Scott Snyder
Credit: Kat Calamia (Newsarama)
As writer Scott Snyder is trying to navigate how the COVID-19 crisis has altered plans for his upcoming Dark Nights: Death Metal project, he’s also taking time to help creators in need through Hero Initiative’s latest fundraiser.
Hero Initiative, the charity dedicated to helping comic book creators in medical or financial need, is offering live online experiences with a variety of comic book creators, including a 40-minute Q & A session with Snyder via Zoom.
The live Q & A, priced at $200 per person, is only available for five people, and Snyder said he’ll “answer anything anyone wants” and “talk any craft” – as well as planning a few surprises.
The Snyder event is one of several being offered currently by Hero Initiative, including upcoming sessions with Dave Gibbons, Mark Waid, Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, Greg Rucka, John McCrea, Mike McKone, Ron Marz and Steve Borock.
Snyder also recently finished another auction for readers to join an online class he’s teaching about first issues, with proceeds from that event to benefit comic book stores via the Binc Foundation.
The COVID-19 crisis has had significant impact on the comic book industry, including plans for Snyder’s much anticipated Death Metal, which is uniting him with artist Greg Capullo for a follow-up to their successful Dark Nights: Metal event. Despite DC’s plans to resume limited publication on April 28, the Death Metal project’s new start date is as-yet unannounced.
Newsarama talked to Snyder about his Hero Initiative Q & A and how the crisis is affecting his work on Death Metal.
Newsarama: Scott, before we dive into the stuff you’re doing for Hero Initiative, I understand Dark Nights: Death Metal has been delayed.
Scott Snyder: Yeah, in terms of the release dates, I’m just sort of going with whatever DC thinks is best. I feel as though I’m not privy to the conversations with other distributors or any of it. So I have a hard time weighing in on what the best thing is. I think Greg and I were just very adamant about not wanting to release the book digitally when stores were still closed. So at least that part, we were a part of. But DC didn’t have any intention of doing that either.
I know that DC is very, very concerned with making sure that whatever they do is going to help the direct market as much as possible. They care deeply about stores. And I trust their judgment in the long run, and we’re just rolling with whatever they think is best.
I will say that I think one of the things that this whole thing pointed out is that we have to figure out a better way of moving forward as an industry, in terms of distribution models, in terms of the relationship between digital and print, in terms of the way we as publishers look at our stores, the way we as creators create relationships with fans — it’s pointed out so many shortcomings and place that we could do better all around.
My hope is that we come out of this as a much stronger industry. But I think we can’t go back to the way we were in terms of not making adjustments where we make sure this kind of thing can’t happen again and the whole chain breaks down over any kind of act of God this way.
Nrama: Let’s talk about the Hero Initiative stuff you and other creators are doing. How did this come about?
Snyder: Yeah, I have a long relationship with them. I mean, from all of the conventions and stuff — you know, we have a big jar on the table. And I’ve done things for them before. I think it was the first couple years I got into comics that I got to know them.
So when I heard they were doing private events to raise money, I was excited to be a part. I’m really excited that they agreed to have me, and I’m really here to raise as much as I can.
Hero Initiative has been devoted to creators and the industry since the very beginning, and they’ve done great work before in events that I’ve been a part of with Greg Capullo and others. They’re a fantastic organization, and I’m proud to be part of their efforts.
Nrama: Can you describe the “Chat and Q-And-A” that you’re doing for Hero Initiative? You just did another thing like this for comic book stores, right?
Snyder: Yeah, I had an auction for BINC (Book Industry Charitable Foundation), to raise money. I’m teaching a class on first issues, and we had a bid for spots in that class. And it’s gone way better than I expected, so I’m kind of overwhelmed by it.
For the Hero Initiative session, I thought I’d do something that’s more like a conversation. So I’ll answer any spoilers. I’ll talk any craft. And I’ll try to devote a good amount of time to it to really do one of those in-depth conversations where I’m able to get into it with fans.
I may even have a guest appearance by a friend or two. I’ll make it fun.
Nrama: We talked before the interview about how you’re doing, but how about your projects? I mean, besides the delay, how has this situation affected the Death Metal project as you’re writing on it?
Snyder: Well, we’ve really tried to make it a place where we can give more work to people than we had initially planned, so we’ve created some issues that wound up being a lot better for this new structure, when it comes to tie-ins and specials that are anthology issues.
So, for example, there’s an anthology issue coming that’s one of my favorite things that we’ve ever done that is a Death Metal guide to the Dark Knights. And it’s all the evil Batmen.
And we have people on the book that are going to blow you away.
And then we have a Metal guidebook that takes you all around the world of Metal and what happens to the DCU and the current state of things.
So it became a bigger collective effort, to have a place that we could go and be creative and have work and try to make something meaningful that would be both an escape for people at this time and reflect the times, in a way.
So that’s how it’s changed structurally.
Nrama: You said it would “reflect the times.” I suspect that the next era of comic books will often reflect fear of the virus and things being out of control — maybe not literally pandemics, but similar themes. Does Death Metal deal with those kinds of themes? Was that always part of the plan?
Snyder: Well, yeah, so let me just say — Death Metal was always planned as something where it was going to brace readers for the craziness of this year. Even without the pandemic, we came out last time in the wake of the election, with Dark Nights: Metal, and we were very aware of the fact that everybody was, I think, exhausted by how vitriolic and angry and divisive the conversation was all over the place.
We wanted that book to be about that moment and how it could be something where all your worst fears about how people could separate and be locked in their own nightmares or their own visions of things. We wanted that to be resonant, but at the same time, we wanted you to be overwhelmed by how fun that thing was.
And we’re equally aware of it this time.
Weirdly, the story happens to be almost exactly, I think, appropriate for now without reflecting anything literally. So there’s no pandemic. There’s no virus. There’s nothing in there like that, so don’t worry. But what it is is the heroes essentially find themselves in a world that’s changed, almost so fast that they don’t even know how it’s happened.
It’s about it being so under the thumb of new rules by The Batman Who Laughs and his new evil Batmen and Perpetua that they almost give up and they don’t know how to get through, but of course, they don’t give up because they’re our heroes.
And they realize the only way through this is to find new solutions and fight in new, heroic ways.
Nrama: That sounds very familiar.
Snyder: Yes! At least for me, it winds up being way more resonant and urgent than I expected it to be.
But I very much, like, scream to readers — don’t worry; it is not a story that is going to make you feel like you’re looking at the news. There’s nothing like that in it.
It opens with Sgt. Rock talking to you, because he’s in the scene — I’m giving something away, but you find out later in the scene that he’s kind of crazy and he’s talking to the wall, but you think he’s talking to you at the beginning.
And he’s like, “Listen up! It’s sh—y out there! I know it! You know it! Everyone knows it!” [Laughs.] You know what I mean? He’s like, “It’s sh—ier than it’s been in a long time!” That kind of thing.
But then he’s like, “But let me tell you something! We’re going to get out there, and we’re going to have fun, and we’re going to make it through this, because that’s what we do!”
And then he picks up his gun, and it’s this giant, like, space laser gun with other guns taped to it. And he’s like, “Let’s do this!”
And then you turn the page and it says, everything matters. And then it begins.
So for me, it wound up being a story that was incredible fun to work on — I’m over halfway through it now, toward the tail end, which is crazy to think about, given that it’s not coming out for a while.
But it’s very much my love letter to these characters, to the fans, and with Greg, saying, listen, things are really rough. Things are rough out there. But we will always find a way through. We love comics; you love comics. Let’s do something you haven’t seen before and really figure a way out of this — in crazy, heroic, nutty, comic book, lunatic ways.
Nrama: It’s interesting that you turned this delay into a chance to collaborate with more people — kind of like what you’re doing for the Hero Initiative, by hoping to get other friends involved in your session.
Snyder: Yeah, it should be fun. And I want people to know that for this Q&A, I’ll answer anything anyone wants. And it’s all for a good cause. I can’t guarantee anyone else will be there. But we’ll have some fun surprises. Maybe I’ll show off some of my private art and things I’ve collected over the years. And scripts. Whatever it is that they want to see or want to hear about — it’ll be a private audience and we’ll make sure it’s a lot of fun for everybody.