I just wrote a feature on J.M.'s first superhero work in the post before. Here's the questions John Marc DeMatteis graciously OK’d: Cecil 1. I think one of your thematic abilities involves discovering a character that might have been, alternative takes of who they might have been, when corporate trademarks were editorially guided to be written “a certain way.” “Going Sane” is a story that became a Batman/ Joker story before it became the essence of “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” which then transformed once more essentially into “Going Sane”: your favorite mainstream superhero story. J.M. Stories, like people, have a natural growth curve and we have to honor that as writers. That story led me from Batman to Spider-Man and back again (with some other twists along the way). Since “Going Sane” and “KLH” are two of the best superhero stories I’ve written, I’m glad I had the sense, and patience, to let them guide me along, instead of trying to control them. 2. Tell me about anoth...

Defenders 92 “Eternity...Humanity...Oblivion!” So, Defenders #92 becomes the first regular superhero series assignment for John Marc DeMatteis, who had taken over Conan The Barbarian for a few issues. J.M. went on to write ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt,’ script the wildly-popular and hilarious Justice League series starting in ‘87, and pen many original, thoughtful tales, from his novice Marvel Team-Up efforts to this year’s Augusta Wind: The Last Story series for IDW Publishing (where novice me joins the ranks of pro comics writers with Hero Duty). He’s written cartoons like Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans Go!, and somber comics like Mercy, one of the first Vertigo Comics, and Savior 28. And I do believe I saw his son Cody’s name in the credits for Rick and Morty last night, a William St. Production Manager. J.M. took over for Ed Hannigan, whose last story in #91 was probably my favorite from his run, along with the intriguing ‘Inquest’ from #87. Ed’s tale involved nuclear pow...

Captain America (#275-289) I have none of these, but I tended to enjoy J.M. DeMatteis very much, the maturity in his themes and humor, too. I picked up almost every issue of his Justice League run with Keith Giffen by 2000, and bought the mini-series sequels, too. My friend Johann and I put together a radio drama based on my script featuring the JLI and the 2000 Presidential Election, a 13-person cast---so J.M. is a developmental influence on my writing, for sure! These stories seem to have a stronger supporting cast of regular folks (a Spider-Man strength), as well a new "man out of time" to explore in Jack Monroe, a.k.a. Nomad, and a man out of the future lost, too, in the (apparent) guest shot for Deathlok. Glad to see Spider-Woman again here, too; this is just before the Jessica Drew version sort of slips off to character limbo for a long time. Her series under Chris Claremont's really good, especially if you like the unique style of artist Steve Leialoha. I l...