James Peaty has written comics for DC (Supergirl),  and is currently writing Doctor WHO road to the Thirteenth Doctor for Titan Comics. Through the power of the internet we got a chance to ask him some questions and spotlight this amazing creator.

SHS: Have you always wanted to work in comics?
   JP: Yes. Certainly ever since I could read them! I’d say probably from the age of about four or five. Which is pretty young!

SHS: Did you read comics growing up?
   JP: Yes and – as I said above – I was hooked from a very young age. I think I was probably around four years old when I started buying them regularly. I used to read pretty much everything: British comics of all types, superhero reprints, toy tie-ins. So anything and everything.

SHS: If so who were some of your favorite characters/creators?
JP: As a kid I loved all the old IPC comics. Stuff like Battle, Eagle, Tiger, Roy of the Rovers etc. As a little kid I loved strips like Dan Dare, Death Wish, Topps on Two Wheels, Hot Shot Hamish. Stuff like that. Around the age of nine I started reading the comics Marvel UK was putting out at the time. Stuff like Transformers, Action Force, Spider-Man & Zoids and the other Marvel US reprint books they’d put out. When I got to about 12 or 13 I really got into American comics in a big way and then the older British comics such 2000AD, The Judge Dredd Megazine, Crisis and Deadline. Obviously this was the time of books like Dark Knight, Watchmen, Swamp Thing, Animal Man etc, so I became a voracious reader of all those titles. I guess character wise I was a big Batman and Spider-Man fan as a kid, but overall I was really a fan of creators. So people like John Wagner and Alan Grant, Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, Frank Miller, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean, John Byrne, Peter David, Peter Milligan, Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland, Mick McMahon, Alan Davis, Matt Wagner and Howard Chaykin. It’s a big list! n

SHS: Can you give us the elevator pitch for your current run on Doctor Who: The Road to the Thirteenth Doctor?
JP: Basically, it’s a series of one-off, self-contained stories featuring the 10th, 11th and 12th Doctors. They’re all high concept, full bloodied Doctor Who. All killer, no filler!

SHS: Do you enjoy working on a licensed property like Doctor Who?
JP: It’s a lot of fun. I’ve been a Doctor Who fan since I was old enough to watch TV, so it’s not a stretch to work on a property like that. I’ve done jobs in the past where you don’t have the connection to the underlying property and that can be tricky. But this was just a joy.

SHS: What do you think the secret is to writing a good story for a property like this?
   JP: I think you have to come up with a story that has a strong, direct and visually striking hook. Doctor Who is a unique beast, so you kind of know when an idea isn’t a Doctor Who idea. I always think there has to be an element of juxtaposition when cooking up a Who story. That unique blend of the mundane brushing up against the fantastical is key. And monsters! A good monster always helps.

SHS: What are some of the pitfalls working on Licensed property?
   JP: Obviously the major pitfall is that the characters aren’t yours, but you know that when you take on the job. I think the biggest challenge – which is the challenge of writing, full stop! – is to try and say something more than ‘wouldn’t it be cool if…’ Now, there’s nothing wrong with that as a starting point for a story, but I don’t think that can be where your story ends.

SHS: Do you have any fear of letting the the Doctor Who fan down?
   JP: Not really. I worry about letting myself down!

SHS: We sign off the podcast  by saying don’t let your cape get caught in the door
it’s a way of saying don’t let obstacles stand in your way to success. What are some obstacles that have stood in your way?
  JP: Oh, that’s a tricky one. I think being a writer is basically a job that’s all about overcoming obstacles. You have to overcome your own shyness, the fear of rejection, the fear of the blank sheet of paper. So many things! You are always your own biggest obstacle. If you can overcome that one then you can probably overcome anything your career will throw at you.

SHS: How do you measure success?
   JP: Well, commercial success is easy to measure. It’s pretty cut and dried! I guess getting asked back to work on a project is always a good sign. Creative success is harder to quantify. I think you have to look at what you set out to achieve and then assess the actual outcome against that. I guess one measure of success would be: did I improve by doing that job? What did I learn?

SHS: Do you have any other current projects people should look out for?
   JP: The third volume of my SF series ‘Skip Tracer’ is currently being serialised in the pages of 2000AD, with a fourth volume coming later in the year. I’m also currently writing a new series for The Judge Dredd Megazine that should be out towards the end of 2019. Outside of 2000AD I’ve just finished the proofs on a long form historical graphic novel, Chanakya: An Empire Born, which should be out in February or March through Campfire Graphic Novels. I’ve also just made a short film, entitled ‘Maureen’, which is available to view here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2ZTMluUj6E

SHS: Where can people find you/your work online?
   JP: Comixology and the 2000AD website are your friends!

Follow James on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/JamesPeaty1575/

And don’t forget to check out the latest episode of the podcast here: https://superherospeak.com/wp/290-attack-of-the-normies/