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Interview with Brian K. Vaughan

Considering the recent rush of badly perceived representation of lesbian and gay images of TV and film recently, it’s nice to know that some people out there are getting it right.

One such person who is making big strides in small ways is comic book writer Brian K. Vaughn, who routinely includes gay and lesbian characters in his popular comic series, like Y: The Last Man, the story of a mysterious plague that kills every male on the planet except for a young escape artist named Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand (includes several lesbian characters), and Runaways, about six ordinary kids ? one of whom, Karolina, hints at being gay ? who discover that their parents are actually super-villains.

Another of his gay-inclusive comics, the award-winning Ex Machina ? a sci-fi political thriller about the world’s first real superhero, who retires from masked crime-fighting in order to run for Mayor of New York City and fights for gay marriage along the way ? was just optioned last week by New Line Cinema to be made into a feature film. So in addition to writing four monthly graphic novels for a variety of comic publishers, Brian now has a screenplay to write.

Recently Brian was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule and answer some questions about his life as a comic book creator, as well as his feelings about GLBT representation in comics.

AfterEllen.com: So what is your background?

Brian Vaughan: I was born in Cleveland in 1976. Typical suburban up bringing, went to an all-boys Catholic high school, and college at NYU. Basically, I’m another boring white bald dude named Brian who writes comics.

AE: What was your favorite book(s) when you first got interested in comics and why?

BV: I had a lousy speech impediment when I was little (I couldn’t pronounce my R’s), so to avoid Elmer Fudd jokes, I quietly kept to myself most of the time. Comic books were a tremendous escape for me, and characters like Spider-Man and Superman, who were mild-mannered, ineffective nerds who were able to transform themselves into lovable heroes, were hugely appealing, for obvious reasons.

I grew up with comics, and comics grew up with me. I was weaned on Marvel and DC, but soon graduated to the sophisticated stories of British writers like Alan Moore, who showed that super-heroes could work as powerful metaphors for the human condition, not just adolescent power fantasies. From there, I discovered the work of so-called underground cartoonists like Adrian Tomine, Joe Sacco and Chester Brown, who showed me that comics didn’t even have to be about super-heroes they could be autobiographical, they could be works of journalism, they could be slice-of-life dramas grounded in the real world.

AE: With the exception of Ex Machina, which by it’s nature has a political element, you tend not to politicize your inclusion of gay diversity. Your work instead tends to be layered in a wonderfully gentle, matter-of-fact way (with off-handed comments or revelations about a character’s sexuality that blip, instead of BONG!). How did this come about? And as a straight man, where does that desire for and sensitivity to these stories stem from?

BV: Well, thanks. I think most writers worth their salt are “sensitive” folks eager to write about all kinds of different people, especially those who are often misunderstood and/or oppressed (as many of we fragile, damaged writers ? gay and straight ? like to think WE were when we were young). And the most powerful moments in fiction are usually the most subtle ones, so those “blips” you mentioned are deliberate.

AE: Why do you feel that, unlike mainstream media, comics have such a strong history when it comes to positive GBLT representation (disregarding the obvious reason for some of the lesbian arcs)?

BV: Well, I’m sure we’ve had some shameful moments, like all mediums, but I grew up reading great characters, who happened to be gay, in the comics of brilliant British writers like Alan Moore and Peter Milligan. This was long before I saw similarly positive gay characters in movies or television, so I guess we’ve always been a few years ahead of the curve.

AE: What kind of feedback have you gotten regarding the GBLT arcs you have told or seem to be about to tell?

BV: Very positive feedback, which is nice. Ex Machina was just nominated for a GLAAD Award, which was a tremendous honor.

AE: When one thinks of comic books many people think of the stereotype of the 14 to 35-year-old male heterosexual audience. As a female comic book reader I know why I read them, but what kind of feedback do you get from other female readers and what do you feel might help draw a larger female demo to comics?

BV: I get a lot of very positive feedback from female readers, which is flattering. As for getting more women to the medium, we have to a) get our books distributed in places where non-comics-reading “civilians” ? male and female ? shop, and b) write good, accessible books. Obviously, no two women are the same, so it’s idiotic to think that you all love romance or mystery or whatever. I have an ex who was a rabid fan of Preacher, and I think that’s because it’s a great fucking comic, not because it’s great comic “for women.”

AE: How is it that comics, being that it is quite a boys club, has such well-rounded (and I don’t mean in the drawing) female characters, a trait lacking in other forms of media?

BV: Again, for every well-rounded female character in comics, I’m sure you could find one or two who would make you cringe. But since the days of Dr. Marston (Wonder Woman‘s inventor), there have always been male writers in our medium who love writing about strong women. I guess I don’t have a great explanation for that phenomenon, but I’m sure Freud would have fun with it.

AE: I’m a big fan of Pia Guerra, your co-creator on Y the Last Man, but women working in comics seem to be few and far between. Is that the case or is the genre finally opening it’s doors to more women in the field?

BV: I like to think that the doors have been opened, but sadly, I have a penis, so I’m not terribly qualified to make a realistic assessment. You should check out some of the essays over at sequentialtart.com (a fan site for female comic book fans and creators) for more thoughts on this important issue.

AE: In your experience is it more difficult for the more ‘mature’ titles to gain a following?

BV: Sure, it’s like movies. Once you have an “R” rating, you immediately shrink the size of your potential audience. Still, my “mature” titles (Y and Ex Machina) have gotten much more exposure in the mainstream press than my all-ages titles (Runaways and Ultimate X-Men), so maybe there’s a tradeoff.

AE: Considering the political climate in our country, I find it impressive that comics seem to be the only mass media not bowing to pressure when it comes to gay representation or concerns about content. Certainly the scandal of Janet Jackson’s breast and the crackdown that followed it did nothing to change a certain S/M theme in Y: the Last Man recently. How does the overall climate in this country effect how you work?

BV: Thankfully, not very much at all. Because we work with relatively small budgets and most of our work reaches a relatively small audience, we can afford to be much more daring than movies and television. There’s more reckless experimentation and bold exploration of theme going on in comics right now than in any other medium

AE: It’s probably like choosing a favorite child but what, if any, arc or book are you most proud of and why?

BV: It is like choosing a favorite child, but I hate most of my dumb kids, so I can confidently say that the “Safeword” arc of Y is one of my favorites. Pia and I collaborated particularly well on that arc, and I think we showed our male protagonist in a totally new light.

AE: Spinning off new characters within the established Marvel universe with Runaways couldn’t have been easy. Because it is within that universe how do you manage to keep up on the goings on so that the book ‘fits’ in the family?

BV: Well, the Runaways live in the Los Angeles of the Marvel Universe, so while they’re aware of superheroes, guys like Captain America do feel far away and a little make-believe, the way Hollywood celebrities feel to most New Yorkers. Still, this book is grounded in the Marvel Universe, and appearances by existing heroes and villains are never out of the question.

AE: For a while Runaways was a finished title only to be brought back ? what was that phone call like?

BV: It was like a stay of execution from the governor! I love that book, so it was a thrill to learn that our collected editions had been selling so phenomenally with kids and new readers who discovered the digest in book stores. They kept our little book alive.

AE: Are the general archetypes for your characters established when you create them or do certain elements evolve as you find yourself writing them?

BV: Oh, they always evolve as I write them.

AE: What is it like to work with the different artists who you collaborate with?

BV: It’s great. Tony, Pia, Adrian, and Stuart couldn’t be more different artists, but it’s a blast to try to play to their strengths, and they always make me look good.

AE: What was it like the first time you saw a character of yours fully realized on the page?

BV: I guess that would have been Pia’s first sketch of Y‘s protagonist, Yorick Brown, and it was literally one of the happiest days of my life. She nailed him in one drawing.

AE: How do you manage to get so many books written every month?

BV: I live in boring-ass San Diego, having followed my wife out here for her grad school program. Trust me, there’s nothing to do but write all day…

AE: How far are the arcs laid out and does the publisher have a ton of say in your process?

BV: It depends on the book, but I usually have stories plotted out years in advance. Thankfully, all of my publishers are very trusting of me.

AE: Who do you admire in the genre?

BV: Alan Moore is my favorite writer and biggest influence. Incidentally, if you’ve never read his groundbreaking Mirror of Love, it’s a must-read for anyone, especially those in the GBLT community.

AE: What would you say, if anything, to a member of the GBLT community who is considering becoming a comic book reader?

BV: “Welcome! What kinds of books/movies do you dig? Obviously, no two GBLT readers are the same, but thankfully, comics are a medium, not a genre, so there are millions of different kinds of comics for me to recommend, whether you like action, autobiography, horror, slice-of-life drama, whatever.”

“Oh, but if you’re a gay dude, I guarantee that you’ll love Wonder Woman.”

(Kidding.)

(Mostly.)

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