Dave Gibbons interview

[skurvy]

This is a good read with some intriguing comments regarding the Rogue Trooper movie...

https://www.tcj.com/topic/dave-gibbons/

[Colin YNWA]

Oh it does really imply that things are moving on. Interesting.

[broodblik]

Quite interesting what Dave said about Rogue Trooper or rather Gerry. That is not the first time that someone said that his work was not polished but at least he regretted his action.

[Jim_Campbell]

This is a good read with some intriguing comments regarding the Rogue Trooper movie...

That's a really good interview. I've only met Dave once (briefly) and he comes across as the same really nice bloke that this interview gives the impression of.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Yes, he's always seemed a really nice guy.  A nice antidote to Alan Moore's cantankerousness, though I must say I find Alan Moore as a person endlessly funny, thought-provoking and entertaining.  I don't think there was any animosity about Dave keeping his name on the Watchmen film, unless I'm mistaken?

Anyway, it's very satisfying to know that someone who had their comics confiscated and burned by his authorities went on to create possibly the most important comic series in history, and to help convince the critics that comics could be literature too.  And he doesn't even seem remotely smug about it. I would be.

[Marbles]

Thanks for posting that, good interview

[Barrington Boots]

That is a truly excellent interview from a guy who always comes across classily.

I always thought with War Machine that the idea was going to be that instead of the actual biochips, Friday would still have his old mates with him but more 'in spirit' / in his mind - so rather than have Lucky on a chip embedded in his backpack he'd have Lucky's backpack and would be able to have a conversation with an imagined version of him, sort of thing: a crazier, more introverted take on Rogue. There's no evidence whatsoever that Dave Gibbons thought the same thing though, wishful thinking perhaps.

His comments on AI feel worryingly prophetic.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I'm pretty sure that WAS the idea behind the War Machine. I'm guessing it was a kind of 'one-and-done' reboot for Dave Gibbons - anything that came after was nothing to do with him or any plans he may have had for the character.  He specifically says in that interview that he didn't like the biochips.

Personally I thought The War Machine was excellent, and all attempts afterwards to change the character back into the original Rogue were at best convoluted, and at worst boring.  TWM ended perfectly.

SPOILERS:



It also had a very nice but scary Planet of the Apes style globally-scaled twist at the end, though this bit of continuity seems to have gone the way of Friday's personality after Mike Fleischer and co took over. 

[Barrington Boots]

Totally agree with everything you say there JBC. I would have far preferred that idea to the horrible post-WM mess we did get, which contributed in part to me ditching the Prog altogether for decades.

[IndigoPrime]

War Macine's an odd one for me. I recall liking it a lot at the time, so it was clearly well pitched for the audience of its era. But when I re-read it in the Hachette book, I wasn't that keen to the point I later sold off the copy I'd bought. I didn't feel the need to read it again in collected form.

That said, I did like the aim of trying to make Rogue Trooper less... hokey? It always felt a bit naff to me. It just so happens the guy that gets shot and put into the backpack is called Bagman! What luck! IDW's take quite neatly got around this, with a joke being that even Rogue's moniker was a nickname (that he didn't seem to like) bestowed on him by others post-Quartz Zone.

Nice to know the movie's not dead too.

[Le Fink]

Great interview, thanks for posting. I like that Terra-Meks is one of his fondest memories, it's excellent.

[JayzusB.Christ]

It just so happens the guy that gets shot and put into the backpack is called Bagman! What luck!

I remember one original Rogue story that began to explain where they got their names. Gunnar, see, was good at shooting before he died. Rogue was always a bit of a maverick.  And ... No, that was all we got.

[Jim_Campbell]

Gunnar, see, was good at shooting before he died. Rogue was always a bit of a maverick.  And ... No, that was all we got.

...Bagman was always emptying his sack, and Helm was... no, even I can't do a helmet gag,* here.

*Don't google "helmet gag".

[JayzusB.Christ]

... And Major Magnam had a moustache like Tom Selleck's.

[Funt Solo]

I remember one original Rogue story that began to explain where they got their names. Gunnar, see, was good at shooting before he died. Rogue was always a bit of a maverick.  And ... No, that was all we got

Milli-Com Memories.

I just looked, and Helm has a habit of always wearing a helmet, even when nobody else is. Nothing for Bagman, though. He's curious about locked doors is it, really. Nothing about bags.

All their names also start with the same letter as their designation. Bagman is Trooper B, etc. Say what you like about GFD - he went all-in on the silly naming conventions. No blushing, no prevaricating - all in. Boom!

---

Also: there's this dialogue: "I can see she's packed my capsule with extra shock protection! Mmm. I must've made quite an impression on her!"

Mmm.