Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, dynamite, entertainment, Ron Salas, Six Million Dollar Man:The Fall of Man, Van Jensen

Van Jensen Has Written A Single Panel Spread Over 22 Pages

Van Jensen talks Six Million Dollar Man: Fall of Man #3, on sale in September by Dynamite. Cover by Ron Salas.

BYRON BREWER: Van, with #3 coming in September it seems this Steve Austin adventure is taking on a little bit of a Hitchcockian tone: not so much psychological horror as the "mistaken man" scenario. Were you a fan of those type of mystery/spy mistaken ID flicks?

VAN JENSEN: You nailed it. I've always loved Hitchcock's films, and I think they subconsciously influence everything I've done. There's a little bit of North by Northwest here, with Steve Austin pulled into something far bigger than he understands, but by sheer determination and will he is going to fight through to the end of it. Also just the foreboding and creepiness of a world gone awry around a very sane protagonist.

BB: Steve is certainly globetrotting in your book. How much research by you and artist Ron Salas went into all these scenes of Germany? Have you been there? (I believe you once told me you were a fan of Bridge of Spies?)

VJ: I haven't been to Berlin. I was just in Munich (and actually watched/enjoyed Bridge of Spies on the flight back from there), and I've been to Germany once before, mostly along the Rhine. Credit for this setting owes to Matt Idelson. He made the suggestion, then bested me (yet again!) at arm wrestling, so there you go.

BB: I do not think our hero's "humanity," for lack of a better term, has ever been so much a part of his necessity for success as is it in Fall of Man. How did you conceive this backburner story element?

VJ: To me, every story needs a clear emotional/internal component. We're telling a big story about robotics/computing, and so the natural counterpoint to that is humanity. Steve is this dichotomy. So in order for the big, weird tech stuff to have resonance, it has to be grounded in very human emotion. I can't really imagine telling this story without that focus.

BB: You've said issue #3 is going to be a different type of read for comic book fans. Can you elaborate at all?

VJ: Yes. It is a 22-page spread. A chase from back to front across a train. All in one massive panel. It's the craziest thing I've ever attempted, and Ron Salas is a saint for encouraging me in this madness.

BB: Wow! Can't wait to see that! … What kind of TV series tropes have you enjoyed using the most?

VJ: I've been trying to give each issue a bit of that vibe where Steve just lands in ever-worsening piles of trouble. The ground drops out again and again, to the point that the audience is like, "What now?!" And yet, he always perseveres!

BB: As far as the OSI, at this point it is hard to image Steve ever working for the organization again. Might that be the case?

VJ: It's pretty unfathomable right now. But, then, never say never, right?

For more information on Six Million Dollar Man: the Fall of Man #3, click here.

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