Christos Gage thinks we are all retarded 6 year olds

No, it was actually a short and sweet interview / questionarie thing and thankfully he didn't refer to me as a 12 year old so I consider it a victory in and of itself. I was kinda trying to lay the groudwork for a clever / cute response to the Highlander-Hercules thing but he didn't bite - for the record, I'm well aware that different companies own the rights to the differnt IPs (at least now I do Sad

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In addition to comics, you've got extensive Film and TV credits on your resume'. At the risk of asking a cliché' question, what medium do you find to be the hardest to write and prepare for?

The actual writing part is about the same for both (although the process is somewhat different). But the business side of screenwriting is much, much more complicated. You have to jump through a lot more hoops and there are far more cooks in the kitchen. I prefer comics because it's more about the actual writing.

Paradox is in post production right now, which is based off the Arcana comic you had written of the same name. Were there any difficulties in writing both the movie script and the source material it was adapted from?

The funny thing is that Ruth (my wife and co-writer) and I did it backwards. We wrote it as a screenplay first, then once I started working in comics I adapted that into a comic book script for Arcana-my second comics project ever, after DEADSHOT. So when interested parties came asking about making it into a movie, the script was already done.

You've now written movies that have starred Ardian Paul (The Breed) and Kevin Sorbo (Paradox), are there any plans for a Hercules / Highlander crossover?

It would probably take an epic meeting of lawyers, as I think the rights are held by different studios!

Absolution has been a great read through the first few issues, what are some plans for where the book is headed that you might be able to spoil? Any chance it might get the same Paradox treatment down the road?

I don't want to play spoiler, but as readers of #4 have seen, John Dusk does get found out. His girlfriend and colleagues discover that he's been secretly killing criminals, and he will have to face the consequences. As for a future in other media, it's not up to me…it depends on interested parties approaching us. There's certainly been some interest, but no one's actually signed a contract or written a check yet, so there's nothing solid to report at this time.

Has writing for shows like Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Numb3rs influenced your writing or research for Absolution at all?

Definitely. Aside from just having experience writing police procedurals, which I think made it easier to imagine a world where superhumans are part of official law enforcement, writing for SVU especially made me aware of just how depraved some criminals are. Reading over some of the cases episodes are based on really enables me to relate to John Dusk's notion that some violent criminals can't reform, and we would all be better off if they were just taken out back and shot. Intellectually I know that's wrong for many reasons, but my gut's ready for a trip to the gun shop.

How has working with Avatar been in a creator-owned capacity as opposed to Marvel? Any plans to work with them on any other upcoming books?

I've really enjoyed the freedom to tell a mature-readers story set in a world I created from whole cloth, but it's kind of apples and oranges relating it to my Marvel work. I love writing characters I grew up with, and it's not like I'm dying to have Spider-Man curse a blue streak or Iron Man start slaughtering bad guys...that would feel wrong. They're just different approaches. And I would be glad to work with Avatar again if reader demand is there.

Has your darker and more graphic work in Absolution affected the stories you've been writing in other books? Do you find that happens often when juggling projects, that titles start influencing one another?

Yes and no. It's not as if my other work is going to get darker simply because I'm writing Absolution; it won't happen unless the story warrants it. But I'm always amazed at what little bits of research for one project end up getting used in others. For instance, learning about law enforcement procedures also applies to books like Avengers: The Initiative.

(These next 4 are fan submitted questions)

Your run on Avengers: Initiative has been going strong for a while now. Where can we see expect to see Taskmaster and the gang heading in the coming months?

Taskmaster is joining the Cabal! Issues #31-up are very Taskmaster oriented, so you won't want to miss them! Oh yeah…and there's something about a siege of Asgard…

Are there any comic characters which you would like to revive? Maybe someone who isn't getting enough attention that you would like to write a story for and shed a little light on or a pet character you've had an affinity for in the past?

The Shogun Warriors and Godzilla. I loved those books as a kid and would have a blast revisiting them.

The first Union Jack mini was pretty well received, any chance for a return to the character?

Thanks! Unfortunately, while Mike Perkins and I would love to return to the character, the current economic climate makes it a tough sell.

Lastly there were quite a few questions about Wildstorm and where it's heading. What's up with Wildcats?

Issue #18 concludes both the epic Tao storyline and my run on the book, with Adam Beechen and Tim Seeley taking over after that. And wouldn't you know it, they get my idol, George Perez, to do a cover AFTER I leave the book! I can't catch a break! But I've gotten a peek at what's coming up, and it looks very cool…hope you'll stick around!