NOTE: The following interview accommodates spoilers for Stargirl: The Lost Children #6 abound. You’ve been warned!
Geoff Johns and Todd Nauck are a dream crew. Johns’s knack for writing twisty, gut-punch-y superhero tales blends properly with Nauck’s clear, emotive fashion. Look no additional than their latest collaboration to see what we imply. This newest venture, the restricted collection Stargirl: The Lost Children, drops its remaining concern at the moment, and it’s a doozy.
The six-issue collection has adopted Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl as she stumbles upon an island of forgotten Golden Age sidekicks. Together with Red Arrow, Stargirl should free these misplaced youngsters, confront the beings accountable for their seize, and proper a decades-old unsuitable.
The Beat caught up with Johns and Nauck about the remaining concern of Stargirl: The Lost Children, deep-diving into what the finale means for Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl and what’s subsequent for the Justice Society.
Hayden Mears: The final time we spoke, the first concern was about to hit cabinets. Now the final concern is out. How are you guys feeling proper now?
Todd Nauck: Oh, properly I used to be excited for this venture from the starting and have loved each second of each concern that Geoff and I bought to do collectively. And so it’s simply such a enjoyable time from starting to finish and to see the fan response has been so overwhelmingly constructive. I can’t await them to see the final concern and the way every little thing wraps up. And it’s laborious to consider that it’ll all be completed right here in only a couple of weeks and to see all of it come to fruition has been very particular and simply actually, actually proud of this venture from each angle.
Geoff Johns: Yeah, I’m very grateful. I met Todd earlier than Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. ever even got here out and I’ve been a fan of his earlier than that. So to work with him on this is sort of a dream venture, to work with Stargirl and all these younger teen characters from the Golden Age and creating all these new teen characters now from the Golden Age with Todd and telling a extremely enjoyable however emotional story that celebrated DC‘s young heroes and kind of the first age of young heroes. I’m actually proud of the work we did.
But extra importantly for me, each e book, all kinds of hardcover commerce that comes out ultimately sits in your shelf. It at all times tells a narrative to you. It’s once you’re creating it. And this story is for me, it’s actually one of friendship, and it speaks to Todd and I in quite a bit of methods. And I really like that. I really like that we bought to do a narrative like this about friendship collectively after so a few years of friendship and with Stargirl at the middle. For me, it’s very full circle. It comes again to the very starting of working in comics and it’s particular on quite a bit of ranges. And I believe the story’s quite a bit of enjoyable.
Mears: Todd, final time we spoke you mentioned that Geoff places no less than one two-page unfold into every concern. And on this new one, I’ve learn the final one, I believe there are three spreads. I’m attempting to recollect.
Nauck: Four. There are 4 double-page spreads and I believe no less than two or three splash pages. So we bought to actually open up and do some huge stuff and I actually like it, particularly when all the children come collectively to face the Childminder. That was a lot enjoyable to get that, to do the huge group. Here’s all people’s shot. Always a enjoyable factor to attract.
And the finish shot the place they’re attempting to rescue Wing as properly. That one, after I learn it after… as a result of Geoff will dialogue issues after I’ve drawn it, I bought a primary concept of the dialogue. He writes just about full script. But then after I draw it, Geoff goes in and he tweaks the dialogue. So then after I get to learn it after it’s been dialogued, it’s like an entire new comedian e book for me in some methods. It’s like, oh, he got here up with new issues for the characters to say and there have been so many moments that simply punched me in the feels and it was similar to, “Keep it together, Todd. Don’t lose it. Don’t lose it.” And after they had been attempting to rescue Wing, that was such a heartfelt second. I used to be similar to, I’m about to lose it proper right here. And it was so enjoyable to get to attract that after which see the way it all comes along with Geoff’s second move at the dialogue.
Mears: That unfold is so lovely. It’s so emotional and it’s such an incredible emotional payoff of the e book, I believe. How lengthy does it take you to attract spreads like that?
Nauck: It relies upon. I imply, when it’s a giant group shot, you’re working with 30 characters, that may take quite a bit of time as a result of I wish to choreograph every character to convey their persona, who goes subsequent to who. I’m holding in thoughts character relationships, colour schemes, so I don’t clump all the pink characters collectively. So I wish to attempt to maintain visible aesthetics in addition to how does everybody choreograph collectively. And Geoff truly did a tough sketch of that unfold. Here’s Wing and Stargirl, right here’s everybody else creating this sort of V-shape. And then I needed to form of, it’s like, “Okay, now how would I lay that out?” And so it was a extremely form of enjoyable, distinctive collaborative second as a result of not usually do writers give a sketch. And this was only a quite simple sketch.
Johns: It was additionally that second, Hayden, in that visible that … The cause it’s a double-page unfold is as a result of it tells you ways united and the way caring these children are [for] each other. That second simply encapsulates the complete collection, in that these youngsters have discovered one another, they’ll do something for each other, they usually’ll do it collectively. Even in the event that they don’t at all times succeed, what’s extra vital than at all times succeeding is at all times attempting. And that was the complete level of this second, was having them attempt their finest and never at all times succeeding, however at all times attempting their finest collectively.
Mears: I needed to speak briefly about Matt Herms’ colours. They’re very vibrant, however they’re additionally just a little bit muted. So it provides it that life, nevertheless it’s a bit light and retro.
Nauck: Matt had coloured … The first time he and I labored collectively, he coloured my Justice League #75 cowl. And that was the first time we labored collectively. And I actually favored how his strategy to rendering the characters was virtually like a cel animation kind of fashion. You have the base colour after which the form of shadow or spotlight, so it’s not overly photoshopped. Some lovely stuff could be completed in Photoshop with the rendering, however this had extra of a easy punch to it.
Andrew [Marino], our editor, he was like, “Can we get Matt for this? Because I think it would be the right tone and fit.” One, I simply love the way it seems over my traces as a result of it’s so completely different than different colorists I work with, and I believed it form of helped give that sort of basic really feel, however with all the fashionable sensibilities and the instruments he has at his disposal in the completely different coloring applications. So I believe Matt walked a gorgeous line and I’m so glad we had been in a position to get him for this story. I believe it actually was the ending piece to assist make all of it what we envisioned.
You at all times need your subsequent inventive hyperlink to take every little thing up a notch. So I wish to convey Geoff’s writing up a notch with my artwork. If I work with an inker, I need the inker to convey my pencils up a notch, however I’m doing my very own inks [on this book]. So now I’ve to convey myself up a notch. And then it’s like, Matt, the colours, you wish to have a colorist that may convey that lineart up one other notch. And then the lettering was incredible as properly. I liked how sound results actually gave the punch with out obscuring the artwork, the form of see-through sound results. I really like that.
Mears: Geoff, one of the belongings you’re actually good at writing is plot twists. You’ve at all times been so good with plot twists, with surprises. The Stargirl TV present is, I imply I may by no means predict what was going to occur on that present. I believe what makes you so good at twisty storytelling is since you perceive that plot twists should not the cake, they’re the icing on a cake that’s already scrumptious. They serve the story, the story doesn’t serve the twists. What impressed the particular twists and turns in Stargirl: The Lost Children #6?
Johns: Well, there’s quite a bit of them. I imply the most vital one might be the revelation that Corky was there simply merely to place Wing again. And finally, I believe it’s the first concern the place you open up Corky Baxter, this Junior Time Master who’s primarily a sidekick to Rip Hunter, you open him up and also you see a distinct facet to him, as a result of he comes off as boastful and egotistical and temperamental. But at the similar time, once you see him on this concern, there’s a vulnerability to him that’s uncovered and it’s reflective of all these different children who simply wish to belong someplace and wish to have acceptance and love and friendship and household. And that his whole journey is linked on to all people else right here. That, thematically, you see a facet of Corky that simply utterly contrasts what Stargirl and the Lost Children have gone via.
And so the twists and turns, coupled with the revelation of why he’s there… of the have to ship Wing again… of the incontrovertible fact that his future self or a model of what was his future self was behind this… It all comes full circle as a revenge plot. And now he’s like, “There’s no way I’d ever do that.” But that every one speaks to the theme of the e book, to the characters of the e book. So the twists and turns in right here and the ending the place all of them come again to our time, all of them come from characters, all of them come from emotion.
People say, “How do you balance character and plot?” And I’m like, “Well, it’s the same thing.” That double-page unfold the place they’re holding onto Wing, you can argue that’s a giant plot second and a visible second in the e book, nevertheless it’s utterly the climax of the emotional moments too. And that’s what I love to do is pair that emotion.
I don’t love to do, “Oh, here’s a page on how they’re feeling and then 10 pages of fights.” To me, that’s tremendous boring. You wish to have all of it collectively. All of it must work collectively in conjunction, that the huge motion moments at their peak are emotional moments, too. That’s how a comic book e book ought to work. That’s how a narrative ought to work to me, slightly than folks dividing it into like, “Oh, they fight for eight pages and then they talk about it and then they fight for four more pages and then they talk about it.” That’s simply not nice storytelling to me.
It was vital, too, that you simply see what children will sacrifice. You see that with Wing, the factor he values is that he bought these moments with these children. It wasn’t about escaping his destiny essentially. It was extra about, take a look at the time he had and these pals he made they usually know he’s going willingly as a result of he’s like, “I’m going to go save the world for them. And I know they’re all my friends who are never going to forget me.” It’s a giant deal for the unofficial eighth Soldier of Victory.
Mears: He’s coming from a spot of immense gratitude.
Johns: Very a lot so. Courtney Whitmore is a personification of the gratitude I’ve for comics and for my friendships and for my collaborations, as a result of how fortunate are we? How fortunate am I that I started working with that character? How fortunate are we that we get to do that? And how lucky it’s that Stargirl: The Lost Children, the cool factor about it’s that we did it. We’re actually proud of it and it’s there and it’s by no means going to go away. It’s going to at all times exist.
Mears: So what’s subsequent for the Stargirl character?
Johns: I imply, Courtney and the Young Justice Society, or the Lost Children, are going to be in Justice Society of America #6. And then one of them goes to hitch the JSA and we’ll begin to see them, some of these different characters built-in all through the DCU. Another one can be in a mini-series with … I can’t spoil it yet-
Nauck: Yeah, I really like Stargirl. I really like all the characters we bought to create. I hope to get to do extra with any of these characters at every other level. I’ve moved on to different initiatives, the story for Flash #800, I’m doing just a little bit for Wonder Woman #800, which have each been introduced. But any likelihood I’ve that I can come again to any of these characters at any level in anywhere in the DCU, I’d like to make that occur as a result of I do care about these characters and the tales we get to inform with them.
Stargirl: The Lost Children #6 is available in shops and digitally now.
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