Prophecy, Dynamite Entertainment’s first self-contained crossover event debuts in June (see “Prophecy—Dynamite’s First Crossover”). ICv2 caught up with Ron Marz who created the popular Artifacts crossover for Top Cow and is performing a similar task with Prophecy. Marz graciously took time to answer some questions that reveal his approach and philosophy in creating crossover events that he believes should be character-driven, accessible, and understandable, even to those who have never read a Dynamite comic before in their lives.
What do you think is the basic appeal of the comic crossover event?
For me, at least, the appeal is putting together characters who have never encountered one another before. When you give readers a brand-new interaction like that, you're giving them something they've never had before. I remember getting a copy of the X-Men/Teen Titans crossover as a kid, and I fell in love with it.
Some crossovers appear to be driven by their high-concept plots, while others feel like an unending series of throwdowns between spandex clad heroes and villains—how do you maintain a balance?
I think every story worth a damn comes from the characters. If it's just high concept, and you don't care about the characters, it's empty. It's lifeless. And if it's just meaningless fights without any consequences, it's also empty. The balance is figuring out how your high-concept plot affects your characters. What does it mean to the people we're supposed to care about?
What is the secret ingredient of a good crossover story?
I don't know that there's any secret ingredient beyond what you need for any story: characters the audience is invested in. Though I do think part of that is making the story accessible and understandable. Comics as a whole are guilty of telling stories that assume the reader is already familiar with the characters and situations. That won't be the case here. If you've never read a Dynamite comic in your life, you'll still get everything you need to know.
Do you see any opportunities for character-revealing moments in Prophecy?
Absolutely. I mean, we're not going to suddenly find out that Red Sonja is Vampirella's long-lost sister or anything silly like that. But there will definitely be moments that define the characters by the choices they make.
In other interviews you have stressed that crossover events should be “fun” for the readers—how do you keep the enjoyment and avoid the slippery slope of campy humor?
You stay true to the characters, you don't let them become cardboard cutouts. The story should serve the characters, not the other way around. The simple answer is consequences. A story can be fun, and still have life-and-death consequences for the characters.
Red Sonja By Walter Giovanni
First and foremost there’s Red Sonja. I'm a Sonja fan from years ago, when I first saw the Frank Thorne issues, and even read the paperback prose novels with the Boris covers. But there's also a certain Victorian detective who might well make an appearance or two.
How integral to the Prophecy storyline is the “Mayan prophecy”---Will you have any scenes set in ancient Mesoamerica? Will there be any references to the asteroid that hit the Caribbean basin and may have wiped out the dinosaurs?
Mayans, yes. Dinosaurs, probably not. We'll definitely give readers a good dose of the classical Mayan period. I've actually visited a number of the ruins in the Yucatan, so I want to bring some of that experience to the story.