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James Tynion IV was asked if he would write the X-Men as a horror comic, and he was measured in his response, at least, initially.
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Did This Aspect Of Clone Conspiracy Originate In Doctor Who As Well?
Comic book writer Dan Slott wears his love for Doctor Who on his sleeve. Or, rather, his wrist. He travels to shows, he gets photos of himself with people who have been in the TV series doing "thwipp" gestures, but his exclusive Marvel contract has meant he hasn't been able to write issues of the Doctor Who comic. Unlike, you know, me.
But that's okay! He writes Silver Surfer and has made that comic, basically, the same as writing Doctor Who. He told CBR that Doctor Who had tons of influence on his Surfer comics
When Tom Brevoort and I first talked about doing the Surfer book, we both approached it from the same angle. We both said, "Wouldn't it be neat if you did a soft reboot the same way Russell T Davies did a soft reboot of 'Doctor Who?'" ¨All the past continuity stands, but here's a nice new way to look at it. The basic element we wanted to "borrow" — STEAL! [Laughs] was giving the Surfer a human companion; someone that grounded him, because for the most part. you look at Surfer and he's this Shakespearean-spouting guy from the top of a bowling trophy. It's hard to literally get under his silver skin. Giving him a human companion though, a character who's eye-level to the reader, grounds him. As much as this book is about exploring the universe, it's also about exploring the Surfer's humanity.
Having a character like Dawn there to sub for the reader means he has to interact with this very human character, and it makes him less "alien." That said, one of the things we did when we were working on the first issue was we send a copy to Russell T Davies to ask him what he thought and if he was cool with it. He wrote this lovely note back. He was very supportive, said that Dawn was "glorious," and he gave us his blessing and tons of encouragement. That was great!
What's very important is how well Surfer and his companion Dawn interact. While it's impossible to ever be on an equal footing with a man who wields the Power Cosmic there's a clear level of mutual respect and understanding the two characters have and it's clear they enjoy each other's company. The dynamic is also played for laughs such as Surfer's frustration at the limitations of a human body and Dawn's continual frustration at Surfer's inhuman aspects. With this sort of dynamic there's always going to be questions about why this tremendously powerful alien would choose to spend their time with a completely normal human. Doctor Who recently tried to answer this by surrounding cosmic mysteries around the women, handled very well with Amy Pond and handled incomprehensibly with Clara. Silver Surfer doesn't even try to address the question. It lets the natural likability of Dawn speak for itself. She's here because she's charming and witty and clever and can take care of herself in a scrap. Oh and because we need someone to explain the plot to.
And Spider-Man? Well Dan Slott had a Doctor Who/Spider-Man crossover blocked on him..
Speaking at the recent Wizard World Philly 2015 event, Slott recounted how he devoted five years to developing the concept, which would apparently have seen proto-Silurians, Sontarans and even 'sonic web-shooters' realised on the page as the Doctor and Spidey's worlds collided.
Sadly the idea is, according to Slott, 'pretty much dead' even though the BBC and the Doctor Who production team were said to be keen. He says it was unspecified 'reasons' which killed the project, darn it…
There have been references, cameo notes and nods to the wise towards Doctor Who in his Amazing Spider-Man run. But reading this week's Amazing Spider-Man #22, I noted something more. It's not the only time this kind of thing has been done.
But having Ben Reilly revived from the death as a clone, killed, and then revived again and again….
…did remind me a little of the episode Heaven Sent…
Admittedly twenty-three versus many millions isn't that comparable… but still.
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