Broken Frontier

Manhunter has been an on and off title at DC since launching in 2004. During that time it’s brought realism to the DCU with its strong female protagonist Kate Spencer; a prosecutor who dispatches justice with stolen weapons from criminals. More than that simple premise however, Andreyko crafted a unique title amidst the swarm of superheroes, gaining devoted fans along the way, which managed to give the series more than one reprieve. The final issue went on sale this week...

BROKEN FRONTIER: Starting your career with Brian Michael Bendis must’ve been interesting. Have you been pleased with the success Torso brought you both?

MARC ANDREYKO: Well, I didn’t start with Brian. I had written The Lost, Dr. Strange, and a mini for Marvel called The Supernaturals prior to Torso. The reaction to Torso has been great and has opened doors, but it is still a black and white independent book, so as a starting point it is fantastic, but it ain’t enough to retire to Paris. : )

BF: Is the Torso film still in the works, and do you have much to do with it?

MA: Yeah, the film is still "in development" with David Fincher attached to direct. Like everything in Hollywood, until I’m at the premiere, I am cautious : ) And I do speak regularly to the executive producer, but I have nothing official that I can spill at this moment.

BF: Now that Manhunter’s title is finished, will Kate be showing up in any other series?

MA: Dunno. You’d have to check with DC on that one. Although, I have been promised that she will remain a force in the DCU and not show up in a refrigerator anytime soon.

BF: Do you think Manhunter filled a void in the DCU when she appeared?

MA: Absolutely. Simply by having a character in the DCU in a real city brought something to the DCU. And having Kate be complicated and somewhat abrasive was pretty new, especially for a female lead.

BF: What do you think fans responded to about Manhunter that breathed new life into it?

MA: Her P.O.V. Manhunter gave the reader more of a worm’s eye view of the DCU and, I think, reflected the way "real" people would react to some of the big icons.

BF: Did you receive any unexpected reactions when you introduced Obsidian into a gay relationship?

MA: Not really. And nowhere near what I expected. To clarify, I didn’t "make" Obsidian gay. I wanted to have gay characters in Manhunter because in L.A. gay isn’t as "strange" as it may be in the Hinterlands. Not having any gay characters would have been disingenuous. Look at Friends: what New York City do they live in with no non-whites anywhere in a decade on the air?

And, for many years, there had been hints of about Obsidian’s sexuality. After going back and reading all of his pre-Manhunter appearances, it sure felt right that Todd was gay.(Even back in the Roy Thomas days, there are hints that point to Todd playing for the "pink team" as it were.)

I wanted to make sure I had a character in the book who was gay and not the stereotype of AIDS sufferer, drag queen, or tortured soul. We’ve seen enough of those stock characters and I wanted to write a character who was gay and, well, led a pretty normal personal life.

BF: Would you do anything differently if you started the series over?

MA: Nope. I'm pretty proud with how we started out. Except that I’d buy some billboards and start sending out copies and start sending out copies to critics and press (and fans) far sooner.

BF: When you eventually see al the Manhunter trades on your bookshelf will it be a great feeling of accomplishment?

MA: Absolutely. And a little bittersweet that the market couldn’t support the title at this time. I could easily write those characters indefinitely and I will really miss hanging out with them on a regular basis, as well as the interactions with the incredibly devoted fanbase. I owe all the readers a big "thank you" for letting me write the book as long as I was able to.

BF: So, where do you go from here? Will it be difficult to write another character after being on Manhunter for four years?

MA: I'm usually juggling many projects at the same time, so I’ve been writing other things the whole time I’ve been working on Manhunter. As far as where I go from here, well, who knows? I don’t have much definite comic work lined up right now, so if anybody’s looking ….   : )

Manhunter #38 is on sale now from DC Comics priced $2.99. There are currently four  trade paperbacks available from DC, with the fifth and final volume due this April.