Within recents months it has been established that the civilian code-named "Jen-Active" has had contact with numerous individuals at the LaJolla based Wildstorm Productions facility. It has also been established that both Wildstorm Productions and "Jen-Active" have covert agendas that undermine the sanctity and integrity of national security. As such, communications between the two entities is closely monitored. The following transmission between "JenActive" and "writer" Michael Heisler was intercepted and uploaded 04.04.98 at 10:33:38 EST.

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JA: I've heard that you are now "freelancing" for WS. Is this true and, if so, are there others projects that you might be working on?

MH: Yes, I've left staff at WildStorm. There are a variety of things I want to try my hand at, and a 9-to-6 desk job does not accomodate those things. After over two years as a staff person, which is a longer period of time than I've ever spent on staff anywhere, I felt it was time to leave before I became so frustrated over my lack of free time that I was of no use to anyone.

I gave up status as a WS payroll employee because one of the things I wanted to pursue was computer lettering. I'm envious of the things that Richard Starkings and Comicraft have been able to accomplish, and have always wondered how my own lettering work would have evolved if I had followed a different path. Unfortunately. there is not enough lettering work at WildStorm that hasn't already been promised to other people.

There's a chance that I may do some writing work for other comics companies. I haven't pursued it as yet. I haven't even really pursued the lettering work as yet, because there are still a number of different typefaces that I want to build.

JA: Typefaces? Really? That's funny 'cause one of things that struck me about the DangerGirl preview was the type face they used. It wasn't a 'standard' type font. Do you think we might start to see more "non-standard" fonts in the future?

MH: That's a tough question. See, I don't really care for that DG font. I don't much like the font used on DIVINE RIGHT, either. These fonts were built from scans of the respective artists' handwriting, and while each of them is a fine artist, neither one is a very good letterer. This is where the "purist" side of me comes out, and where I am prone to making reactionary statements like "this is why I consider computer lettering dangerous." There are rules to hand lettering that a lot of people, including many people working in comics, would not understand. Nevertheless, they are as basic and integral as the rules of anatomy are to pencilers. A penciler would not argue that his personal idiosyncracies demand that he draw everyone with six fingers (at least not if he wants to keep getting work), and by the same token, a letterer should be concerned with making sure that lettering is eminently readable first and "quirky" second. But Comicraft was contracted to design those fonts, so they did.

The other side of this is that I think anyone who wants their book to look as though it was lettered in their hand SHOULD LETTER IT. (As an aside, Paul Smith had his hand lettering scanned to use as the font for LEAVE IT TO CHANCE, and because Paul is a bit more attuned to the "art" of lettering, I think it turned out very nice. He also does his own sound effects by hand.)

JA: Hehe - sound effects in a comic. Actually - I know what you mean. The 'Ka-Thoom's and 'BLAM's and junk. Now on to DV8, How long do you see yourself writing the book?

MH: Until I run out of ideas. I've currently thought ahead to next year's Annual, which I'm figuring will ship in January. As tough as writing an ongoing series occasionally seems, I've always been able to come up with new story ideas. I'm also becoming very comfortable with the characters, which itself inspires new stories. Originally I was happy just to match Warren's run of 8 issues, but now it seems to me as if I've still only scratched the surface of these characters.

JA: If you weren't on DV8, what would be your dream title or characters to do?

MH: I assume you're talking existing characters here, and presumably ones that are up for grabs, not those that are creator-owned like PREACHER or INVISIBLES (my two favorite comics). If that's the case: Superman comes to mind first. Even after sixty years worth of material, I think I could still have some fun with him. I'd like to try something with the New Gods and Darkseid someday (after Byrne's stuff is retconned out of existence). Wolverine still seems viable. As for artists, I'll have to cop out and say it would depend on the specific story. There are too many people I admire to just pick one or two. Although a New Gods story with Travis Charest doing the art would be completely insane...

JA: Cop out - boooooo, hissssss [insert expertly done, handcrafted sound effect here]. Hehe - anyhow, speaking of artists, is it true that Al Rio will be the new DV8 penciller as has been rumored?

MH: Yes. I've mentioned elsewhere that as a writer, my biggest concern is that my story is brought to the page. Despite vastly dissimilar styles, Juvaun Kirby, Jason Johnson and Tom Raney all succeeded heroically in accomplishing this. I've worked with Al as an editor, and I know that he's capable of doing it as well. There have been some grumblings in the fan community over this choice (as there were about JJ, Jason and Tom, as well -- go figure); all I can say is that what you've all seen from Al is the work that he had to do to bail us out of deadline disasters. What I've seen are the samples he sent us to get the work in the first place. Al will be able to start #19 this month (March); it doesn't ship until June, so I don't think deadlines are going to be a factor.

JA: Basically, Al got chased away by all the Cambell fans who complained about him being a 'clone'. He got a raw deal. Now look what we're left with. Frank's solid but his 'style' just aint a match for -oh wait- we're talking about DV8. Sorry, my bad. So, um, should we expect to see Threshold return in the near future?

MH: Near future? No, not until next year at the earliest. Regular DV8 readers will acknowledge that the team has no recurring enemies. Threshold is now a Villain, with a capital V. He hates the team as much as he hates GEN13, another place he may pop up. I've also got an idea for a BOOTLEG story starring Matt, though it's a ways off, I'm sure.

JA: How about Ivana? It looks like I/O would like nothing better than to take control of the Deviants away for her. Will she still be playing a pivotal role in DV8?

MH: Yes.

JA: Okay...here's a toughie: When you do something that has an effect on the entire WS universe (like make Threshold a villan, create Ivana's origin, introduce PSI Op or Black Arts) how does something like that come about? Do editors and writers get together along with the brass and decide if it's kewl to do it or what?

MH: Well, bear in mind that WildStorm is still small enough that it is no big deal for me to run into either Brandon Choi or Jim Lee in the halls of the studio and just toss out an idea at them. When we first talked about me taking over DV8 on a regular basis back in May 97, we discussed (although in a very general way) all of the things I've written so far.We had a story conference again about a month ago and I pitched my ideas for the remainder of this year. Sometimes ideas play beautifully off of what other people are doing and sometimes they just suck. For example, something that seems like a minor tangent in recent issues of WILDCATS is going to turn out to be a major plot point in DV8 #25. You won't need to have read those issues of WC to appreciate it, but when you look back, it'll be there.

As far as Threshold specifically goes, one of the things that I always had a problem with was Warren taking this immensely powerful character (as shown in the GEN miniseries) and turning him into a whipping boy. The notion that Ivana might be drugging him to keep him down while claiming that it's to make him stronger felt almost like Divine Guidance (although it may be what Warren had intended all along). I decided to run with it, and no one dared get in my way.

JA: The storyline where Ivana took control of I/O was classic. When I heard that she was going to assume control of I/O I thought "As If!!!! No way they'd accept her back in!" but you did it in realistic and believable way. How did you come up with that plot?

MH: Well, honestly, I approached it from the same viewpoint. How would Ivana get back in? She'd have to have someone on her side. Brandon had already set up the character of Senator Killory in DEATHBLOW. It also helped that, from a public viewpoint, Ivana hadn't yet been caught doing anything illegal. I really enjoyed laying the groundwork for Lynch's motives to become just as questionable as Ivana's, which is something I've discussed with John Arcudi. We saw in recent issues of GEN that the Lynch of the future is a heartless, manipulative bastard; who's to say that he ever had the kids' best interests at heart? And if he didn't, then is Ivana really any worse? (OK, OK, she's a lot worse, I'm just playing devil's advocate and failing miserably.)

JA: How did you get so good at doing dialogue? Like the last issue (#16), there was no action but the ish still rocked!

MH: Am I? If this comes from anything, it's from having an attentive ear. I also think that I structure my scenes so that what happens in them doesn't have to be explained with "comic book dialogue", which I cannot stomach. I try very hard to have settings, moods and facial expressions carefully described in my plots, so that the artist ends up having to do all the work. I don't think that words in a comic should ever remind you that you're reading something; the reading experience should always make you feel that you're privy to watching something happening in someone else's life. If it works for you, I'm glad -- but believe me, all I see when I read my own work is everything that's WRONG.

JA: Okay, I should now ask you something boring, like 'What advice would you give to aspiring writers out there?' but I'm not 'cause I dont care. What I wanna know is if you took all the Deviants and locked them in a steel cage who would win and why?

MH: Excluding Threshold?

JA: Yeap.

MH: Sublime. She can withstand anything that any of the others can do to her. It might seem to be Copycat, but currently, Copycat's power is limited to making people mimic her own movements, plus she can only "copy" one person at a time. If it was an all or nothing battle, she'd be taken out first. (Note how I said "currently", by the way...)

JA: Kewl! Sublime is the sh|t - although I still think Powerhaus could wreak some havoc. Now, how about if you took all of WS Studios employees and locked them in a steel cage! Then who would win and why?

MH: Ryan Benjamin would whup everyone's ass. He's a boxing fool and in great shape. He also enjoys inflicting pain, especially to children and small animals. (Okay, I made up that last part.)

JA: Hehe. And finally, if you locked Jim Lee and (wildstorm webmistress) Lorelei in a steel cage who would win and why?

MH: Ooh, tough one. Jim's got a lot of wrestling experience on his side, but Lorelei's got the youth and vitality. Jim also spends a lot of time hunched over a drafting table. I might have to go with Lorelei with this one in a squeaker.

JA: Yeah, even though she's 100 lbs. soaking wet she's STILL taller than JL ; ) Well, thanks a lot for the 411 Mike! And keep up the good work or I'll slam any stupid sh|t you do - Hehe...

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