Quotes from Antony Johnston

It is easier to rewrite anything - even the worst writing in the world - than it is to write something from scratch.

Anyone can sit down and write two pages of a novel, then forget about it, and a week later write five pages of a screenplay, then forget about it, and a week later start another novel... etc, etc.

Advertising is a nebulous beast at the best of times.

The biggest problem almost all comics face is not piracy or demographics or any of that nonsense: it's obscurity.

I've always loved 'lived-in' sci-fi. We take it for granted now, but it was a revelation in the late '70s - '80s, when movies like 'Alien', 'Escape From New York', and even 'Star Wars' introduced us to the idea that the future could, in fact, look old.

'Daredevil: Season One' is kind of in-between. On the one hand, sure, it's a graphic novel. But on the other, it's beholden to existing continuity, and we're still telling the story in issue-length chapters. So it's not that different to writing a miniseries, and I've done plenty of those.

Finishing something is the hardest part. You know it's not as good as you hoped. You know there are plot problems. You know that by finishing it, you're saying - even if only to yourself - 'This is the best I can do.' And because it's not perfect, that's really hard.

I enthuse about Scrivener to all of my friends. Some of them even listen to me and download it. This is often swiftly followed by an email complaining that it's all very confusing, and they'll stick to Microsoft Word, thanks.

'Modesty Blaise' is not well known in the United States, but in the United Kingdom, she's an institution - especially for a comic book reader of a certain age. She's a wonderful creation, and her strip ran in newspapers for a long time. So whenever female spies come to mind for us, they think of 'Modesty Blaise'.

That's right; I was watching 'From Russia With Love', one of my favourite Bond movies, and suddenly thought that I'd love to see a version of this from Tatiana Romanova's point of view. Or, better yet; what if she was the hero? What if this was her story, and Bond was just a side character?

As we were developing 'Umbral', and I was delving into the mythology and legends, I had a sudden realisation. 'Wasteland' is about people who fervently believe new myths and legends, but they turn out to be false; whereas 'Umbral' is about people who reject ancient myths and legends, but they turn out to be true!

The Fuse is a solar energy station in orbit 22,000 miles above the earth. But it's more than just a big solar panel array. The Fuse is also home to Midway City, a technically illegal settlement that grew out of a bunch of engineers who decided they'd rather make a new life in space than return home to earth.

Quite simply, we're re-telling the very first adventures of 'Daredevil', as originally seen in DD #1-6, but in a modern style and setting - being faithful without being slavish. And I'm using those adventures as a framework to delve into Matt's psyche a little, as he learns to become a hero.

You only come to know these things in hindsight Ã¢â'¬â€œ when you look back and see the precarious chain of events, happenstance, and good fortune that led to wherever you are now. Before you reach that point, you have no way of predicting which idea will make a difference and which will die on the vine.

You only come to know these things in hindsight Ã¢â'¬â€œ when you look back and see the precarious chain of events, happenstance, and good fortune that led to wherever you are now. Before you reach that point, you have no way of predicting which idea will make a difference and which will die on the vine. That's why you record them all. No matter how random, how small, how half-baked, how unfinished it may be; if you have a thought, record it right away.

It's easier to rewrite anything, even the worst writing ever, than to write something for the first time.

Contessa, a.k.a. Baboushka, was a leader in the Russian mafia. Hardnosed, ruthless... very much her own woman. She's a martial artist, marksman, and good with guns and gadgets as any good pulp spy should be. She's supported by her constant companion Gyorgy Gyorgyov, an old friend of her family who was, in fact, her KGB handler and inventor.

I like high fantasy as much as the next guy, but I also like a bit of grit and grime with my faux-medieval trappings.

This is absolutely the true answer, no word of a lie, 100% guaranteed: Q: What's the best way to turn my idea into a story? A: Whatever works for you.

When I'm back at my computer, and/or have more time to deal with the project than when I made the initial notes, I transcribe them into a Scrivener document. I create a new Scrivener file for every project, right at the start, and make a folder for these transcribed notes; when entering them, I title each note document according to date.

When someone says 'comic book movies', what they inevitably mean is a summer superhero blockbuster, with heavily-muscled and tightly-gluted men (plus the occasional token woman) in tight-fitting costumes punching the living daylights out of one another for two hours.

I sometimes see People On The Internet decrying work-in-progress tweets and posts as worthless. 'Measuring output by quantity rather than quality is dangerous,' they say. 'More work doesn't mean better work!'

There are many ways to improve your writing. Here's the bad news: 1.They all require hard work. 2.There is no magic bullet.

'Codename Baboushka' is an action-packed modern pulp spy thriller, in the sort of British tradition of 'Modesty Blaise', New Avengers and of course James Bond. It's a book about Contessa Annika Malikova, the last of a noble Russian line and an enigmatic, mysterious figure in New York high society.