Half An Hour Of Simon Furman Talking About Stuff

[onslaught86]

From Auto-Assembly!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfb8idwHAx0

Some interesting notes in there, like the exposition bubbles. I miss those. And damnit, if I ever meet Furman, I'm telling him how much I loved G2 and the Armada moonbase saga, and how much I hated Worlds Collide and the atrocious IDW BW series. Credit to 2005 for posting it, and Nevermore for linking me to it. And me, for listening to Furman for half an hour!

[Gomess]

It's a sliiiight shame how out of touch Furman is with the current and prospective comics industry, but I guess it's not really his prerogative. He's done his bit, and did it memorably. It's nice to know I agree with him on some points about writing, as he was one of my first frequently-read authors, I s'pose...

Also, that Animated DS game looks like a generic platformer cash-in, rather than the slick-looking multimodal co-op adventure it should be, which is a shame.

That interviewer's voice is like a weak version of my dad's. Are those cigarettes and vodka on the table in front of him...? I know he has a sword, too, but that's really just social image construction gone nuts.

[Dominic]

Thanks for pointing me at this O86. I am reposting this from my blog:


Comicbook writer Simon Furman recently sat for an interview with Kalel Prime. I was not able to watch the whole thing, but from what I saw, the interview has some interesting points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfb8idwHAx0

First, it shows how Furman has maintained such a generally favorable view among fans. He is a genuinely nice guy. I have met Furman at cons. He is always approachable and willing to answer questions. And, despite the bombast of his writing, (especially these last 5 or so years), he is actually quite humble in person. (Considering some of the horror stories one hears, and even sees, on the convention circuit nowadays, civility counts for more than one might reasonably expect.)

Even when discussing easy, and frankly deserving, targets, like Dreamwave and Pat Lee, Furman is generally upbeat and avoid slinging mud. (I recall Furman making some intemperate remarks about Lee back in '05, but frankly, he was still more restrained than most people would have been under the circumstances.) Considering that it is not unheard of for writers to say "I was just doing what they told me!", or "blame him, it was his idea", (and how much readers seem to love that kind of sniping), not blaming the other guy is impressive.

Even when talking about characters he created, like The Fallen and Primus, Furman avoids talking about how great he is.

Of course, (based on what I was able to watch), one of Furman's vices comes through in this interview. He, not unlike many writers, needs an editor. Furman talks enthusiastically about sotry arcs that were, to be honest, aimless. Furman is at his best when he is writing under the direction of an editor. (Of course, the readers may bear some responsibilty for this, as they tend to flock towards over-hyped noise.)

For example, "Worlds Collide" was not a bad story, But, it really did not have a hell of a lot more behind it than, "hey look, dimension hopping bad buys menace our heroes" going for it . I was unable to watch the whole interview, but I am wondering what Furman has to say about "Generation 2", a story excellent both in premise and execution. (Given the technical details inherent to the script, and the resources of the early 90s, the story is made all the more impressive while making many of the problems with modern comics seem all the worse.)

Dom-wishes Furman answered the question about DC Comics more fully.

[onslaught86]

For example, "Worlds Collide" was not a bad story, But, it really did not have a hell of a lot more behind it than, "hey look, dimension hopping bad buys menace our heroes" going for it

I still take issue with that story. It was "Armada". A brand new continuity with loads of brand new, potentially interesting characters. And what does Furman do? Shunt them aside to focus on the same old boring characters he always uses. And then not do anything interesting with ANY of them.

This after his fantastic Moonbase saga, which is arguably one of the best pieces of fiction to come out of the whole ArmEnerTron era. That and Linkage, anyway.

Head, meet wall.

[138 Scourge]

I still take issue with that story. It was "Armada". A brand new continuity with loads of brand new, potentially interesting characters. And what does Furman do? Shunt them aside to focus on the same old boring characters he always uses. And then not do anything interesting with ANY of them.

Heh...kinda was his Decepticon "Greatest Hits", wasn't it?

At least because there was Bludgeon, Thunderwing, and Galvatron. No idea why Dirge was all of a sudden cool enough to be in that group, though.

The other guy there, though, him I was okay with seeing.

[Onslaught Six]

I'm still patiently waiting for IDW Galvatron, Dirge, Bludgeon, Thunderwing and Scourge to disappear and for five Armada Decepticons to appear in their place.

[Dominic]

What worries me is that the franchise is self-reVerential enough to try a cross-over with itself from 4+ years back. (And, we all remember how great, and not at all fan-festy, that "Trouble with Tribbles" episode of "Deep Space 9" was.)

The use of G1 characters did not bug me. Fans soiling themselves with glee upon seeing Diiiiirrrge, and Thudarweng, and Bludjon, and Scorge, and GavlitronOMFG does not make the story bad. Furman needed stock bad guys to represent TFs from fallen Cybertrons. So, he used some old character models with some Easter Egg value for old readers.

Furman never once said, "Look how great these G1 guys are." He actually killed them pretty unceremoniously. Fans defining that story by the use of some old characters as props is the same as defining "The Dark Knight" by those police convoy scenes. There is a hell of a lot more going on in both cases, and it is unfairt o judge a story by a few inconsequential things.

Was "Worlds Collide" great? No. But, it was not terrible.

Of course, I do agree that Furman's worst tendencies came out with it. Faux-epics. Cosmic threats. Noise/Signal.

And, yeah, "Fortress" and "Linkage" were good, even with the chic-bot jets in "Linkage".

Dom
-wants those cars from "Linkage".

[Gomess]

(And, we all remember how great, and not at all fan-festy, that "Trouble with Tribbles" episode of "Deep Space 9" was.)

I'd just like to speak up for those of us who're thinking "Nope!" besides it being... Star Trek? I assume there was a previous series that dealt with these Tribbles, and the DS9 ep was a poorly done reference to it?

[Dominic]

The original series had an episode, "The Trouble With Tribbles", focusing on little chittering merkin creatures that bred like you would expect merkins to breed. It is possibly the most over-rated episode of any series, ever.

The later "Deep Space 9" series had a time-travel episode where several of the then current cast were sent back in time and, through special effects, took part in some of the episode's crowd scenes. It was a big wank-fest. Nothing more.

Dom
-"Transforners" ain't the only self-reverential franchise.

[andersonh1]

The original series had an episode, "The Trouble With Tribbles", focusing on little chittering merkin creatures that bred like you would expect merkins to breed. It is possibly the most over-rated episode of any series, ever.

The later "Deep Space 9" series had a time-travel episode where several of the then current cast were sent back in time and, through special effects, took part in some of the episode's crowd scenes. It was a big wank-fest. Nothing more.

Dom
-"Transforners" ain't the only self-reverential franchise.

Trek didn't live in the past nearly as often as Transformers does. As for the Tribble episodes, the key is to just sit back and enjoy them. I think the original Tribble episode is remembered precisely for the light-hearted nature of the episode, which makes it stand out. It's an exception, not the rule, and it's remembered fondly. Not every episode of Star Trek needs to be deep, dramatic or action-packed.

The DS9 episode is fun simply because they pull off one of the best 'time travel' illusions the series has attempted by placing the DS9 crew fairly convincingly in the original episode. It's one of my favorites, for the sheer novelty of seeing the DS9 cast have an adventure in the TOS era without having to recast the original characters or keep them offscreen. The effects have them in the hallway or the same room with the original cast.