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An Interview with Shon C. Bury
by Paul Dale Roberts


Q: What was the first comic book you ever read?
A: Probably Conan, but I remember some of my Mom's friends giving me a stack of comics that included Master of Kung-Fu, Warlord, ROM and Astonishing Tales. I was six. I was hooked.

Q: How did you get started writing and how did you get started in the comic book industry?
A: I had won some Young Author awards in grade school, not even realizing that I was writing really. A friend of mine told me--as we were riding our bicycles to the comic shop--that I should think about writing comics. I was twelve. The seed was planted. I worked primarily on my prose for years thinking I wanted to be a novelist, then one day in my early twenties I decided to go for the comic book thing. Three years later my first pro work was published in Showcase'95, which was probably the worst story I had written at that point. Honestly.
I got involved with WildStorm through a fellow creator, Dan Norton, who had been interning there as a penciler. When it was time for him to get his own book he wanted me to write it. Dan's faith in me--and the voluminous amount of submissions I had been sending WildStorm for the previous two years--helped me land the job. We co-created Black Ops together. Dan's creative instincts are unbelievable.

Q: What kind of stories do you like to tell?
A: All kinds. Though I've been telling mostly paramilitary/geopolitical ones lately. Black Ops is mostly paramilitary and I was working on some stuff at WildStorm that probably won't ever see the light of day in the form I wrote it in that was real geopolitic, shadow cabinet-type stuff. WildStorm's drive to revitalize their core line killed that project--but it will be back! I don't let anything die!
I'd like to do some more straight super-powers stuff like I did in the Cable fill-in issue I wrote. DV8 7 & 8 were nice, but I only got to dialog those issues. I want to do full blown super-slugfests. I'm working on some secret projects write now that span the genres. I'm developing a SciFantasy piece with Star Wars: Soldier for the Empire's Dean Williams; a couple SciFi projects with a Top Secret artist; a tale of Biblical proportions with Mel Rubi; and some Sword & Sorcery stuff with some very, very awesome artists out of Spain. I'm also developing a parapsycology/Millennium project. I'm also dialoging a self- published number called the Unknown for a friend of mine. Right now, I'm all over the board.

Q: Black Ops was a very exciting story, why do you think it ended like it did? Were your fans shocked when they found out Black Ops was canceled?
A: Actually, it wasn't canceled. It was a five-issue miniseries. If you ask me, it was two issues too long. I've become a very big fan of three-issue arcs. Structurally and dramatically it's more sound. Traditional drama and screenplays were/are written this way. I've really been studying my classics and screenplays over the last year, trying to bring my writing to a new level. Substance Over Surface has become my mantra.

Q: What was your involvement with Marvel's Cable and how did you get involved with writing for Cable?
A: I did an inventory story that is something of a closure piece between Cable and Post. A post-Onslaught story (no pun intended). And how I got involved with Cable is great. I met Jeff Loeb, the then-writer of Cable, at a convention we were signing at and gave him a couple copies of Black Ops. Two days later Mark Powers called up with an offer for me to do the fill-in. The great part is that Mark didn't read any of my writing until weeks after he gave me the job. We worked completely from Jeff vouching for me. That either says a lot about Jeff, or it says a lot about Mark. Either way, they're both really great guys. And hubs of energy.

Q: How is it like to work for Wildstorm/Image?
A: Well, I work for WildStorm. And it's great! I've been fortunate in that I've been given a *lot* of creative freedom. More than someone as relatively new as me would normally be given. The editors are really responsive and top-notch. Ruben Diaz and Mike Rockwitz are two of the best editors I've ever worked with. And I've met some of my closest friends in the comic industry through WildStorm: Mel Rubi, Trevor Scott, Sandra Hope, Sean Ruffner. The list goes on and on. To top it off, WildStorm pays good!

Q: The "Mother of All Crossovers" is about to happen. Can you tell us about the upcoming Black Ops/DV8 crossover?
A: Sure, I'll tell you about the Black Ops / DV8 crossover --and then I'll tell you about the Mother of All Crossovers!" (silly little winky insert). All I can say about the upcoming crossover between Black Ops and DV8 is that it is going to be really hot! Dan's penciling has improved a thousand folds and we've worked very hard to deliver a very tight, action-packed story. Very straight forward and fun, and there's super-slugfests! It will be out in Sept and runs three issues. I'm telling you, I have very good feelings about this book. Very good feelings.

Q: Can you tell us about the Lynch story you're involved in?
A: Yeah. Mike Heisler gave me a ring and said that he wanted me to write a WildStorm Spotlight story. He wanted me to write the backstory between Lynch and Helmut, it was in the Amazon, throw in Caroline and Jimmy McArthur (from Gen13 #3-#5) and lets see some ruins. I said, "You want Indiana Jones and the Lost Incan Temple." He said, "Pretty much, and Trevor Scott needs pages in two days and I need solicitation copy by tomorrow morning." I said, "Thank you for the work, and you'll have what you need." Two hours of quick research and some furious typing later I emailed Mike the solicitation copy. The next morning I emailed Trevor Scott (one of the nicest guys I've ever met) the first five pages of The Sword of Viracocha.
When WildStorm Spotlight was canceled--an issue before my book was suppose to be out--they just spun it off into Lynch #1. Anyone looking for Lynch #2, however, will be disappointed. There's none planned.

Q: Can you tell us about how you got involved with the dialogue writing chores for DV8?
A: Warren Ellis and I were the only ones working with the characters at the time. Technically, I was working with them before he was. I had DV8/Black Ops #1 and #2 written before I got my copy of DV8 #1. Imagine my surprise when I found out Copycat had Multiple Personality Disorder! And that they no longer had the same base of operation! Some quick re-writing later, everything was fixed. When Ruben Diaz was hired on at WildStorm he took over all the DV8 books. When Warren's writing schedule got too busy for him to dialog #7 and #8, Ruben thought it logical that I pick up the ball. Hopefully I did a good job.

Q: What are your feelings about the comic book industry (pro & con)?
A: Cons first: There's a lot of junk on the shelves and everyone thinks they're capable of writing/drawing/whatever a comic. Publishers are churning out everything they can to see what sticks, hoping to get those sales of the early- nineties back. Retailers are mostly fans-turned-now-I-get-my-comic-cheap-and-I- can-play-Magic-all-day-and-ignore -my-customers. Readers (and I mean people who purchase comics to *read,* not to invest) are sick of the dreg lining the shelves of the comic shop.
Now the Pros: Because of the poor state of the industry, readers--and I'm sure only the diehard reader is left out there right now--is looking for something new. A light at the end of the dark, dank tunnel. We're sick of the "Next Double Impact meets Spawn Femme Fatal Dark Vengeance" comics that come out every month. "We" being the readers and the creators. I can almost feel an undercurrent in the creative community that's about ready to boil to the surface. Books like Leave It To Chance, Challengers of the Unknown, Sin City, and Dark Cell Chronicles--to name just a few--are real signs of the advent of this change. Like the tip of the ice berg, there's more, much more, beneath the surface. The surface being, of course, what is on the shelves right now.
Further--aren't you glad you opened up this can of worms?--since the Speculative Buyer is all but extinct in this industry (knock on wood), and the current downward spiral of sales is putting the more inept retailers out of business, and in turn, the more inept publishers, which leaves less work for the more inept creators, etc, the industry will be reduced to only those serious about the medium of comics--and those concerned with the industry of comics will be off investing in something else. And this is a GOOD THING. The expression goes: "Things will get worse before they get better," but believe me, things are going to get better.

Q: Is it easy to get into the comic book field? Was it easy for you?
A: I wouldn't say it's easy for anyone. You put your soul into your work and show it to anyone you think can get you work. That in itself is a devastating proposition. It took me about three years to get any type of work rolling in at a consistent rate, and you have to *work* for each of those jobs. My new joke is that I spend as much time looking for work as I do actually working, which isn't funny unless you're in comics and know the feeling.

Q: Are there a lot of egos in the comic book industry? If there are, is it easy to deal with these type of individuals?
A: I've been fortunate not to run into anyone with a really noticeable ego problem. People fight (to varying degrees) for their ideas, people get defensive because that's their soul on that piece of paper, but that's the same whatever your occupation is. But--and this is to you creators with big honkin' heads--why have an ego? You create *comics.* Your work is only immortal till the next ice age, or until the Pacific Coastline falls into the ocean--which ever comes first. And before that happens, you're still just a normal person who happens to do something vaguely remarkable for a living. Pants go on the same whoever you are, so grow up.

Q: What do you think about self-publishing? Will you ever self-publish?
A: I admire the people who can self-publish successfully, because I don't know how they do it. I will never self-publish. I may create a publishing company eventually, but I have no desire to be a one-man show. I like getting my pay checks, I guess.

Q: Have you created your own characters and if you did, who are they and will we ever see them on paper?
A: Dan Norton and I created the Black Ops characters, but they're owned by WildStorm. And as I hinted way up at the beginning of this thing, I have a plethora of comics I'm creating/co-creating that will--eventually--see print. All of which will be published through publishing houses. None of which will be self-published.

Q: How did you feel when you heard that Marvel Comics went Chapter 11?
A: Scared! They owed me money! But I was quickly reassured by Mark Powers that the Revitalization Plan had no effect on the day-to-day side of Marvel's comics. The corporation just tried to acquire too many side businesses. Ever play Risk before?

Q: If you could write for any comic book, what comic book would that be?
A: Uncanny X-Men.

Q: Who are your 3 true life heroes and why?
A: Good question. Are there any heroes in the world today? I think the last of them left the world scene when Yitzak Rabin was assassinated. Survivors of Vietnam who got on with their lives our heroes. Parents who work hard and still find time for their children are heroes. Beyond any of this, I really have no idea. If I do name someone, tomorrow's papers will probably declare him/her the next OJ Simpson.

Q: Who are your 3 fictional comic book heroes and why?
A: Wolverine: Because he searches for the light while consumed by darkness.
Nick Fury: Because he's been fighting the Good Fight for decades, and must be sick as Hell of the corruption of the American Dream. Still he fights on.
Grifter: Because he fought the Good Fight for decades, but got sick as Hell of the corruption of the American Dream. Now he fights for his own reasons.

Q: What are some of your hobbies and what do you do for recreation?
A: Write, read, watch movies, play on the internet and work in my yard. Recreation? I jog, but I do that because my hobbies all involve sitting for long periods of time.

Q: If you had a choice of doing any other job besides comics, what would that job be?
A: Writing screenplays.

Q: Where will you hopefully be 5 years or maybe 10 years from now?
A: Writing comics and screenplays. Maybe a couple books.

Q: Do you feel you left your mark in the comic industry?
A: What?! Hell no! I haven't even begun to scratch yet!

Q: Right now, there are so many people involved in the comic book industry from writers, artists, editors, publishers, website publishers, comic book retailers, newsletter publishers, etc. There was a debate on who is a professional and who is not a professional. Who are the professionals and why? What are your feelings about this?
A: Sounds like an interesting idea for my bi-weekly column. My definition of a comics "professional" is someone who makes his/her sole living by *creating* comics. This does not include retailers (that's insane!). This does not include the receptionist at Ka-Pow Comics. This does not include Fan-Boy #1 who does some sequential fight scenes of stick figures, staples it to together and calls it a comic. It does include publishers and editors (without whom the creation of a comic would be impossible). And obviously comics wouldn't be made without writers, artists, colorists, art directors, letterers, etc.

Q: The term "fanboy" is used a lot in the comic book industry. Does this term have a negative or positive impact on the purchasers of comic books?
A: It's pretty derogative, but if you've ran into a fanboy before...

Q: On virtual comic books: Will comic books of the future all be published someday on-line? Do you think that comic books on the racks will one day disappear?
A: I think eventually everything will be electronically published, but not necessarily online. I don't know about you, but I like to sit back in my easy- chair to do my reading, relax. Unless notepads get pretty powerful and some major advances in wireless telecom come about, trees will still be sacrificed for our art. Then comes the factor of economics. In this age of increasing Haves and Have Nots, is it wise to cater to the much smaller audience of the Haves?

Q: How can we get more women and children reading comic books?
A: Create comics that would interest them. Sorry, but Femme Fatale x-over with Big Gun Merc doesn't appeal to women, and should be locked away from children. Women writers--and pencilers! are increasing in mainstream comics. Women writers have been on the move for decades, creeping slowly but surely, but women pencilers-- to my knowledge--have only been on the move for the last few years. That is very refreshing to see. Women are so much better at capturing certain emotional angles then their male counterparts.

Q: What do you think of the comic books that are sexually oriented?
A: I don't read them and wouldn't allow my child to either, and, as long as the publishers of those comics aren't trying to get my son to read their books, let them do their thing. "Restrict Access, Not Speech" is one of my must adamant mottos. Start being selective with the 1st Ammendment and Pandora's Box is swung wide open.
The only thing I can say about sexually oriented material is that if you aren't interested in it, ignore it. Start screaming about it and you draw attention-- and interest--to it. A great example of this is the movie The Last Temptation of Christ. Horrid movie, but because the zealots starting crying bloody murder, people flocked to go see it.

Q: What do you think of the publishers who use scantily clad models to promote their comic books at conventions?
A: I wonder if I can get the models' phone numbers from them! Sex sells--the original American Maxim. If you want it stopped, read my answer above. Personally, I think it reflects poorly on publishers. Extreme Studios is a good example, solely because their audience was primarily younger readers, and they did a lot of T&A at conventions as well as their books. It will be interesting to see how this is handled in Extreme's new incarnation as Awesome.

Q: Speaking of conventions, what conventions have you been attending and what upcoming conventions will you be at? Will you be at the 1997 San Diego International Comic Book Convention?
A: Throughout the year I only hit conventions around my home, Washington and Oregon. I'll be signing at San Diego--which I do every year. '98 I plan on hitting more conventions, including Heroes and Wonder Con. Until now, I hadn't had the body of work to warrant going to a lot of conventions.

Q: How many comic books do you own?
A: Over 4,000. No doubles.

Q: What are your favorite movies, tv shows and books?
A: Movies: The Star Wars trilogy, the Godfather trilogy, Heat, The Usual Suspects, In the Line of Fire, Jurassic Park, Jerry McGuire and Casablanca...off the top of my head. Ghost in the Shell, Legend of the Lodus Wars, Akira, Wind Ninja and Demon City are some of my favorite Anime.
TV Shows: ST: TNG, X-Files, Millennium, Real Adventures of Jonny Quest. Hmm, that's it. I do like watching the History Channel, though.
Books: The Soul Rider series, Spock's World, Mindstar: Rising, Star Wars: Dark Force Rising, Henry IV, part I, 2010, 1984 and The Scorpion Illusion.

Q: What comic books do you read now?
A: A lot for research and to keep up to speed. Comics I read for enjoyment, however, include: Sin City, Green Arrow, Troublemakers, Turok Quarterly, DV8, X- Man, Espers and The Eternal Warriors. I'm big on Acclaim right now.

Q: What advice do you give the aspiring comic book writer of the future?
A: Don't start bugging editors until you have your craft honed and you want to write about something of *substance.*

Q: What are your dreams and aspirations?
A: To write comics, screenplays, books that people want to read, and re-read. And to provide for my wife and son so that they never want.

Q: Do you write comic books full time or is this a part-time profession?
A: It's been a full-time job for a few months now, but the work's starting to dry up. Got any leads?

Q: Shon, I think I racked your brain enough with this interview and I hope I didn't forget anything, but in case I did, could you please add it on here?
A: I wear boxers.