Comic Vine Interviews Pilot Season Winner For Velocity

March 2008

Comic Vine: I know you're a busy guy, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Congrats on Velocity winning Pilot Season. Let's talk about her.

How many arcs do you have in mind so far? Multi-part stories, single issues or both?

Joe Casey: As far as I know, Top Cow is simply planning for an initial mini-series. Who knows what'll happen after that...?

C-Vine: Will other members of Cyberforce be appearing? Will Ripclaw play a role due to their romantic past? Other crossover characters? Supporting cast?

JC: I haven't really dived into the plot of the series yet, but I'm leaning strongly toward no other Cyberforce characters. Velocity is strong enough a character to stand on her own. That doesn't mean other Top Cow Universe characters won't appear, though...

C-Vine: I'm assuming this takes place in the "present," didn't Velocity lose her tattoo over her eye? (Did I miss something perhaps?)

JC: It does take place in the present. As for her tattoo... best not to think too hard about these things.

C-Vine:

Ha ha, okay.

Velocity seems to constantly get kidnapped and used or manipulated by other forces. Will she break this habit? Usually she had to be rescued by others but she managed to free herself in the Pilot issue.

JC: I'm thinking her next habit will be a nun's habit. Could make for an interesting story...

C-Vine: In First Born, the Angelus sought her as a potential vessel. Do you have any plans to address this? Does she have some unknown potential we haven't seen yet?

JC: Haven't read First Born, but I can tell you that my tendencies are to probably steer clear of that kind of plot thread...

C-Vine:

I've heard that Kevin Maguire is not available to work on the regular series. Has another artist been picked yet?

JC: We're working on that. I do know that Maguire is on as cover artist, which is good news, since I'm such a big fan of his.

C-Vine: Is there a tentative release date for the first issue?

JC: I think they're aiming for a fall launch. Don't hold me to that, though... I'm just the writer.

C-Vine: Professor Abel pretty much got trounced in the Pilot Issue, any chance he'll return? Or even better, Frank Blank? Loved his character design.

JC:

Any and all characters from the Pilot issue are a possibility.

C-Vine: You seem to be writing a ton of comics right now. How many exactly are you currently working on?

JC: Too many to count. Of course, some of the things that are coming out now were written quite a while ago, it just so happens that it's all hitting the stands so close together.

C-Vine: How long are you planning on working on YOUNGBLOOD? GØDLAND...how many issues have you mapped out? Will you continue to contribute to Fantastic Comics?

JC: I'm on YOUNGBLOOD for the foreseeable future. Lots of plans for that book. Of course, I co-own GØDLAND, so it's always an ongoing concern.

C-Vine: You just wrote Iron Man - The Inevitable with the Mandarin. Were you given any insight or direction since the movie is soon to be released?

JC: Not really. I know Iron Man and Marvel knows I know Iron Man so I'm given a fair amount of leeway and trust when I write those books.

C-Vine: When you write, do you have a set schedule? Do you just get ideas throughout the day?

JC: My schedule is that I write ALL THE TIME. It's the only way to fly.

C-Vine:

Do you find it easier to write team books (Youngblood, Wildcats, GI Joe) or single character stories?

JC: I personally enjoy team books more, because that means the entire cast are interesting people, as opposed to one main character and a more "normal" supporting cast.

C-Vine: I recently found out you were involved with creating Ben 10. Are you still active with that? Consultant?

JC: Man of Action did indeed create the show for Cartoon Network. We still consult on the show, but we've got a lot more projects that we're focusing our immediate attention on now.

C-Vine: Are there any comics on the stands today that really catch your eye?

JC: Mainly the ones written by my friends... and they know who they are.

C-Vine: Besides what you're currently working on, what's piece of work are you most proud of? What do you feel you really kicked ass on?

JC: Outside of my creator-owned work (which is always special to me), I think a lot of my recent Marvel work has been right in the zone.

C-Vine: Since you've written just about every single character out there from Marvel to DC to Dark Horse, is there any character that you're still longing to write (or return to)?

JC: Absolutely... I just don't want to jinx things by mentioning any of them out loud.