First, thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Now as a first time introduction to the people of EnterVOID, tell us a little about yourself.

Greg Pak: I'm a comic book writer and filmmaker best known for the feature film "Robot Stories" and comic book storylines such as "Planet Hulk," "Dead Man's Run," "Incredible Hercules" (co-written with Fred Van Lente), "Magneto Testament," and "Red Skull."




What made you interested in becoming a writer and how did you start writing for comics?  What made you say, "Comics!  That's the life for me!"?

Greg Pak: I'd read and drawn comics all my life, but never really thought about doing it professionally. Instead, I went to film school at NYU and made a ton of shorts and a feature called "Robot Stories." And then my agent called up and asked if I'd like to talk about Marvel about writing comics. I said absolutely, and a year later my first professional comics writing project came out, the "Warlock" mini with Charlie Adlard, which was followed by "X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong" and eventually "Planet Hulk." I loved comics and especially writing comics for Marvel because it combined crazy genre hijinks with genuine emotional storytelling, which was exactly the kind of thing I was trying to do in my independent work like "Robot Stories."

Which medium would you say you preferred writing in, comics, short stories, film...?  And do you find writing in one medium easier over another?

Greg Pak: I love all kinds of storytelling -- I'm equally happy writing comics and films. Comics writing has an advantage in that I've know that just about every comics script I've written will actually be produced into a finished project. That's exciting and inspiring and educational and isn't always true in the world of film, alas.

In some ways, comics writing is actually a bit harder than film writing -- the comics writer is responsible for describing the visual world and action in more detail than the typical screenwriter. But film writing can be more satisfying on a literary, writerly level -- you can be a bit more evocative, even poetic, using the spare language of a film script. Comics scripts are often very conversational -- a practical discussion between the creative partners on the book, which has its own charm, but maybe makes the script a bit less of a complete literary product in its own right.

What are some of your writing inspirations?  What sort of themes do you focus on in your storytelling?

Greg Pak: Big questions! In no particular order and completely off the top of my head, some of the writers/comic book creators/filmmakers who have inspired me include Billy Wilder, Akira Kurosawa, Frank Miller, Otomo, Miyazaki, Stan Lee, Lloyd Alexander, Ray Bradbury, Lynda Barry, Charles Schultz, Harlan Ellison, and Greg Bear. Current folks I love include Robert Kirkman and Bryan K. Vaughn.

I'm compelled by many different themes over the years. But I've probably always been interested in the question of the other, that person who's different, who's separate from the group for whatever reason -- but who eventually becomes responsible for the group in one way or another. It's a pretty universal theme -- I imagine every person on the planet feels like that person sometimes. It probably contains the core of every classic hero story ever told, now that I think of it.



Now if we want to improve as writers what do you think is important to focus on?  What sort of exercises should we do to improve?

Greg Pak: Write write write and rewrite rewrite rewrite. For anything you're writing, spend time observing people and how the communicate or don't communicate. Character reveals itself in a billion tiny, compelling, human ways. It's those tiny details that make things come to life. I haven't read it for years, but Eudora Welty's "One Writer's Beginnings" explores that idea in a great way.

When I was very young, I remember giving myself various challenges and tasks -- writing short stories in genres I wasn't comfortable with, writing stories with lots of action or complicated geography to hone my descriptive abilities, and just writing a ton of stuff all the time. Probably the last thing is the most important. Ray Bradbury, in his classic essay "Drunk and in Charge of a Bicycle" talks about writing a new story every week for weeks on end. And then, finally, after ages, he finished a story he finally realized was good. That determination to work and improve and the ability to be honest with yourself about what you need to work on are probably two of the big things that get a writer to that stage of finally doing something that he or she can call good.

What's a good way to focus?  Any time management tips?

Greg Pak: Virginia Woolf wrote about the necessity of a writer having a "room of one's own." It's key to be able to block out hours during which you won't be disturbed. That's probably a big reason so many writers are night owls.

And this may sound a little boy scoutish, but it's true for me: eating properly and exercising helps a ton. When your body's in decent shape, it's easier for the brain to focus.

Everyone (as far as I know) has suffered from Writer's Block from time to time, what sort of advice would you give on overcoming it?

Greg Pak: Get a job that requires you to meet the deadlines in order to get paid. That sounds like a snide joke, but it's absolutely true. Working in comics has been the best thing I could do to develop discipline and the muscles to power out stories and scripts no matter what.



Writing for comic books has it's own set of challenges as I'm sure we're all aware but how do you go about preparing for writing a script for a single issue and/or a longer story arc?

Greg Pak: Knowing the big premise of the story and knowing the ending are key for me. If I know what the story's about (with "Planet Hulk," for example, it was "monster-to-hero") and I know how it ends, I can figure out whether each scene and moment belongs in the story or not. If I don't know those things, I'm flying blind, which doesn't often end brilliantly. I mean, I'm absolutely open to serendipity in the moment as I write -- that's key to the process and joy of writing. But determining what works and what doesn't in the end requires knowing what my story's about and where it's ultimately headed.

Now when writing a script with the artist in mind, do you add stage directions to help the penciller achieve the vision you want?  And do you write the script differently depending on the artist?  How much do you allow the artist to affect the script?

Greg Pak: Yes, I describe every action I want to see in the story, panel by panel. Great artists always find fun ways to improve and add detail. Or sometimes they know it's better to simplify a bit. I love working with artists with strong opinions who aren't scared to call or email me with questions -- when we both poke at a scene a bit more, it always improves.

What do you think is important to keep in mind with a writer/artist relationship?  Is there any advice you'd like to give artists on how they should approach writer types?

Greg Pak: Great writers and artists think of each other as creative partners -- both trying to make each others' jobs easier while aiming for the best storytelling possible. As a writer, I work hard every day to make descriptions in scripts as clear and simple as possible -- and to give artists fun action to draw. That doesn't always mean things blowing up on every page -- great action could be a fun, subtle character moment or a little sleigh of hand. But there's always something visual that the artist can flex his or her muscles in dramatizing.

I love artists who email me with questions, who do initial character sketches on their own to get into the heads of the characters, and who fix my storytelling mistakes. Artists will often ask to add a panel here or clean up some action there -- it's a fantastic thing when an artist cares enough to make every beat not just the way I've written it but the way the story really wants it to work.

Do you find it difficult writing for a character that is not your own and has his/her own storied history?  Do you do a lot of indepth research to stay true to those characters?

Greg Pak: Yes and yes. ;-)

The challenge is to remain true to the essence of the character while finding a surprising new story to tell. You have to understand and respect the source material in order to grasp what makes the character work, but you have to free your mind to find and tell a new story that takes the character to the next level.



Do you enjoy writing your creator owned characters more over the company characters?  Who would you say is your favorite?

Greg Pak: Whatever I'm writing this very instant is my favorite. You have to fall in love with any character and story you write in order to make those emotional stories sing. When I'm writing, I love all my babies equally.

Hulk and Hercules runs seemed to be somewhere between "team book" and "solo book", with the supporting casts getting a lot of spotlight (Hulk's warbound and Amadeus Cho, respectively). Do you have any you have any tips on writing a "team-oriented" story, or juggling a larger cast of characters?

Greg Pak: Great question. Both the Hulk and Herc books cheated a little. They almost looked like team books, with their large casts, but the Hulk book always was about the Hulk/Banner's emotional journey, first and foremost. And the Herc book was a Herc and Amadeus buddy story. The trick with those books was to have a rich supporting cast who provided great subplots and action -- but whose stories always helped fuel the core story of the book. So with Hulk, all of the Warbound stories, for example, point back to the ramifications on the Hulk of letting these hero-monsters close to his heart.

With your long run on Hulk now over, and Dead Man's Run just over the horizon, do you have any more plans for small or creator-owned projects?

Greg Pak: YES! Nothing I can announce just yet, but absolutely. In the meantime, please feel free to download my FREE creator owned graphic novel "Vision Machine" at www.visionmachine.net.



How did you start writing for Marvel?  What would you recommend for aspiring artists/writers trying to get into the comic book business?

Greg Pak: Everyone gets into the business a different way. I was lucky -- my agent heard Marvel was looking for writers right around the time my feature film "Robot Stories" was hitting theaters. So I had something to show that the editors responded to.

But that might be the key thing -- having existing work that proves your ability to tell great, emotionally compelling genre stories. I had my film work. Most new Marvel writers these days have cut their teeth doing great indie work. I can't think of anyone who broke in to Marvel or DC without having a success on their own beforehand.

Do you have any final advice you wanna get off your chest for aspiring comic book professionals?

Greg Pak: Write stories and make comics. No matter what, produce work, and keep producing work until you get better and better and better. Overnight success is a myth. It's a long, hard slog for anyone trying to make it in a creative field. But we do it because we love it, and because we can't bear not to do it.

I guess that's the most honest piece of advice, which I heard an older actor tell younger aspiring actors once -- if you can be happy doing something else, you probably should. It's not worth it otherwise. But if you can't NOT pursue the field, then you probably don't need the advice -- you're already doing it, plying your craft every day, working on getting better.

Now before I end this interview, they say you can tell a lot about a man by the time of soup he likes.  What would you say is your favorite soup?

Greg Pak: Miyukguk. Korean seaweed soup. Good -- and good for you!

Thank you very much for your time and responses and I hope to see a lot more of your work in the future!

Greg Pak: Thank you! Much appreciated.