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2008 Movie News Archives

March 3, 2008: “New Frontier” Interview with Darwyn Cooke

Interview with Darwyn Cooke, Writer/Artist of DC: The New Frontier.

(During this interview conducted at WonderCon in late February, Darwyn Cooke was sketching and inking a personal picture of King Faraday as a gift for Phil Morris)

Q: Where did you first get the idea for New Frontier?

A: New Frontier came out of DC's request for a Justice League story. And I realized I didn't want to do a contemporary story because I didn't really understand the continuity or the cast of characters in play. So I started looking at it as an historical drama and what became interesting to me was, what kind of people would become the Justice League. What kind of people have what it takes to become those seven people. What makes a hero. Is it a ring, or is it the guy? And the more I started asking these questions, the more I got excited about it. The more I started thinking about them as the people they were. it became clear to me that I had to cast the story in the period in which the characters had been created. Hal Jordan is not relevant today. There's a reason that so many people think he's boring and it's because test pilots don't have the same impact that they did in 1959. In '59, a test pilot was bigger than an NBA star. It was the coolest thing in the world. And that's why Hal was made a test pilot, to appeal to kids. The minute you put him back in that era, he's an incredibly vital character. I think it was true with all of them that they shined better because they were put into the context in which they were intended. All of these characters have to evolve over decades in order to stay current or relevant. I think a lot of what makes their original charm gets diluted through that process. So that's kind of the genesis of where I was and the direction I took it in.

Q: Is the Silver Age your favorite era?

A: Absolutely. I think the Golden Age stuff has a lot of charm, but a lot of the work is very crude and it doesn't resonate in the same way because it's not as well constructed. I think that by the Silver Age they had a much firmer idea of what they were doing and trying to achieve with the characters.

Q: You've had experience working in animation before, with Bruce Timm and much of the same team. How did that experience help you in your role creating the movie?

A: When it came to the movie, in a situation like this they are always interested in consulting the creator. But generally the creator has no real insight into process or what goes in to the construction of a picture like this. Having had a good deal of experience working with Bruce in the '90's, I knew the crew. I knew what we were doing and how it gets done so that enabled me to be a vital member of the crew. It was like it used to be with all my buddies. The director gives me my board and I storyboard.

Q: Are there any story points omitted from the movie that you wish you could put back in?

A: Yes. Every piece that's not in the movie that's in the book. The two scenes I really miss are the Losers on Dinosaur Island and John Henry.

Q: Wait a minute, the John Henry story isn't in the movie?

A: You haven't seen it yet?

Q: No, but the world premiere is in 8 minutes.

A: Sorry. I just spoiled it for you. It's 70 minutes, man. You should have seen me for two weeks. It was really tough having to be realistic about what we could do and what we couldn't. The other scene I really miss is the one with young Hal Jordan and Chuck Yeager. I know I've broken your heart already, but you're still gonna love it.

Q: There are a lot of real world nods and comic book history nods throughout the book. Like how the Flash was struck by lightning in 1956, which is the same year as his first appearance in Showcase #4. I notice in the book that in 1959, Hal Jordan was in a flight simulator and the screen looked an awful lot like "Asteroids," which was the first video game ever invented in 1959. Was that on purpose?

A: That is a total fluke, but now that you've told me, I'm totally copying that from your idea. So like I said, I did it on purpose. Actually, if you read the book, DC: New Frontier, you'll notice that the heroes appear in real time during the month and the year that they were originally published. The Flash, Challengers, Green Lantern, all of them. Their lives follow the DC publishing map. So Hal gets the ring in 1959 in the same month that the issue of Showcase came out with him in it.

Q: That's why Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Justice Society were already there. Then there's the last page with Starro like the cover of the first Justice League book.

A: It was always very important to me that the story end on that note and that at that point that everything is as it should be.