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 What are your plans for Justice League's future? How the team will react to the expulsion of Batman?
Waid: The division it creates--the paranoia and growing mistrust -- will hurt the team tremendously and is something that Superman himself will have to find a way to resolve if the JLA is to continue functioning at all.
UHQ: Due to your exclusive contract with CrossGen you will have to abandon the title. Do you have any planned story for that? When this will happen?
Waid: No planned "farewell" -- my last issue isn't published until the end of 2001 in America, so I have time!
UHQ: Who would you like to replace you? Why?
Waid: Tom Peyer would be my choice, but we'll see.
UHQ: Although your popularity comes mainly from your work with DC comics, you did good work for Marvel as well, on X-Men, Captain America, and Ka-Zar. Is it different working with both companies?
Waid: Very much so--or at least it was when I was doing Marvel work. At Marvel, every word I wrote and every move I had the characters make was second-guessed and doubted, leaving me with little or no confidence in my stories.
UHQ: What do you think of the editorial changes at Marvel? Do you like Joe Quesada as new Editor-in-Chief replacing Bob Harras?
Waid: GOD, yes. Joe's a forward thinker, good-hearted and honest.
 UHQ: Currently your last stories with Captain America are being published in Brazil. What motivated you to leave the title?
Waid: I was constantly being told what sorts of stories to write and continually being told that what I was doing or wanted to do with the book -- which was to make it thematically more about America and the American Dream -- was "wrong" and not what Marvel wanted -- but when asked, Marvel didn't know what they DID want.
The exact quote given me by Bob Harras was, "Captain America doesn't have to be about America. Spider-Man isn't about spiders." That was certainly his decision to make -- Marvel owns the characters, I don't -- but I personally knew I could no longer produce stories of any merit under that philosophy.
UHQ: During the San Diego convention this year, there was a rumor about a possible JLA/ Avenger crossover. After Quesada was named Editor-in-Chief he denied it. It seems you and Busiek had plans for this meeting between teams. Why it didn't happen? You think one day the readers will see that story? What did you had in mind for both teams?
Waid: : I think it'll happen eventually. Busiek and I chatted informally about what we'd LIKE to do, but that was just a conversation between friends, and to reveal any details of that would be unfair to Kurt. Whether or not I'll be involved if and when it happens -- I doubt it, but who knows what the future holds?
UHQ: In the '98 San Diego convention, you were distributing Hourman comics, paid with your own money, to help promote the book, one of your favorites. What do you think of the DC decision of canceling the title?
Waid: DC didn't exactly cancel it -- Tom Peyer elected to let it end on his own terms knowing that sooner or later, DC WOULD cancel it, and he'd have no control then over the when of it. I think it's a shame--it was one of DC's best books--but the market is SO harsh right now, there's little room for ANYTHING experimental.
 UHQ: How Gorilla Comics came to be? Why you choose Empire as a startup title?
Waid: I've been wanting to do Empire for five years or more, before someone else stumbled onto the idea and beat me to it. Gorilla came to be because Kurt and I were both frustrated by the growing tenor of editorial interference at Marvel and sometimes at DC. We wanted to be free to do our own material without restriction.
UHQ: What's going to happen with your work at Gorilla Comics, next year, since you have signed an exclusive contract with CrossGen? Some rumors says that your books (Empire and future projects like Joe Doe), could migrate to CrossGen. Is that possible?
Waid: No word yet, but we'll see. In the meantime, my CrossGen contract allows me to continue with Empire.
UHQ: Let's talk about CrossGen and your work there. How you met Mark Alessi and how long it took to close the deal?
Waid: It took a few weeks, but only because it's a huge adjustment for me to go from freelancing to office work again, so that took some salesmanship on Mark's part. But at the suggestion of Barbara Kesel, Mark sought me out this past summer and we began negotiation. I like him. He's honest and forthright.
UHQ: What exactly you're going to do? What will be your function? Your job title?
Waid: Job title is simply "senior writer," which doesn't begin to describe my job, really -- I'll be writing two of the titles, but more than that, I'll be helping to administrate the company, helping to teach new writers and artists their craft, helping manage all aspects of the company's growth.
 UHQ: You will be writing two titles: Sigil and Crux. What are your plans for those books, specially the second one, that will be created by you?
Waid: I wish I could tell you--but details are still secret. Let's just say that Crux will not only be CrossGen's first "team book," but as envisioned by Mark Alessi will be the most important book in the CrossGen universe, hence its name.
UHQ: How do you see the comic books market currently, with low Sales and Marvel in crisis again?
Waid: Things are very precarious, that's no secret -- but all I can do right now is concentrate on the here and now and not worry too much about a future I have little control over.
UHQ: You said that hope to help the market in a more expressive way with your new functions at CrossGen. How do you expect to do this? What are your hopes for the future?
Waid: My hopes are to get comic books--not just CrossGen books, but all comics -- once more distributed to a mass audience. Kids LOVE comics. They just don't know where to find them in America. If they could FIND them, they'd BUY them, and we'd all be better off. CrossGen has many, many top-secret plans for alternate distribution--let's wish them luck!
UHQ: Good luck! And thanks for the interview.
Waid: Thanks.
Part 1
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