INTERVIEW WITH DAN JURGENS
Conducted on 6/4/04

CHRIS:  Thanks for taking this time for me.  I want to congratulate you on a good long run.  I mentioned on my site that only 12 more issues and you would have tied Tom DeFalco as the second longest run behind Stan Lee.  That's very impressive in this day and age.  How do you feel about that?

DAN JURGENS:  Quite good. Staying on a title for long run is a rare feat, and one that will get more and more rare over the years and the industry moves toward faster creator switches and arcs.

CHRIS:  Now a couple of questions that are tied together.  When did you find out that you would no longer be writing Thor, and what all did you have to change in #79 from what you originally wrote?  And how long were we going to be in this Asgardian future?  Was #79 originally the end of this timeline?

DAN JURGENS:  I found out after writing the script to #78 so having to wind everything up was quite an abrupt change in plans. We were going to embark on a story wherein Thor atoned for the mistakes he made. I think it would have been quite powerful and moving, but Marvel wanted to tie the book into the Avengers relaunch. I don't fault them for wanting to do so at all, but it would have been nice to have a little more room

CHRIS:  What did you have planned for the next arc or two?  You had mentioned on the message boards about Thor going on a "cosmic road trip".

DAN JURGENS:  As I said, Thor first had to make up for his mistakes. Magni would have been a central figure in such a story. After that six issue run, we would have blown the doors open and were thinking "cosmic".

CHRIS:  When Thor was going to go through his redemption, was it going to be set 200 years in the future, or was the plan all along for him to go back in time and redeem himself there? 

DAN JURGENS:  It was going to be a mix, of sorts, but much of it would have happened in the present

CHRIS:  WAY back when, you mentioned in a previous interview about a special project called "Ragnarok and Beyond" that sounded very much like either a bookshelf or mini-series.  Whatever happened to it?

DAN JURGENS:  It ended up becoming this storyline in the regular book.

CHRIS:  If you don't mind a few clarification questions?  These are a couple of things that I know you didn't get the chance to address with your run being cut shorter than planned.  Who was Mistress Kya's father?  It was played up like he was someone important.

DAN JURGENS:  That would have been revealed later. Since we won't do that story I'll just keep that information for now

CHRIS:  Whatever happened to Keith Kincaid?  Is he dead?

DAN JURGENS:  No.

CHRIS:  What was with Zeus giving Thor that gauntlet to move Asgard to Earth?

DAN JURGENS:  Zeus was assuming a portion of Odin's role as advisor to Thor. Think of him as a well-meaning uncle

CHRIS:  What was with Odin having knowledge of The Reigning beforehand?  Was it his plan all along to allow it to happen as another test?

DAN JURGENS:  No. He had knowledge of the vague shadow of what was to come

CHRIS:  It was mentioned that having Thor removed from the Waters of Renewal too soon could have tragic effects, did this play a part in his destabilization?

DAN JURGENS:  Yes.

CHRIS:  Was Jordahl going to have some kind of ongoing relationship with Magni, sort of like Jane Foster & Thor?

DAN JURGENS:  Yes.

CHRIS:  It was mentioned that the What If? title would be returning later this year.  Would you be interested in writing an issue, maybe a little touch of this timeline continuing?

DAN JURGENS:  Perhaps, hence my keeping the story details close.

CHRIS:  Why no "goodbye" letter in the final issue?  There was nothing from you or Tom Brevoort about it being your last issue.  I was expecting something, especially after since a lengthy run.

DAN JURGENS:  I assume it was because we needed the extra editorial pages for the story

CHRIS:  What projects are you working on now and where can we look for you in the future?

DAN JURGENS:  Besides COMMON GROUNDS, a book all of you should read, the next work you'll see is LEGION #s 35-38.

CHRIS:  Thanks for taking this time for me.  Is there anything you want to add or say to your fans?

DAN JURGENS:  Thanks for the opportunity, but I think that takes care of it.

This interview was conducted over a few days via e-mail.  I want to thank Dan again for taking the time to answer my annoyingly pesky questions, and personally, will be very dismayed if there is no farewell or anything in the trade paperback of "Gods and Men" - Dan's final arc on Thor.  Good luck on Legion and Common Grounds!