Dan Abnett On Titans Hunt and The “Sophistication” Of the Post-Flashpoint Universe

Dan Abnett is not only one of the best-loved writers in comics, but he’s an incredibly busy guy right now.

We recently spoke with him about his creator-owned series Wild’s End: The Enemy Within, and he’s got a pair of launches coming up at Marvel, including a return to the world of the Guardians of the Galaxy, where he’s one of the most beloved creators in the franchise’s history.

Probably nothing he’s got coming up is more anticipated, though, than Titans Hunt. Spinning out of the events of Convergence, the series will finally give fans something they’ve been asking for since DC’s 2011 reboot: a solid idea about if and how the members of Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s classic New Teen Titans series are connected in the post-Flashpoint DC Universe.

They’ve got a secret history — one that links characters as unlikely as super-spy Dick Grayson and the just-introduced (and maybe-evil) Donna Troy — and Abnett will be exploring it along with artist Paulo Siqueira.

Abnett joined ComicBook.com to discuss the series, which is due in stores next weekend. Final Order Cutoff for Titans Hunt #1 is Monday, so when you’re at your local comic shop today, make sure to mention this if you want to be guaranteed a copy. You can read the solicitation text for #1 at the bottom of the story, along with the first three covers and some exclusive interior art from the series’ first issue.

This, Superman: Lois & Clark and Batman & Robin Eternal are all exploring kind of the hidden history of the post-Flashpoint DC Universe. All of them have generational stories and young protagonists in common. Do you think those kinds of characters were disproportionately impacted by the loss of historical context in the new DCU?

Perhaps. For long term readers, the longevity and continuity of books led to a wonderful sense of lives being led, and characters developing and evolving. That is especially true of the youngest, “growing” characters like Dick Grayson.

But sometimes that can ultimately lead to a character losing focus, or losing the sense of what made them truly interesting – basically when too many changes are wrought. I think there is a necessary trade-off between the experience of the long-term reader, that growth of familiarity and progression, and the inaccessibility of such characters for new readers. It’s a thing all companies, especially the long-standing Big Two negotiate with all the time.

To many veteran readers, the New 52, which was such a clean and fresh re-start in so many ways, seemed too blunt and simplified. What we’re seeing now, perhaps, is the sophistication of the concept, a revelation that the ‘clean start’ still allows for depth and complexity, but that depth and complexity can be presented in a way that is also accessible to new readers too.

What can you tell us about Lillith?

Her role in Titans Hunt is essentially one of mediator, the figure drawing the characters back together. But there is a deep mystery attached to her too. Like all of them, especially the characters who have had little or no page-time since the start of New 52, this is an opportunity to represent her, not as new and blank, but as a character with a history that we’re simply meeting for the first time and getting to know.

I think this is something that “rebooted” universes can borrow more from the most successful comic-to-TV or comic-to-movie translations (or TV/movie storytelling in general): You don’t have to start on day one, you can shorthand your way into an existing, established character, introduce them powerfully, and then start to reveal the details of their life.

Which is harder: reinventing a character from the ground up for the new DC Universe, or fitting together the kind of disparate pieces of the more well-defined characters?

They both have their challenges. It really depends on the character. In this series, some character swill be utterly new, some will be have their previous incarnations re-worked to fit into the new continuity (while retaining the essence of what made them popular) and some will have different sense and significance placed on things we already know about them. I hope the series will be enjoyed by readers new to the book, who will discover the appeal of the characters as they mysteries are pealed back, and also enjoyed by old school readers who delight in the call-backs and “Easter eggs” of what they know has come before.

Tonally, some of these characters are all over the map in their solo books right now. Dick has a sexy spy vibe; Kori is a comedy; Arsenal is a kind of testosterone-fueled action thing. Does it feel little bit like those very early superhero team-ups where everything was kind of exciting because you didn’t have the context for how they gel?

Very much. And that was very much the situation with the original teaming of these characters in 1965. Finding a mood and tone that suits where all the characters are coming from is the real trick, and very satisfying when you hit it. One of the things you need to do is make the disparity itself an asset. The mis-match becomes part of the story.

Has your history with Guardians of the Galaxy, a fairly non-traditional team book in a lot of ways when you wrote it, helped to kind of get that chemistry down a bit?

I suppose so. That really was about rummaging in a toy box full off toys, some forgotten or set aside, and making some new sense out of them. There was a delight in rediscovery and unexpected combination. Isn’t that what every child does when they spill their box of action figures on the rug and just plays with them in any way that inspires them? “Gi Joe and the Ninja Turtles will fight He-Man today, because in my imagination that works and makes perfect sense”.

With the Titans, the restriction is making that recombination work in a rational, ‘real world’ context, without the wild freedom of an out right SF setting, and to do it with some respect for the original team framework and template.

A lot of Paolo’s work has a very kind of timeless quality. I can look at his art and see the ’90s very clearly, or see the New 52 very clearly…and this is just from pin-ups. He manages to really grasp the tone of any given character, I think, very well. Has that been of particular use in a world where you’re kind of trying to evoke nostalgia without falling back on it?

Yes. He’s fantastic. I applaud what he’s doing. There are those call-backs, those moments of dynamic superhero wonder, but it’s wonderfully grounded in a real, shared world. I’ve been able to highlight tiny thematic details – like props or small character details – the way one might in a novel, and he’s showed them without it being heavy-handed.

TITANS HUNT #1
Written by DAN ABNETT
Art and cover by PAULO SIQUEIRA
1:25 Variant cover by TITANS HUNT
On sale OCTOBER 21 • 32 pg, FC, 1 of 12, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.
CONVERGENCE is over, but the ripples are still being felt, especially by a young precog named Lilith. What are these visions she’s having of a Teen Titans team the world never knew? And why does she feel compelled to seek out Dick Grayson, Roy Harper, Donna Troy and an Atlantean named Garth and warn them that something dark and sinister is coming after them? Who are Mal, Gnarrk, Hank Hall and Dawn Granger, and what is their connection to the others—and to the fate of every soul on Earth? This is the Secret History of the TEEN TITANS!