By Toney Tapia

A prolific creator known for his horror-tinged work at CrossGen and his continuity hopping Marvel title, Exiles, Tony Bedard is a talented writer and creator, currently at the top of his game.

We spent a few minutes with him to talk about Exiles and his new series from Image – Retro Rocket!

DF: How have you decided which characters to add to the ever-rotating cast of Exiles? Does the story come first or do you just pick names from a hat?
TONY BEDARD: I definitely don't pick 'em from a hat!  Most of the newest additions are coming aboard as a result of the current World Tour storyline.  I started that one by deciding which realities would be the most fun to visit.  I also knew we wanted to shake up the Exiles roster, so I looked at what personnel options those worlds we'd visit
had to offer.  I also thought we should get some recognizable characters that weren't an alternate versions of themselves.  When EXILES editor Mike Marts suggested Longshot, I realized that there was a great logical reason to make that work.  Longshot's powers are, weirdly enough, the perfect antidote to Proteus's powers.  It's all a matter of making it fit logically and flow smoothly.
 
DF: In Issue #74, Heather Hudson barters a deal with Mojo that gave him the exclusive rights to broadcast television shows featuring thousands of universes. Out of all the realities you can think of, what would be the top rated show? What would be the worst?
TONY BEDARD: Top-rated: "CSI: Latveria"  -- Every week, a charred body is discovered, and the forensic trail leads back to the same perpetrator, Victor Von Doom...who promptly zaps the upstart Crime Scene Investigator.  The next week, that Investigator's charred corpse is discovered, and...you can guess the rest.  Formulaic? Yes.  But strangely addictive viewing...

Worst-rated: "The No-Spinneret Zone" with Ben O'Reilly, where an alternate-reality Spider-clone comments sanctimoniously on the news of the day.

DF: We have seen the Exiles journey to the Universes of Earth 616 (House of M), the New Universe, and now leaping into Marvel 2099 with Exiles #75. What can you tell us about the team taking this leap into an alternate future of the Marvel Universe?
TONY BEDARD: Well, the 2099 line is one of the most fondly remembered alternate universes Marvel ever put out, so when we made up the original list of worlds to visit, 2099 was always a front-runner.  The gist of the whole World Tour arc is that the Exiles encounter the reality-bending mutant Proteus in the House of M reality, and from them
Proteus learns that there are other universes out there.  So now they've been chasing Proteus from reality to reality as he keeps switching host-bodies and generally carving a transdimensional swath of destruction.  Now he's in the world of 2099 looking to take up residence in the indestructible body of Hulk 2099.  The Exiles arrive and run smack into Spidey 2099.  Hilarity (and massive property damage) ensues.  We're also showing up at an early point in the 2099 run, when that whole world held so much promise.

DF: The World Tour isn't stopping at 2099 though. We are then jaunting off to Squadron Supreme, Future Imperfect and then Heroes Reborn. Are there any realities that you wanted to make a stop in but couldn't?
TONY BEDARD: I would have loved to hit the Ultimate Universe, but that one was denied.  I understand why that is, but it sure would've been fun!

DF: What are your plans for the team after the World Tour?
TONY BEDARD: We have some loose ends to tie up regarding all the dead former Exiles whose bodies are held in stasis at Exiles headquarters.  We'll see most of them returned to their home realities for a proper funeral. After that there are more big developments, but you'll have to stay tuned to find out.

DF: What other projects do you have in the works?
TONY BEDARD: I have a new series coming out from Image in March!  It's called RETRO ROCKET, and it's a giant-mecha action fest!  It's sort of "What if Gigantor was still around, trying to compete with all the new
Gundams?"  Basically a clash between the old-school, chrome-finned classic mech and the new-model army.  And then aliens invade.  And there's a tender-yet-weird love triangle.  And lots and LOTS of stuff blows up.  You get the picture.  Do not miss RETRO ROCKET, because the artist I'm working with, Jason Orfalas, is going to be the Next Big Thing in comics, you just watch!

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