An Interview with
Shon C Bury
New Micronauts Writer by Willy Jones
(12/29/97)
Q: Some personal info, where are you from and how old are you?
A: I was born in Seattle, WA but I grew up in Sumner, WA--a small city just
outside Tacoma. I just turned 26.
Q: Are you a long time Micronauts fan or new to the stuff?
A: I wouldn't call myself a "fan." I read the Mantlo/Golden stuff when I was
real young as well as the Gillis/Jones work on New Voyages. I gotta admit
that I liked the Mantlo/Golden stuff far better. It was more focused.
Classical storytelling that transcended the medium of comics. The first
10-15 issues were by far the best. Everything started to loose focus
after the 15th issue (or there about).
Q: Did you approach Marvel, or did they approach you, about a new
Micronauts book?
A: Marvel approached me, as well as about six other writers.
Q: What influence (if any) did the Micronaut web sites have on the
decision to make a new comic?
A: As far as I know, none. I didn't even know there was such a strong
Micronauts presence on the web until I typed "Micronauts" into one of my
search engines. I was pleasantly surprised.
Q: Do you feel pressure to live up to the original Mantlo & Golden classic?
A: ABSOLUTELY! It would be grossly unfair to the diehard readers of
Micronauts if I ignored what Mantlo and Golden laid down before. My first
thought before sitting down to "revamp" Micronauts was: "I have to come up
with something that caters to the new readers who have never heard of
Micronauts, something that will give them a reason to pick up the book;
while living up the expectations of the older readers. I have to satisfy
both. And that's going to be hard.
Q: Will there be a connection between Micros appearance in Alpha Flight
and the start of the new series?
A: I wasn't aware that they appeared in Alpha Flight. I better check into
that. I do have the Cable issues they appeared in.
Q: Where will we be picking up time wise in the book?
A: Let's just say that the Prometheus Pit that the 'Nauts went through have
caused some major side effects in the Microverse.
Q: Are you going to ignore New Voyages continuity or explain it away?
A: It's on the plate. I'm not going to ignore anything. To be honest,
there's parts of the original run that I'm going to twist into my own
thing. I never really liked the Wayfinder/Enigma Key thing.
Q: Will Acroyear be a warrior again or still mister sensitive?
A: Acroyear will be the warrior-king he was meant to be. The Acroyears were
Klingons before it was cool to be Klingons. I'm bringing that element back.
Q: Any plans for Acroyear's newborn son?
A: Nothing solid. But I figure the kid's gotta be an early teen by now.
Q: Do you plan to get back to the basics of the Microverse as in the
early issues, more space opera and less superhero?
A: More space-opera, less superhero. Again, the first 10-15 issues of 'Nauts
is were it's at.
Q: Did you, or do you, have any of the toys?
A: Nope. I was too into Star Wars.
Q: Do you plan to use vehicles and figures, from the toys, which faded
away after the second year of the first series?
A: I don't want to completely regurgitate the past. We'll use fresh stuff.
Q: Will Karza be the main baddie, or just the major baddie, showing up
from time to time like Magneto to the X-Men?
A: It would by anti-dramatic if the 'Nauts fought the same bad guy month
after month, wouldn't it? My self-imposed task is to bring in villains
that are just as ominous as Karza, but Karza has the long range ominous implications.
Q: Any Michael Golden covers or artwork gracing the series?
A: Don't know.
Q: Have you worked with Michael Golden before?
A: Nope. But he's Artistic Director or something at Marvel now, so who knows.
Q: Will there be new looks for our friends, will they be back to their
old selves, or will the character designs in the new series be
similar to those in the Cable appearance ?
A: We're taking the original Golden designs and sprucing them up for the
'90s. By-and-large, they look the same. Acroyear and Bug are exactly the
same. Huntarr is probably changed the most. The (Kelly) Jones' design has been
axed as well as the design from the original series. Mari is probably
closer to her Cable appearance.
Q: Do you know of any plans to re-issue the old books, maybe as a TPB
or something?
A: That would be cool to do following the release of the revamp, though I
wouldn't like to see it done prior. I want the new readers to say, "Wow!
This is fresh. This is an *old* comic? I gotta go check the back issue bins.
Q: This question is expected of me so, will Force Commander be back
or, at least, will someone be donning the Force Commander armor of Dallan Rann?
A: Yep.
Q: Who is (are) your favorite Micronaut(s)?
A: I don't do the favorites thing. All of them work together in a
storytelling synergy. Bug's cool. Huntarr has always appealed to me,
though I don't think he's ever been developed that much. I want to work
with Huntarr--the living-weapon--more. Show his internal conflict.
Acroyear rocks. Mari (not Marionette!) is a very strong woman. I like
strong women.
Q: Do you plan to stick with the book long?
A: As long as they'll let me.
Q: How far ahead have you plotted?
A: Up to issue twelve, with some tentative stuff beyond that.
Q: Is there anything you wanted to do but were not allowed?
A: No. My Marvel editor, Tim Touhy, has given me pretty darn near free
reign. He okayed my proposal as is.
Q: Who are your influences, comic book or otherwise?
A: In no particular order: Chris Claremont, my son Alex, Shakespeare, Robert
Heinlein, Arthur C. Clark, my readers, George Lucas, Gene Rodenberry,
Tom Clancy, Steven King...too many, really.
Q: Will you be at next years ComicCon and do you plan on any
convention appearances next year?
A: I've been really debating going to San Diego this year. It's really a
sham for fans and pros alike. I plan on doing about five or six small
shows, but San Diego has increasingly left a foul taste in my mouth over
the last few years.
Q: What other work have you done in the field and what work are you
most proud of?
A: In chronological order: Showcase'95 #5 (DC), Black Ops #1 - #5
(WildStorm), DV8 #7 & #8 (WildStorm), Lynch (WildStorm), DV8 vs. Black
Ops 1-3 (again, WS) and Doubleman for No Justice, No Piece
(Headpress/CBLDF). I've done an inventory issue of Cable and am currently
working on a couple indy projects for fun. I'm most proud of DV8 vs.
Black Ops 1 & 2, Doubleman and Micronauts.
Q: Would you be interested in coming to MicroCon98?
A: You bet!
Q: Well, there you have it. Any additional comments you have or answers
to questions I did not ask would be greatly appreciated.
A: I hope you all enjoy my version of Micronauts. I'm working very hard to
stay true to the original Mantlo/Golden version as I can, while still
making plenty of room for new readers to hop on board. Cary Nord is doing
the pencils and I've had the pleasure to talk with him. We're both
excited to be a part of the Micronauts mythos. Our editor, Tim Touhy, is
extremely excited about this project. His only comment about the first
issue that I wrote was: "Shon, Micronauts rocks!" Chris Claremont (one of
my inspirations, remember) is now Editorial Director at Marvel. He's
liking what we have cooked up. All the creative principles are giving the
revamp a big thumbs up. Hopefully, the readers will as well.
SCB
12-27-97
(c) 1997 Yubster Studios