Earlier, Valiant announced their newest event, BOOK OF DEATH. In it, the future of some of Valiant's biggest heroes will be revealed. Writer Joshua Dysart takes on Toyo Harada and Peter Stanchek and reveals their final confrontation. Dysart talked to us about the upcoming book and his writing process for a large event like BOOK OF DEATH.
COMIC VINE: What is BOOK OF DEATH: THE FALL OF HARBINGER about?
JOSHUA DYSART: It's about the end of the age of the binary Omega mind and the beginning of the Psiot Age. It's about death. And rebirth. It's about all the things that all Books of Death throughout time have always been about.
CV: What can you tell us about the final confrontation between Peter and Harada?
JD: It won't be what you expect it to be. Because having your expectations met is boring.
CV: While there is always a central story, most of your work at Valiant is character-driven storytelling. What attracts you to focusing more on the human experience and relationships within your work?
JD: Plot is a mathematical equation, or a map. It's not the thing itself. Take a sheet of music and look at all of those dashes and dots and bars. It's just a coded document. That's plot. The music itself, the sound that fills the air, that's like character. And how the music is played, the degree of passion and competence that the musician invests in it, well, that's execution. That sheet of paper is the least interesting thing about the music. It's just a delivery method for the character and the execution of the music.
CV: It seems there's a lot of elements from previous Valiant books tying into this like HARBINGER, HARBINGER WARS, as well as IMPERIUM. Considering this is only a one-shot tie-in to the main event, how do you balance so much recent continuity along with telling the story to go along with the event?
JD: I have no idea. Ask a juggler on a unicycle how she does what she does and she'll say "balance and concentration." That's the best I can give you on this one.
CV: Do you find that writing within Valiant's shared universe can be challenging at times, especially with these larger events going on?
JD: Absolutely. Challenges are fun, though. But they're also an outside intention pulling you away from your own plans and explorations. I'm an only child, so that's a tough thing for me sometimes. I do love everyone involved and want to show up and give it my all, so that's where the joy comes from... being a part of something larger than yourself. As you can see, I'm of two minds about it.
CV: Are there any challenges in mixing the mystic, like The Book of the Geomancer, along with the more super-hero elements for this tie-in?
JD: Not really. Not here. We have to establish that magic and science (my superhero stories tend to be very influenced by science-fiction) co-exist if the shared nature of the universe is going to work. So be it. Two sides of the same coin... it spends just as easily.
CV: What does Kano bring to this book, aside from some awesome art?
JD: Well, awesome art is a whole lot! And Kano is amazing! This is the first time I've worked with him and I'm super-excited. But it is tough when approaching a new artist, because no matter how much of their work you've seen, you're never really sure how to write in a way that will best utilize them. That's something that increases every time you do something with that artist. It's like having sex, the first time is amazing (hopefully), but the third time is transcendental. So this is open country for me.
CV: Assuming that this book will have a darker tone, since it's called BOOK OF DEATH, what do you like to see from a colorist for something like this?
JD: I think that assuming it has a darker tone is a little thematically limiting. Death is a necessary part of life. Death can be quite beautiful. Death is necessary if there is to be change and growth. The forest burns, the forest renews. It's my understanding that Kano will color himself. I'm the story builder, he's the storyteller (to oversimplify it). I'm in very capable hands.
CV: What excites you about the overall BOOK OF DEATH event as well as your one-shot?
JD: I feel like I get to tell a story that I might never have gotten to tell if not for this event. That's exciting. I have so many stories that I'll never get around to telling with these characters for various reasons (time, market demands, space, my to-the-death blood feud with Warren [Simons, Valiant Editor-in-Chief], etc.), so this is nice.
CV: Aside from this, is there anything else we can expect to see from you, new comic wise, from Valiant?
JD: I'm focused on Imperium. I want Imperium to be the best book it can be. So for right now, I'm taking a break from the idea that comic book writers should be productive simply for productivity's sake and I'm just giving my all to that one book and also to some other personal projects.
Thanks to Joshua Dysart for answering our questions and make sure to check out BOOK OF DEATH this July and BOOK OF DEATH: THE FALL OF HARBINGER this September.