IT’S HERE! IT’S HERE!

The second annual HoliDave Q&A!

And…we got twenty questions meaning that this is going to be a two-part post. The first this week with answers to our first ten questions from our fantastic readers, and then answers to the second ten next week from our also fantastic readers.

Let’s dive right in!

Question: Your Hawkman story with Howard Porter (In DC’s Lex in the City) came out at the beginning of this year, you have talked about how he was one of your favorite artists growing up, can you name a few other comic artists from your youth you would like to work with?

Answer: A strong first question for this year’s Q&A! Working with Howard Porter was an absolute joy. And then we got to be in The New History of the DC Universe #4 together this past year as well which was also great.

I am going to limit this to people who were working when I was actively reading comics before I became a professional. So…the 2002-2014 range, a nice twelve year stretch of road where there were A LOT of awesome comic artists.

I think I have mentioned this but I did a project with an artist I adore that never got released, and I hope we work together again so I am going to leave that person off the list.

I am going to name two artists I NEVER worked with as an editor, so I have never had any connection to them. The first being Ed McGuinness who…rules. One of the best Superman artists ever, one of the best Hulk artists ever, when I was 13 he drew comics exactly the way I thought they should look and I still feel that way at age 33. What a treat that would be.

Then…I never got to work with Michael Lark. The brilliant artist behind Gotham Central, Lazarus, and a great run on Daredevil with Ed Brubaker. His dark, noir, stunning work looms large in my mind and even getting to write like a short story for that guy would be quite the honor.

Question: Crossovers are big right now in comics—what two properties would you like to see crossover?

Answer: First I want to give a shout out to one of my favorite comics I ever worked on which was a Crossover. Batman/Shadow by Steve Orlando, Scott Snyder, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia, and Clem Robins. That comic rules and if you have not read it? You should check it out.

For current crossovers…ironically…I would kill to read (or write) a Golden Age Justice Society of America and Golden Age Invaders Crossover. Captain America fighting alongside the Golden Age Green Lantern, Flash, and Hawkman? Dude sign me WAY up.

If I could travel back in time to the mid-2000s. A Teen Titans & Young Avengers Crossover co-written by Geoff Johns & Allan Heinberg and drawn by Jim Cheung I think would be…the greatest comic that’s ever been made.

Question: What movie do you think would have worked better as a comic book?

Answer: This is something I have never, ever thought of before, which means it gets extra points for being a great question. I’m a huge fan of the James Gray movie Ad Astra, but there’s definitely some world-building and a little bit of extra character backstory I would have loved to have seen explored more and I think could have been expanded on in a beautiful way with the right comic artist, assuming James Gray also wrote the comic, which would be cool.

Question: If you had to create a theme for a season of Power Rangers what would it be?

Answer: Picture if you will, a beachy town that’s quiet during the year and overrun with tourists during the summer. Five teenagers with attitude who work on the boardwalk and deal with these tourists by day, and hang out by night are given powers from a mystical underwater kingdom (maybe Atlantis) and become Power Rangers to fend off an enemy from the stars looking to steal what’s left of our water, or because so much of the ocean is unexplored an ancient enemy kingdom awakens and wants the rest of the world to be forced underwater, either way…a terrifying enemy force that would need to be stopped by Power Rangers: Ocean Force. There have been Power Rangers seasons where some rangers are fish/aquatic life themed and have aquatic-themed zords but let’s go all the way (And yes I know in Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue their HQ was literally called the Aquabase and underwater). BUT we would have Megazord fights underwater, we would really lean into a beachside town, and have a bunch of cool beachy teens fighting evil. Or make it like Cape Cod and make them teens with a fun North East accent.

Question: How about them Celtics?

Answer: THERE’S SO MUCH TIME LEFT IN THE SEASON. I BELIEVE IN JB, D. WHITE PAYTON, AND COACH JOE! (For you not following sports…it’s been a different type of season for the Boston: Celtics. We are not in the upper echelon of the NBA Eastern Conference but…I believe we can make the playoffs if we really go for it).

Question: What DC characters are still on the wishlist to write?

Answer: Many! But I keep pitching Dr. Fate stories anytime I get the chance because I have been obsessed with that character, all the incarnations, since first seeing a version of the character on Superman: The Animated Series.

Question: The last four musical acts you listened to are playing a live show for you tonight, who is on the bill?

Answer: Jimmy Eat World, Hayley Williams, Militarie Gun and The Starting Line. Dude…I’d go to that show in a heartbeat and hope for it to last all day long. For pictures here I’m going to show off the covers for their most recent albums and singles.

Question: I am guessing if I asked you who your favorite Batman artist is you would be a little cagey about it given your past career. Would you disclose who your favorite Spider-Man artist is?

Answer: I probably would be a little cagey, and it would be tough to reconcile people I worked with, people I grew up loving, and people I grew more appreciation for while having that Batman editorial job. I love the Spider-Man question because that does feel easier to answer but also because in the last two years I have reread hundreds of my favorite Spider-Man comics and it’s been a real delight reacquainting myself with the character.

My favorite Spider-Man artist of all-time would have to be Marcos Martin. Every time he drew the character, I showed up immediately, and sometimes I will just google “Marcos Martin Spider-Man” just to stare at the available pages online and smile. And there easily fifteen other people I could name as well but I’m going to stick with Marcos Martin.

Question: Do you have any advice for young writers other than to write everyday?

Answer: Write everyday is for sure the best advice but sure let me see what else I have up here for you…

Don’t put off an idea because you don’t think you’re ready to write it. That’s what revisions are for. You are never going to be the perfect writer who is going to execute every idea you have at the highest level on the first try. You can be the writer who works on ideas and is fearless when it comes to getting criticism about the work and is always ready to improve something to the best of your current ability. If you don’t want to SHOW it to anyone yet, that is a different story. You show people what you are working on whenever you feel it is ready, but don’t put off writing it waiting for a version of you that may never show up. You are great right now, you had that idea right now, write it.

Question: Hopes for Comics in 2026?

Answer: I hope that comic book stores continue to experience an uptick in customers and readers. This year a that uptick was undeniably driven by the major mainstream publishers absolutely knocking it out of the park. I hope in the year ahead the smaller publishers and specifically creator-owned comics and original series have that uptick. Vertigo coming back with a large slate is very encouraging for that possibility as is the fact that I know that most publishers who do creator-owned/original books really want to do what they can to make them bigger and better than ever.

I would also love to see graphic novels take up a larger portion of bookstores again. The last few years I have seen most major bookstores shrink their graphic novel sections. There is definitely hope, their manga sections have expanded massively, I think there’s plenty of great past material and plenty of great upcoming material to make a big return to bookstores. Comic stores are the lifeblood of this industry and I would never ever want this to seem like I am wishing against them. I just know how many people started by picking up graphic novels at stores like Barnes & Noble and then found comic stores. I think it’s important.

Woo! That was a great first ten questions, and we will be back next week to answer the remaining ten.

Until then?

Stay safe!

—Dave Wielgosz