Yesterday we saw Kelly Sue Deconnick interview Paul Tobin on PROMETHEUS: FIRE AND STONE. To continue our series of interviews on the event, we have Paul Tobin switching gears and asking Chris Roberson some questions about ALIENS: FIRE AND STONE. The series was written by Roberson with art by Patric Reynolds.
PAUL TOBIN: So, we matched up a lot of characters in our Fire & Stone crossover series, if you could have moved one more character (or character group) into it, who would it have been, and why? The A-Team? King Kong? Captain Nemo?
CHRIS ROBERSON: Just one? Probably Gilligan from Gilligan’s Island. But if I’d had free reign, I would have brought over the Skipper, the Millionaire and his wife, the Movie Star and all the rest…
PT: We had a big "round table" writing method for coming up with the crossover's "skeleton." What were the pluses and minuses of working that way for you? Did you ever just want to jump up and hug someone? Was it Sebela? Did you ever want to punch someone? Was it me?
CR: I thought it was a really interesting, and entertaining, experience. My process is normally pretty solitary, and aside from brainstorming sessions with collaborators like Dennis Culver on EDISON REX, most of my plotting and outlining is just me alone in a room, talking out loud to myself. So getting the chance to talk out loud to a room full of smart people, all of whom happened to be friends of mine, was a nice change.
But as for jumping up and punching someone? Sorry to say it was you, my friend. I had a GENIUS idea (admittedly, I don’t even recall now what it was), and you dismissed it out of hand, and I took great umbrage. As I recall, I shouted obscenities at you in the moment, so it wasn’t as though I kept my feelings on the matter a secret, in my meager defense.
PT: What would you consider to be the greater influence on your writing for the series? The movies? Previous comics? Something else?
CR: Oh, the movies, definitely. I’ve enjoyed the comics in the past, played the video games, and generally been a big fan of the Aliens franchise in general. But here I wanted to go back to the source, and drink directly from the faucet.
PT: If you could be an extra in the movies, would you rather be slaughtered by a Xenomorph or a Predator? Why?
CR: Oh, a Predator, definitely. Because they’ll just kill you, usually in some quick and visually innovative way. Xenomorphs will cocoon you in their mucous and plant their babies in your chest. That doesn’t sound like much fun to me.
PT: It's hard to believe we humans are alone in the universe. Do the thoughts of alien civilizations scare you, or excite you?
CR: I don’t believe that we are alone in the universe, no. But we have apple evidence from human history about what happens when two “alien” civilizations come into contact with one another, and the results haven’t always been pretty. I think I prefer knowing that they’re way out there somewhere, and that we won’t be encountering them in my lifetime. It’s safer, that way.
Look for the ALIENS: FIRE AND STONE TPB on sale May 13, 2015. Let your local comic shop know to order a copy for you. Be sure to come back tomorrow for our third installment with Chris Roberson chatting with Chris Sebela. Here's some pages from ALIENS: FIRE AND STONE.
