Marvel creative director Bill Rosemann talks finer points of comics There’s something heartwarming about hearing a crowd of students chant “Kal-el” in unison. That’s Superman’s Kryptonian name, the first stop in Bill Rosemann’s walk through comics history. Rosemann, the creative director for Marvel Comics, came to USC Wednesday night, courtesy of Carolina Productions, to talk about being your own hero and drawing inspiration from your favorite superheroes. As he said of comic books: “simple images, powerful messages.” After the show, Rosemann sat down with SGTV and The Daily Gamecock to discuss the future of the Marvel cinematic universe, Marvel versus DC Comics, and what a black Captain America will mean for the comic industry. SGTV: How’d you get your start with Marvel? Bill Rosemann: So, I wanted to be a writer, and I was an English major, and y’know, it’s tough to break in. I was working in publishing and PR, and a spot came open to be a copywriter for the Marvel catalogue. I didn’t really know what that was, but I figured it out ... So, I began writing for Marvel and then got into marketing. I didn’t know what it was, and I figured it out. So, what I tell a lot of the college students is, when you graduate, I know you have your dream job, but you’re not going to get it right away. So, if a door opens slightly, kick it in — take your shot. The first job you get might not be glamorous, might not be perfect, but you’ll get good experience, and you’ll show the people at the company why they should promote you. SGTV: Marvel took a huge chance with creating a “Guardians of the Galaxy” film. Why make a movie about [this unknown franchise]? BR: I think we’re following in the steps of what Marvel has done from the beginning. Now, Iron Man is probably the most popular hero in the world. When Iron Man came out, no one knew who he was. I mean, that was a chance. Even Thor, who knew who Thor was? Comic readers knew who Thor was — the rest of the world didn’t. Now I see Thor on the side of buses. Even Captain America, people kind of knew about Captain America, but they didn’t really know his story. But we knew these characters were interesting, we knew they were inspirational and funny and flawed and human, and we knew if we just told their stories and followed what has been done in the comics, we knew the rest of the world would then come to know Iron Man. So “Guardians,” it was a risk, but it was the same thing as Iron Man. We said these characters are great, the world just doesn’t know it yet. So, we’re going to present them in this funny and fun and crazy movie, and now everyone knows who Rocket and Groot are. And now it seems “Of course, a raccoon and a tree!” but at the time it was a big risk. We knew that these characters were great. SGTV: Within the past seven years, you’ve taken a lot of risks. BR: Well, I think we’ve always pushed the envelope. We’ve always done controversial things ... When Black Panther came out, that was very controversial. That was the first African-American hero from one of the major publishers. Now it seems “Yeah, of course, Black Panther,” but back then, that was controversial. All along Marvel’s history, we’ve always done things that sometimes upset people and sometimes upset readers. What you don’t want is a bored reader. You want them really happy and excited, and maybe they’re angry, but they’re paying attention, and they want to see what happens next. So, throughout our history we’ve tried to do things that many people don’t agree with, but we believe they’re the right things to do. There should be black heroes, there should be Asian heroes, there should be female heroes. We’re doing a story where Sam Wilson, the Falcon, is going to take over the Captain America identity for Steve Rogers. Steve Rogers’ secret soldier serum — try saying that three times fast — is running out, and Cap knows that there must be a Captain America. So Sam says, “Cap, give me the shield. I’ll be Captain America.” So, think about it: young kids are going to pick up a Captain America comic and they’re going to see “Guess what? A black man can be Captain America.” And that’s a very positive message. We may get hate mail about it, but we think it’s the right thing to do, and we think it’s going to be a compelling story. SGTV: What can you tell us about “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? BR: It’s going to be awesome. What’s really fun is Phase One was the origins, so you’re being introduced to the characters. Now, in Phase One they did all of that heavy lifting. Phase Two got a bit darker. So, “Thor: The Dark World,” “Captain America: Winter Soldier,” “Iron Man 3” ... once the characters were introduced, they could challenge them more in Phase Two. And now, Phase Three, where can they go? ... There’s going to be Ant-Man, another risk. People are going to say “really, Ant-Man?” And once it comes out, they’re going to say “Of course Ant-Man! It’s awesome this guy can shrink down and ride bugs. That should be a movie!” So, we’re going to keep taking chances, we’re going to keep doing more interesting stories with the characters you know, and we’re going to introduce more characters that you don’t know yet. SGTV: Who’s your favorite Marvel villain? BR: Well, Loki is great. He’s so compelling. He just wants to be loved — that’s it. He feels all his life he hasn’t been loved, he wants that acceptance and support from his family, and instead of earning it in a noble fashion, he’s striking back out of anger. But I think he’s very relatable and sympathetic, and he’s charismatic, but he’s still a villain. He’s doing the wrong thing. The Daily Gamecock: What is, in your opinion, the biggest difference between Marvel and DC’s style? BR: Well, it’s funny, because creators jump back and forth — and even editors jump back and forth — so sometimes you’ll see similar things at both companies. But our DNA is very different. The DC characters were born in the ‘30s and ‘40s, where the characters were more about escapism and ... their secret identities weren’t as explored as others were, and they just cared about the heroes when they were in costume. And that’s what people wanted — they wanted escapism. When Marvel came along in the ‘60s, it was a different generation. They didn’t want their parents’ heroes, and by that, I mean the next generation was a little more wise, communication was opening up, they were seeing what was going on in the world, they wanted change. The Marvel heroes struck a nerve because they were human. They’re humans first and superheroes second. Stan [Lee] and Jack [Kirby] even decided to give them problems, and they weren’t perfect. They had feet of clay, they had physical problems, mental problems, and the audiences responded to that because they could see themselves in these heroes. It was the birth of the modern hero, who is not perfect. The hero who fails, but gets up and tries to do the right thing. So essentially, that’s it. As I said, creators have gone back and forth, and sometimes you’ll see DC heroes looking like and trying to act like Marvel heroes, but at their heart of hearts, they’re just different. People may say one is better than the other, but I think they’re both valid ways of creating a hero and I think both sides should just embrace that. I happen to think Marvel heroes are better. TDG: Comic books tend to be a niche market of enfranchised readers. Is that something that you’ve made peace with, or are you trying to change that? BR: We are never at peace with a small group of people experiencing our heroes. So, whether it’s through television, movies, comic books, we’re always trying to make our stories more accessible, more diverse, more relatable. Of course, as a business, we want to expand our audience, but as storytellers, you want to expand your audience. You want to tell stories that more people can relate to. So, we’re always thinking to ourselves, “How can we make this story accessible and interesting and relatable and connect with as wide an audience as possible, while still staying true to the Marvel hero?” TDG: We’ve recently had a Black-Hispanic Spider-Man, and there is going to be, in the future, a female Thor. Is diversity something you’re pushing for at Marvel? BR: I think it’s something that Marvel has always thought was important, and when I was growing up, I always thought it was cool that the heroes looked different, came from different countries, had different religions, different genders, different ethnicities, different sexual orientations — you name it, the Marvel heroes were different. Sometimes it got us in trouble, sometimes it made people happy. But I think it’s the right thing to do. What’s important is not to force it and make it fake, and not to pander. We want it to be authentic and organic and real. So, it’s something that we pursue, but it’s something that we’ve always been pursuing, and we just have to do it in a smart, right way. But we will continue to do it. It’s the right thing to do. TDG: What's your favorite non-superhero graphic novel? BR: “Maus” is great. A story of the Holocaust but told with mice and cats that I think is very powerful. The great thing about comics — and especially if they use a genre, science fiction or fantasy or superheroes or even using animals — they add a layer, a buffer layer, so you can talk about very serious things in a more comfortable way. So, yeah, “Maus” is pretty powerful. TDG: “Hawkeye” recently had a comic from the perspective of his dog, experimenting with the format. BR: Pizza dog! TDG: Right! Is experimentation with the medium itself something we should expect more of from Marvel? BR: Yeah, I would just expect it from comic book creators in general. They’re artists, they’re choosing to use comics books as their art form. They’re always going to try different things and get experimental. I think you always have to remember the basics — you know, you can’t break the rules before you understand the rules and master the rules. I think it’s endlessly fascinating the things they’re doing with “Hawkeye.” They did another issue recently where Clint was not wearing his hearing aids, and so the whole issue was with sign language. It was a great way to show how comics can communicate without words. Normally, it’s a great balance of words and pictures, but if you can draw a page and understand it with no words, then you’ve done your job.
Marvel at your own inner hero: Bill Rosemann pushes boundaries through comics
