Mr. Brubaker was kind enough to take some time from his busy schedule, and answer a few questions about his acclaimed run on Captain America!
Mr. Brubaker was kind enough to take some time from his busy schedule, and answer a few questions about his acclaimed run on Captain America!
About Ed Brubaker
A one-time cartoonist, Ed Brubaker has been working as a writer since the early 90s, and in that time his work has won several awards and been translated into eleven languages around the world. He primarily works in comics, but has also written screenplays, and will soon write both story and script for a video game.
He currently resides in Seattle, Washington with his wife, Melanie, and many pets. For more information, surf on over to http://www.edbrubaker.com/ and say hello!
How do you see Steve Rogers VS Captain America? Should CA have a secret identity? Is a secret identity relevant for someone like CA?
I pretty much think of them as one guy, not a fake personality and a real one. Steve Rogers is Captain America whether he's in his mask or not, I think.
On the secret identity, when I first got this job, I tried to think of a good way to give Steve back his anonymity, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like it probably didn't matter. It's not like he's the most recognizable person in the world, really. He's a tall blond guy. Unless you know him or are the world's biggest Cap fan, he could walk right by you and you'd never know. I once had a piece of pizza at a counter in LA about two feet away from Rob Lowe, and had no clue it was him until someone mentioned it after he left (this was back when he was part of the Brat Pack, too, so he was famous as hell then). So, as long as he keeps his address and phone number a secret, that seemed good enough. No one who lives down the street from him knows who he is anymore, and that's a good thing, probably. They're all safer that way.
How carefully are you co-ordinating between New Avengers, Captain America, Captain America & Falcon, and other Captain America-related comics/appearances (like the New Invaders, where he doesn't appear except as a looming shadow and legacy)?
Probably not carefully enough, but they're all edited by Tom, so I assume he keeps track of what's going on in each one. I talk with Tom a lot about what my plans are, so he knows what's coming in our book. And I'm good friends with Brian, so I know what's coming up in New Avengers, but we both try to basically stay out of each other's way. It's no fun having to worry about someone else's story when you write yours. I just figure, whatever Cap does in Avengers is happening during the days we don't see in my book. Most of New Avengers takes place after the stuff I'm doing for the first arc on Cap, anyway. My story begins after the Avengers have been broken up for about four or five months.
Who are your favorite Captain America villain you aren't going to use, and why (both why your favorite, and why you won't use him)?Some writers (such as Englehart and Gruenwald) have protrayed CA as a political liberal, and others much more conservative (such as Jurgens and Kirby), and others don't think his personal politics matter (such as Waid). What are your thoughts?
Steve is his own man. I think he's seen enough of the world in all his years to know that both sides are highly flawed. I see him as more of a progressive (which is both different and better than a liberal) like FDR, because he grew up under the New Deal, but I think he'd agree with the more conservative Eisnehower's warnings about the corporate military industrial complex and its involvement in Government, as well. Like I said, he's his own man. I don't think he's a partisan in any way, though, because then he wouldn't stand for the people of his country, or the truth.
Well, Kirkman finally put the "Cap is gay because he's never been shown to have bedded a woman in comics" thing to rest, but then it turns out to have been a very lifelike LMD of Diamondback. Does CA get a girlfriend anytime soon?
That would be telling, wouldn't it?
In the last decade or so, there have been a number of unresolved plot points in the Captain America mythos - while its understood that its not your duty to fix any of them, do any of them interest you? Any chance of getting some of them resolved?
Probably not. I've read as much of the previous runs as I could get my hands on, and I can't think of any that leap out at me. I'm trying to make the book accessable to new readers and give nods to long-time fans at the same time, so there'll be familiar faces showing up, but I've got lots of plans for my own storylines, and barely enough pages to fit them in every month.
Any plans to use any of the old supporting casts?
Jack Flagg?
No.
Bernie Rosenthal?
Maybe, but probably not.
American Dream?
No.
Arnie Roth?
He's pretty dead, I think.
Donna Maria Fuentes?
Who? Oh, yeah, her... Nah.
Irving Forbush?
As soon as I can fit him in.
How is the creative process different for writing Captain America versus Batman?
It's exactly the same process, just with different characters. That's how good writing works, I think, just writing your way into the characters and letting the stories grow from them.