I am Joe Kelly, Man of Action, writer of I Kill Giants, Deadpool, Spider-Man + Deadpool, co-creator of Ben 10, Generator Rex, writer and producer AMA!

hey, big fan! do you prefer Marvel or DC?

HA! Nothing like an easy question to start the day!

As a FAN - I have always loved Marvel. Spider-Man has been my favorite superhero from day one.

As a PRO I've been lucky enough to work at both companies and (honestly not being diplomatic) I like them both for different reasons: Marvel characters feel more fun for me to rite - there is a joy in the universe for me. DC Characters carry more gravitas and I get to explore a much darker side of writing.

As to the films... I'm loving Marvel right now. LOVING.

Love your work, thank you! Big Hero 6 had such realistic and empathetic characters. How do you get the emotion “right”?

Steve Seagle and Duncan Rouleau created the team originally in Alpha Flight as an homage to anime and manga characters that we all love. They wanted to launch a team with depth, which means cool characters that play off of one another.

For the film, the geniuses at Disney took the basic concepts, tweaked and expanded them and created a hell of a film. We really love that movie and are very proud to be associated with it!

Huge fan. What was the motivation and inspiration for making Deadpool a "more-than-meets-the-eye" character when you wrote it?

When we first pitched the Deadpool series, he was actually a lot goofier of a character and we were doing a romp of a series. But then when Matt Idelson and I started talking about the character as a "dark Spider-Man" (which had been floated around the office way before I ever came on board) we started thinking of him as a much more layered character. Ultimately, I wanted to tell the story of a guy who wanted to do good, but was constitutionally incapable of doing so. That's a flawed character I can get behind. He's got aspirations but has a temper. He wants friends but treats everyone like crap.

From there we built him out into the bastard we know and love!

Hey Joe, I wanna thank you for signing my copy of Action 775 on Free Comic Book Day. Can't wait to see Poughkeepsie! Two questions:

How has your experience with animation, film production, and creator owned work changed the way you write? And would you return to writing Superman, given the chance?

My pleasure!

Writing in all of the different modes that MOA works in has sharpened my visual storytelling for sure - it's what I do 99% of the day - though I will admit that each medium encourages "bad habits". For example, I can't write TV the way I write a comic - I'd wind up with 200 page scripts.

Screenwriting gets sharpened with every piece I write, but I also get so focused on keeping it light that I might loose out on some details when I get to a comic script.

Bottom line is that the more I write the better I feel about my writing - and I'd tell anyone starting out to just write regardless of the medium.

As to Superman - sure! I love the Big Guy! I'd write him again - though probably more in specials or OGNs than an ongoing.

Thanks for taking the time to do this. When writing JLA, how much pressure were you under, considering you were following two very highly regarded runs?

HUGE pressure! Following Grant and Mark was actually pretty terrifying for me. I am a huge fan of their work, so I was following writers I respect on the biggest DC book... a little nervewracking. : )

But I had Doug Mahnke in my arsenal and that made it better!

What inspired your work on Ben 10 and Generator Rex? Really liked those shows btw

Thanks!

Ben 10 and Generator Rex were inspired by so many things - all four of us at Man of Action developed both of those shows. On the base level - we always try to make cartoons that we would have watched as kids and would want to watch as adults!

The 4 of us come from different backgrounds and influences, but for me the feel of old Hanna Barbera adventures had a huge influence.

My newest project is a short film called Poughkeepsie. You can check out the KS campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1749833744/poughkeepsie-a-short-film

Take a look if you can, and if you have ay questions, ask away. Otherwise, feel free to spread the word and/or back that puppy! Thanks!

Will there ever be a cartoon version of spiderman grown up? Like they had in the 90s? That show was awesome.

Not sure. We always tell folks who want to see their favorite characters done in new ways to contact their studios directly. Fans have a voice - so let Marvel Animation know what you want to see!

What cartoon in the past decade should I watch that you have not worked on?

Series - Avatar - The Last Airbender

Movie - The Illusionist

If you could write a comic series for a character you never written before, who would it be and why?

SPECTRE I've been obsessed with the Spectre for a long time - not just because of all the Bond ads - I love the character and the mythology and would love to do a horror book.

What's your favorite thing you've had a part in creating?

That's like asking me to pick my favorite kid! :)

I think my creator comics rank at the top. I'm extremely proud of Ben 10 and our animation work at MOA, but I Kill Giants is very close to my heart. So if I had to pick one, that's it.

The new project I'm working on is a short film called Poughkeepsie. I'm in love with that project right now - and we're Kickstarting it. (See how smooth that transition was? ;) Check it out for more: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1749833744/poughkeepsie-a-short-film

That's about it for me! Thank you so much for checking in and helping me through my first AMA! (You were very gentle!) It won't be my last!

I'll be back soon to talk about Four Eyes: Hearts of Fire and Spider-Man + Deadpool.

In the meantime, if you can check out the Kickstarter for ** Pougkeepsie** and send a little love that way, I'd appreciate it!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1749833744/poughkeepsie-a-short-film

Thanks again!

-JK

What will your next short film project be after Poughkeepsie?

Hopefully my next short will be a feature! : )

But let's get through this film first. Which reminds me - you can check out the KS campaign here! Please consider backing or spreading the word!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1749833744/poughkeepsie-a-short-film

What's it like to see a character you played such a big part in developing turn into a pop culture phenomenon?

It's humbling. It's very exciting. It's that "is this actually happening" moment you dream about as a writer.

Ben 10 has been around for 10 years and plays in 170+ countries. That's mind-boggling. Plus, I helped create him with my friends! You can't beat that.

Of course, it was the first thing we ever did, so it's all down hill from there... ; )

So kidding! Gives us a bar to aspire to!

I'm sure there's already information out on this but I thought it'd be interesting to ask you. Why is Ben 10 being rebooted and how did that come about?

I can assume the latest series wasn't doing so well ratings wise but why a hard reboot instead of say a spin off or something? Admittedly I haven't watched since I was a kid but I was a huge fan back then.

Also I greatly enjoyed your JLA run. Still one of the best.

Thanks!!

Ben 10 isn't going anywhere any time soon, so for CN it will be a regular question: "Do we mix things up? Reboot? etc." The goal is to make a great show, however they decide to answer the question.

I can't answer for CN, but for myself I feel like a "back to basics" approach was necessary - but there are still a lot of surprises in store for older fans.

Is the mans name billy pilgrim?

Ha! No aliens in Poughkeepsie. The universe just sort of cracks open for this 80 year old man, who's sort of an asshole, and he gets a chance to try and make up for a ruined life.

Love Vonnegut, P.S., but didn't even make that connection!

Why should we donate to you when there are real Indie Directors who actual need the money? To think that you with all your money and connections couldn't scrounge up another $35 somewhere or just pay for it yourself is laughable.

Thanks for the great question - I honestly thought a lot about this myself before I launched the campaign. It's a valid question and I'm glad you asked!

First, I am a real "indie director" in the sense you're implying. While comics and animation have paid the bills for a long time, I'm new at film and trying to direct a dramatic, non-genre, live action, like-nothing-I-am-known-for short film.

The marketplace for a short film is very small, so it's 100% a labor of love or cash for those involved. This is about as Indie as it gets, and crowdfunding is a 21st century tool for these endeavors.

Re: "All my money" if I had the entire budget sitting in the bank, believe me, I'd use it! That's how I fund all of my independent comics. But since I can't sell a short film at a comic book store, a short film is 100% risk for unknown return. Since said budget isn't in my mad money account, I thought I'd try Kickstarter. It's an experiment all around.

I am putting in $10,000 of my own money, which is about 2-3 issues of a comic depending on the artist's rate, and looking for help with the rest of the budget.

While we're not in the same league, it's worth noting that there are people with a LOT more money and film cred than me on Kickstarter looking to raise funds for projects that are left-of-center or off their beaten track.

My hope is that people who like what I do will be interested to see how I would apply the same storytelling and heart to a short film project. And honestly, if everyone who's ever read I Kill Giants donated $1, the film would be paid for.

Re: Connections - I have had a lot of very cool people offer me help. Folks are reaching out on social media, etc., but since I don't have a track record in film I don't have the access to actors, producers, financing, etc. that you might imagine.

Even if I had really big guns at my disposal, Poughkeepsie is a labor of love for me - not necessarily for them.

Bottom line is that if the Kickstarter fails, I'm still going to try and find a way to make the film. It will take longer for certain, but I'll hammer at that rock until we can get it done at the level of quality I'm aiming for.

I hope that answers your question. Thanks! : )

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1749833744/poughkeepsie-a-short-film

Really love your work on Superman. My friend recommended it, it's his favorite and quickly becoming mine too. Couple of questions.

• What are you having for lunch?

• Which character do you find hardest to write and which the easiest?

• Will you come back to write Superman ever again should the opportunity present itself?

• Which characters of DC and Marvel would you like to write?

Lunch - Not a lot, I got food poisoning from Thanksgiving Dinner! Yummmm!

Characters - Superman was the most difficult at first but he became a favorite once I got into the meat of the character - I love what he represents, no matter how ugly the world gets I love those ideals. Easiest characters - Lou from Bad Dog. He is my dark nasty id.

Superman - I would give him a shot again, but probably in specials or a graphic novel.

Other characters - Right now I'm focusing a lot on my own stuff, so I haven't thought a lot about the Marvel and DC characters much. I'm writing Spider-Man + Deadpool now (awesome!) and we have some cool guest stars so I'm getting to scratch that itch without thinking about it too much.

first of all, thank you for your body of work. everyone you touch just seems to be fun, first and foremost.

personally, i feel like if you and gennedy got together, that'd be some sort of franchise building show/series.

question: is there anyone in any of your industries you would've liked to/dreamed of working with?

secret question: how true is that rumor behind gwen's redesign between ben10 and its subsequent series?

Thanks for the kind words!

There are a ton of people I want to work with - honestly too many to mention - In comics I'd love to get Bill Sienkewicz to paint a book, Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba, Fiona Staples, Skottie Young... the list goes on!

As to the Gwen redesign - I don't think she's ever been slated for a major redesign that I remember.

Can you shed any light on the Mega Man cartoon? Are we getting a series faithful to earlier incarnations, later games, or something for entirely new fans?

Also thank you so much for the depth you provided to Deadpool. Who knows where that character would be today without you.

Thanks for the Deadpool love! : )

MegaMan is a ton of fun. We're having a blast working on him!

We're trying to create a show that incorporates the best bits of the franchises many incarnations - and we have 30 years of stuff to choose from! I can say that, again, it's going to be a show that we would want to see as fans, kids and adults. It's exciting, funny and adds some new elements to the mythology as well as playing with the great toys already on the table.

We've gotten exceptional support from Capcom and our partners at Dentsu, and I think we're on to a very fun show.

Hello Joe, Was there any moments you had to cut out while working on Ben 10 or Generator Rex, and where did you guys get the idea for the Omnitrix?

There are jokes and ideas that wind up on the floor in every development process. In the first version of Ben 10, Max was a scientist who drove a blimp - for real. I'm glad we ditched that one, actually. : )

We always wanted Ben to have a device that gave him access to the aliens - it went through a few iterations before settling on the Omnirix - which was originally called the "Megawhat?" because the alien name was too long for Ben... again, that worked out OK.

What got you interested in writing for Deadpool? Do you have a favorite Deadpool story? What was the origin pitch for a Spider-Man/Deadpool comic? Can't wait for the first issue!

Thanks! Issue 1 drops in January!

In the old days waaaaaay back in 1997, my interest was a job! : ) It was a great opportunity and I'd only been at Marvel for a few months. But once I dove into the character I felt like I could contribute a lot to him and I fell in love with this poor slob who wants so badly to do the right thing, but just can't.

Marvel actually pitched me on SM+DP and the pitch was : "You get Spider-Man, Deadpool and Ed McGuinness." Done!

What's your favorite Deadpool joke?

The joke I get asked most about is "YoMammageddon" which is a joke so potent that to hear the punchline would drive a man insane and/or make his heart explode. We blacked it out so that we wouldn't kill our readers. : )

My favorite DP joke personally is coming up in the new series. : )

Have you ever thought about doing your own Image series since so many writers are doing it right now? If you were to make your own story with Image, what artist would you want to tag team with?

Actually I have a few Image books - but they began before the current boom and come out <ahem> slowly. But...

I Kill Giants is at Image and we have an evergreen edition available now. JM Ken Niimura is the genius co-creator artist.

Four Eyes: Hearts of Fire is the second arc of a series I co-created with genius Max Fiumara

The first collection of Bad Dog with genius Diego Greco is available now as well.

In 2016 I'm definitely launching at least 1 more title through Image. They are awesome to work with!

As to artists - there is so much talent it's really hard to choose. I mean literally there are dozens of artists I'd like to work with.

Any talks of live action Ben 10?

Yup! The rights to a live action Ben 10 were optioned a while back. Every once in a while we hear that something might be happening, but nothing yet.

How did you get food poisoning?

An evil evil undercooked Turkey... I think. We have a forensics team trying to work out what exactly did it. : )

Hey Joe! I'm a huge fan of Ben 10 and I'm glad that you've given us the opportunity to ask you questions.

• Whatever happened to the possible spin-off centered on Gwen that was talked about in some interview? Was it scrapped, still being worked on, or isn't but is possible in the future?

• I'm excited for the new Ben 10 reboot and just more Ben 10 in general, but is there any chance of the idea at the last Omniverse episode ever seeing the light of day? Where Ben, Rook, Kevin and Gwen go on a trip across the galaxy?

• Will the Ben 10 reboot still have some characters/villains/aliens that were introduced in Ben's later years throughout Alien Force to Omniverse? (for example, seeing Albedo during his earlier years, or Ben 10,000 and his Biomnitrix)

• Is the Ben 10 reboot like an alternate reality or is everything canon with the original series? Continuity went back and forth with all the other series, so it was confusing sometimes.

• Will you be doing these kind of AMA's in the future? I enjoyed being able to ask you stuff. It reminds me of when Dwayne McDuffie and Derrick J Wyatt answered questions for fans.

Thank you very much, and I can't wait to see what you guys do with the reboot!

Thanks for the kind words!

• Gwen Spin off: I think this actually happened (or was at least developed) in Japan. We would LOVE to see a Gwen show. As always, I'd tell you to write Cartoon Network and demand it!

• Space road trip - It could happen! But maybe not a for a while. ; )

• Can't say too much about new Ben 10 - but there will be plenty of familiar faces as well as new characters. Sometimes you want to save those big guns for a little later too - for example, in Ultimate Spider-Man, we didn't have traditional Spidey villains for most of the first season.

• The new Ben 10 is very clean in its continuity. I can't say exactly what that means as a CN lawyer is standing right behind me, but it will be a great entry point for new viewers and have plenty of touchstones for older fans.

• More AMAs - Hell yes! This is great! I post a lot on twitter and have been meaning to do this for a long time. I really enjoy this sort of thing.

And it's great that you got to chat with Dwayne. What a great guy and amazing talent.

Why'd you allow the live action Ben 10 movies to happen? And why did Ben 10 become a 16 year old all of a sudden in the new series? And why does This to happen?

Ha! Ben 10 is owned by Cartoon Network, and while we are very much involved with the show, we have not controlled everything that happened with the franchise for the last 10 years. : )

How did you feel about CN taking Ben 10 in a more sci-fi direction and dumping most of the mystical elements of the show?

I think all of the Ben 10 iterations have pluses and minuses. It's nice to keep the concepts simple so the world is clean...

... that said, I prefer a universe with some variety. So I would have kept Gwen's magic magic. :)

Where did you get your inspiration from when designing the creatures in Ben 10 and other similar projects? Ever since I was a child I've loved seeing all different kind of monsters an aliens, and the diversity of the aliens in Ben 10 really stood out to me.

The original designer for Ben 10 is Dave Johnson. He's an amazing artist - you should look up his stuff when you get a chance! We had many other very talented designers during the life of the show - we'd cook up powers and they bring them to life.

What is your involvement with the Deadpool series. Are you a writer for the comic books, movie, animated series?

I was the first to write Deadpool in his own ongoing series and did so for 3 years back in the day. This January I'm launching Spider-Man + Deadpool at Marvel.

And I made sure we got him in to Ultimate Spider-Man!

Hey Joe, thanks for doing this AMA! What are your influences for Poughkeepsie? Thanks again!

My pleasure!

I've wanted to shoot a short film for a while, specifically a drama with some magical elements. My influences as a director are Terry Gilliam, David Fincher & Wes Anderson. Also the stuff that's being done on TV these days is so amazing - Mr. Robot, True Detective & Hannibal are all inspirational.

How do you feel about the characterization of Deadpool now versus how you wrote him? Or rather, how would you define the differences?

I'm a fan of what Gerry Duggan has been doing with Deadpool - I think he's struck a great mix between comedy and the darker elements.

Other people seem to zero in on the elements that they like the most - the comedy, the 4th wall breaking, the ultra-violence - and that works for them. I tend to prefer navigating all of those levels at the same time if I can.

I really enjoyed What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way? What are you thoughts on Man of Steel and superman's shift to greyer morals and virtues?

And I loved Four Eyes and Bad Dog, any word on future issues?

Action #775 pretty much says it all. Even though it's been a few years I feel the same way - the world is grey and challenging, Superman doesn't need to be. He can be an ideal in this landscape - without being corny, exactly because he has the power to back it up.

I've made no secret of hating "chiropractor" Superman, and hope that they address a shift in the films.

As to the image books - thanks! More Four Eyes starts in January - so order now! Bad Dog doesn't have a time line yet but we are working on more!

Poughkeepsie looks like a great project!

How introspective do you feel Poughkeepsie is? How have you addressed pacing?

Thanks, I'm very excited about it. Poughkeepsie is a "small" story on the one hand because we're focused on George and his journey inwards - so to that degree it is introspective. However, the themes are universal - regret, second chances, family, hope - which opens the film up quite a bit.

Pacing wise, we are trying to simulate what it might be like for a person who is always coming in and out of awareness. There are periods of calm lucidity and periods of complete chaos. They balance out really well as a whole, especially with the "time travel" elements.

George is on unstable footing and the audience is with him. We only have about 20-25 minutes, so it can't be a slow introspective portrait of a man in his twilight years. There's a lot packed into the time we have.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1749833744/poughkeepsie-a-short-film

What has it been like crowdfunding?

Educational!

It's a challenge. It's scary to expose yourself to the world. It's humbling to ask people to help out on a project, even if it's one you believe in. It's even more humbling when they pledge support - amazing and humbling.

The hardest part is not to obsess over it. I can easily spend all morning posting and looking at the dashboard, etc. The trick is to have a plan, execute the plan to the best of my ability and let it go.

Whether or not the campaign for Poughkeepsie is a success, I will take a lot away from the experience, and I would recommend it for sure. At the bare minimum you meet cool people!

And since you asked, here's that link again. (Shameless!) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1749833744/poughkeepsie-a-short-film

Hi Joe, thanks for the AMA.

What is your creative process? From idea to finished product what major steps do you take to remain focused and appraise your work? Thanks for all the great work!

Big question! I'll try to break it down as simply as I can:

• Daily practice: When I am on top of my game I do a few things at the same time each day - Morning Pages (freewriting exercise to clear my head), Meditate (20 minutes of Mindfulness), WRITE BEFORE CHECKING EMAILS. I can't stress how important the last one is.

As you can imagine, I am not a saint and don't hit these every day. When I do though, it's a good thing!

• Get hit with the idea, write it down. This could be a simple image or a complete story. They usually hit me when I don't expect it, so I always write them down or if I'm without a pen I call myself and leave a message.

• Flesh out an outline - I don't always do this but I at least try to suss out the story in a classic 3 act structure to see if there's holes. If so, I have to do more thinking.

• Any research comes in here - Character stuff, world building, etc. I don't do a ton detail work, I prefer to figure it out as I write, but a smarter person than me would do their research early on. The problem is research can feel like writing, and it ain't.

The "pre-writing" that I harp on (that's what Seagle calls it) is all structural/character arc stuff, especially in comics. I want to make sure the writing is going somewhere and means something.

• Once i am comfortable with the story - I really get it in my bones - then I write. I try to write as quickly as I can because I am very easily distracted. I write in chunks and I try very hard not to give a crap whether or not it's good. The only goal is to finish a first draft. The biggest challenge is NOT to edit while writing this draft.

• Then the rewriting begins. This is the biggest and truest part of writing for me after the initial inspiration. This is where I do the heavy lifting. If I did a good job on the first draft, now I have a lot of material to work with. Even if it all sucks, it's easier to fix than start from scratch if I'm trying to get to the finish line.

• Panic and terror usually creep in.

• Finish. This is the absolute most important part. Finish. I can't tell you how many people I know who want to "write" but never hit this critical step. You can't write unless you start putting words on a page and you're not a writer until you finish what you started.

What has been your favorite thing to make?

And

Were you satisfied with Generator Rex?

I'm proud of 99% of my work, but my favorite so far is I Kill Giants because it's so personal to me.

And yes, I love Generator Rex! Though I wish that we could have hit the target that we were aiming for when we developed the series, there were elements out of our control that made it impossible. That said, I still love it.

OH MY GOODNESS! I can't believe I missed this one. Man of Action is the coolest, neatest, person around. My question if I'm not too late is:

Do you think Gwen Tennyson will end up with Kevin Levin? The future episode of Ben 10 implied no, but Ben 10 Ultimate alien made their romance so wonderful.

I thought I answered this - apologies if you get a double:

Thanks for the kind words! MOA is actually me, Steven T. Seagle, Joe Casey, and Duncan Rouleau.

As to Gwen and Kevin, I am a romantic at heart, so I hope it works out for them in some universe. : )

What would you have done on X-men if you stayed longer?

Oh so many things... so many...

That was a rough time - Seagle and I quit the books because of editorial shenanigans that we couldn't abide but we loved working on the X-Men. Can't really tell you what specifically we would have done - a) because it was a long time ago and b) because if we ever went back, some of them were AWESOME ideas we'd still do!

Do you fully understand just how many lives you've impacted with your work??? You and the rest of Man of Action shaped my life growing up, and the lives of all my friends. Generator Rex and Ben 10 most especially consumed all of our lives. First thing we did when we got home from school.

Needless to say apparently your work is very popular in Nigeria.

Thank you so much! That is incredibly humbling to hear!

i like you. what do you think of me?

You are the tops!

Hey Joe! Big fan of Ben 10. What was the original inspiration behind the show?

We had an idea about a kid who could switch places with other versions of himself from parallel universes where the conditions on Earth led to strange evolution - water-breather, vampire, etc.

This was too complicated an idea to explain to a young child, and after much development, aliens came into play instead of parallel Bens - though Duncan drew a ton of Bens from other universes!

Hi! Thank you for great animations! My son asks you, will (or were) Spider-Man and Generator Rex be in one team? Those two are his favorite ones, he dreams to see them together!

That would be amazing!!! Unfortunately, no plans to bring the together right now, but your son should feel free to draw them hanging out! : )

If the sequel to Omniverse ends up happening instead of the reboot, are there any aliens you think wouldn't appear? Because I think we can live without aliens like Walkatrout and The Worst, and overused guys like Humungousaur.

Can't say anything about aliens... but I think you'll be OK. : )

hey, big ben 10 fan here!

Thanks for making my childhood time awesome for me.

If you were given a chance to be a game director, what type of game would you make? What would be the plot of the game?

I would make a huge RPG with a dense world and the following elements:

No Zombies. Sorry, I'm done with Zombies. Couch multi-player - I want to play with my friends! At the same time in the same room! Some really weird setting - I would love to do something like Bioshock that merges fantasy and reality.

And smell-o-vision. That is an underrated technology.

Hey Joe! I was a huge Big 10 fan as a kid. Who would you say is your favorite alien that has appeared? Thanks for your time!

I have always loved the simplicity and design of Wildmutt. Cannonbolt is a close second.

Ben10 was my favourite show to watch when I was little :) At what age did you show an interest into making comics and animations?

I don't remember a time as a child where I didn't draw. The first time I ever tried to make a comic book was after The Empire Strikes Back. I tried to adapt it. : ) So I was about 9.

Did you fuck deadpool up? Be honest, I don't think my heart could take another fucked up deadpool?

I do my absolute best not to fuck up Deadpool as often as humanly possible.

Feel free to check out my Deadpool Omnibus for proof of my love for that walnut-faced S.O.B.

Which writers of gn/comics do you read most religiously? Since you've spent so much time with the man of steel, specifically which storylines and works on/about superman do/did you enjoy reading the most? Thanks for all your hard work and contribution to the genre. Keep up the good work!

I read a lot of stuff, though not as much as I should: Brian K. Vaughn, Garth Ennis, Naoki Urasawa, Rick Remender are at the top of my pile at the moment.

As to Superman, I loved the whole run. For me it was a coherent whole - my own arc of learning about the character, finding my way and then 'learning to fly' so to speak.

If I had to pick, Action #775, Ending Battle, and the Batman teams-ups were faves.

Hi Joe. The first comic I ever bought off the shelf was Deadpool #11 back when I was a kid and I couldn't have been more excited to see that you were back with Spiderman and Deadpool. One of the iconic deadpool traits that you played up was Wade being ashamed by his appearance, but that phobia is absent from the new run by Gerry. Any plans to revisit that in Spiderman and Deadpool or has Wade overcome that demon?

Thanks for making me feel old! : )

Actually, Deadpool's appearance is something I'm playing with in the series in a slightly different way than before. I always felt it was a critical character trait for Wade. Should be fun!

Woah, hope I didn't miss the boat, it wasn't until recently that I found out you were involved in a lot of what I liked when I was younger like Ben 10 or JLA. Obviously, you have worked on a lot, but I'm especially interested in your opinion on Deadpool. I know someone already asked about how you feel regarding the modern Deadpool, but I'm curious what you think of his meme-esque status in the con scene? I always thought he is a difficult character to write right and I wonder if you feel this is damaging to his character being taken as a legitimate deep character or not.

Love your work, mate, good luck on your upcoming work, can't wait to see it!

Thanks for the kind words!

Deadpool's uber-popularity doesn't make him any more difficult to write for me. If anything, it means that there are many different acceptable interpretations of the character, so it's technically easier - someone in that sea of Deadpools will like what you do!

Generally I try not to write with anyone else in mind because I find it distracting. I know that I can't please everyone so I don't bother trying. For any writer that's the kiss of death. Better to just do the best job I can and let it into the wild.

You've written a ton of my favorite books ever. I have Action Comics# 810 framed actually at my parents house. Is there any update on the I Kill Giants film? Is there any Big 2 character that you'd want to reinvent for modern times?

Thanks! Much appreciated!

No big updates on the I Kill Giants film beyond what's been in the press: Zoe Saldana is attached to play Mrs. Mollé, Madison Wolfe is Barbara, and we're scheduled to shoot next year. It's all really REALLY exciting!

Didn't you do Avengers: Earth's mightiest heroes?

I loved that show, what happened with it?

Man of Action wrote a handful of the final episodes of the series. We had a good time on that show, but ultimately Marvel built its own animation studio and decided to launch Avengers Assemble because it more closely resembled the film cast/universe.

You said in another answer that Spiderman has been your favourite hero since day one.

Who's your favourite DC hero?

Hard to pick a favorite - Spectre because he's so freaking cool. Superman because he's an idealist and an icon, Wonder Woman because she is so multi-faceted and fascinating to me.

I want to say that I Kill Giants changed my life...and do you have any plans to do a series of that magnitude again?

Thank you - that's very kind and very heavy!

I would love to do more work like IKG. Ken and I are planning on doing more work together, but we've been busy.

But yes, I want to do more work that will change your life! : )

What's it like being a pitcher for the Red Sox? Think you can make the switch to the pen this year?

My shoulder hurts sometimes and my hands are rough, but yes, I think I can make it to the pen... if that's a good thing. Is it?

I don't know sports. : (

What are your feelings on Fox's decision to make Deadpool more like Way-pool? (Daniel Way's run.)
I know a lot of people see that version of him and think that's what he's always been. Way made him almost over the top eccentric and 'funny.'
Don't get me wrong, Way did write great stuff, but honestly I think that your original Deadpool run and what Duggan/Posehn are doing now is just so much better for the character.

Since I don't know anything about the movie, I can't really comment on it. I know that a lot of my stuff is in there, so it'll be interesting to see what they picked from.

As I said earlier, while I have my own beliefs about what Makes Deadpool a strong character, he's been around for almost 20 years now - so there will naturally be different interpretations of him. The good news is we get to pick our favorites because those books are all in print.

As to the movie... I just want it to be good. A good Deadpool movie is good for everyone.

Which actor do you prefer to play Spider-Man? My personal favorite was Toby Maguire.

I'm very curious about the new kid. It will be great to see a Spider-Man played by an actual teenager!

I have a chunk of pork in my mouth and I'm not planning on chewing it or swallowing it. Do you have any idea if it's possible for my saliva to dissolve the chunk and, if it is possible, can you say how long it will take for my saliva to dissolve the piece of pork?

Generally saliva works best on starches. Proteins are handled by the stomach.

I'd say it will take close to a year.