With DC’s Doctor Thirteen: Architecture & Mortality -- originally serialized in the eight-issue Tales of the Unexpected mini-series -- writer Brian Azzarello and artist Cliff Chiang did the unprecedented and unexpected: They took characters long forgotten (or, in some cases, never remembered) in the mire of continuity and crossovers and slammed them together to create a kinetic, witty and – most importantly – FUN series that had no expectations or limitations.
Here, for your amusement, disgust and reading pleasure is an nine-part interview between Azz and Cliff, broken and sprinkled across the comic book press, where our beloved creators talk about their multi-layered story, the anxieties that come with being, well, creative in comics and hair plugs. Yes. But most of all, learn about how two guys tagged as “gritty” and “noir” created an energetic, colorful and off-the-wall story that made a gaggle of nobody characters into nobodies with at least one good story under their belts. Take it away, gentlemen.
DOCTOR THIRTEEN: ARCHITECTURE & MORTALITY PART SIX
BRIAN AZZARELLO: Are you chirpy in the morning or a grouch?
CLIFF CHIANG: “Morning?” I haven’t woken up to one since I started drawing comics. I’m pretty good when I get up, but that may be because it’s about noon, and my commute is 20 feet down the hall. What’s your setup, by the way? Do you have an office, separate from the rest of your place?
BRIAN AZZARELLO: Hang on… Okay, it’s 19’8” from my side of the bed to the desk I work at. The bathroom is in between, so that’s covered. If the damn hall wasn’t so narrow I’d stick a fridge and a coffee maker in it and brother, that’s all she wrote; you’d never see me again. How many hours does it take until you can’t stand being alone anymore?
CLIFF CHIANG: I can go most of the day, but more than 18 hours starts to get to me. A couple years ago, there were days when I’d realize I hadn’t spoken a word out loud all day long. It’s a weird feeling.
BRIAN AZZARELLO: Really? You should try writing-- swear to god I talk to myself all day, just to get the voices right. Midway through Architecture & Mortality, people started to get the direction it was going in, and that’s when we started to feel some heat. Those were some tense days. I remember I could feel Schreck sweating through the phone…
CLIFF CHIANG: He wasn’t the only one. It was a double-edged sword. People were paying attention now, but as you said, we were now on the radar. But there’s no sense in playing it safe. How do you deal with working under that kind of scrutiny?
BRIAN AZZARELLO: That kind just made working better. It was in for a dime, in for a pound. And by the time they were on to us, we were fifty miles from Moscow. There was no turning back. And the funny thing is, we never got the order to abort the mission, did we? Or did we, and I just riding the bomb?
CLIFF CHIANG: No, it was mostly calming people down and then going on our merry way. I think it eventually became clear that it was all being written with tongue firmly in cheek, and maybe surprisingly, with a lot of love as well. Do you ever scan the internet for audience reaction? Even if it’s not necessarily representative, I find I can’t help but go through message boards and such. Glutton for punishment…
BRIAN AZZARELLO: Maybe once in a while, but I try to stay away-- for both the sake of my sanity and my schedule. Message boards are like quick-sand; they’ll suck you right in. It’s best to stay away-- especially if your work is the topic of conversation. Doesn’t it kill you when a hater starts rolling?
CLIFF CHIANG: It’s hard to look away once they get momentum. What I’ve come to appreciate from message boards is the passion. You might get some extremists, but by and large, these are readers who have put down their hard-earned money for entertainment, so I am curious about what they have to say -- even if I don’t agree with their reasoning.
BRIAN AZZARELLO: Of course they have the right, but I don’t feel obligated to get in the discussions. In fact, I’m against that-- I don’t want to influence anyone’s opinion by engaging them. That happens too much in this industry, and I think it’s dishonest. I never want to tell anyone what they should think of my work.
CLIFF CHIANG: I agree, I don’t think we should really get involved in the discussions. The work is out there and should speak for itself.
I know people get nervous when Vertigo creators cross over into the DCU, as if it automatically means you have no regard or respect for the characters. I think it’s obvious you spend a lot of time thinking about what makes a character tick, but in spite of that, have you met with a lot of resistance working outside of creator-owned books?
To continue reading, please visit our friends at Broken Frontier for part seven.
Posts: 21380 | From: PA | Registered: Aug 2002
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This story was one of the most sublimely brilliant things I've read in a long time. Seriously. Pick this bad boy up.
Posts: 73 | Registered: Jul 2007
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Yeah, one of the rare occassions where I got the individual issues (even tho I had -- and still have -- no intention of ever reading the lead feature!) and will also pick up the collection. It's a wonderful feature and deserves to stand alone in one volume.
I've only been able to find one other segment of the interview so far, but I'll keep trying tomorrow.
Matthew
Posts: 4993 | From: Seattle, WA USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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As far as Internet talk is concerned, I saw more discussion about this backup feature than the front story. That's saying something right there.
And because of that, and previews I saw, I decided to order the trade for this. Can't wait to get my hands.
I really like their comments regarding creators involvement on message boards & such. It's refreshing.
And if I can get a Genius Jones sketch done by Chiang someday, that would be icing on the cake.
Posts: 168 | Registered: Nov 2005
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For those of you trying to find the earlier, parts, I did a quick search for part one and then followed the links at the end of the articles. Here they are:
(Oh, and the DR 13 story is great, and well worth picking up the trade!)
CC: Yeah, we were originally thinking of Silver Banshee–
BA: She was on the list–
CC: — But she had just shown up in Superman, so we needed someone more obscure. I’d done a sketch of Infectious Lass at a convention a few years ago, and kinda fell in love with the alien go-go boots and the mucus arms. I looked at a lot of Bob Oksner’s Angel and the Ape for inspiration. He always drew such cute girls.
But really, it wasn’t just that these guys were on the list, it’s that they were on the BOTTOM of the list."
I'm ordering mine today. (With some other books. Free shipping after $50 at IST - which is a joke, because when I'm ordering trades, it never goes under $100! I'm craaaazy that way.)
-------------------- See Bruce write...Write, Bruce, write! My website about Me: Comiczar.com Posts: 109 | Registered: Aug 2006
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The tpb has some Chiang character designs/sketches in the back -- and that terrific Toth SuperFriends-meets-Ross Kingdom Come cover -- but it's mostly just the story, no frills. Which is fine... it really is great to have this story all in one piece, standing on its own. I'll probably read it this weekend.
Matthew
Posts: 4993 | From: Seattle, WA USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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![[Wink]](wink.gif)
here is that Infectious Lass commission Cliff did for me at SDCC 2004:![[Smile]](smile.gif)
