Writers Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman have previously written the original graphic novel Monster Attack Network for AiT/Planetlar and the five-issue Highwaymen miniseries for Wildstorm (more on that later). They’re also a senior editor for Entertainment Weekly and a producer on Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels, respectively.

Now they’re throwing their hats into the ring to take on Top Cow’s Pilot Season, in which several comics enter, one comic leaves. Not quite as catchy to chant as the bit from Thunderdome, but there it is.

Adam made some time in his schedule to tell us more about Genius and what happens when the world’s greatest military genius is born in South Central.

Let’s start with the genesis of the project. How did these two ideas—the world’s greatest military genius, and a war in one of LA’s worst neighborhoods, weave their way together?

It was really the combination of two separate ideas. One was a documentary about these extreme right wing militias in middle America preparing for what they feel is the inevitable race war. The second idea was a general fascination with savant-like prodigies and how they are born with a gift not necessarily of their choosing. We combined the two into this concept that every generation is given a great military mind – Hannibal, Napoleon, Washington, Patton, etc. Who says our generation’s greatest warrior has to go to West Point and be a trained killer in the traditional sense? What if someone surrounded by violence their whole life discovered they had this gift and chose to do something with it?

You seem to be trying to take a pretty realisitic view of life in an inner city. What kind of background do you have with that part of the world, and did you undertake any research to make your depiction more accurate?

Growing up on the tough streets of Long Island, Marc and I have exactly zero background growing up in that world but we did research into gang culture and military tactics and that’s what being a writer is. A lot of that research will, readers willing, show up in future books as the Battle of Los Angeles escalates into a full scale conflict. We have some really, really cool stuff planned that obviously wouldn’t fit all into one book.

Obviously, Destiny’s chief character trait in the first issue is her tactical brilliance. What else can you tell us about the character?

She is a person that has watched the game be played her whole life and has figured out a way to run it. She is a street hardened politician in a sense, in that she knows how to speak to all types of people, knows how to motivate them, and manipulate them. She is strong, incredibly bright and driven to make a difference. It is up to the reader to decide whether she is justified or misguided. She really is a very fascinating, complex character.

Take us through this story a bit as it might evolve over possible upcoming issues. What’s your long-term vision for the book?

Man oh man. The battle will become larger than anyone thought possible. Detective Grey’s role will definitely grow as his “Suspect Zero” theory is proven legitimate. There will also be a lot of backstory as to how Destiny became the woman she is, how she has been planning this for quite some time and how she intentionally stayed off the grid and kept her existence and motives a secret until the time was right. There is also a shared experience Destiny and Det. Grey have that neither of them knows about. Marc and I have this story all structured out and a great arc planned and we really hope we get the chance to tell it. We had to really pick and chose what to put in the first issue to tell the story, establish characters and convince readers that this is a story that they will want to hear more of.

What do you need to make happen in order to see Genius take the Pilot Season crown? What’s the most important thing fans can do to help?

Come August the voting will open on Top Cow websites and a few other comic book sites, I believe. You can vote once per day for the entire month. Please, if Genius piques your interest and you want to see more, vote every day and encourage others to do the same. This is a chance for all the fans that crave something different out there to make it happen. All of us that can see the ever-widening scope of what comics can do – this is our chance to put something different out there and take steps towards redefining the medium. I am a huge fan of superheroes, but I want more options as well.

You wrote Genius with your collaborator on The Highwaymen, Marc Bernardin. How does the division of labor work between the two of you as writers?

It is totally 50/50. It’s actually very funny – Marc and have been friends since 5th grade; we grew up blocks from each other. We have been writing film and TV specs for years and then I got an offer to move to LA that I could not pass up. Since I have moved our productivity has increased ten fold. We are such good friends that our work sessions in the same room always turned into massive Halo sessions or watching movies for inspiration – basically anything else that would side track us. We got work done but not nearly in proportion to how much time we were putting in. Once I moved to LA we began to work over the phone, e-mail, IM, etc. and our output has skyrocketed. We are both so busy (he with EW, me running Gene Simmons Family Jewels) that we really hyper focus on the task at hand. A story usually starts with a one line idea from one of us, “What if…” Then we flesh it out together and do an outline and then we pass Final Draft documents back and forth. I write 5 pages, he tweaks, adds five more and sends it back, I tweak, etc. So in the end all aspects of the book – the idea down to the layout and the dialogue – are both of ours. It’s working so far.

I thought The Highwaymen was a fun miniseries that deserved a bigger audience, and yet it seemed to become some kind of case study for the ways in which smaller books get the short end of the stick in an event-driven marketplace. Why do you think that happened, and what did you learn from the experience?

It was a huge learning experience, both good and bad. First off, we are proud that we put out what we feel is a quality book. I don’t think it would have become the “case study” and internet water cooler talk it did if it was crap. I think. It was exactly what we set out to do and, as a bonus, was really well received by the critics and the 12 people that bought it. 13 if you count my mom.

I think it is important to point out that it was not cancelled. I say that not out of ego, but fairness to Jim Lee, Scott Peterson and all the folks at DC/WildStorm. We made a deal for 5 issues and we did 5 issues. Of course the hope was that sales would demand more and then we and WildStorm, collectively, would have discussed continuing the Highwaymen in some form. Unfortunately the sales didn’t warrant that conversation.

I think it is too easy to “Monday morning quarterback” and say what went wrong. We all knew from the beginning that we had an uphill battle in the marketplace: unknown characters, no costumes, no capes, two unknown writers and a mostly unknown (but awesome) artist. When you think about it, the stars really had to align for it to be a runaway hit. Am I disappointed? You bet your ass, but I understand. I don’t take it personally. Who knows, maybe if Marc and I are lucky enough to become the next Fraction, Bendis or Vaughn, the math will add up and it will become feasible for WildStorm to do another.

I will say this, if you like something – support it – because you are directly affecting how long it will be around. Don’t automatically think, “Looks great, but I’ll wait for the trade” because if everyone does the same there will be no trade. If you like something, grab it now and show your support.

What else do you and Marc have on your plate, in terms of upcoming projects?

A lot actually. A bunch of anthology work: A Grunt tpb from Arcana, Outlaw Nation from Image, Postcards II, resurrecting the Sphinx in a pulp collection coming out. We also have a bunch of bigger projects I can’t talk about right now but hope to soon.