Frequently Asked Questions
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Let me just get this out of the way... This whole project is about head canon. We all read all these stories, and worked out how we would prefer they played out. There are more than a few elements in here that we actually disagreed on, but we talked it out and came to version of the story we collectively preferred.
So we already know that there are plenty of story ideas in here that are going to conflict with the way YOU would tell these stories. Lots of you read these comics and liked parts we disliked. That's sort of how being a fan of something works; we all latch onto our own ideas. We basically bail completely on mainstream DC continuity around 2011, although there's lots of content before that we've rejected. In fact, basically any idea born from major companywide crossovers is glossed over at best, if not completely ignored. So while we're really excited to hear new, interesting takes on some of the characters and stories out there.... we don't really need you to explain existing continuity to us. Generally speaking, you can pretty much count on us having already read it. If we left something out, we probably did it deliberately. For us to start considering including them, you'd need to really present an angle on them that we've never considered. Basically.... stop writing essays trying to talk us into including the rainbow lantern corps. We don't like them. |
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How is this project made?
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Over the course of several years, the original creators went character by character, making lists of relevant storyarcs and appearances. Once we found and read the relevant books, we would create lists of story beats for each character... what worked, and what didn't work. The length of that list would depend on how influential that character was and how prolific their appearances were. Some characters would require months of research, some we could do in less than a week.
This was the most fun part... we would meet and go over that list, having long, glorious conversations that would last hours and involve lots of pizza. These were basically brainstorming sessions; working out how to rebuild each character. There were a few times when we came up with some idea in those conversations that were so good we're still excited about them. Actually implementing those stories into a full timeline was another, longer step. I carried a thick, leather-bound book of graphing paper for a LOT of years, slowly drawing out each character's personal timeline. Several times, we would think we were done, but then we would go back and create a new long list of characters we needed to work out. This was basically my main hobby for all that time; I would do it during lunch breaks, while sitting in diners over my morning coffee... It was something I loved to do. Eventually, we got to the end. There were other characters we COULD do, but they never actually turned out to be necessary. Now that we're building it into a website, we still occasionally discover certain characters that need to be included, but we just build them right into the website without going back to add them to the original project. It's no longer an updated take on the project, but it was still a labor of love for a long time. |
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But why though?
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Our friendship was based on our mutual love of comics, and we would often hang out and talk about them. While we liked all comics, we grew up in different eras and would often discuss what we liked about certain characters or stories, what was similar, and what was different. This was in the 2000's, when DC was in the middle of a whole editorial shift that seemed determined to tell darker stories without real whimsey, and it just became hard to be a fan. Our conversations were often about what was happening in comics that we just didn't like. This led to conversations about what we would LIKE those stories to look like. Sometime around 2011, when DC initiated it's New 52 and basically managed to strip their entire lineup of anything we enjoyed, this became the main way we engaged with the comics we loved.
This probably would have been it, but I happen to be a little bit obsessive in the way I like things. I like making lists and spreadsheets. I like working out the logistics of how stuff in fiction works. Given my interest in defining this stuff, a group of friends who all enjoyed talking about it and the fact that it gave us a reason to hang around and talk about comics, this quickly became my favorite hobby. |
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How do you decide what stories to use?
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This is probably the question we get asked, in one form or another, more than any other. "What made you pick this?" or "Why this and not this?" The only real way to answer this that would be in any way functional is to say that that, in the end, it's a matter of preference. We have incredibly fun, long conversations, we go back and forth and work out all sorts of possible interpretations of the mythology of these characters and stories. We're never fully locked in; we'll go back and change things sometimes YEARS later, all because we came up with a way to improve things.
There are a ton of different ways to articulate the nuance of what dictates our preference, but that by itself could probably be an endless conversation. The best way to say it is just that we talk about it all a LOT, and we're always chasing something that feels to us like it is inherently correct. |
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No offense, but do you have any idea how to make a website?
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Not really. I started using weebly just because it happened to be what came back when I did a google search for web-building options for beginners sometime in... maybe 2015? I know there are probably better options, but I'm pretty deep into weebly at this point.
This website has helped me in a few job situations. It's a gamble to show potential employers, obviously; yes, it shows that I'm at least passingly familiar with the concept of web design... but it also makes me look slightly crazy for building something so obviously obsessive. |
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What happened to your timeline book?
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It now sits on the shelf with my comics. The timelines in it have long sense been transposed into google docs, waiting for me to build webpages for the characters they represent. I bring the book with me to comic conventions, asking creators or performers to sign by the timelines I made of their characters. I'm sure they are asked to sign weird stuff all the time; some of my favorite creators seem kinda bored with it. I'm not sure Marv Wolfman had any idea what I was talking about.
But there HAVE been a few who really seemed to get a kick out of it, and that always feels so special. Legion of Superheros writer Jim Shooter's enthusiasm actually made me want to start turning it into a website in the first place... just the idea of him even seeing it at all had me so starstruck I had to hide in a corner and calm down. Gotham's Selina Kyle actress Camren Bicondova was VERY in demand at the convention, but she actually stopped and read Catwoman's timeline and asked some great questions about it, showing that she had done a lot of research on the part. Val Kilmer asked me to email him a link to the website; the sticky note with his personal email is still in the book by Batman. That was amazing. Our favorite, though, is Tony Todd. He's incredible in conventions, working crowds like such a gentleman. While he's worked as the voice for Darkseid for years and assumed we wanted him to sign there, we actually stopped and described the character of Bloodwynd to him, and he was very into it. Such a cool guy. |
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