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The first time I called James Marsters and left a message on his answering machine, I wasn't sure I'd ever get a call back. After all, we're talking about a big TV star guy here (James plays the foxy, British vampire Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) -- not someone who normally makes his living writing comics. But James Marsters has written a comic -- a Buffy one-shot called Spike and Dru, which follows America's favorite vampire sweethearts on a wrenching adventure through emotional hell (and Eastern Europe!) as they try to mend their broken relationship following the events of last year's season finale on the television show.
Only a couple of days after I left a message on his home answering machine, I picked up my phone and on the other end of the line was a very pleasant voice saying "this is James Marsters and I'd love to help you out." To my surprise, he wasn't British (maybe more die-hard Buffy fans would know that, but I didn't), and he was completely lacking the star ego I thought I'd have to work around. The James Marsters I met over the phone is articulate and extremely well-read, he's an accomplished writer, and he's quick to laugh. My first thoughts were that this guy is nothing like Spike, but once we got talking, I could detect a little darkness here and there -- a lot more edge than most people have -- and I realized why he works so damn well in that role. Anyway, Spike and Dru is coming out this March. It's a great one-shot that Buffy fans won't want to miss, and James Marsters co-wrote it (along with seasoned Buffy comic and novel scribe Christopher Golden). He also took the time to talk with us about his work on the show, the comic book, his favorite flicks, and his new (old) car.

SE: Let's talk about Spike and Dru, the comic book. How did the opportunity to do a comic book come about for you?
JM: Chris Golden was on the set doing research for the Watcher's Guide, interviewing the cast members about their experiences with Buffy, and you know, we talked about the show for a while and talked about projects that I had worked on adapting books for the stage for a theater company I had both in Chicago and Seattle called New Mercury Theater. It eventually got around to my favorite play, which I'm adapting for both stage and screen -- not that anybody cares or knows I'm doing it...

SE: Which is what?
JM: Macbeth. Which I feel actually very good about, I think film affords you different ways to make certain plot points clear...

SE: I'm assuming you've seen Polanski's version of that?
JM: Yes. It's very good. I thought that it presented the world in the context of Macbeth very well. He was in a very brutal world and was in fact rewarded for being brutal. I also like the treatment of Lady M., actually -- beyond the nudity, which I think was more Hugh Hefner than anything (he produced it) -- but in that he did not portray her like they usually do, which is as a shrewish bitch who is manipulating her husband. I think of her as stronger than she was presented in the film. I think that they're co-conspirators and co-criminals and when she rags him out for changing his mind and questions his manhood, that she has every reason to do, because I would, too. If I were stealing a car with another person and when we were picking the lock he bailed, I'd rag him out, too, you know. I shouldn't say that, (laughs) but it's true.
Anyway, Chris and I started talking, and I just yammered his ear off about that, and then he just said, "you know, if you wanted to write a comic book about Spike and Dru with me, I'm sure there would be interest in it." I told him that I'd been reading comic books for a long time and would love to. So he called you to see if there was interest in it, and you (Dark Horse) were wonderful and said that there was, and that's how it started.

SE: So you were a comics fan before this?
JM: Yeah, very much in my teenage years, I was into comics. And I kinda dropped it off because I was going to college and I was reading other, more high falutin' stuff like Shaw and Moliere, and stuff like that. And I was poor -- eating sandwiches with mayonnaise and nothing else. Spiderman or mayonnaise? Hmmm (laugh)? I needed calories to keep walking, so I opted for the mayonnaise.

SE: Mayonnaise can be a lifesaver. But let's talk about some of the other stuff you've written.
JM: Some of the stuff that I adapted for the theater was a readaptation of Life is a Dream, which is the Latin Hamlet. It's a beautiful story, and I was lucky enough o work with someone who had majored in Spanish in college and had done his thesis -- he was a double-major in Spanish and theater -- so he did his thesis on the play -- and so we were able to go back to the original Spanish and see what other translators had done with it. We found huge changes in the plays -- excising scenes, adding their own scenes, changing characters and stuff, and we were really trying to get back to what the playwright had originally done. That was very exciting.

SE: So what did you study in college?
JM: Well, I went to Julliard, I studied acting. Walking and talking, all that stuff.

SE: What other acting have you done? I read in the handbook that you'd done a reading of Cider House Rules, which is a great John Irving novel.
JM: Yeah, they were working on it. They had actually already -- ironically -- done a workshop of it at Julliard that I got involved with, and they were working on it in Seattle and needed people to rehearse it for a week, they being Tom Hulce, and his partner -- who's the head of Book It Theater Company -- who also co-directed the Taper production. They had me read the lead of Owen, and I was stupid -- one time Tom just turned to me and said "I don't know if your center is the character's center", and I stupidly said "I think you're right."

SE: Oh no!
JM: But he was right. Owen has a very wide-eyed, fresh perspective, and I think I have more edge than that. So he was right. I mean, I think I could play it, but I think someone who had a more instinctual relationship to the character could play it better.

SE: But you play Spike on Buffy -- how did that opportunity arise for you?
JM: I was called in by Marcia Shulman, who was casting Buffy and has since moved on to become head of casting at Fox. They had been searching for someone for a long time, and hadn't found him, so they were casting people who probably had less television experience, which I did. And I came in and had the time of my life, quite frankly. My memory of it was that I was just having fun. I was playing. They had me do it -- first I read for Marcia's assistant, and we did this scene for about 45 minutes. She had me do it in both a southern accent and a British accent. They weren't sure quite what they wanted , and they liked what I did, then they called me in with Juliet (Landau), who was precast, and I have to say we just clicked in together right away. There was an instinctual trust that usually takes a long time to develop, but for some reason she and I -- just having met thirty seconds before -- just decided to jump off the cliff together, which I really appreciate, because she didn't have to. She had the role already. She didn't have to extend herself that way, but decided to just play.

SE: It only works better for her if you guys are going to be a couple for a while and you're actually working from the chemistry that was naturally there in the first place
JM: Yeah, it's a kind of informed self interest that I think some people may not realize.
In fact, the shot that I see most often of us from the show -- stills from the first episode where we were meeting The Annointed One -- was taken directly from the audition. We kind of leaned into each other, locked at the forehead, and looked at the camera. That just happened in the audition, and that was the end of the audition, and everyone was like, "we love these guys!" It was just, frankly, a particularly good audition. I can't really account for it other than that. And I don't know if I want to examine why I particularly enjoy playing a character who enjoys hurting people (laughs)...

SE: When you first heard about the role, how was it described to you? Spike obviously isn't the nicest guy in the world...
JM: Yeah... the touchstone that Joss gave me was Sid Vicious, because he wanted the Sid and Nancy of the vampire world, and after he cast me, he came over and said "Less Olivier and a little more Tim Roth, if you would . .." So I've been trying to give him that if I can. Some people have said he got Billy Idol and not Sid Vicious (laughs)... well, I'm not Sid Vicious, but I think the Billy Idol part -- that's the hair.

SE: Does the role wreak havoc on your hair. Isn't it naturally dark?
JM: No, not really. Naturally it's blue (laughs)... But now I'm in Hollywood, so God knows what it's going to be day to day. I think I switched hair colors three times in one two-week period once just for doing different projects...

SE: I've done that, too, but that was just me in the bathroom with a big bottle of peroxide, and no TV show involved!
JM: Yeah (laughs)! That reminds me, for anyone who wants to bleach their hair out -- if you put a couple, or three, or four packets of Sweet and Low in the bleaching solution it won't burn your head as bad. That's my big word of wisdom.

SE: I've bought that scalp saver stuff...
JM: I think it's essentially the same chemical compound, and this way it tastes good!

SE: But you probably shouldn't ingest either of `em when you really think about it.
JM: Yeah. But you know, I've found a newfound respect for bleached blondes! It hurts! You've gotta have balls to bleach your hair.

SE: Anyway, have you seen any of the pages from the comic yet?
JM: No! Are they ready? One of the main things I wanted to do -- besides write a good story -- was provide something we could let the artists' imagination run with. I was hoping that something could spark him.

SE: Well you've seen Hellboy, right?
JM: Yeah, I love that.

SE: It's actually kind of a similar art style -- really dark, really shadowy -- I think it fits the story and the characters beautifully.
JM: So is it done?

SE: I've got the first eleven pages on my desk right now.
JM: Oh fax me! Fax me!

SE: I'll fax you!
JM: Just fax me one page!!!

SE: I'll do that right after we get off the phone. But let's talk about the actual writing of the comic a little. Can you describe the process to me? How was it working with Chris (Golden)?
JM: Basically we just threw around story elements first, and came up with something that we liked. My feeling was that the last episode in whiuch we saw Spike and Dru was not a closed book at all. I kinda wondered what the hell happens the second day? I mean she's been around sniffing Angel for the last four months, and I hit her over the head and kidnap her, but what the hell happens when she wakes up? It's not happily ever after. So I wanted to put them through an adventure that would bring them back together, but I wanted to have them start very far apart, just for dramatic reasons.
My first idea was that Spike would try to kill her , that she was obviously still thinking of Angel and that he would just lose it and throw her through a wall or a window or something. But Chris and the people at Buffy thought that was just a little too much, so they toned it down just a little bit. But it starts in about the same way, where they are breaking up, and through the course of an adventure, they discover they still need each other.
However, since Spike has lost his trust in Drusilla, that brings him into mortal peril. And he discovers throughout the course of the story that he had every reason to trust her. And on Dru's side, the comic book starts with him doing violence to her, so she's pissed! She wants to kill him. So it's really just exploring how far you can take these characters away from being lovers, and in fact make them enemies, and what will it take to get them back together again? And I think that's what lifts them up above stock villains is the fact that they do, indeed, have true love.

SE: And a lot of weird little affectionate things as well
JM: Yeah, weird things (evil laugh).

SE: How did you chose the setting? Or settings, I should say...
JM: I wanted to put them into the most romantic setting possible. My first idea was Morocco, kind of a Casablanca sort of thing... God, Morrocco, what is that? Stupid American. (laughs). But I wanted to put them in a very different place than Southern California, which I guess has it's own romance, but being that I live there I don't see it, I suppose. Chris had a lot of social information about Greece, and talked to me about putting them in a Greek fishing village, which seemed to me very atmospheric, and I also wanted him... and I'm talking like this is all me. You know, Chris really wrote this more than I did. I should say that full out.

SE: Well, he's got an amazing talent that everyone in the comics industry is trying to mine. Still, you had a big part in this, and he obviously wanted your participation,
JM: I have to say that he was really wonderful and patient and instructive in helping to get me to think of things in terms of using static images, still images that convey things, as opposed to using physical action, which I'm used to. For a film script or a television script, the action flows. With a comic book, you are really trying to find snapshots that convey that information and it's very different. And also just letting me know about the structure -- how many panels one needs, and how many lines per panel, and helping me pare down what I had written so that it could fit into that format.
And he really liked my ideas, although he came up with the coolest thing in the comic book, which is the villain. His idea was that there would be a necromancer -- someone who did magic with dead body parts -- and the interesting thing about that is that both Spike and Dru are dead, and so he could then turn around and control their bodies. And I thought that was the coolest idea. That would scare the hell out of a vampire. So he a major influence.

SE: And I think that's a really good thing for any writer -- whatever form you prefer to work with -- comics is a lot more complicated and intense than most people would assume. But it's easy to make it look easy. People like Frank Miller do that every day.
JM: He makes it look so easy! I read 300... God, that is so good! I found that it was a bit like writing poetry actually -- that you had to condense and distill it down to its most basic level. And I think the point about Frank Miller is perfect, because he's able to do that better than I think anybody. He puts very few words on the page, but all those words resonate and expand in your mind, and all the consequences of what people are telling each other expand in your mind as opposed to him laying everything out.

SE: And again, Chris comes in handy here, because he has such a knack for working with words and making very few very effective.
JM: And he can make things move.

SE: And that's the hardest thing about comics. Frank Miller has a lot in common with Japanese comics, in that sometimes he'll use nine panels for a single action. And that's beautiful, but not every comic artist can enjoy that kind of liberty and attention from fans. People who are more unknown have to get their point across with less room.
JM: It needs to move even though it's a static art form. A lot of comic books don't have that, but those are the ones that aren't produced by Dark Horse (laughs).

SE: Thanks, we'll pay you extra for saying that. Anyway, working on Buffy's a fun job I assume.
JM: Very fun, Everyone from Joss to the caterers are very fun to work with and very good at their jobs. And the people who hire people on Buffy really understand how important it is to have people work well with each other. Consequently, it's really cool. I mean, the people are working hard, making 22 small movies a year. There is fatigue, but people are happy to come to work. People are worn out and so tired, but so happy to be there. And that is not always the case. I've worked with perfectly capable crews, perfectly wonderful people, but somehow I think that all comes down to everyone believing they're involved in something memorable, and that carries us through a lot. And also because everyone knows their job, the machine is able to operate as smoothly as possible. We only had one jerk here the first season -- he was just a day player... not that that would make him less important, but we didn't have to hang around him all the time, which was good. He was just a jerk, and it was like "who let him in the sandbox?" But when he left everything was cool.

SE: It makes all the difference to work with people you really like. It's like that around here, too. We all work our asses off and are crazy half the time, but we work at a comics book publisher, so that makes up for part of it. And if we can all go out and get beers after work and still be friends, that's great. Anyway, you seem to really embody Spike, and I think a lot of people would have a hard time imagining anyone else in that role. What part of you is Spike? And what do you personally like about the character?
JM: He enjoys hurting people, frankly.

SE: And that's an honest trait, at least.
JM: Uh, yeah (laughs). There was a time in my life where I got into a little trouble and the thing about getting into fights in real life is that the ramifications just extend for years. I mean, I haven't gotten into a street fight for five or six years, so I'm not liable to fly off the handle and hit someone. It's just not going to make you much of a life if that's how you treat people. But the thing about Spike is...

SE: That is his life.
JM: That's just his life. So you spend all your time trying to be mature and polite and you have to cap a lot of your hostility, frankly. And the thing is, Spike is not bitter or twisted... well, he's twisted, but he's not bitter. But he has a good time doing it. And I guess the overarching thing is he has fun. And he's just got the best coat in all of Hollywood. I haven't seen a better one, except for maybe Rutger Hauer's in Bladerunner.

SE: Nothing comes close to Bladerunner ever. I feel bad because it's like, I know that's everyone's favorite movie, but it's mine, too.
JM: Yeah, exactly. But I don't care. That and Apocalypse Now are my favorite movies.

SE: What other movies do you like? Can you still enjoy movies now that you've been involved with so many?
JM: Oh yeah, always. I just saw Pleasantville and I liked that. I like the `everything is not as it seems' aspect of life, and I kind of thrive in chaos, so I thought that was cool. And I'm dying to see Gods and Monsters. Ian McKellan...

SE: Did you see Richard III?
JM: God, I loved that movie! It was sooo good! McKellan is such an original. His ability to be true to the verse an yet attain the kind of naturalism a film needs is just stunning. He and Kenneth Branagh, and actually, Lawrence Fishburne in Othello, I think achieved the same thing for me. I think it's a really good time for film and Shakespeare. Shakespeare was the very first to understand character, and before that, plays were just mouthpieces for their writers. It was all Neil Simon before Shakespeare (laughs)!

SE: So I guess that covers entertainment well enough...
JM: Well, my favorite entertainment right now is my beautiful new stock 1965 Mustang... black, black interior, black, vinyl roof, 260 engine. It's original owner -- the guy only put 96,000 miles on it, man. I can't tell you. It's pretty much like stepping back to 1965 and buying a brand new Mustang. I couldn't believe it.

SE: How are the interiors?
JM: Perfect! The front seats are new, and the back seats are original, and the dash is original. And the thing is LA is like Mustang town. There are Mustangs everywhere, and there are a lot of mechanics who specialize in Mustangs and a lot of manufacturers who make new Mustang parts that are just like the original stock parts.

SE: And it's nice because I don't think that LA has a problem with rust. Granted it's on the ocean, but it's also warm, and there are warm breezes ...
JM: Exactly! I've lived in Chicago and New York, and this has never had salt anywhere near it! Anyway, that's my entertainment (laughs)!

Buffy fans, keep an eye out for Spike and Dru, the all-new, full-color one-shot written by James Marsters and Christopher Golden, and featuring the stellar art of Ryan Sook. It's on sale April 14, priced at $2.95. You'll also want to keep an eye out for the first issue of the new three-issue Angel miniseries, debuting May 12 -- written by the trusty Christopher Golden, and featuring the art talents of Hector Gomez and Sandu Florea.

Fuente: Darkhorse.com

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