Walt Simonson is a comic book legend whose creative plots and distinctive, kinetic visual style transformed The Mighty Thor into a must-read Marvel title in the '80s. But Simonson's fame stretches beyond the hammer-swinging hero; he has also brought his talents to Detective Comics, Fantastic Four, X-Factor, and Star Slammers, his creator-owned comic about space mercenaries.

With New York Comic Con: Special Edition and Simonson's new creator-owned Thor title on the horizon, we decided to reach out to the writer-artist to discuss digital creation, superhero movies, digital's affecting the print collector's market, and of course, his upcoming, ongoing series.

Note: All images in this piece are Copyright © 2014 Walter Simonson.

PCMag: Let's talk Star Slammers, one of the first comic books I read as a kid.

WS: Oh, really? Cool, let's talk about it.

PCMag: It's back on the market as the IDW-published Star Slammers Remastered. How did that come about?

WS: Scott Dunbier, an editor at IDW, is an old friend of mine. I've been working with IDW a lot these days. Star Slammers, for those who may not know, was a creator-owned book published by Marvel in 1982 and then published as mini-series by Malibu and Dark Horse in the '90s.

In general, I don't sell my artwork, but in the last 2-3 years now, there's been a movement in hardcopy to put out facsimile editions of art collections. Scott wanted to do a Star Slammers Artist's Edition, but we decided to re-release it in a traditional comic book form.

PCMag: Does Star Slammers Remastered contain new director's cut-like content?

WS: I haven't added stuff to it other than new covers and a few recap pages to bridge the gaps caused by dividing the original graphic novel. It's a director's cut in terms of the color. The original was largely colored by my wife and me. The '90s series were colored by digital means. It was all over the map. I haven't made changes to the art, because I kind of like looking back at my early work.

PCMag: How have technological advances changed the way you create?

WS: I'm still pencils, inks, and Wite-Out. I haven't gone digital, but I've seen the work of those who have shifted over, and it's indistinguishable from their drawing-board work. I still like the tactile sense of working on paper. I would love to learn more about digital color. If I know about how that's done, I can talk better with my colorists. Years ago, we had about 35 colors that represented everything: saturation, value, and hue. Now there are millions!

PCMag: What don't you like about the digital creation process?

WS: I'm less enthused with digital lettering. It looks like a layer that's floating in space.

PCMag: Does that mean that your new books will feature traditional lettering?

WS: On Ragnarok, I'm working with Jon Workman, who lettered my old Thor.

PCMag: Speaking of lettering, I noticed that contemporary comics have fewer words per panel. Am I crazy or is that a deliberate happening?

WS: My view of that is that comics up until the '80s and '90s were created by people who read pulp novels and magazines as kids. Comics were visual, but they were written with pulp wordiness. Then we had a generation that was raised on movies and not pulps.

I've been attacked on the Web for being old fashioned and using thought balloons. You should use whatever tools are available. If part of what you're writing reflects real life, people do have internal thoughts!

PCMag: How do you counter the critics who say that you're too old-school?

WS: You'd like your work to satisfy you. I don't draw stuff because Jeff will like this. You write and draw for yourself and hope to share it with an audience that appreciates it.

PCMag: Let's talk about Ragnarok. It's your return to Norse mythology. How did you return to creating Thor stories?

WS: Fifteen years ago, Scott asked me if I had any interest in revisiting that world, and I recently reached a point where I decided to get the book going. It really began because of a t-shirt. Over a 20-year period, I taught at the New York School of Visual Arts. I became friends with a student who produced t-shirts. I drew my new version of Thor for a t-shirt and he liked it. It was based more on the Norse design. Later on, I thought of that character and had a story for him. It turned out to be the first issue.

PCMag: I've seen images of the new Thor. He looks nothing like Marvel's Thor. He's much darker.

WS: Thor is based more on the Norse designs. In popular culture, the Norse gods and Vikings wore horned helmets. That's not the reality. They were axe-swinging people, so if they had horns, they'd hook their own heads and rip them off in combat.

PCMag: I assume that the title hints that the end of the Norse world plays a major part in the series.

WS: It's called Ragnarok because my story begins after Ragnaok. The opening five pages see Odin being devoured by Fenris. Then we learn that Ragnarok occurred, but Thor wasn't there. Because of that, the Midgard Serpent didn't kill Thor, the bad guys won, and the gods died. Thor returns to find the bodies of his wife and children, who's he's able to identify because of Sif's golden hair. He picks up the hammer and seeks revenge.

PCMag: How do you plan to differentiate Ragnarok's Thor from Marvel's Thor?

WS: He's considerably rougher. He's not exactly a superhero.

PCMag: Are you saying that your Thor can kick Marvel's Thor ass?

WS: [Laughing] I would never make that kind of comparison, because I may need a check from Marvel! But really, that debate is for comic fans and the Internet. Most of my energy is devoted to figuring out what I want to tell.

I'd like to borrow more from the source. He's more of a god of the common man. I see the world in terms of medieval towns and a certain number of supernatural happenings. It may echo something more like Lone Wolf and Cub more so than Marvel's Thor. Marvel's Thor in as ongoing project that's been going on for what, 60 years? I don't expect to live long enough to do 59 years of Ragnarok. It's an ongoing story that I'd like to do some for some time.

PCMag: There's a lot of Norse comics out now. I read a non-Marvel Loki book just the other day. Asgard seems to be trending, probably due to movie Loki's popularity.

WS: [Laughing] Maybe it means that because I'm doing it, the trend's just about over!

PCMag: So how do you make Ragnarok stand out from the pack?

WS: We all play with the same stuff, but creators like to tell stories that wouldn't be told in quite the same way as before. That character stuff is very interesting. I'm interested in comic characters that are revealed through action. I want the action itself to be characterization.

PCMag: When you're the writer and artist on a book, it seems that on the surface that you have lots of creative freedom. But are there a set of challenges that come with wearing both hats?

WS: Not really, other than the fact that if your stuff sucks, you're in big trouble! But, seriously, the drawbacks are that you may not get other work or fall into a rut. When I was younger and getting into comics, I could look around and see writer-artists who had done it for long that they fell into a formula. I wanted to minimalize that. I end up penciling, while someone else writes. Sometimes I write, while someone else draws. I did a stint on Indestructible Hulk with Mark Waid. 316809 I probably wouldn't have come up with that S.H.I.E.L.D. in Asgard story on my own.

PCMag: As someone who creates comics, do you still read or collect comics?

WS: Not anywhere like how I once did. One comic that I read is Usagi Yojimbo because Stan Sakai is so consistent. I read it the way I read it when I was ten. As in, with no critical faculties. It's reached the point that the characters that I grew up with or worked on have changed so much that I don't have a connection with them anymore.

PCMag: Which character or characters would you like to return to their roots?

WS: None. I don't yearn to return to yesteryear in that sense. The time of now is not the time of my youth or even of my entry into the field of comic books. Communally created characters in the collaborative endeavor of mainstream comics need, I think, to be reconsidered and renewed from time to time. The characters are both a part of the world into which they were born, and, if they run long enough, a part of a world they never made, so to speak. So I think that like the mythical phoenix, they have to reemerge from their own ashes from time to time, reborn and refreshed to stay current in the time in which they live, which is almost always the present.

PCMag: I understand where you're coming from. Thankfully, there are several new comics that are doing well, across all genres.

WS: I'm thrilled that there are so many comics. Our Valued Customers by Mr. Tim is a favorite. These are one-panel cartoons that feature conversations heard verbatim at a comic shop. I love the exploration. You hear the best and worst comic-shop conversations, and the worst ones are usually the most interesting. The Walking Dead has done quite well, too. The way that media has gone, there seem to be so many more opportunities for creators.

PCMag: I know people who hope that digital comics will destroy the print collector market in which certain books are hoarded and high prices are maintained. Do you see digital driving down print collector prices?

WS: I'm not sure why anyone would hope that, especially if you get your comics digitally. What difference would the collector's market make? Of course, if you buy most of your comics digitally, but still long to own a copy of The Incredible Hulk # 181, I can understand that.

I think there will always be folks who enjoy the tactile sensibilities of holding an object in their hands, whether it's a coin or a comic or a rare book. That said, I don't have any clear notion of how the digital world in general will affect the collector's market for physical ephemera over the long haul. I could see the market diminishing over time as the number of people who have actually encountered physical comics shrinks, perhaps. However, the market for incunabula can be pretty expensive, and how many of us have ever held an example, let along grew up with them? We're still in the early stages of digital in a lot of ways. Ask me again in 50 years.

PCMag: Comics are selling, and their move adaptations rule the box office. Are we witnessing a comic book bubble that's bound to pop?

WS: Comics have always been a feast or famine business. The Image guys, the original seven or so guys, did pretty fine back in the '90s. There are times when [comic book] sales have been in the toilet. A number of times there were guys that I'd worked with who left the business for jobs that would sustain them. I have been very lucky.

Right now, comics have become an entry into movies. I can't help but to think that that will ease up a bit. When I was a kid, there were tons of Westerns. You'll see the occasional Western now, but it's nothing like it was back in those days. At one point, it seemed that only Clint Eastwood could get a Western made. I don't know if superheroes will ever go away, and but as long as they make money, we'll continue to see these movies.

If you're interested in Walt Simsonson's Ragnarok (available in July) or Star Slammers Remastered (on stands now), you can purchase them using Comixology's Android and iOS apps. Digital comics noobs should check out our starting guide: Everything You Need to Know About Digital Comics.

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