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Talking Pulps With Michael Uslan – Justice Inc #3

Published Wed, 22 Oct 2014 21:00:36 -0500

Nancy Collins, writer of the Vampirella: Prelude to Shadows one shot, talks with writer Michael Uslan about Justice INC #3, both on sale Oct. 22

Nancy Collins: Were you familiar with the adventures of Doc Savage, The Shadow and The Avenger before taking on the writing chores for Justice Inc?

Michael Uslan: Ooooh, yeah! I started reading the Doc Savage paperbacks when they came out in 1964. My brother bought 'em and passed them down to me. My first-ever comic book script was for DC Comics' The Shadow in the mid-1970s. One of the issues I wrote back then was "The Night of The Avenger," which was the first time these two illustrious Street & Smith heroes met. In the 1980s, I had the chance to work with Walter Gibson, creative force behind The Shadow, and I asked him a million questions about the character, his origin and his tales. I started reading The Avenger paperbacks when they were first published and, of course, followed his DC Comics adventures as crafted by artists such as Jack Kirby and Joe Kubert, and the wonderful E.R. Cruz.

NC: What inspired you to revise the origin story of Richard Benson, aka The Avenger—described as the last "good ten-cent hero" of the pulp era?

MU: The Avenger appeared on the scene just as the pulps were fading fatally. I felt he never got the attention or notoriety received by Doc and The Shadow who has been published since the early 1930s. Even in the Street & Smith comic books of the Golden Age, The Shadow and Doc had their own titles, but The Avenger was merely a back-up feature … not too dissimilar to the DC Comics New Wave publications. Even in the 70s, the poor Avenger only had a four-issue run (plus my Shadow cross-over) at DC. In a sense, he's been the Rodney Dangerfield of heroes ("I don't get no respect!").

Sooo … in this revival, the first and only time in 75 years the three great Street & Smith star heroes team up, I didn't want to change his mythos, but just fill it out more. One way was to show how The Shadow and Doc Savage were tied into his origin story, filling in some blanks in what had been told originally in 1939. Even though this series is set in 1939, I wanted the character to feel contemporary in a sense … less like Frank Buck or Clyde Beatty or Nick Carter types and made him into a top level businessman and rich industrialist, elements I thought his character demanded to explain why he formed his group as "Justice INCORPORATED" rather than "Justice Society" or "Justice League." Only a powerful Wall Street businessman would incorporate a superhero type group. SPOILER ALERT: That's also the rationale as to why I wanted to have him at least in a couple of issues, wearing a costume that isn't so drab and out-dated as his all gray leather traditional uniform, which I found very blasé and do believe it's a reason younger fans have not been attracted to him in the comics.

NC: It looks like The Shadow's love interest, Margo Lane, and Doc's young cousin, Pat Savage, will be playing major roles in the story. Will we be seeing other reoccurring characters from The Shadow and Doc Savage in the series?

MU: Margo and Pat play a small but important role in the story. There was NO way, having only six issues of 22 pages each, that I could layout a story that required: the origin of The Avenger; the first meeting of three iconic heroes; three villains; a plot; sub-plots; red herrings; character arcs… if I also had to use all of Doc's team (I do use Monk), all of Richard Henry Benson's team, and all of The Shadow's agents. If I had gone that route, our three heroes would have had terribly insufficient "screen-time." If they all ever do decide to get together, they will have to rent Rhode Island to accommodate everyone for the dinner-dance.

NC: Most people assume Lamont Cranston and The Shadow are one and the same, but you have them being two different people. How did that come about?

MU: It's no secret I prefer The Shadow as created and evolved in the pulps rather than the radio series. And in the pulps, I preferred the writing and canon crafted by Walter Gibson over other talented writers. Margo was an invention of the radio show, as was the notion that The Shadow was Lamont Cranston. Those who avidly read the pulps knew that The Shadow has coerced the real, wealthy Lamont Cranston into forfeiting his identity to The Shadow for the greater cause of good. It was the greatest single identity theft in history. In reality, The Shadow was Kent Allard, an extraordinary pilot and spy in The Great War. For the full shocking story, catch the trade paperback from Dynamite, The Shadow/Green Hornet: Dark Nights (plug!).

NC: How closely do you collaborate with your artist, Giovanni Timpano? And what do you think of the covers by Alex Ross?

MU: Giovanni and I are true partners in this venture. He's in Italy and I'm in the USA but we send emails back and forth regularly. We challenge and support each other and I believe the end result will represent the best from both of us. He is very, very cinematic in his graphic storytelling. Take a look at the action-packed issue #4 and you'll see jaw-dropping layouts running horizontally across two pages at a time in a style that, for me, evokes Steranko on SHIELD back in the '60s.

If I remember correctly, the one time I met Alex Ross, I bowed and did an "I'm not worthy" routine. His work is magnificent and I think his cover to Justice Inc. #3 may well be the cover of the year!

NC: Do you have any other projects fans should keep an eye out for in the near future?

MU: After I finish for Archie the earth-shaking "Farewell, Betty & Veronica," I'll be coming back in 2015 to do another historic mini-series for Dynamite that will blow fandom out of the water when they hear who it will star. I couldn't be more excited!

For more information on Justice, Inc, click here.

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