As Newsarama readers know, writer Ron Marz has been calling Top Cow his
home more and more recently. Along with writing the monthly Witchblade, Marz is currently also writing Dragon Prince and Broken Trinity
for the publisher, and has been working on developing the universe’s
future, helping to pull the various, sometimes disparate, threads
together.
The relationship between the two has taken another step, as today at the Baltimore Comic Con it was announced that Marz has signed an exclusive contract with Top Cow. The writer spoke with Newsarama about the new deal.
Newsarma: Ron, as anyone watching your career over the past few
years has seen, you've been working more and more for Top Cow. What
pushed you over the edge to sign an exclusive?
Ron Marz: Anytime you make a decision like this, it's not any
one factor that brings about the move, it's always a number of things.
Creatively, I'm enjoying the hell out of what I do there. After four
years on Witchblade, I'm still having a ball on the book. I had already committed to staying on Witchblade through at least 2010. Beyond that, there are a number of projects lined up that I'm excited to get to, first among them being Magdalena. And I'll also continue doing creator-owned material with Top Cow. Dragon Prince
was just the first. I have a great relationship with everybody at Top
Cow, including publisher Filip Sablik, president Matt Hawkins, Marc
Silvestri and especially my editor, Rob Levin. Any creator will tell
you how important it is to find an editor that you can work well with,
someone who trusts you to do the job, rather than wanting to constantly
insert themself in the process. Rob is a gem, despite being an Atlanta
Braves fan.
Top Cow is not a big corporate entity, it's a boutique publisher. It's
much more like a family. They don't churn out material just to fill up
rack space, they do a finite number of titles and do everything they
can to make sure those titles are quality material. That's something I
want to be a part of. I've been very happy at Top Cow since day one, so
making it a more formal relationship seemed like a very logical step.
And to be perfectly honest, they made me a great financial offer as
well. Writing comics is a dream job, but it sure as hell helps to get
paid for it, especially with gas headed toward five bucks a gallon and
my mortgage payments going north. I'm being paid well to work on
material I really like with people I really like. That would be tough
to turn down.
NRAMA: So what does your exclusive entail in the big picture? As we've seen "exclusive" can mean many things, from “you only work for us” to “you can work for anyone else except x, y, and z...” - does this exclusive mean you're only working for Top Cow when it comes to writing?
RM: Right, the vast majority of my writing will be for Top Cow.
I've still got a couple of creator-owned things at Dark Horse, and I'm
doing some video-game work, but my steady, monthly output will be from
Top Cow. I've still got some things floating around in drawers up at DC
that will hopefully see the light of day at some point in the future.
It's really about focusing my time and attention on what I do for Top
Cow.
NRAMA: You've done bits and pieces here and there for a few different companies over the last few years, so why settle in with Top Cow? Can you dig into what is it about them that has you putting your eggs in their basket?
RM: At one time or another, I've danced with all the girls at
the prom. Writers have the latitude to do that, because a writer can
work on a number of projects at once. Every publisher has its pros and
cons. I picked the one that's the best fit for me right now, for all
the reasons I mentioned. There's also a sense, to me at least, that
things are building at Top Cow, in terms of other media as well as the
comics. I think a lot of readers have a fixed notion in their minds of
what a Top Cow book is, and a lot of the time, it's a notion that's ten
years old and completely outdated. Things like Pilot Season, and Paul Dini's Madame Mirage and cartoon universe, and hopefully Dragon Prince,
attest to a real diversity of material coming from Top Cow. I'm forever
talking about the industry needing more diversity beyond just piles of
Big Two superheroes, so this is a chance for me to contribute to that.
NRAMA: So what does the exclusive entail? Right now, you're writing Witchblade and Dragon Prince...no offense, but that doesn't seem like a full plate for an exclusive writer...
RM: The exclusive is for three issues a month, which is a
manageable work load. The general parameters break down as two "Top Cow
Universe" books -- things like Witchblade, Magdalena or the Broken Trinity crossover -- and a creator-owned book -- like Dragon Prince
-- per month. So I get to play with some toys I already like, and I get
to create my own toys. I can't think of a better combination.
NRAMA: What does an exclusive do for you, creatively?
RM: On the one hand, it allows me to nail down my commitments
and plan those titles for the long-term. I've been fortunate enough to
be in a position to tell some of the stories that have moved the Top
Cow Universe forward, stuff like First Born and Broken Trinity.
I'll continue to be involved in those kinds of stories, both in the
monthly titles and in special projects, as the universe continues to
evolve.
On the other hand, this gives me a home for more creator-owned material. I agree with a lot of Kirkman's manifesto
about creators needing to create new projects and properties in order
to keep the industry fresh and vibrant. But I'm also aware of the
financial realities of doing just creator-owned material, as opposed to work-for-hire. This deal allows me to have my cake and eat it too.
NRAMA: You mentioned it earlier, but what about your Dark Horse work – will that be actively worked on, or pushed back to “someday?"
RM: Luke [Ross] and are I still working on the next volume of Samurai, so that's very much still happening. I'm also still doing Pantheon City
through Dark Horse, with Clement Sauve on the art. That one's been in
process for quite a while, but believe me, when you see the art, you'll
know why.
NRAMA: Timelining things out, what's on your desk coming up in the near future from Top Cow?
RM: Obviously Witchblade is front and center, along with the remainder of Dragon Prince. I want to get a stack of Witchblade
scripts in the can, so we know we can stay on schedule with the
monthly. Stjepan Sejic works so damn fast, he paints the issues almost
as fast as I can write them. Then we'll be launching a Magdalena
project in 2009 that's going to be a big push for the character. Beyond
that, we've got projects lined up for 2009 and 2010 that we haven't
announced yet, both Top Cow Universe stuff and some creator-owned
concepts, so stay tuned. It's all stuff I'm excited about.
