Did you ever have any nagging thoughts about the Halo comic turning into a crappy marketing ploy?

Brian Bendis: Not to be braggy, but I'm in a pretty good position where I don't have to do anything like that. The reason I raised my hand for the gig was, I'd been to Bungie with Marvel to help them get the license. I went in and they showed us that they were in the process of finishing the graphic novel and they had already hired comic legend Moebius and Simon Bisley and all these amazing artists and they showed us all the stuff and I was like "Oh Jesus Christ, they're not fucking around." Marvel had me go there like they'd somehow be impressed to see me or something, and then I see that they were working with Moby so they didn't give a shit. I was actually embarrassed that I showed up. But I saw how serious they were and where their leanings were about comic art.

What's your stance on licensed stories as a whole?

Brian Bendis: When I was a kid I couldn't stand shitty licensed comics, and sometimes it'd be shitty licensed comics of my favorite stuff. But then some of my favorite comics that Marvel put out when I was a kid were the Blade Runner graphic novel and the Close Encounters adaptation. I always wanted to do something that was an adaptation attempting to be of that high quality. This was maybe the only opportunity I could see coming, so we were like yeah, let's do Halo. I saw that it wasn't a shitty, cheap license. I thought it was a real attempt to try something. And also, I'm a big believer in putting your name on stuff that might be a bridge to get more people into comic book stores.

How did you deal with a main character that's faceless and almost totally silent?

Brian Bendis: That was a bigger challenge for Alex. What I write in the script is any feeling or thought that he might be having and not expressing, and it's up to Alex to find that perfect body gesture that shows that off. But I actually write other characters that can't show their face, like Spider-Man. It wasn't that much different. But it's funny because the difference between Spider-Man's emotional ride in his head is much more complicated where Master Chief is very much focused on that one ideal and he's pursuing it to the end. So it's sticking with that and capturing that, even when he's getting the shit kicked out of him.

Is there a secret clutch of comic book creators that play Halo online?

Brian Bendis: Hell yes! That's the best part, is we got the gig because me and Alex are part of the clutch and they're furious. They didn't even know the gig existed, like I was in a position where I heard about the gig before anyone even knew about it so I didn't even have to fight for it, you know?

Did you break the news over a game?

Brian Bendis: Hell yes. [laughs] No, it was me and Ed Brubaker, and Brian Reed, and Alex and Matt Fraction and Geoff Johns from D.C. and a couple other guys, we play late night. Call of Duty is our namesake because you can talk while you're playing, but the Halo beta was a big one for us. The reason to get this gig in the first place is to guarantee a Halo beta. I'd hate to tell you that that wasn't a big part of the negotiation, but of course it was. Alex is an outstanding Halo player. I am not. As you've probably read elsewhere, but a very embarrassing moment for me in my life this year was having to call Bungie and ask for the cinematic scenes at the end of Halo 2 because I couldn't get to it on my own [laughs]. Home // CELEBRITIES // WEB EXCLUSIVE // Brian Michael Bendis