BY JENNIFER M. CONTINOWhen
Grace Randolph had a chance to work on an issue of Justice League Unlimited, the Clown Prince of Crime and his Girl Friday were the first character she thought of using as thorns in the heroes' sides. But just how will the Joker and Harley Quinn fare against Elongated Man, The Crimson Avenger, Zatanna and Hawkgirl? Well, Randolph can't reveal many secrets of this issue, but she did give us some of her thoughts on what makes some of those characters outstanding ....
THE PULSE: It's rare for me to meet another lifelong comic book fan who's also a woman. What is it about superheroes and comic books that first attracted you to the medium?
GRACE RANDOLPH: Comics have some of the most dynamic, well-developed female characters out there. I always feel that, generally speaking, women have a bias against comics because they're not aware of how the medium has evolved. As for my own interest, it started as it does for a lot of people - with Archie comics. I read those for a while and then, naturally, my eyes drifted toward what DC and Marvel had to offer.
THE PULSE: Have you ever wavered or gone through a point where you weren't reading comics? If so, what brought you back? If not, what's kept you, like me, here for the long run?
RANDOLPH: Yes! I'm sad to say that for a period of time I did stop reading comics. During high school, my parents were like "Don't you think you're a little old for comics?" and I caved to the pressure. However when I went to NYU film school, suddenly I was surrounded by a lot of people reading comics. That was largely because film is a visual medium like comics. As people may or may not know, film storyboards are very similar to a comic book and – if I may go back to the topic of women and comics again – I believe that if more women read comic books there might be more women filmmakers.
THE PULSE: When you were younger, what were some of your favorite comic books of all time?
RANDOLPH: I absolutely loved
Archie Comics, even the older ones that they'd reprint in the digests. Actually, especially the older ones. You can't beat
Dan DeCarlo's art. I am also a HUGE "Calvin & Hobbes" fan. I own all the original books and was highly tempted to buy the collection that recently came out. Perhaps I'll treat myself this Christmas… I also enjoyed
Carl Barks' "Uncle Scrooge" comics and own a lot of those as well.
THE PULSE: What storyline from your early reading days affected you the most? Me? It was the Death of Phoenix and The Judas Contract ....
RANDOLPH: Very early on, I remember going with my dad to pick up "The Death of Superman", which I enjoyed (I also enjoyed the new, albeit very different, animated version that was just released on DVD). And
Frank Miller and
David Mazzucchelli's "Batman: Year One" is probably my favorite comic book of all time. In terms of quality, it's like the comic book equivalent of "The Godfather". Also, I gotta say, I really loved the introduction of Sasha Bordeaux in
Greg Rucka's run on "Detective Comics". I'm glad she was brought back via "Checkmate". I also loved
Ed Brubaker and
Paul Gulacy's run on "Catwoman". And while we're on the subject of Catwoman, anything
Darwyn Cooke touches turns to gold. I also think
Paul Jenkins and
Andy Kubert's "Origin" was amazing and a worthy beginning to the Wolverine legend. Plus, a huge shout out to
Alan Moore and
Kevin O'Neill's "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" series. And, d'uh, "Watchmen". Geez, I could go on forever. There's a lot of good stuff out there.
THE PULSE: How did you get the chance to finally make one of your dreams come true by working in the comics industry?
RANDOLPH: Well, a few years ago I wrote
Dan DiDio a letter telling him how I felt my love of comics combined with my background at NYU Film were good reasons why he should take a look at an idea I had for a mini-series. While DC wasn't looking for any new mini-series at that time, he graciously asked me to send in a few spec scripts. Luckily he really liked one in particular – a Superman spec called "Mrs. Superman" – and asked his assistant at the time,
Jann Jones, to read it as well. She also really liked it and encouraged him to call me in. And I have to say, I would not be working in comics today, much less at
DC Comics, without
Jann Jones. She's now moved up (deservedly so) at DC to become an editor but still continues to support my work and offer advice. I'm very lucky my work came across her desk.
THE PULSE: When you had the chance to work on any characters for the Justice League Unlimited, how did you decide which heroes and villains -- out of the multitudes -- to include in your story for JLU # 41?
RANDOLPH: Like so many, I really enjoy what
Bruce Timm and
Paul Dini have done with the DC animated universe. And since I have a comedy background, I also wanted to write a humorous story. The Joker and Harley Quinn's relationship is so unique – I couldn't pass up the opportunity to contribute to their story. Plus: they're popular characters we don't get to see too much these days, especially together.
THE PULSE: There have been so many people who worked with The Joker through the years, what other creators influenced how you regard the Clown Prince of Crime?
RANDOLPH: The Joker is sort of like Mickey Mouse in that he's such a vital character to the Batman mythos that nobody wants to overexpose him. So we don't see a lot of him, at least not recently. To me, The Joker will always be how
Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and
Mark Hamill portrayed him in "Batman The Animated Series" and "The Dark Knight Adventures". I think they got it just right. And of course, Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's "The Killing Joke" is essential Joker reading.
THE PULSE: How would someone like The Joker even gain entrance into the Watchtower? How does he get around those safeguards?
RANDOLPH: As we all know, The Joker is a crafty rogue not be underestimated! As to how he gains access to the Watchtower, it's simple. He - (CENSORED BY THE COMMITTEE OF NOT RUINING THE STORY)
THE PULSE: The cover showed Crimson Avenger, Elongated Man and Zatanna, what other JLUers are present in this yarn?
RANDOLPH: Hawkgirl! I absolutely LOVE the animated Shayera Hol. The development of that character over the course of the animated
Justice League and
Justice League Unlimited's seasons was phenomenal and highly entertaining! And I gotta say, the yellow jumpsuit they gave her toward the end was fabulous and I wish she wore that in the comics. She's also a great action hero and I felt she held her own against Wonder Woman quite nicely.
THE PULSE: What made you want to use those particular heroes and villains?
RANDOLPH: I think everyone in the book – The Joker, Harley Quinn, Hawkgirl, Zatanna, Elongated Man and The Crimson Avenger – gets a good amount of face time. As to why I chose the heroes that I did, here's the scoop. Hawkgirl: I just wanted to see the animated universe version of Shayera Hol again, plain and simple. Zatanna: She's a lot of fun, and I thought she was a good foil for The Joker and Harley Quinn. Elongated Man: Who doesn't love Elongated Man? The Crimson Avenger: I knew nothing about The Crimson Avenger before I wrote this, and I included him because I wanted to give exposure to some of the lesser-known members of the JLU.
THE PULSE: Those three seem as if they'd be more than enough to wipe the floor with Mr. J and Harlequin, so what kind of edge do they have that lets them last longer than five minutes in the Watchtower?
RANDOLPH: The Joker and Harley Quinn are the King and Queen of Crime for a reason, as these heroes find out! – I'm sorry, but The Committee of Not Ruining The Story has tied my hands again. Damn do-gooders…
THE PULSE: How was writing for the target audience of Justice League Unlimited different from some of your other writings outside of the field of comics?
RANDOLPH: Actually, I wrote this comic as would have if it had been written for adults. I did have to take out some references to death and murder, but I was fortunate enough to find a way to do it that didn't take the edge off of The Joker and Harley Quinn. If you enjoyed the JLU animated series, I think odds are you'll enjoy this issue. JLU editor
Rachel Gluckstern, with whom I really enjoyed working, never once told me to aim for a kid audience and I think that's great because kids enjoy smart, complex stories, too.
THE PULSE: Along with JLU, you're working on a few other comic projects. How did you come to work with CosmoGirl and TOKYOPOP on The Adventures of CG!?
RANDOLPH: About a year ago,
Jann Jones recommended I submit some work to TOKYOPOP. It turned out to be a great idea and, once again, I was very fortunate that my work came across the desk of a very cool editor:
Kathy Schilling. Kathy liked my work and when the
CosmoGirl gig opened up she recommended me as the writer. "The Adventures of CG!" is a fun monthly manga about this girl CG! and her friends' college experiences.
Also,
Kathy Schilling really liked the original pitch I sent to TOKYOPOP called "Nemesis: Who Me?". So often we hear about the hero's journey, but what about the villain? The story follows Minerva's opportunity to study magic and the accompanying temptation to follow a villainous path. Kathy Schilling found a great artist for the project,
Elisa Kwon (you can see Kwon's work
here), and I'm proud to say that "Nemesis: Who Me?" will be part of TOKYOPOP's new
Shining Stars online manga program debuting in early 2008. All potential new manga for TOKYOPOP will now be debuting through the program and readers have to vote for their favorite manga to see it become a published series. So please check out "Nemesis: Who Me?" and, if you like it, give it your vote.
Also, I'm very close to signing a deal with a well-known indy publisher, so fingers crossed.
THE PULSE: What do you enjoy the most about that experience?
RANDOLPH: What I enjoy about writing for comics overall is being able to add a contribution to the medium. Every Wednesday I make my pilgrimage to the comic book store to buy quite a few of 'em and it's something I really look forward to. To give something back to that experience is very rewarding. All I can hope is that my work makes it onto people's pull lists and, when they sit down to read it, they enjoy the ride.
THE PULSE: What's the status of your project with Paul Gulacy, Shadow Racer Go?
RANDOLPH: Seriously, that is the project that just keeps on ticking. It's been on hold for awhile since Paul's been doing such fabulous work over at Marvel. But I honestly don't think there are another two people out there who could believe more in a project than Paul and I believe in "Shadow Racer : GO".
We shopped it around in 2006 but it was difficult as Paul and I were a little mismatched in terms of "street cred" – meaning that Paul's a highly respected artist in the industry and I was a newbie. And I have to say that Paul's awesome to have been willing to team-up with me considering how little experience I had when we first met. On my end, to collaborate with an artist who's work I've admired on titles like "Batman" and "Catwoman" is pretty special. We plan to re-introduce "Shadow Racer: GO" to publishers in early 2008 with a new twist. Again, fingers crossed.
THE PULSE: What projects outside of comics are you working on?
RANDOLPH: As I said earlier, I come from a comedy background so a lot of what I do outside of comics is comedy. I organized a comedy group called Monkeys In The Atrium and spent almost two years performing sketch and improv comedy in NYC's Times Square and then Greenwich Village, where we were the only sketch/improv show at The Comedy Cellar.
I'm currently the host and writer of TitanTV's "RevYOU", a comedic webshow that covers new movie releases and finds out what moviegoers think of them. We go out on the street and actually interview people coming out of the theater. New episodes come out every Friday night and you can watch them on
www.revyou.tv.
I have a few other projects I'm working on with TitanTV and I also study at Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC, where I'm also known to put on the occasional show. For more info on these projects and all the stuff I'm working on, please visit my website,
www.gracerandolph.com, which is highly informative, not to mention awesome.
It was after talking with Grace Randolph about this issue of Justice League Unlimited, that she agreed to become a contributor to THE PULSE. Look for her work in the Graphic Debate column. The first one can be read here:
http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/ubb/get_topic/f/39/t/000323.html You can learn more about this JLU issue from Grace Randolph and Dario Brizuela here:
http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=8765
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