When I first heard about David Tischman and Glenn Fabry’s Greatest Hits, a six-issue Vertigo miniseries that offers a mixture of pop culture and superheroes, I was intrigued by the concept: “Meet the Mates! They’re the greatest super team of all time, straight out of England and into our hearts: Crusader, The Solicitor, Vizier and Zipper. But who are the heroes behind the mania? How did they meet? And what’s next for The Mates?” After reading the first two issues, I was hooked and more than pleased when Vertigo’s Pamela Mullin arranged an email interview with Tischman about the project. I caught up with the writer of the series a few weeks ago. This week marks the release of the miniseries’ third issue in which: “Private lives and public expectations are tearing the Mates apart. Crusader reveals a hip, ’70s-style island HQ in hopes of keeping the heroes together. But it’s a call from space that rallies the team. Back in the present day, Nick and Ethel discover a 35-year-old secret hidden among the lunch boxes and action figures of the world’s biggest collection of Mates memorabilia.” My thanks to Mullin for her assistance and Tischman for his time.
Tim O’Shea: While the Beatles serve as an inspiration, did you fear using the most popular band ever as a springboard for the larger tale?
David Tischman: The Mates aren’t the Beatles. The Mates are the world’s greatest and best-loved super-team of all time. The Mates do occupy the same space in our pop-culture Hall of Fame that the Beatles have, but there was never any concern the two groups would be compared.
O’Shea: Vertigo is not typically the line for superhero tales–how did this land at Vertigo as opposed to Wildstorm?
Tischman: I look at Vertigo as a place for smart, creator-owned material. I never think about it beyond that. If the idea is good, it finds a home. “Greatest Hits” is a good idea, and it’s something Shelly Bond at Vertigo really got into. Thankfully, Karen Berger was on board when she first heard the pitch, and she and Shelly have both been incredibly supportive on the project. Vertigo does allow for mature themes, and there is a lot of adult language and drug use and some pretty heavy sex stuff in “Greatest Hits,” but all of it is part of the story — in some cases, especially in terms of the drug use by some of the characters, the adult themes were necessary for the story. And by the way, I love Wildstorm. I’m doing a creator-owned book there now, and it’s been a dream working with Scott Peterson. But that book’s not a super-hero story, so go figure.
O’Shea: How pleased are you to be able to step away from your successful writing collaboration with Howard Chaykin and definitely find you own singular writing voice in this new miniseries? What was the best lesson that Chaykin instilled in your writing?
Tischman: Howard and I haven’t written together for a while now — I think the last thing we did together was the BITE CLUB sequel, “Bite Club SVU.” And I’ve written on my own in comics before, “Fraction” at DC, and “Cable” at Marvel, and a ton of “Star Trek” stuff at IDW, so this isn’t my first time out on my own. But I do think “Greatest Hits” is the best thing I’ve written; it certainly is the project that is most what I want to be writing. On the Wildstorm project, too — I really feel like the writing is finding its way. But back to Howard. Howard taught me how to write comics, and I wouldn’t be doing this without him. The two things Howard taught me that are the most important are how to pace an issue — that the page is the unit — and the other thing is to hit a problem head-on; meaning, if you’re plotting out a story and you hit a logic problem, “if we go down street “A” it’s going to cause problem “B.” Howard taught me to embrace the problem, to actually make that problem part of the plot. That gives you some of the best character stuff, when you do that.
O’Shea: What qualities are brought to your story by having Glenn Fabry on art? And in terms of the visual tone of the tale, how was the art boosted by the addition of inker Gary Erskine in issue 3?
Tischman: How can you go wrong with Glenn Fabry? The guy is a fantastic artist. The work on “Greatest Hits” has been amazing. The great thing about Glenn is, he can make a stripper on a pole sexy as Hell, then give you an incredible action sequence. The Mates are British and so’s Glenn, so that’s an added bonus. He understands where these heroes came from, and all the period reference. It makes it all more authentic. Gary Erskine adds a fine-tuned finish to Glenn’s pencils, especially in Issue #3, when the Mates take up residence on their island headquarters. Gary’s work is terrific, it’s seamless over Glenn’s pencils and keeps a visual continuity. Take a look at #3 and let me know what you think.
O’Shea: When I think of Beatles-inspired documentary storytelling, Python fan that I am, I think of the Rutles. For your fictional documentary tale, how much did you try to go for laughs–or did you intentionally avoid such going with a comedic tone with this miniseries?
Tischman: Dirk, Stigg, Nasty and Barry — the pre-Fab Four. The Rutles are great. But they’re not the Mates, either. There are some very funny moments in “Greatest Hits.” Some of the dialogue in Issue #1, when Golem quits the team, and in the wax museum in Issue #2 and with Zipper at an AA meeting. It’s not ha-ha funny, but good, fun comedy does come out of the characters, sometimes when you least expect it.
O’Shea: In attempting to tell a tale with flashbacks, how hard is it to juggle the balance of present day narrative with a mixture of storytelling flashbacks?
Tischman: The flashbacks are hard. There’s so much I wanted to get in there, and each time you go back — is it going to be news footage, or a home movie, or something personal? Each time, the flashback needs to move the story forward, but it has to seem very casual. You can’t know how the future’s going to perceive the present, you know? It’s all just happening now, and those scenes need to feel casual.
O’Shea: Can you point to any kind of pop culture easter eggs (nods to the eras the story is set in) that have occurred in the first two issues?
Tischman: We have the meeting of the two heroes, Crusader and Solicitor, in Issue #1, which is a similar situation to how Paul and John came together to form the band. In Issue #2, we deal with the British Invasion — although most people concentrate on the Beatles landing at JFK, it really represents the entire British Invasion. You’ll see more in Issue #4 and some very funny events will seem familiar in Issue #5.
O’Shea: Was there plot and character exploration that you had to leave out, for example would you have explored Golem’s conflict between being a loyal family man versus his desire to be the hero?
Tischman: Sure. Absolutely. I really wanted to have the team hold open auditions for the rest of the team — see a ton of heroes lined-up around the block. It was a much different way of introducing Zipper. And I very much wanted to explore the Solicitor-Soul Sister relationship. There were other scenes, too, and other talking heads commenting on the action. A lot of stuff that more closely tied the story to events that happened in the music industry. At the same time, though, the good stuff is what ends up on the page — I really believe that. Like I said, this is a killer book, and I love the way it turned out. From where I sit now, I wouldn’t change a thing.
O’Shea: Am I off, or is there a MAD magazine vibe for the cover of issue 2?
Tischman: You’re wrong. The cover to Issue #2 is Glenn’s way of demonstrating the intense fan reaction to the Mates — and a way of maintaining that parallel with the music industry and how our super-heroes act like rock stars.
O’Shea: Not every comic can claim that Todd Klein did the letters–how did you land him on the book?
Tischman: Todd’s lettered some of my other projects, but snagging him for “Greatest Hits” is all Shelly Bond. That woman pays attention to details. It’s great, though, because Todd is the perfect letterer for this book. And such a nice man! Really, like the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. He likes “Greatest Hits” and I think it shows — the varied styles of lettering, especially in Issue #1 — you can tell he’s having a good time and enjoying the material. We’re lucky to have him, and his eye works great with the different flashbacks and the switching scenery.
O’Shea: Do you hope this project leads to more work with Vertigo–and/or what else is on the horizon for you?
Tischman: I love it up at Vertigo, and I look forward to working with Shelly and Karen again. The Wildstorm book’s up next. And I’ve got some proposals in — a couple of OGN ideas, and some other cool stuff. I’ve got a fun job, y’know?