John Ostrander: in the nucleus of Man with DC's Firestorm! Part Two

ONe of a series of talks with Firestorm creators- like Gerry Conway, Al Milgrom, Pat Broderick, Rafael Kayanan, Tom Mandrake, even early editor Jack C. Harris, we have a philosophical afternoon with John Ostrander. Writer of the modern Suicide Squad, Star Wars: Legacy, The Spectre, and his own creation, Grimjack at First Comics (a very philosophical, satirical space adventure), John began his career as a stage actor in Chicago, providing his connection with Mike Gold. Brought aboard to craft the Legends line-wide crossover, John's fill-ins on Firestorm won him the job when it was vacated by Firestorm's talented parent, Gerry Conway.

At one point, I posited to John, this:

Firestorm was not generally considered frightening in his earlier incarnation. I think of your Firestorm as a Scary Outlaw-like you said, the danger. There were some questions inside Firestorm himself.
Don’t take for granted that he’s going to do the right thing...he’s got to come to it.


When you have the possibility of the character making a choice that you might not agree with...if there’s a choice to be made, you don’t assume that it’s going to be the right choice. Then, the character’s more interesting...more compelling. - John Ostrander

John, with Joe Brozowski, Tom Grindberg, and finally, long-time partner Tom Mandrake, brought us a very different take on Firestorm. Don't miss part one, where we discuss the geo-political twist of the Glastnost era, the death of Martin Stein, and the Elemental War. Here, we talk about his Africa stories, which generated artist Mandrake's favorite designs from his series work here, the Yoruban god pantheon. John also shares how Theater shaped his craft work, confounding reader expectations, and more personal bits.

HEre's a way to share the podcast link with anyone!

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-f7h3y-996858

And without further ado: heeeeere's John (ny!)