For the Spotlight on Matt Fraction panel, his wife Kelly Sue DeConnick sat down with him, fresh off an Eisner win. DeConnick began by relaying the fact that the two have been married for “twenty-something years.”
The approach to the panel was intended to be a retrospective of Fraction’s career in comics, focusing on the most pivotal published titles. He was candid and insightful as he recalled the experiences associated with the handful of comics that were presented.
Rex Mantooth (2003)
“It was the first time someone, Robert Kirkman, offered to print something I wrote; a guerilla superhero,” Fraction recalled.
“I was paralyzed. I spent my life talking about comics and now it was time to stand up.”
Fraction struggled through the book’s creating by telling himself “The next one will be better. My funny monkey 10-page story doesn’t need to be From Hell (Alan Moore) – my next one will. I was learning out loud in real time. It’s important to let yourself suck.”
It was a conscious decision to assume the name of ‘Matt Fraction,’ which was a mispronunciation of his name made by a telemarketer.
“I committed to the bit with a fake name,” he informed the audience, saying that he was glad it worked out.
In addition to his day job, he spent his time on an online comics community site where comics internet folks would put up a downloadable PDF each week, for which he would edit.
“I did it for a year and it was exhausting,” he said.
With a self-admitted overactive mind, he was blunt when he discussed how he had managed to settle himself down over the years.
“Age, therapy, and medication. I used to have racoons in my head, and I had to keep them distracted. I can’t even listen to music anymore.”
This focus helps his writing process, which he described with some detail.
“I try to keep in notebooks. I stay on paper as long as I can.”
Fraction describes his studio as “garden quiet.”
Last of the Independents (2003)
“I did that book with Kieron Dwyer, and I wrote it in six days. I listened to a mix CD in preparation, and I used to carry that CD for luck,” Fraction said. “It broke in my backpack about a year ago.”
He says he “took swings” and that the title was decently reviewed, at which he was generally surprised. It was around this time that he met Kelly Sue.
Cassanova (2006)
“It was my first comic series, and I was convinced it would never come out,” he told the assembled audience.
“This is going to be my one shot.”
He went on to say that you should “…always write the book you wish existed. I put it all out there. It feels like a Swiss army knife of stuff and has the energy of a first record.”
As mentioned previously, Fraction had a regular job at the time and had the luxury of only writing what he wanted to.
“I said no to offers more that I said yes – wish caused them to ask more,” he joked.
Fraction shared that he learned a lot from that experience and associates David Bowie with the overall vibe of the series.
Hawkeye (2012)
Fraction recalled the final issue of the Mark Gruenwald limited series from the eighties. Hawkeye suffered an affliction (deafness).
“It was the first time an injured hero didn’t come back healed in the next issue.”
As far as the intent of the comic, he said that “none of it was about representation. It ultimately became about it and has taught me about the importance of representation to the deaf and hard of hearing community. Representation is everything.’
He described it as a challenge and wanted the book to feel real and lived in.
Sex Criminals (2013)
“I don’t know what precipitated that first email to Chip Zdarsky (the man who would become the series artist). We’d worked together and were born a couple weeks apart. We talked about doing our own Lord of The Rings but realized that would suck.”
Fraction went on to describe the book.
“It’s about sex but it’s not sexy. It’s dirty but it’s not about dirt.”
“I had been doing stuff for Marvel and felt I was being politically played out of position. During the retreat I called Image with a pitch to Eric Stephenson.”
When it came to the reception of the book, Fraction recalled it fondly.
“The first issue came out, and everything changed.”
The second issue of Sex Criminals was banned on iTunes and the fervor and publicity surrounding its status was wide-spread.
During his writing of the series, he learned “…it’s hard but worth it to be truthful and women are way funnier than men.”
He fondly recalls that women’s letters to the title were the best and then dropped a bomb on the audience.
“It’s filming now,” sharing that the live action version of the series was past the development stage and had advanced the filming stage.
Batman (2015)
“Chip (Zdarsky) had just put the house back together, putting all the pieces back together and I’m just painting it. Chip said he was leaving Batman and asked if I was interested. So we had a conversation and I had a lot of ideas for Batman,” Fraction relayed.
He sent his pitch for the first three issues and ended up rewriting the first issue.
“I was communicating a vibe. I said I want him back in the blue and grey. I wanted to know why people live in Gotham City. I wanted a superhero-focused Batman, and I figured in the worst case, I’ll only be there for a year.”
Fraction’s run on Batman is well-received and enjoying great sales. It doesn’t appear his one-year back-up plan was a needed concern.
He finished the panel by describing Batman as “…the friend we all have in the dark.”
