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Painted talking heads is just boring.
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Man, I think mistakes - that's what makes us distinct human beings. Those imperfections.
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Everybody's got scars. It's not so unique.
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What's the trick to writing a good bad guy? Well, for me, it's always been the idea that you pit yourself against authority, you know? I think that's what it takes - and then you can write villainous characters.
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'100 Bullets' is such a post-modern noir; there are certain rules you gotta follow.
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Believe it or not, but 'White Heat' and 'Little Caesar' keep dancing around in my brainpan while I'm writing 'Moonshine.'
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If there's nothing interesting about a character, people leave because there's no desire to see what happens.
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It is our mistakes that make us interesting, right?
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I'm a Cubs season ticket holder.
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Noir deals with the disenfranchised: people who can't catch a break under normal circumstances. In noir books, you root for these people, but you know they are going to fail. That's what makes them so compellingly human. I can relate to that kind of stuff.
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I think the Joker resonates with people as much as Batman does.
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Everybody's got a father. Even if he's not the nicest guy in the world.
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I didn't really like superheroes. I liked monsters and war comics.
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I like being a cult figure.
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One of the reasons Batman works as a character is that it's not beyond possibility that he could exist - you could become Batman if you had a billion dollars at your disposal. There's nothing paranormal or superhuman or supernatural about that character. And I think his villains work the same way. You could be one of his villains just as easily.
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DC characters are from a different era than Marvel characters.
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When something is well-crafted, you know it, and the enjoyment comes from experiencing it.
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Superman is pretty much the way he was - you know - what he's always been. A lot of the Marvel characters are products of their time. I think Batman, as a character, has been able to adapt; he's pretty malleable.
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This thing is such a ripple, the way lives are affected by gentrification. On one hand, yes, you're cleaning up this area, you're making it more livable for people. But you're not saying anything about the people that live there.
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Characters with questionable morals are sexy.
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I like alleys. They are the backdoor to everything.
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Good people struggle against what's imperfect about them. The people that we call 'bad' people embrace that kind of stuff, embrace the darker side.
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Hollywood, they love everything, but they move like molasses. They'll option anything - the worst idea in the world will get optioned just because they want to keep the other person from getting that idea.
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I really like language - and slang in particular, and just the shorthand we use when we communicate with people.