Tripwire Chats To JC Vaughn About A Career Writing Comics

From 24 To Al Capone Vampire And More

Tripwire’s contributing writer Scott Braden just chatted to writer/ editor JC Vaughn about a long career writing comics…

TW: Vampire, PA was your first creator-owned comic. Was it supposed to be one and done, or did you envision it as a series of mini-series?
JC VAUGHN: Actually, McCandless & Company: Dead Razor was my first creator-owned comic book. Antiques: The Comic Strip was also creator-owned, but it was a comic strip rather than a comic book. Vampire, PA spun out of a short story, “Vampire Hunter Dean,” I contributed to Moonstone’s prose anthology Vampires: Dracula and the Undead Legions.

TW: What inspired you to create a series of supernatural crime comics, one after the other?  What do you think has led to the popularity of your work?
JCV: In the case of all of my creator-owned projects, they usually sprang from story ideas that I’d like to read myself, and being creator-owned there generally isn’t someone around to talk me out of it. As for any popularity, I couldn’t begin to answer that.

TW: Al Capone, Vampire is another popular supernatural crime comic of yours.  When and how did that idea come into the picture?
JCV: I was writing the one-shot Vampire, PA: Bite Out of Crime #1, and I needed a new villain. And Capone came to mind. From that point, it sort of clicked and took on an undead life of its own when we launched him in his own series.

TW: You pit Al Capone, Vampire with the first super-hero action figure toy character, Captain Action.  What was the main premise of that battle royale and what was the response like from readers and fans?
JCV: Captain Action has this incredible history, not only in the world of toys, but also in comics. I mean, seriously, the first issue was by Jim Shooter and Wally Wood! Ed Catto, Joe Ahearn, and Michael Polis, who run Captain Action Enterprises, are great guys and good friends. I came up with the idea of the crossover, ran it by them, answered a few concerns they had, and we were off to the races. It seems like people enjoyed it. The creative team sure did.

TW: Your latest creation is Dead Inspector, which reminds me of a story that might have had Kolchak The Night Stalker playing out as a cop drama.  What’s the basic premise of this amazing work?
JCV: That’s a great description of the tone. Here’s the quick pitch: Detective David Hastings accidentally discovers there’s been a serial killer operating in Pittsburgh since the 1880s! Sure, it sounds crazy. That’s why he and his partner, Detective Steve Metcalf, decide to investigate it on their own. It might be the last mistake they ever make!

TW: Who illustrated Dead Inspector and where did you find him?  I love his work!
JCV: I worked with Giancarlo Caracuzzo on an issue of Stargate Universe and loved his work. In terms of mood, I’d compared him to Mike Mignola, but I really hate labeling talent like his. Later on, I saw his work on American Mythology’s Night of the Living Dead, so I sent him an eight-page Al Capone, Vampire script, which he nailed. After a quick chain of events, I asked him if he’d be interested in doing Dead Inspector. He said yes, his daughter, Flavia, colored it, and I think it turned out great.

TW: Besides your own stuff, you also wrote licensed material.  Tell me about 24 and Stargate.  How did you get the chance to write your own chapters for these fan-faves, and do you still have as yet lost tales ready to be told regarding these beloved TV series?

JCV: Mark Haynes and I co-wrote three one-shot graphic novels and a five-issue mini-series for IDW based on the show 24 during the original run of the series on Fox. They actually went and got the license based on our pitch, which was pretty cool.

For Stargate, we co-wrote both Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe, which were very different animals in terms of both story content and the approval process. Because most of the cast of Stargate SG-1 had appeared on Atlantis, we were able to used those characters as well, which was fun. On my own I wrote a couple more scripts for the Stargate series that appeared in an anthology title and I also wrote the Season 4 trading cards for 24. In those cases, I definitely still have an affinity for the characters and their worlds. As much as I usually work on my own stuff these days, I definitely have more things in mind for them given the chance(s).

TW: You also wrote a Blue Beetle story for DC Comics back in the day.  Where did that show up, what was the experience like writing for one of the Big Two, and why did you decide on including all three iterations of the beloved character?
JCV: “Christmas with The Beetles” appeared in DCU Holiday Special in 2008. Dan DiDio offered me a shot and I jumped at the chance to do it. I got to include all three eras of Blue Beetle in one short story, and I remain thankful for the opportunity. I should have been in there the next week pitching more stuff, but my dad died and it really took a lot to finish the assignments I did have for months after that. That said, Lee Garbett’s art on story really made me look good.

TW: And you may be starting a sophomore novel too? Is this a sequel to your first or something completely new?
JCV: Boy, that’s coming very slowly. I was ready to jump right into it after I finished Second Wednesday, but Mark Haynes and I had been developing a pilot, Hyperloop, with Roddenberry Entertainment, and that always seemed to come first. I’m working on it again now, though. And it’s a second Donovan Bay mystery.

TW: At conventions, you often held panels on licensed comics.  What about writing exciting tales using other people’s myths do you find so rewarding?
JCV: Some writers can take any assignment and do a good job. I have to love the property to start with, and then I can see if I have something to say with the characters. What I do love without reservation, though, is the process and hearing about what other creators, publishers, editors, and event licensors have gone through on projects. We’ve been the panel at San Diego, NYCC, and Baltimore, and it generally draws a pretty good crowd and we have some fun.

TW: Having already written for DC, have you ever wondered what it would be like to write for Marvel?  What property would you want to play with and do you currently have stories in mind with said property?
JCV: Of course I’ve wondered, even if I don’t find it too likely.

TW: Artificial intelligence is trying to learn how to write comics and graphic novels.  Do you see AI making its mark in the four-color field, or does the creative spark of human writers and artists trump the cold, calculated work of soulless algorithms?
JCV: It’s a really mixed bag. If AI is a tool in a creator’s toolbox, there are probably instances in which is can be a huge help. I’d never use it to create, but I’ve tested it out by giving it criteria to evaluate things I’ve already written. The results were very uneven, but that taught me how to ask it better questions. No worries today, but tomorrow will be a different story.

That said, I’d love to see an X-Men animated film sourced from and credited to John Byrne’s artwork, just as a for instance. Can you imagine that? I’ve talked to a number of comic book artists who would never use it to draw anything, but they were intrigued by the concept of seeing their style animated.

If AI is doing the storytelling, however, and it’s been trained by ripping off creators’ works without payment or credit given, that’s just horrible. You can bet that the Hollywood bosses are looking to cut as many paying jobs out of the process as they can, and equally that the topography of creative industries will go through massive changes in the next five years. Whether you like it or not, you better understand it.

TW: You are also known for co-writing and/or scripting several of Billy Tucci’s Shi releases — like the hit Shi: Gatecrasher.  What do you find compelling about this strong female hero and what brings you back to her mythos time and time again?

JCV: I’ve been a fan of Billy’s since Shi: Way of the Warrior #1, and Shi: Akai #1, which was a one-shot, was my first big comic as a writer. Over the years I’ve written or co-written three mini-series, Shi: Ju-Nen, Shi: Poisoned Paradise, and Shi: Sempo, and I’ve edited many others, include the Shi: Return of the Warrior mini-series. The Shi: Gatecrasher one-shot was by far the biggest one I’ve written. Billy built a tremendous world and populated it with fantastic characters and compelling conflicts. There’s a great history in that world, and on top of that I love Billy’s art. For me it’s more a question of how could I not want to play in that world?

Dead Inspector is live on Kickstarter now