FLASHBACK: Andy Lanning on Jan Arrah in Legion Lost - 12/15/07 07:35 PM
Andy Lanning, originally posted February 19, 2001 06:31 PM:
OK, I've given it a couple of days for the dust to settle, for the shock to hopefully have worn off and for my bloody comp copies to arrive so I can read issue #12 in it's correct form before raising my head above the parapets.
This is gonna be long as I hope to respond to a lot of what's been raised in the many threads in the aftermath of Lost #12.
First up I've emailed Tsarin privately and hope to try to coax Tsarin back onto the boards and into the discussion once more. I think he's almost willing to give it another shot, at the very least he's committed himself to reply to your posts on his 'Calling the Role' thread which will, hopefully, lead to more of his excellent, thoughtful, well-written, insightful critiques and reviews (now there's a selection of words I never thought I'd use in conjunction with 'review' and 'critique'!).
Tsarin main concern, and that of some other posters, is that we've somehow mistreated and misrepresented Element Lad during the last two issues of the series.
I can appreciate how, to those of you to whom Jan was your favorite character, the transformation from Element Lad to Progenitor came as a shock and how his actions and ultimate fate could have engendered such feelings of sadness and betrayal.
All I can say is that it was meant to.
It's only when we really care for characters and invest emotion and expectation in their actions and fates that the stories we read really affect us. It's what we as storytellers are trying to do.
From the outset, Dan and I were determined to get as many people as possible interested in the Legion again. We wanted people to care for these great characters and their tales again. We wanted people talking about the books, creating a buzz, a sense of excitement and anticipation that, for whatever reasons, wasn't present when we took over (and the sales figures meant the shadow of cancellation was looming over the titles).
What's more, we wanted to create a Legion of the 'now': by that I mean a Legion for today's comic readers, not something that was forever harking back to the glory days of old or rehashing previous stories and previous character interactions. We wanted to present a fresh vital, dynamic Legion that would not only attract new readers, but lure back strays and, hopefully, keep the old guard happy.
TALL order, no s&*^% Sherlock!
Have we succeeded?
Yes and no. We're on the way, sales are up, people are talking about the book all over, the message boards are buzzing, Fan press like Wizard (popularist and shallow to some, but read in great numbers and undeniably a force to be reckoned with in today's market) are regularly mentioning the title generously and with recommendation.
Unfortunately, we've also put a number of noses out of joint and alienated some of the more die-hard fans of old. This was bound to happen- we knew this from the getgo- and I stated here several times in the past that we knew we couldn't keep everybody happy and accepted that we would lose some readers. Our hope was that we'd gain 2 new ones for every disgruntled reader we lost. The sales bare us out, we're doing that and better.
But it's only the start. We're by no means complacent or resting on our laurels.
We think we're someway to generating that buzz and interest. One thing's for sure, The Legion's not a safe, comfortable read anymore. There's a real sense that anything can, and will, happen.
Sadly, we had to lose a few friends in order to achieve what we have. But it wasn't for nothing. Their sacrifices and fates were part of an exciting, thrill-ride of a tale and were true to the story we were telling.
Dan and I knew from the start that a death would most likely occur in Lost, we felt it was necessary to highlight the very real danger the Legionnaires faced as well as serving to illustrate the true heroic ideals they represent as Legionnaires: It was only when we were well into the plotting of the series that we saw that there might be call for more than one death- Monstress' death showed the irredeemable nature of the Progenitor- once that occurred all bet's were off, they were playing for keeps.
Garth's death was noble and heroic in the true classic heroic sense-he died saving his friends and two universes, he did what had to be done despite what he would lose. But in doing so, found purpose once more and to all of you who doubt it, it does MEAN something and will have serious repercussions in the ongoing Legion story.
We have a great deal of respect for these characters and for what has come before but not at the expense of story or drama. We cannot indulge ourselves in trying to second guess readers response to what we plan to do, that would hamstring our creativity and restrict our freedom to take the story and characters into fresh new areas, not relying on the tried and trusted or revamping a past glory. We don't want to recreate the Legion of past, ours is the Legion of now and of the future.
It's part of the ONGOING Legion story we aim to tell- we're talking LONGTERM here- we have a plan, honest (Oh, BTW to those of you who have suggested we made up the stuff about Tinya being an illusion as we went on, as some kind of knee-jerk response to posts on the messages boards, a big fat *PPPPRRRFFFFFTTTT! In fact, here's a tidbit for you, we initially, in the preplanning stages, toyed with the idea of Garth being the illusionary character but went for Tinya as we thought the possible romantic triangle and guilt issues for the protagonists were too irresistible! In fact the whole thing has left us with innumerable dramatic possibilities that we're going to have a great time exploring in upcoming issues).
Legion Lost was the springboard that has enabled us to continue- consider Legion Worlds an epilog of sorts to Lost and a prolog to what comes next. Though Lost was a 12 issue mini- in reality it's yet another chapter in the ongoing Legion story we're telling and all of the things that have appeared and happened during the series will be played out and revisited during the months to come, it's gonna be a hell of a ride!
And then there's Jan...
Ok, all I can do is offer an insight into what we were thinking and how we saw the development of the character and story possibilities which led us to choose the story we did.
First, and most important, we were dealing with the character of Jan Arrah from the Reboot of 5 years ago.
Period.
That's all the continuity we were playing with. All the character development. All the events and story points. All that came before, however much we personally enjoyed and respect it, was null and void. That happened when the reboot occurred, and had nothing to do with us. If your beef is this isn't E-Lad of this or that era or E-Lad of this or that era wouldn't do that or act that way, then you're right, it isn't!
This is Jan Arrah, last surviving Trommite. Who saw his whole race wiped out in a violent genocidal act of terrorism. Who was adopted by the Legion and has learnt to become a real hero in his time as a member of the team. Who's gentle spiritual nature made him the true soul of the team. Who proved sin the conclusion of the 'Rifts' storyline, what a truly awesome power he possessed and how heroic he can be by saving an entire galaxy no matter the cost to himself.
Who, in the first issue of Lost, and I think this is very important and overlooked (or at least never mentioned) by a lot of the naysayers, SAVED EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS LOST COMRADES at the apparent expense of his own life. I truly believe we showed what a tremendous character Jan was during the early issues of Lost.
This is Jan Arrah. Element Lad. Legionnaire. Hero.
I'll also state for the record as far as I'm concerned, that Jan Arrah is NOT the Progenitor!
Let me explain:
Many of you have categorically, eloquently, with great passion and at great length denied that Jan could do the things the Progenitor has done. Absolutely flatly denied it. Never happen. Never. Mainly because of the characteristics I've stated above.
We obviously see things differently:
I see the Postboot character of Jan Arrah summed up in one word: change.
Change has permeated his life. It formed the core of his being. It was his race's philosophy and religious belief. It is fundamental to his powers. It shaped his life and moulded his very being. He's stated many times 'Change is my life' That death was considered by his people to be nothing more than a 'step in one's evolution'.
It was this belief that helped him come to terms with the death of his race- he transmuted their remains to crystal as a monument to the change they were undertaking. He was a great believer in destiny- fate, a preordained path we must accept and travel-
This philosophy of change and fate led Jan to be the gentle, spiritual being he was but also made him introspective, open-minded, a tad 'spacey'.
Some of you have cited the events in Legionnaires#67 as defining moments in the development of Jan's character: they are proof he couldn't be capable of harm. That's one way of looking at it.
We thought it merely served to show how open to change his nature really is- one event supplanted a whole lifetime's teachings and beliefs. For him to embrace a new set of ideals based on the events in the caves showed how he was capable of changing even the core beliefs of his race (beliefs that were his final legacy of Trom). It shows his willingness to adapt and alter his outlook based on his experience.
OK- we saw a character with an open mindedness and adaptability that's been demonstrated time and again, a character who, though demonstrably a hero, has had several life changing experiences in his past- the destruction of his entire race (something that must have left deep, deep scars, never fully expressed), the possession of his will not by one but two separate villainous foes: the Blight and Madame Chu (who was said to have "wiped his mind clean"), as well as the climatic events when he closed the rift to save the universe which led to him travelling beyond the very boundaries of the universe itself where he glimpse...what...we don't know (yet) but it was profound.
Now who's to say these experiences didn't have the same or greater affect on Jan as his episode in the caves? Moreover, since rescuing his team-mates, Jan was flung thru time and space back to the beginning of the universe they found themselves in.
What is experience but immersion in time? The flow of events and facts around us that mould and shape our personality, emotions and beliefs.
What followed was a billion years of experiences, a billion years of erosion of belief, moulding of personality, shaping of convictions. In a word. Change.
Is it no wonder that our open-minded, adaptable, malleable Jan would change? And who's to say that change would be for the good? Odds are he's going to be severely unstable, mentally unbalanced by countless millennia of loneliness.
Given he has the ability (an ability he has ample time to hone and develop) to manipulate the building blocks of life itself, who's to say he wouldn't develop a God complex along the way.
I agree the Jan before he was lost wouldn't do what the Progenitor did, and hopefully we showed just how great he could be in those early issue, but what about a Jan eroded, re-sculpture and redefined by a period of time so extreme it's the stuff of comicbooks! A Jan that underwent countless physical changes to his body over the centuries- reforming himself atom by atom to adapt to his new existence and power levels.
That's why I say Jan Arrah isn't the Progenitor
That was the premise, the starting point for the story that led to Jan Arrah becoming the Progenitor.
I know it's a paradox but it works for me.
We believe the story has merit. Merit based on character and dramatic potential.
Love it or loath don't deny it. It certainly has made things interesting!
I hope this has been of some help to you guys, at worst, it may have given you a glimpse of how we arrived at 'A Billion Years of Solitude' and it's repercussions.
I know I haven't answered a fraction of your comments but will try to get to specific points over the next few days!
Thanks for listening
Cheers
Andy
"...for time brings not decay.
Time brings not death.
Time brings Transmutation...
...Time lifts us to the next state..."
Old Trommite prayer..
OK, I've given it a couple of days for the dust to settle, for the shock to hopefully have worn off and for my bloody comp copies to arrive so I can read issue #12 in it's correct form before raising my head above the parapets.
This is gonna be long as I hope to respond to a lot of what's been raised in the many threads in the aftermath of Lost #12.
First up I've emailed Tsarin privately and hope to try to coax Tsarin back onto the boards and into the discussion once more. I think he's almost willing to give it another shot, at the very least he's committed himself to reply to your posts on his 'Calling the Role' thread which will, hopefully, lead to more of his excellent, thoughtful, well-written, insightful critiques and reviews (now there's a selection of words I never thought I'd use in conjunction with 'review' and 'critique'!).
Tsarin main concern, and that of some other posters, is that we've somehow mistreated and misrepresented Element Lad during the last two issues of the series.
I can appreciate how, to those of you to whom Jan was your favorite character, the transformation from Element Lad to Progenitor came as a shock and how his actions and ultimate fate could have engendered such feelings of sadness and betrayal.
All I can say is that it was meant to.
It's only when we really care for characters and invest emotion and expectation in their actions and fates that the stories we read really affect us. It's what we as storytellers are trying to do.
From the outset, Dan and I were determined to get as many people as possible interested in the Legion again. We wanted people to care for these great characters and their tales again. We wanted people talking about the books, creating a buzz, a sense of excitement and anticipation that, for whatever reasons, wasn't present when we took over (and the sales figures meant the shadow of cancellation was looming over the titles).
What's more, we wanted to create a Legion of the 'now': by that I mean a Legion for today's comic readers, not something that was forever harking back to the glory days of old or rehashing previous stories and previous character interactions. We wanted to present a fresh vital, dynamic Legion that would not only attract new readers, but lure back strays and, hopefully, keep the old guard happy.
TALL order, no s&*^% Sherlock!
Have we succeeded?
Yes and no. We're on the way, sales are up, people are talking about the book all over, the message boards are buzzing, Fan press like Wizard (popularist and shallow to some, but read in great numbers and undeniably a force to be reckoned with in today's market) are regularly mentioning the title generously and with recommendation.
Unfortunately, we've also put a number of noses out of joint and alienated some of the more die-hard fans of old. This was bound to happen- we knew this from the getgo- and I stated here several times in the past that we knew we couldn't keep everybody happy and accepted that we would lose some readers. Our hope was that we'd gain 2 new ones for every disgruntled reader we lost. The sales bare us out, we're doing that and better.
But it's only the start. We're by no means complacent or resting on our laurels.
We think we're someway to generating that buzz and interest. One thing's for sure, The Legion's not a safe, comfortable read anymore. There's a real sense that anything can, and will, happen.
Sadly, we had to lose a few friends in order to achieve what we have. But it wasn't for nothing. Their sacrifices and fates were part of an exciting, thrill-ride of a tale and were true to the story we were telling.
Dan and I knew from the start that a death would most likely occur in Lost, we felt it was necessary to highlight the very real danger the Legionnaires faced as well as serving to illustrate the true heroic ideals they represent as Legionnaires: It was only when we were well into the plotting of the series that we saw that there might be call for more than one death- Monstress' death showed the irredeemable nature of the Progenitor- once that occurred all bet's were off, they were playing for keeps.
Garth's death was noble and heroic in the true classic heroic sense-he died saving his friends and two universes, he did what had to be done despite what he would lose. But in doing so, found purpose once more and to all of you who doubt it, it does MEAN something and will have serious repercussions in the ongoing Legion story.
We have a great deal of respect for these characters and for what has come before but not at the expense of story or drama. We cannot indulge ourselves in trying to second guess readers response to what we plan to do, that would hamstring our creativity and restrict our freedom to take the story and characters into fresh new areas, not relying on the tried and trusted or revamping a past glory. We don't want to recreate the Legion of past, ours is the Legion of now and of the future.
It's part of the ONGOING Legion story we aim to tell- we're talking LONGTERM here- we have a plan, honest (Oh, BTW to those of you who have suggested we made up the stuff about Tinya being an illusion as we went on, as some kind of knee-jerk response to posts on the messages boards, a big fat *PPPPRRRFFFFFTTTT! In fact, here's a tidbit for you, we initially, in the preplanning stages, toyed with the idea of Garth being the illusionary character but went for Tinya as we thought the possible romantic triangle and guilt issues for the protagonists were too irresistible! In fact the whole thing has left us with innumerable dramatic possibilities that we're going to have a great time exploring in upcoming issues).
Legion Lost was the springboard that has enabled us to continue- consider Legion Worlds an epilog of sorts to Lost and a prolog to what comes next. Though Lost was a 12 issue mini- in reality it's yet another chapter in the ongoing Legion story we're telling and all of the things that have appeared and happened during the series will be played out and revisited during the months to come, it's gonna be a hell of a ride!
And then there's Jan...
Ok, all I can do is offer an insight into what we were thinking and how we saw the development of the character and story possibilities which led us to choose the story we did.
First, and most important, we were dealing with the character of Jan Arrah from the Reboot of 5 years ago.
Period.
That's all the continuity we were playing with. All the character development. All the events and story points. All that came before, however much we personally enjoyed and respect it, was null and void. That happened when the reboot occurred, and had nothing to do with us. If your beef is this isn't E-Lad of this or that era or E-Lad of this or that era wouldn't do that or act that way, then you're right, it isn't!
This is Jan Arrah, last surviving Trommite. Who saw his whole race wiped out in a violent genocidal act of terrorism. Who was adopted by the Legion and has learnt to become a real hero in his time as a member of the team. Who's gentle spiritual nature made him the true soul of the team. Who proved sin the conclusion of the 'Rifts' storyline, what a truly awesome power he possessed and how heroic he can be by saving an entire galaxy no matter the cost to himself.
Who, in the first issue of Lost, and I think this is very important and overlooked (or at least never mentioned) by a lot of the naysayers, SAVED EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS LOST COMRADES at the apparent expense of his own life. I truly believe we showed what a tremendous character Jan was during the early issues of Lost.
This is Jan Arrah. Element Lad. Legionnaire. Hero.
I'll also state for the record as far as I'm concerned, that Jan Arrah is NOT the Progenitor!
Let me explain:
Many of you have categorically, eloquently, with great passion and at great length denied that Jan could do the things the Progenitor has done. Absolutely flatly denied it. Never happen. Never. Mainly because of the characteristics I've stated above.
We obviously see things differently:
I see the Postboot character of Jan Arrah summed up in one word: change.
Change has permeated his life. It formed the core of his being. It was his race's philosophy and religious belief. It is fundamental to his powers. It shaped his life and moulded his very being. He's stated many times 'Change is my life' That death was considered by his people to be nothing more than a 'step in one's evolution'.
It was this belief that helped him come to terms with the death of his race- he transmuted their remains to crystal as a monument to the change they were undertaking. He was a great believer in destiny- fate, a preordained path we must accept and travel-
This philosophy of change and fate led Jan to be the gentle, spiritual being he was but also made him introspective, open-minded, a tad 'spacey'.
Some of you have cited the events in Legionnaires#67 as defining moments in the development of Jan's character: they are proof he couldn't be capable of harm. That's one way of looking at it.
We thought it merely served to show how open to change his nature really is- one event supplanted a whole lifetime's teachings and beliefs. For him to embrace a new set of ideals based on the events in the caves showed how he was capable of changing even the core beliefs of his race (beliefs that were his final legacy of Trom). It shows his willingness to adapt and alter his outlook based on his experience.
OK- we saw a character with an open mindedness and adaptability that's been demonstrated time and again, a character who, though demonstrably a hero, has had several life changing experiences in his past- the destruction of his entire race (something that must have left deep, deep scars, never fully expressed), the possession of his will not by one but two separate villainous foes: the Blight and Madame Chu (who was said to have "wiped his mind clean"), as well as the climatic events when he closed the rift to save the universe which led to him travelling beyond the very boundaries of the universe itself where he glimpse...what...we don't know (yet) but it was profound.
Now who's to say these experiences didn't have the same or greater affect on Jan as his episode in the caves? Moreover, since rescuing his team-mates, Jan was flung thru time and space back to the beginning of the universe they found themselves in.
What is experience but immersion in time? The flow of events and facts around us that mould and shape our personality, emotions and beliefs.
What followed was a billion years of experiences, a billion years of erosion of belief, moulding of personality, shaping of convictions. In a word. Change.
Is it no wonder that our open-minded, adaptable, malleable Jan would change? And who's to say that change would be for the good? Odds are he's going to be severely unstable, mentally unbalanced by countless millennia of loneliness.
Given he has the ability (an ability he has ample time to hone and develop) to manipulate the building blocks of life itself, who's to say he wouldn't develop a God complex along the way.
I agree the Jan before he was lost wouldn't do what the Progenitor did, and hopefully we showed just how great he could be in those early issue, but what about a Jan eroded, re-sculpture and redefined by a period of time so extreme it's the stuff of comicbooks! A Jan that underwent countless physical changes to his body over the centuries- reforming himself atom by atom to adapt to his new existence and power levels.
That's why I say Jan Arrah isn't the Progenitor
That was the premise, the starting point for the story that led to Jan Arrah becoming the Progenitor.
I know it's a paradox but it works for me.
We believe the story has merit. Merit based on character and dramatic potential.
Love it or loath don't deny it. It certainly has made things interesting!
I hope this has been of some help to you guys, at worst, it may have given you a glimpse of how we arrived at 'A Billion Years of Solitude' and it's repercussions.
I know I haven't answered a fraction of your comments but will try to get to specific points over the next few days!
Thanks for listening
Cheers
Andy
"...for time brings not decay.
Time brings not death.
Time brings Transmutation...
...Time lifts us to the next state..."
Old Trommite prayer..