.

NRAMA: But still, and not to beat you up too much about this, but how did this happen? It’s not like this was a sudden addition to the DC schedule or Phil’s speed was an unknown…
DD: There is a reason we call this book Infinite Crisis. In any true creative environment, what you plan at the start rarely becomes the final product. This series, not surprisingly, took on a life of its own. And while I consider Phil the ultimate perfectionist, I think Geoff Johns his main challenger for the title. If there is a fourth stage past big, bigger, biggest, that’s were Geoff wants this story to be. With each script he continues to up the ante in regards to scope and characters involved. But each change and addition takes time to research and reference for design and coloring, and this is one of the places where the editorial team of Eddie and assistant editor, Jeanine Schaefer are working overtime.

This series has one of the greatest pedigrees in comics to live up to. Everyone involved in this production understands that and will settle for being nothing less than the very best.

NRAMA: Fair enough. Moving on to some topics raised by issue #4 – first off, the destruction of Bludhaven. What larger point does that serve in the story? Did the villains’ ante need to be upped by that much?

DD: The destruction of Bludhaven shows the true evil and power of the villains as they begin to take the offensive. When we have an organization of villains set on world domination, I don’t consider that “upping the ante”, I consider it “sending a message.”

NRAMA: Message being, “this is the stage we’re playing on now?”

DD: Exactly.

NRAMA: Also, in the issue, Alex Luthor spilled the entire plan, noting that Superboy pounded on the wall to finally shatter the “heaven” that he had placed them in at the end of the last Crisis. Thumbnail sketch – the pounding of Superboy on, essentially, the “wall” of a universe. What did it do to the DCU?

DD: The true ramifications of the “wall pounding” will be seen in the Infinite Crisis Secret Files. What you will soon discover is that following Crisis on Infinite Earths, the one world we were left with was not completely settled and still subtlety resonated with the echoes of the multiple earths. The pounding on the wall of reality by Superboy sent shock waves throughout the universe, slightly shifting timelines and history of those characters that were most affected by the original Crisis.

For fans out there who’ve been wondering, or in some cases yelling, these “continuity waves” will help explain away the reboots, revamps and continuity inconsistencies since Crisis on Infinite Earths.

NRAMA: Sticking with Superboy - the battle between Superboy and everyone. From your eyes, how did it get out of control, so quickly?

DD: Superboy is a teenager raised in isolation, with raging hormones, a huge chip on shoulder and the powers of a god. He never learned how to keep his powers or emotions in check, so when confronted, the situation escalated and he had no idea on how to defuse it. Think of a situation where you, as a teenager, lost your temper. Now imagine you have the power to crush a planet. Do you think that situation would have ended differently?

NRAMA: Er, you said “is.”

DD: What?

NRAMA: “Superboy is a teenager…” wasn’t he taken off the board in issue #4, making that “is” into a “was?”

DD: Was he?

NRAMA: Rhetorical, or are you asking?

DD: Rhetorical.

NRAMA: Okay – also with that fight, what’s the larger picture the takeaway message from the fight? What purpose does it serve in advancing the story - aside from setting up Headless Pantha as a new character and fun action figure for DC Direct’s 2006 lineup?

DD: This is the moment where Superboy Prime crosses the point of no return and becomes the greatest threat the universe will ever know. Other than that, you will have to just wait and see.

NRAMA: So you did mean is and not was.

DD: Yes I did.

NRAMA: Generally speaking, for the characters that disappeared at the end of Infinite Crisis #4 – does anyone left on earth-1 know where they went?

DD: By the end of #5 they have a better idea on some of them are, but at the beginning, they have no idea. And one appears to be lost forever.

NRAMA: So we’re going to see a response to the heroes’ missing friends in issue #5?

DD: Issue #5 opens with our heroes in church. This scene was much discussed in our office and was prompted by a conversation with Paul Levitz. At one of our darkest moments, our heroes are exhausted and confused, and the devastation they experienced has filled them with despair. But rather than sink deeper, they take a moment to reflect, spiritually, and refocus their purpose and conviction.

NRAMA: In line with looking at what’s coming, when do we get the motive behind Alex Luthor’s madness? He’s single-minded on his quest for a “perfect” earth. Why?

DD: He’s a Luthor and Luthors are always right. Or at least, they think they are.

NRAMA: Still – all people have flaws. Any hints as to what Alex didn’t take into account in his master plan?

DD: Alex thinks this earth is wrong and wants to fix it, but he didn’t take into account the fatal flaw of all Luthors, the strength and conviction of Superman.

NRAMA: Just for the sake of absolute clarification – Doom Patrol. Specifically Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol. Given it’s appearance in Teen Titans #31 – in continuity, or out? And then how does that now work with John Byrne’s Doom Patrol?
DD: All Doom Patrols are in continuity.

NRAMA: All?

DD: All of them. And some of the shifts have been explained away with the “Continuity Wave.” See, its working already.

NRAMA: So then, John Byrne’s Doom Patrol series was started with this in mind? That is, the unexplained re-appearance of the Doom Patrol in the present day was done so with Infinite Crisis and how it would realign it in mind?

DD: Right.

NRAMA: But DC and Byrne took a tremendous amount of heat for the Patrol’s return without mention of their past…in the end, was it worth it?
DD: Absolutely, you cannot publish a large line of comics with out taking some risks and if it had worked better, we would have been having a different conversation. As you’ll soon see with some of the new series planned, we will continue to add a level of risk in everything we do.

NRAMA: That said, DCU continuity is filled with other continuity…alternatives. Can you give a hint at which ones will be addressed in the remaining issues of Crisis, and elsewhere? For instance, Superman has one, two, or three different origin stories (not to mention versions of Krypton) depending on which one you look at…will the Birthright/Man of Steel question be clarified by the end of Infinite Crisis?

DD: In Crisis #6, you’ll get a hint of some of the changes that have been made in continuity. There are momentary flashes that will reflect points in Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman’s lives that we show revisions to key moments in their lives. This will be the continuity and story from this point forward.

NRAMA: Still, some “fixes” stemming from Crisis are legitimate continuity issues – things that could have caused larger problems if they were allowed to continue. But something like the larger Doom Patrol history meshing with Grant’s version seems almost…well; indulgent is too strong of a word, but points in the right direction. Who or what was the watchdog for legitimate character development, and story/plot flow versus creator, or even editorial wish fulfillment?

DD: Me.

NRAMA: In that sense then, were you taking requests for fixes that could stem from Crisis? Say, an editor wanted a tweak in a character’s history to make things work just a touch smoother?

DD: Absolutely, all editors and writers are involved is setting character directions and establishing their histories following the One Year Later.

NRAMA: Will there be some kind of comprehensive list of the changes that have been made, or will they gradually unspool through stories coming up?

DD: The back ups to 52 will help re-establish the history of the DC Universe and present two page origins of some of our most popular characters. But you will also be seeing the characters’ stories unfold in their regular series too.

NRAMA: A quick one on the Jim Lee cover to issue #5 – two Wonder Women. Who’s the second one?

DD: That’s what Wonder Woman would like to know as well, although I think some people already can figure it out.

NRAMA: Finally, to wrap this abbreviated session up, now that we’re close to the end of Crisis, the question of how the Legion would be connected – if at all – to Crisis has been dogging you since the first Crisis Counseling sessions. Can you explain who they are, relative to the Crisis? They’re living in a Post-Crisis world, right? In essence, the Post-Crisis Legion?

DD: That’s a story Mark Waid is waiting for the right moment to tell.



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