Give us a glance at your comics histories. What have you written for before?
Tom DeFalco: I am a former editor in chief of Marvel Comics and I've written books like Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide for DK and Comic Creators on Fantastic Four for Titan. I've also written a whole bunch of comic book stories on characters as diverse as Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Lois Lane, Archie and Scooby Doo. I currently write the Spectacular Spider-Girl for Marvel, the Flying Fool for Moonstone and now Star Wars: The Clone Wars Saga for you.
Rik Hoskin: In the last year I've been writing Superman material for DC Comics, as well as Spider-Man in the UK, Shrek and tons of Disney- and Pixar-related stories. I also write for a series of science fiction novels. Prior to that, everything from Jackie Chan to Peppa Pig.
What or who are your influences?
Tom: I would have to say my three biggest writing influences are Stan Lee, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Ed McBain.
What is your favorite Star Wars movie?
Tom: It's so hard to choose just one, but I guess I'd have to go with Episode IV: A New Hope.
Rik: The Empire Strikes Back.
Who's your favorite character in the Clone Wars universe to write for?
Rik: Anakin -- he's essentially a hero learning his trade at this point in time.
Tom: Ahsoka.
What would be your ideal Star Wars: The Clone Wars Comic story?
Tom: One with a lot of action and enough angst so that it will stick with the reader for hours and hours.
Rik: Could Darth Maul return somehow?
The new stories are a small, but perfectly formed 8-pages, what are the problems and the joys of writing in this format for you?
Rik: With this format, it's all about keeping the pace up. I took a huge amount of pleasure in having Ahsoka utter the line "I have a bad feeling about this" when she and Anakin find themselves on a spaceship full of dormant battle droids.
Tom: I love doing complete stories and I think 8 pages is just the right length. Yes, it's more work to come up with three new 8-page stories instead of one 24-page story, but I love a creative challenge.
Do you have a favorite Star Wars comic writer?
Tom: ME!
Rik: David Micheline wrote a story called "To Take the Tarkin" in 1981, which is a text book example of how to write the perfect Star Wars tale. I also love the Archie Goodwin 1970s Marvel Comics run with artist Carmine Infantino, I've read it over and over.
What do you think you will bring to the new Clone Wars stories?
Tom: A little heart and a lot of enthusiasm!
And finally, which Clone Wars character would you?
a. Want to be for a day?
Rik: Yoda. Enjoy being wise I would, hmmm?
b. Are most like?
Rik: Probably Anakin. That doesn't bode well, does it?
The new Star Wars: The Clone Wars Comic hits UK newsstands on November 12th.
