Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir

By David Rasmussen
1st Mar 07

Rasmussen : Good day, would you please introduce yourselves to our readers and tell us a little about yourselves?

Nunzio DeFilippis (ND) : I'm a New Yorker who transplanted to Los Angeles and spent most of my time in Los Angeles insisting I'd go back to New York someday. Somewhere along the way, Los Angeles became home. Go figure. I started out studying screenwriting, and writing films was my first goal. But comics and manga became a second career, and at this point it is our main career. I grew up reading American comics and would occasionally look into manga. But my real education into manga and the growth of my interest into a full blown love came in my adult life. I also spent a lot of my life wanting to tell a pirate story, so here we are.

Christina Weir (CW) : Hey all, Christina here. Like Nunzio, I'm originally from the East Coast. Born in New York, spent a few years in Connecticut and mostly grew up in Boston. So the move out to Los Angeles in 1994 was something of an adjustment. Of course, realizing I've been here for 12 1/2 years is also something of an adjustment. But L.A. feels like home now. I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember and was always trying to write the great American novel when I was a kid. Somewhere in high school my interest switched over to TV and film. In college, I hated the film department so I decided to be a Psychology major instead. I figured that in order to write about people, you needed to understand them. I quickly learned that many of the Psychology majors were closet writers who were avoiding the film department. I did graduate school after college and then took the plunge and moved to Los Angeles. It hasn't always been smooth sailing, but somehow Nunzio and I manage to make our living writing. And there's no greater feeling than that!

Rasmussen : You mentioned you originally studied screenwriting with a goal towards writing film scripts, Mr. DeFilippis. Prior to your work in comics did you write any film scripts that you tried to shop around? Also does this mean that should any opportunity come to turn one of your titles into a film that you yourself will be writing the screenplay to said movie?

ND: Well, it varies from project to project. Our preference, in every case, is for us to write any screen adaptation of our comic stories. But that's not always feasible. We have a stronger track record in comics and TV than we do in films. Our screen credits are slim, and we'd rather establish a name and then once we do, we can insist on adapting the stories ourselves. So, if a project needs another writer to happen, we're happy to step aside and let someone else do it. Some projects, though, we're more determined than others. Our book Maria's Wedding, for example, and both our Seven Seas books... those we want to handle ourselves and would be very reluctant to sign onto a deal where they were adapted and we weren't involved.

Rasmussen : To each of you, Mr. DeFilippis and Miss Weir, can you tell us each abit about your educational background (Mr. DeFilippis with USCs Screenwriting Program and Miss Weir with Emerson’s Television Program) and the difference and similarities in education between the two (what is the difference between a screenwriting edution and an education in TV)?

ND: My education was a film degree, focused on screenwriting. That means I took classes in directing, shooting, acting in, editing and even financing films. I took some TV related classes (a course on writing soap operas included!) but the thrust of the program was to make a filmmaker out of us, with our focus being on the writing of films. Christina's degree came out of a TV centered program, one with an even stronger focus on production (and less focus on writing, though that's what she focused on in terms of class selection). I'll let her describe that.

CW: At Emerson, I got my master's in Mass Communication with a focus on TV Production. That means I had to take classes on the history and theory of communication - a lot of non-real world application information. But I also took many classes in TV production which meant working with cameras, learning how to do a live studio production, three camera shoots versus single camera shoots. We also took classes in editing. But since my interest lay in writing specifically, I had to take classes outside my division to study that as well.

Rasmussen : Have you found that both of your educations in film and TV helps any when it comes to your work in the manga field? If so what aspects of your education applies towards the creation of manga (in any way shape or form)? Also, sorry for abit of a strange question but can an education in the ways of financing a film be used in a more present job related environment, can an education on the means to finance a film be applied to financing… say… a manga series independently?

ND: Well, our Seven Seas scripts are written as screenplay pages, as opposed to our Marvel and DC scripts, which we break down panel by panel with full panel descriptions. Jason wanted the artist to have full control in interpreting things like flow, pacing, and 'shot selection.' So we're using our screenwriting training on the scripts. Still, the effect is different. I think any creative training will help you with creative endeavors, especially writing training. If you learn how to write, you learn about character motivation, character arc, how to keep a story moving. These skills are useful no matter what medium you're writing for. Now, each medium has its own nuances, and those are a different learning experience each time. As to the financing question, well, my education on that was very specific. It's much more translatable to TV than it is to manga or even animation. You sometimes write with an eye towards what things cost once you've learned how to finance a film. But in manga or comics, you can depict anything. There is a sense that you're sometimes asking for a lot from an artist, but it's not the same thing as the cost and insurance hassles of constructing a giant action set piece with a lot of extras in film or TV.

Rasmussen : You met working for two seasons on HBO’s Arliss series. What was that like? Was there any particular episodes you wrote that really stood out as your best work? Also did you win any awards for your work on Arliss (or were nominated for any awards)?

ND: Actually, we met years earlier, while in college. USC and Emerson were graduate studies - we each got our masters from the programs we mentioned. But our Bachelor's degrees were from Vassar College. We met there and became friends. I moved to Los Angeles to go to grad school. She moved to LA after she got her masters, and we started dating a few years later. Arliss wasn't where we met, but was where we first started writing as a team.

Rasmussen : Ah, sorry, my bad. So then let’s take it from Arliss then.

CW: I started at Arliss as a writer's assistant. That meant I got to sit in on all the writers' meetings, take notes, implement any script changes they had and make sure all those changes got distributed to the rest of the cast and crew. It allowed me to really watch the process and get to know the writers. Around fourth season, I asked them to take a look at a spec script Nunzio and I had written and they liked it. They let us write an episode that season. And starting fifth season, we were hired as writers. I think my favorite episode that we wrote was that first one fourth season - The Cult Of Celebrity. It was about a country singer who wanted to play baseball. We had a lot of fun with that.

ND: Yeah, Cult of Celebrity is probably my favorite of our episodes. Though I also liked When Opportunity Knocks, where Arliss' right hand guy, Kirby, leaves the agency. That one came out pretty well - though there was a lot of input from other writers on the staff. It went through a lot of revisions. As to awards at Arliss, an episode we wrote was nominated for a minorities in television award (whose name now escapes me, because the producers at Arliss didn't connect the nomination to the fact that as someone of Dominican heritage, I was the only person of color on the writing staff, and therefore we weren't sent to the ceremony, the executive producer was). Other than that, no awards. Arliss wasn't an awards type show - more of a basic comedy with a cable TV show's ability to be crass and tasteless when needed.

Rasmussen : How does writing for a TV Series like HBO’s Arliss differ from working in the comic/manga industry?

CW: Control. In television, unless you are the executive producer, you have very little control over the scripts and there's always someone there to rewrite you. In comics or manga, you will have an editor who gives you notes or suggestions. But unless you're talking about Marvel or DC, there's a lot more of a hands off approach. Plus, when you get notes from your editor, it will be you who implements them. In TV, once you turn in a draft, the script often leaves your hands and someone else does the rewriting. TV is also more of a group effort. There's a writers room where you brainstorm and toss around ideas. You may split up a script among several writers with different writers handling scenes based on which characters are in it. Comics/manga is a more solitary feel. If you're lucky, you get to talk with your artist and may make changes depending on what he or she thinks works best on a page.

Rasmussen : Alternatively, what was it like working at a mainstream company like MARVEL and DC in comparison to working at Seven Seas in the manga field?

ND: Marvel and DC are very editorially driven. The company owns the universe and the characters, so they have final say in what can and can't happen in the books. At both publishers, we've had control problems and we've also had smooth working relationships, so it's not as if their way is bad or horrible. But there are restrictions that you're aware of when you go in. You're playing with their toys, and you have to respect that. With Seven Seas, they're all of our toys. We own them as much as Seven Seas does, and our artists own them too. Everyone has a stake in the book, everyone feels like the parents of the book or the characters and because it's small and focused, that feels like a nice collaboration, not a struggle. We've had a couple of skirmishes with Jason DeAngelis about creative issues, but they've been minor things. For the most part, he's been collaborative in the design stages, and then pretty hands off in the execution. It's a nice combination because it allows Jason to give the many books Seven Seas is publishing a unified feel, but it allows the actual books to each have the unique stamp of the creative teams involved. It's been really smooth for us. We'd gladly do more for Jason and Seven Seas because of that.

Rasmussen : MARVEL’s attempt some years back at a Manga driven line, aka the MARVEL Mangaverse. I’ve spoken about it abit with it’s creators once (Ben Dunn and Kevin Gunstone) but I’d like to hear your take on it. What did you think of the MANGAVERSE when it came out? And, in your opinion, what was it about the MANGAVERSE and the way it was run that ultimately led to it’s demise X months after it’s launch? Also, of the MANGAVERSE titles, did you like or dislike any particular title related to it’s launch month? If so why?

ND: Honestly, I didn't read much in the way of the Mangaverse at the time. We worked with C.B. Cebulski afterwards and if our experience is anything to judge by, I'd guess that any failures on the part of the mangaverse came from interference from above, which prevented C.B. from doing what he set out to do. But honestly, I don't know the details professionally and wasn't very familiar with the books as a reader.

Rasmussen : Speaking of manga (and anime) I take it both of you are into the genre. If possible can you each tell us your favorite anime/mangas and (if any) are there any series the two of you are… hmm… not on the most even terms with (one likes something the other is most disagreeable with)?

CW: I am not as familiar with anime as I am with manga. Though I've both seen and read Neon Genesis Evangelion. I enjoyed that series quite a bit. We've adapted several series for Del Rey and through doing that work I discovered I was quite a fan of both Kitchen Princess and Kagetora. But I also like Inu-Yasha, Maison Ikkoku and Fushigi-Yugi.

ND: My manga education is an ongoing one, so any recommendations are always welcome. I think my favorites are similar to Christina's - Inu Yasha and Fushigi-Yugi and, as a change of pace, the romantic hijinks of Maison Ikkoku. I also like One Piece. It's a fun sort of silliness, something that's missing in American comics. As Christina said, the manga adaptation of Evangelion was something we enjoyed. And I've found that I quite like the manga version of Suikoden III, despite that game being my least favorite in the Suikoden series. I'm not as well versed in anime. I quite liked Evangelion, though the ending left me scratching my head a bit. I am more familiar with animated movies, of which my favorite is My Neighbor Totoro. I think I want to check out Cowboy Bebop, in all its forms, next.

Rasmussen : As a fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion (the manga) did you hear about the one time attempt to make a live action Evangelion movie (which the sfx group WETA was supposed to have been involved with) which seems to have fallen apart in pre-production? If so, in your opinion, was this a timely project or was it always doomed to failure (attempting to take Evangelion and turn it into a movie, possibly a Lord of the Rings style series of “epic” movies)? Also do you think there’ll ever be a time when we’ll see a successful live action adaptation of an manga/anime production (the presently in production AstroBoy movie for instance possibly being one of those movies?)

ND: I think that time is coming. I'm not sure which production will do it, but something's going to be made that really clicks with the audience, and then Hollywood will do what Hollywood does - which is try to duplicate the success. And then the floodgates will be opened to a lot of manga adaptations, both good and bad. Also, I think LOTR showed Hollywood that epic can work. But it's still costly, and there will always be caution in adapting properties for live action that require too much in terms of effects and extras and the like. And with LOTR, the audience was more of a known quantity to Hollywood. I think the industry still hasn't grasped the size of the manga audience or the fact that it's growing (I think) in the U.S.

Rasmussen : Take us back to the beginnings of Seven Seas. The company is just coming online and it’s first four launch titles (one of which being Amazing Agent Luna) launch for the first time. Tell us about the work that went into the first days, weeks and months of the company as it came online, and when you both realized that the company was beginning to gel with it’s readership and picking up momentum.

CW: Being part of Seven Seas from the beginning has really been quite exciting. We're friends with Dallas Middaugh, one of the founders of the company and met Jason DeAngelis through him. But consequently, we used to hear Dallas talk about wanting his own company long before Seven Seas existed. Seeing the company come together and watching the website grow and develop was both fascinating and exciting. The company has really blossomed. Dallas has left, and Jason has made it his own. His ambition and how well he's executed the expansion of the company are very impressive. The website was where we realized how well Seven Seas had tapped into its potential audience. It's so well designed, you really get a sense that the company knows its audience and how to connect directly with them.

Rasmussen : You worked on Del Rey’s Guru Guru Pon Chan, right? Well as it turns out that title is up for a Best of 2006 Award this year in our yearly Best of Awards (Best Manga Series, rivaled by top runner DearS). What is it about this particular title you think appeals to readers, and (while we’re at it) if you could speak out to the people who are voting what would you say to sway votes towards that title?

ND: People love dogs. People also tend to like romances with huge obstacles. The combination seems to strike a chord with people, both in Japan and now, it seems, in America. As a dog lover, I understand that draw. As to speaking to the voters, I think I'd let them decide. Although, I could say to them... 'but think of the puppies.'

Rasmussen : And, while on this topic, any words to sway votes towards Destiny’s Hand (up for Best AmeriManga of 2006 title)?

CW: Arrr... vote for Destiny's Hand or we'll make you walk the plank!

Rasmussen : (holds up Egg Timer of Improbability) Don’t make me summon the Scottish kilt wearing giant space pirate monkeys.

ND: I'd like to add that Mel Calingo's art alone makes the book worth voting for. We're proud of the work we did on the book, but he's the one who brings it to life, and I'd love to see his work on the book get major recognition.

Rasmussen : Speaking of Destiny’s Hand, your second title out of Seven Seas, how did that come about? What inspired a pirate title?

ND: I love pirates. I always wanted to tell a pirate story. One time, the two of us went to Disneyland with some friends and when we came off the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, a friend and I spent the rest of the day talking in pirate-speak. We imagined what pirate mechanics, pirate literary agents, pirate janitors, pirate lawyers, and pirate astronauts would sound like. Christina so came to hate my pirate voice, that I persuaded her to write a pirate book just by promising not to talk as a pirate while we wrote it.

CW: Not that I wouldn't have wanted to tell a pirate story. I just really wanted him to stop talking like a pirate. As for the idea behind Destiny's Hand, both Nunzio and I are gamers (of the dice and paper variety). And since Nunz has this love of pirates, he wanted to craft a game in the pirate world. So I developed a character who later morphed into Olivia and the plot of the game morphed into the plot of Destiny's Hand. Sadly, the game never got off the ground. But Destiny's Hand is a great creative substitute for us! Oh, and how could you work for a company called Seven Seas and not do a pirate story.

Rasmussen : Was the incident with Mr. DeFilippis pirate accent really that bad? Also, odd question, when you saw the Pirates of the Caribbean ride was it PRE or POST it’s PC-ification (aka it’s Political Correctness-ification)? (Hint : Women were not being sold into slavery and so forth)

CW: In small doses, his pirate accent is amusing. But after eight hours... it's like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer. As for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, I have been on it pre and post PCization and pre and post movieization. To be 100% correct, the women sold into slavery part was not changed. Everywhere else in the town, the men used to chase the women for some undefined sexual reason. Now the women carry food and the men chase them supposedly to get the food. I find the whole thing kind of silly. After all, the pirate period was not a pretty period and women were sold into slavery and they were captured by pirates and raped. I guess they don't want small children to see that, but it's not like they were showing something sexist and untrue.

Rasmussen : They kept the women being sold into slavery part? Guess they didn’t go through removing it as I once heard they were going to. Anyway since you developed the character of Olivia (Destiny’s Hand) can you walk us through her creation from first concept to final version that appears in print? How much did she change as a character from her inception to how she ended up in the first volume of the manga?

CW: Well, for starters, when I first conceived of her, her name was Andrea (pronounced Ahn-dray-a). But Jason read it as the more traditional pronunciation of Ann-dree-a and said it didn't sound very pirate-y. He was right and there's no way to force the reader to pronounce it one way or the other. We also needed to lower her age to make the story feel more manga. So she went from a woman in her early twenties to a sixteen year old girl. But she was always meant to be the daughter of a wealthy family who yearned for a more exciting life. And I think the final change was that as originally conceived, Andrea/Olivia was one of a handful of people who was going to run the ship. In the manga, Olivia needed to be the star of the story. So while there's still a handful of people let in on the Captain's secret, it's Olivia's destiny to inherit the ship and the legacy of Destiny's Hand.

Rasmussen : Speaking of Pirates or Ninjas I guess you might have heard of Antartic’s title that exploits this “debate”, mainly “PIRATES Vs. NINJAS” (or was it “NINJAS Vs. PIRATES”)… anyway what do you think of this as an actual manga title (hokey gimmick or interesting premise) and do you think it’ll fly (salewise) when it’s all said and done and the sales total from the series run is finally in?

ND: Well, I think people love ninjas and people love pirates, so putting them together would make good sense, marketing-wise. I could see how some might see it as over the top or gimmicky, but in the end, it'll depend on execution. Seems gimmicky at first glance, but if done well, it could be great.

Rasmussen : One of the promotionals used to hype the series is a comparision to Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean series. However if you were to convince, say, detractors against the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise that might have been turned off by the comparision, that Destiny’s Hand is worth their time checking out what would you say to change their minds?

ND: Well, while I understand thinking the second movie had flaws (though it was still a lot of fun), I'd first like to say that the first Pirates movie was way better than a movie based on a silly ride has any right to be. But since I'm not trying to convince anyone to like that movie, I can certainly talk about how Destiny's Hand is different. Pirates has a silliness to it. It's very tongue in cheek. The action sequences have real threats to them, but there's still this wink and a nudge that's always at play, a sense that the movie is saying "aren't pirates silly?" We're not trying to tell a silly story. We put comedy in the characters and some of the beats. But the story is at heart a swashbuckling action tale. And another added benefit for the doubters is that we're trying to tell a tale that has a dash of shojo to go with the shonen. Olivia is a pirate in the true butt-kicking sense, but we've crafted this story with a love triangle in mind, and it is, in a tiny sense, also a romance tale. Because what's more romantic than piracy?

Rasmussen : The romance aspect of Destiny’s Hand, how does that shape up as Volume 2 (and upcoming volumes) come forth? In what form will the romantic aspect and the love triangle aspect of the title show itself in the title, and how will it play into the overall plot of the story?

CW: Well, it's not really a full blown love triangle yet. Certainly not in Olivia's eyes. Elias is a pain in her neck and while the flirty banter is there, she would never in a million years consider him in a romantic light. Michel represents the life Olivia left behind. I think she's shocked at times to discover how much she actually likes him (for someone who represents a repressed, stuffy wealthy life). But as the story progresses, part of the reason Elias stays on the quest is because of how intrigued he is by Olivia. And as he learns to adapt to life on the sea, Olivia may come to see him in a new light. And while Olivia and Michel's lives seem to be on different paths, the quest for the Devil's Eye will keep bringing Michel back into her life. So expect things to get complicated down the line.

Rasmussen : The figurehead of Lady Kate, without revealing too much just how much of the spirit of Lady Kate resides within the figurehead? (To what level of sentience is the figurehead as a “living” entity), and how will that play into later volumes of the series?

CW: Ooh, tough question to answer because that is a major story point in Volume 2. So suffice it to say that Lady Kate is an important character and you will have all (or most of) your questions answered with Volume 2. And of course, since Lady Kate's job is to protect Destiny's Hand, she'll play heavily into future volumes.

Rasmussen : Sometimes creators write friends, acquintances and familiar people into their titles (intentionally or unintentionally). In retrospect have you noticed any characters from Destiny's Hand fall into that category, if so can you give any examples?

ND: Not in Destiny's Hand, honestly. We've put our friends Greg Rucka and Jen Van Meter into our Oni books. They are characters in PAST LIES, and Greg's name is used in THREE STRIKES. Plus, we've done a little of it with our X-Men work. A combo of Greg and Jen's names is on a headstone at the cemetary for fallen X-Men and X-students. And we named one of the students after a different friend - the kid Quill got his name from our friend Jordan Maxwell (the character's name was Maxwell Jordan, and like our friend, he was a bit of a wiseass).

Rasmussen : Is there any particular character in the book that one of you likes writing for the most? If so which character to do you like working on the most (and why)?

CW: I like writing for Olivia the most, I think. But Elias is probably a close second. In particular I enjoy writing Olivia's interaction with Elias. She loves to give him a hard time. And he's barely able to fight back. But he's learning. And in Volume 2, Elias is trying to learn to hold his own against the other crew members.

ND: I like Olivia the most, I think. She really does give the book it's spirit. But Owen is fun. How can you not like a drunken writer? And, lastly, I've grown quite fond of Michel as we've worked on the story. We keep expanding his role, and I think that's because the romance has allowed us to see how cool a character he is. He's the straight and narrow life that Olivia left behind... and yet, he is entirely likeable, and even a viable romantic option.

Rasmussen : Amazing Agent Luna. Describe it abit to our readers who may not be familiar with the title, and what we can expect from the title when it’s 4th Volume releases in the coming months.

ND: Amazing Agent Luna is the story of a genetically engineered 16 year old secret agent named Luna. Born in a lab, raised in isolation and trained to harness her above-average strength and agility to defend her country, Luna is a perfect secret agent. But as adolescence sets in, all the emotional development she missed during training starts to hurt her. Her moods swing, her insecurities flare up. And at just that time, her bosses learn that the evil Count Von Brucken, leader of the rogue nation of Bruckenstein, has some mysterious plan involving a special High School in New York. Luna is sent in undercover with her stern control agent and caring psychiatrist posing as her parents. And once there, all her teen emotions flare up as she makes friends and rivals, and develops a crush on Von Brucken's mysterious son, Jonah.

CW: Volume 4 is the next to last volume in what we see as the first Agent Luna story. It will bring all the plot threads to the forefront and really force Luna to step up and be ready for Von Brucken's endgame. Volume 4 also changes the nature of Luna and Jonah's relationship. A lot. We learn more about Francesca and Oliver. It's going to set the stage for a big exciting finish in Volume 5.

Rasmussen : When you mention there’ll be a big finish in Amazing Agent Luna Volume 5 does this imply that the series will end there, or will there be a Volume 6 afterwards? (Or is this something only reading Volume 5 will answer?)

CW: The story ends in Volume 5. We're hoping to relaunch Amazing Agent Luna with a second series - her second year in high school. There would be a new mystery, a new big bad and lots of the same hijinx and intrigue!

Rasmussen : Of Amazing Agent Luna or Destiny’s Hand which do you see first as a title that’ll eventually inspire A) a video game, B) a spinoff manga, C) a animated OAV series and D) a live action movie? (And why you came to the conclusion you came to?)

ND: I'm very proud of both stories and would love to see either of them find success in another medium - not just for the financial benefits of such a deal, but because I want to see both stories hit wider and different audiences. I think Destiny's Hand might make a better video game, but I could probably think of ways both could be video games. Both could be animated series. I think Luna would be an easier sell on that front because I think most producers think male when they think pirate. Both would work as a live action movie, but both would have problems with Hollywood producers, because they don't tend to think of telling stories centered around teenaged girls. I think DH might be an easier sell, solely on the success of Pirates of the Caribbean. But maybe not. Maybe execs would think it too derivative, so who knows? And as for spin-off manga... we've discussed that with Jason, so stay tuned. Both stories have endings in mind, and both lend themselves to sequel stories. But we've actually discussed a side-story for one of them, and that seems fun.

Rasmussen : In retrospect, if Destiny's Hand did become a game what kind of work would you have done to expand on it that would have differed from what's your doing now with it? (What directions would you have taken the series in game form as opposed to what you're doing now as a manga?)

CW: I'm not sure we'd have to do too much differently. I think we'd extend the quest for the map pieces because that makes a great backbone to hang a videogame story on. It's goal driven and allows for many stops along the way in a variety of ports. Then once in a port, you could introduce various subquests a player would have to complete before moving on to the next stop. I think the manga would have stayed the same. But you could add extra supporting characters and sidestory in the game.

Rasmussen : A day in your lives. What would a typical day of work be like for the both of you?

ND: We work at home and make our own schedule, and for a while we saw that as an excuse to get up late and have a pretty formless day. But we realized we're much more productive (and have more energy) if we live our life with a schedule. So we get up at about 8 in the morning (still late compared to working people, but early for stay at home writer types) and spend an hour or so waking up, getting our heads together. For Christina, that means watching TiVoed favorites. For me, it's browsing the web. Then we head to the gym for a couple of hours (we walk to and from the gym, so that's part of the time right there). Once back, we shower, eat lunch and start our workday. We have no set hours of work per day, but rather make sure we do the amount of work we set out for ourselves - a few scenes or even a chapter of a manga, a breakdown for a comic issue, 10 or so pages of a film script, whatever we're working on. If we do that fast enough, we may try to quickly jump to something else, and some days our agenda has multiple projects on it to start with. But once we hit what we were aiming for, we continue for as long as the energy is with us, and then we get on to our evening. When our workload is light, we do everything together. We plot stories together, break them down together, and then write them together. But when we're busy, we'll split up the actual writing (we still plot and break it down together). One person will sit and do the initial work, then turn the document over to the other for a second pass/rewrite/edit/whatever's needed. If the workload's crazy (as it has been lately), we whip out the backup laptop and each does the first pass on one project, and then we switch projects and each does the second pass on the other's work. This is the fastest way to work for us, but if time allows it, we prefer working as a team all the time.

Rasmussen : There is a mention of working on film scripts these days? Any chance of getting any hints (without revealing too much) as to any film scripts your working on now?

CW: We're doing a screenplay adaptation of another person's comic. I'm not sure I can mention too much about it right now. But the original material was a short story that was really more of a set-up or a premise for a great movie. So we've had to flesh out the story, add characters and really put it into shape for a film format. It's been a lot of work, but it's been fun as well.

Rasmussen : Working together as a team instead of as individual creators. What are the advantages of working as a pair instead of individually? Also does this have it’s drawbacks as well as it’s advantages (how do you solve, for example, a disagreement between the two of you over certain points in, say, a particular story which you two both want to see written in different ways)?

CW: Working together as a team has been almost entirely advantageous - or else we wouldn't still be doing it. It's great in the plotting stages to have someone to bounce ideas off of and work through a problem when the proverbial writer's block hits. Also, having someone else around is a good motivator. Some days you may not feel like sitting down at the computer and you partner can either give you a pep talk (or guilt trip) to get you working. Or else they can step in and carry the load that day. It's also good to have an extra pair of eyes. Writing alone is like writing in a vacuum. You can travel all the way down a road and not realize that what you're doing isn't working until it's too late. Having another person means having another perspective. Someone to say "hey, maybe that's not the best way to go." As for drawbacks, you hit on the one major one. What do you do when you disagree? It's been our policy not to move forward until we find a solution that works for both parties. You never want to feel like the other one is just caving in for expediency's sake. So sometimes, the writing process gets slowed down for long drawn out discussions (or fights). But I'm happy to say that in pretty much all cases it has ultimately led to a better story.

Rasmussen : Dammit… now I want a writing partner… or a hug… I always want one of those… something… (sniffle)… uh, sorry, don’t mind me being all like this and all, anyway you spoke of an untitled video game seeking a name and a release date. Can you tell us what genre this game is (FPS, RPG, Puzzler, Survival Horror, etc), a little about what the game is about and what console you are planning to release the game on (PC, PS3, XBox360, PSP, etc)? Also why is it the game still doesn’t have either a title or a release date when it seems to be hinted at being (from my guesswork) mostly complete at this date?

ND: The videogame is on our old bio, and we can't bring ourselves to take it out. But here's the story. We were brought in (along with a fellow writer who's also a friend) to break down the story for a game for Sony. They had an action game that they wanted to give a movie-style and movie-quality script. We signed a non-disclosure agreement when we did so, and that's why we are never able to talk about it. But once the story was approved, our friend went on to his other projects, and Christina and I started writing the script. During the writing and rewrites, the producer changed the story, making it less movie and more video game. It wasn't a bad process, but they made it less of what we brought to it, and more of what it was before we got to it. Then, we delivered the final draft, and went to see them do some of the motion capture work. It was cool, we were very excited. And then, suddenly, the producer stopped e-mailing us. And our e-mails and calls went unreturned. Soon we learned he'd left Sony. And after much wrangling with Sony for an answer, we heard the game was shelved when he did. So we wrote a script, and were paid, but it will likely never come out. And because of the NDA, we can't even talk about the story or the cool casting it had or anything like that. Oh, well. We got paid, and it was a great learning experience.

Rasmussen : Without revealing too much, can you give up a bit of a hint as to what we can expect from Destiny’s Hand Volume 2 when it releases?

ND: The crew has one of the four pieces of the map. They now need to locate the other three. Plus, we explore the personal connection between Mulgrew and the Devil's Eye. And, there's a traitor on the ship, someone who starts tipping the crew of the Kraken to Destiny's Hand's every move. I think that gives enough teasers, right?

Rasmussen : 2007. What do we have to look forward to in terms of upcoming releases from the both of you this coming year?

CW: We've got two issues of DC's Checkmate (#11 & #12) coming out in a few months. Both of those were co-written with Greg Rucka. We've got Volume 4 of Amazing Agent Luna and Volume 2 of Destiny's Hand coming in late spring or early summer. We're starting a sequel to our Oni book Past Lies, but the release date hasn't been scheduled yet. So I wouldn't expect that before the end of this year. Plus, we've got another exciting Oni project that we're working on that we're not allowed to talk about yet. Hopefully, Oni will be making an announcement about it in the next few months. Plus, we're working on the film script, though if anything happens with that, it won't be this year. So it should be a fairly busy year for us.

Rasmussen : Any final words for our readers?

CW: I'd ask everyone to either keep checking out Seven Seas books or, if they aren't (but still read this interview) start checking them out. The company is putting a very high level of quality into American-made and internationally-made manga. There are so many genres at work there, there's likely to be at least one book that'll change what people think about manga that's not from Japan.

ND: A question I heard a lot for a while is: pirates or ninjas. Christina and I don't have to choose. We work with both (if Luna counts as a ninja. If not, well, we do the adaptation on Kagetora, so it's still true). If you can say you have pirates AND ninjas in your life, you know you're living well.

-- David Rasmussen 1st Mar 07