Quote du Jour: "If they all liked it, it would probably be crap."

Newsarama has a cool interview with Carnivale's Daniel Knauf this week where he talks about his upcoming plans for Iron Man. My favorite bit is when he's asked about the online fan reaction and talks about writing to please fans.

"I expected it and as I said, I totally understand it. Fans are very protective, and that’s the way it should be. I’m confident, though, that they’ll be relieved as soon as the books are released and they see that we’re delivering the character with a fresh perspective and real verve while keeping a respectful eye in the rear-view mirror.

"We don’t want to reinvent Iron Man – he’s already been invented fine, thank you. But there are two new sheriffs in town [he'll be writing Iron Man with his son --MM], and we plan on kicking things up a notch or three. Some folks might not like what we do, but most of them will dig it.

"If they all liked it, it would probably be crap.

"I think top-notch anything requires a certain amount of risk-taking. If you don't take risks, what you end up with is paint-by-numbers. Everyone'll recognize the subject, nobody'll be offended, but nobody'll be thrilled either. A big part of my job-description is to be thrilling.

"And that, by the way, is not necessarily incompatible with engaging a mainstream audience. I'm sure David Goyer upset a few Tim Burton fans with Batman Begins, but it was still a home run."

I'm posting this primarily as a reminder to myself. It goes back to the Steve Niles quote from a while back about not trying to write a story that will "grab the readers' attention," but just writing what thrills you. It's starting to sink in, but I can't hear it enough.