Top Cow’s Mark Waid talks about creating a comic book based on the popular NCsoft MMO
By Michael Lafferty

“It was a fun challenge”

When Cryptic Studios and NCsoft teamed up and launched the massively multiplayer online game City of Heroes, it was like a comic book come to life. With an evolving storyline, superheroes dotting Paragon City, unprecedented character customization – the game was a hit, and proved that people really did want a chance to be a superhero.

Ok, so we live in a world were pop culture now has videogames and movies jumping from the pages of comic books. Why shouldn’t we see the reverse? NCsoft certainly thought it possible and shortly after the launch of CoH, Blue King Studios rolled out the first City of Heroes comic book (Volume 1, June 04). Beginning with the June edition of this year, the mantle has been passed to Top Cow to continue the comic book.

So, how does one create a comic book from a game? For those answers, GameZone turned to Top Cow’s Mark Waid.

Question: With the tableau created by the developer, do you have to do a lot of work to drawn storylines and environments for a comic book?

Waid: “While the foundation is laid beforehand, it's still up to the artist and I to invent an actual storyline that plays to the comics format rather than the online gaming format - something with a definite beginning, middle and end, and something that turns on emotion as much as action. It was a fun challenge.”

Q: What elements of City of Heroes do you think make for a solid comic book property?

Waid: “Colorful characters and a sense of universe participation that even Marvel and DC can't match. I can read stories set in the Marvel Universe - but with CoH, I can be IN the City of Heroes universe!”

Q: Do you, or will you, work with the developers to evolve the story lines for the comic book without revealing too much of the game play at the upper levels or giving away what may be in the works for new storylines? Is making a comic book from an intellectual property such as CoH harder or easier?

Waid: “In some ways, it's a little more difficult in that there's so much backstory developed for these characters that only the designers know. It's not like writing Superman, where I'm in all likelihood and seriousness, the world's greatest living authority on the character's history - writing CoH is a voyage of discovery, learning that what I know about, say, Statesman or Manticore is only the smallest bit of what the developers have already worked out for them as characters.

“That said, Sean Fish and the crew at Cryptic Studios have been extraordinarily easy to work with and very giving of their ideas without ever being too inflexible about them - a rare combination.”

Q: What will you be doing to work fans/gamers into the storyline? Will the book you create follow much the same format as the previous CoH series in terms of fan fiction and art? What are the biggest challenges you face in bringing this game to a comic book format?

Waid: “Actually, a lot of that last question is already answered above. As for the rest …The new CoH does, in fact, incorporate fan material, as did the previous series. There are definitely plans to further solidify the fan connection with the lead stories, as well.”

Q: What do you think fascinates people the most about comic books and superheroes?  

Waid: “Everyone wants to feel like he or she has some control over, some power over, the conflicts we face every day in our lives. C'mon - who hasn't sat in traffic on the 405 in L.A. and dreamed of being able to fly? Who's faced a classroom bully or an arrogant white-collar boss and hasn't wished they were super-strong or invulnerable?” 

Q: How much time does it take to create a single comic book?  

Waid: “From start to finish, about three months. Including the planning and the story approval process, it takes about two weeks to write a script. From there, the artists take about a month to draw the 22 pages, the colorist and letterer need at least a week to do their jobs, and the finished book needs to be at the printer at least three weeks prior to its appearance in stores.” 

Q: What elements do you think consider vital for the success of, per issue, a comic book?  

Waid: “I'd say that the elements vital for the success of any issue of a comic book are, in no particular order: giving the reader a certain degree of character development and interaction (‘soap opera,’ if you will) that draws him into the story; surprising the reader while still keeping the characters consistent; and always working to present ideas and visuals that the reader has never seen before.” 

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