DF Interview: Marc Guggenheim promises espionage intrigue in the ‘Too Dead To Die’ OGN

By Byron Brewer

In the 1980s, Simon Cross was America’s top super-spy. In Too Dead To Die, he faces down today’s very different world and a past that has come back to haunt him, forcing him out of retirement for one final adventure.

The writer/artist team of Marc Guggenheim and Howard Chaykin (Blade, Wolverine) reunites for an original graphic novel in the forthcoming Too Dead To Die. This all-new story promises classic spy novel suspense and is set to hit shelves from Image Comics this December. Whose espionage-loving motor wouldn’t be revved by the mention of these two comics creators? I sat down with my friend Marc Guggenheim to discuss the OGN.


Byron Brewer: Marc, Coronavirus and the pandemic affected all of us in many ways. Tell readers how this was instrumental in your coming graphic novel, Too Dead To Die.



Marc Guggenheim: Well, I locked the sound mix on my first directing efforts (Legends of Tomorrow, Episode 514) and the next day was lockdown. The shutting down of all production meant that I was able to focus on writing things that I wouldn’t otherwise have had time to work on. Among those projects was a push back into creator-owned comics. I had had the idea for what became Too Dead To Die for several years, but never had the time to actually work on it. Suddenly, I did.



Byron: And before we get to the book proper (well, kinda), relate the very ironic/amusing story of how artist and frequent collaborator (Blade, Wolverine) Howard Chaykin got involved with the OGN.



Marc Guggenheim: Howard and I had worked together on four projects previously: Blade, Wolverine, a four-page story for an anti-bullying special, and an unpublished eight-page Spirit story. Like I said, what became Too Dead To Die was something I’d been kicking around in my head for a number of years. The pandemic gave me a chance to finally work on it. I just started writing the first issue. This was, obviously, before I knew it would take the form of a graphic novel. But halfway through writing those first twentysomething pages, I realized I was picturing Howard’s art in my head as I wrote. When I finished the script, I sent Howard an email -- we’ve kept in touch over the years -- and asked if he had any interest in reading it. He said he did and evidently he liked what he read, because we were suddenly off to the races.



Byron: Introduce us to Simon Cross. Who was he, who is he, what challenges does life hold for him today?



Marc Guggenheim: I like to describe Cross as a super-spy who is as close to James Bond as I could get without being sued. He’s basically America’s answer to James Bond: Like Bond, he likes women and the finer things in life, but being American, he’s more coarse. He’s less proper. He has a tendency to break the rules. I don’t think he takes orders as well as Bond does.

I’m using the present tense here, but the truth is that that’s all in the past for Cross. When we meet him, he’s in his seventies and long since retired from the field. He has a collection of medications that have been prescribed to manage all the conditions decades of hard living have left him with. His liver is a mess. His back is in shambles. He has STDs. He’s basically falling apart when we meet him.


Byron: Talk a little about Cross’ world in the 1980s. And did you or Howard do any research for the period?



Marc Guggenheim: Howard and I both lived through the Eighties, so I don’t think either of us felt an overwhelming need to do too much research on that score. In any case, the majority of the graphic novel unfolds in the 21st Century. Although there is a prose short story in the graphic novel that’s set in the Eighties which I had to do a fair amount of research for. All I can say is, thank God for Google. It’s truly amazing how many specific facts are right at your fingertips.



Byron: Can you let us know about any important characters aside from Cross in the book, maybe introduce a few of them here?



Marc Guggenheim: The most significant co-star is Cross’ daughter, Lily. As more than one character points out, it’s statistically impossible for Cross to have had sex with so many women without siring at least one child. That’s Lily. But the important thing to know about her is that she’s no damsel. She’s smart and formidable and has her own point of view on things. At the same time, I worked hard to avoid the expected cliché of her having resentment towards her father which Cross has to overcome. Their relationship is much more nuanced -- in fact, Lily’s surname is Nuance -- than that.

There’s also Olivia Goodlay, who was a former co-worker of Cross’ and, yes, a former lover. Today, however, she’s a Director at the CIA. I was interested in seeing how a two-dimensional “Bond girl” would grow and change over time. Her interactions with Cross are among my favorite in the graphic novel. She’s got his number and has no compunctions about giving him the business.


Byron: Can you give readers an elevator pitch for the book (without spoilers, of course). And what sort of difficulties does a former 1980s Cold War superspy have operating in the 21st century?



Marc Guggenheim: The elevator pitch is that Simon Cross was America’s preeminent super-spy in the 1980s. But it’s now 2022 and the world has passed him by. All his heroism and sacrifices have been forgotten. He never settled down. He lives a rather sad and lonely existence. But all that changes the day he learns that one of his many assignations produced a daughter. The fact that she’s in danger draws him out of retirement for one final adventure.



Byron: Discuss your collaboration(s) with Howard in depth. Your story about how he got with this graphic novel says a lot about you guys as a creative team.



Marc Guggenheim: When I write a comic, I’m always seeing the art in my head as I go. With Too Dead To Die, I was seeing Howard’s art in my mind’s eye, as I mentioned. What’s interesting, however, is that I often don’t see Howard’s layouts -- how the art is arranged on the page -- and that’s actually an aspect of Howard’s art that he doesn’t get enough credit for, in my opinion. The way he’ll arrange close ups or tight shots of characters’ faces in panels that are confined to the left or right side of the page -- leaving the middle of the page for wide or action shots -- is really rather ingenious. And wholly original. It’s the most quintessentially “Chaykin” thing about Howard’s art, but nobody notices because his style -- his voice as an artist -- is so wonderfully specific. When you look at a piece of Howard’s art, you have no doubt who drew it.

Also, just by the design of the cover of the OGN, I get the feeling this may NOT be the last time we see or hear of Simon Cross OR the team of Guggenheim/Chaykin. Do we have more Simon coming to our lives in the future?
Well, to quote the title of Sean Connery’s last turn as James Bond, Never Say Never Again, I’d say “never say never.” I love working with Howard and I believe the feeling is mutual. And, yes, the story is built such that there can be sequels and prequels. It all depends on the success of the OGN, to be honest. In success, all things are possible. At the moment, I’m working on the screenplay for a feature film adaptation of Too Dead To Die -- Howard and I sold the rights recently to a major Hollywood studio. In my perfect world, we’d publish a follow-up OGN -- which, I promise, will not be called 2 Dead 2 Die -- contemporaneously with the release of the movie. But you never know what fate has in store…


Byron: Marc, I know you are active in all types of media, everything from comics to the screens big and small. What projects to you have coming, inside or outside comics, that you can tell readers about?



Marc Guggenheim: “That [I] can tell readers about” is the key phrase in that question. For the past few months, I’ve been writing a weekly newsletter -- LegalDispatch -- on Substack (marcguggenheim.substack.com) and I feel like many editions are just a laundry list of project codenames because I haven’t gotten the greenlight to talk publicly about them.

In terms of television, I’m just in the development phase on several projects. These days, a show can take four years between conception and streaming, so I’ve buckled in for what I know will be a long process on all of these. It’s not like the old days where you would pitch in June, shoot the pilot in March, and be on the air in October, unfortunately.
Right now, most of my public-facing (i.e., announced) work is in the comic book space. The trade paperback edition of Last Flight Out, the pre-apocalypse father/daughter story I published through Dark Horse, hit comic book stores on November 16. The week after saw publication of the first trade collection of Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca on November 23. That same day, we dropped Star Wars: Revelations -- a really ambitious 40-page one-shot which previews events that are happening across the Star Wars line in 2023. Speaking of 2023, on January 25, we’ll release another OGN through Dark Horse called Fragmentation, which I describe as “what if Christopher Nolan directed a family drama?”
Like I said, LegalDispatch is the place to go for teases of all my heretofore unannounced projects, including Project Artery which will be animated. I also talk a lot about the state of the entertainment industry and how it’s been contracting of late -- which probably seems strange given how busy I am, but it’s a strange time…

Dynamic Forces would like to thank Marc Guggenheim for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. The Too Dead To Die OGN from Image Comics is slated to be on sale on December 14th!



For more news and up-to-date announcements, join us here at Dynamic Forces, www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/, “LIKE” us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dynamicforcesinc, and follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/dynamicforces.

While most of the focus over at Marvel Studios is currently on the pair of upcoming Avengers films, Ryan Coogler is ready to return to Wakanda for a third Black Panther film. We’d heard of the possibility of the film originally from Denzel Washington who, while speaking of his potential retirement, mentioned the film as one of his future projects and then when Nate Moore left Marvel last year, he said he would be back producing the third Black Panther film. Now, Coogler himself said while on stage talking about his film Sinners, that Black Panther 3 would be his next movie. The series kicked off with Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, king of the African Nation of Wakanda and while he reprised the role in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, he sadly passed away shortly after. The sequel dealt with the characters death and passed the mantle on to his sister Shuri played by Letitia Wright who is expected to reprise the role in the upcoming Avenger films, but with talks of a potential soft reboot of the MCU, it’s unclear who will be wearing the mask for the third film.   

The most recent news on the DCU has to do with Jimmy Olsen. Variety is reporting that Skyler Gisondo will reprise his role from Superman in a true-crime docuseries style show that focuses on villains in the universe starting with the Flash rogue, Gorilla Grodd. Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault are set to write and showrun with James Gunn and Peter Safran joining them as executive producers. The show is planned for HBO Max and will be a mockumentary style similar to Yacenda and Perrault’s previous series like American Vandal and Players. In the original report, Variety claimed the series would be called DC Crime, something Gunn took to social media to debunk, saying there had never been any project in production called DC Crime, he then added that his saying that doesn’t mean that the rest of the report is false. This sounds like a pretty good confirmation to me. 

A new Star Trek film is in the works and Paramount is tapping the team of Jonathan Goldstein and John Frances Daley to write, produce and direct. This news comes shortly after David Ellison, founder of Skydance who recently purchased the studio, told investors that the next Star Trek film would not be a sequel to the Chris Pine/Zachary Quinto lead series of films. While this hasn’t been 100% confirmed, word is that the new film will be focused on new characters and not directly tied to any previous film or television series. Goldstein and Daley have a good track record when it comes to revitalizing franchises having written Spider-Man: Homecoming for Marvel Studios and wrote and directed Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves which was very well received by fans and critics.   

With The Fantastic Four: First Steps having moved to Disney+, the Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby lead team is now first in fans minds. But one person still thinks about the First Family of Marvel presented a decade ago and what went wrong. Miles Teller, who played Reed Richards in Josh Trank’s 2015 version of the property, still thinks about the project and how he believes the problems all came down to one person. Teller was on Sirius XM’s Radio Andy show said, “You saw the movie, right? Your eyes were working during that time? I think it’s unfortunate because so many people worked so hard on that movie. And, honestly, maybe there was one really important person who kind of f***ed it all up.” While Teller didn’t say who that was, he was referring to the person who made the final cut on the film, which was not director Trank. Teller said that he wanted a superhero film on his resume to help show him as a serious leading man, but after seeing the final cut recalled, “I remember talking to one of the studio heads, and I was like, ‘I think we’re in trouble.'” The 2015 version made $167 million worldwide compared to this year’s version which made $521 million. He stopped short of calling for a director’s cut of the film. 

The Creeper is a unique character from DC Comics, first introduced in "Showcase #73" in 1968. Created by Steve Ditko, The Creeper’s real name is Jack Ryder, a former television talk show host and investigative journalist in Gotham City. After being attacked during an undercover operation at a costume party, Ryder is injected with a serum by Dr. Yatz and gains superhuman abilities, including enhanced strength, agility, rapid healing, and a pain tolerance bordering on the supernatural. The serum, combined with a bizarre costume, transforms him into The Creeper, a vigilante known for his wild laughter, erratic behavior, and flamboyant appearance—a shock of green hair, yellow skin, and a red mane-like cape. The Creeper remains largely untouched by mainstream media, providing an opportunity to introduce audiences to a fresh face and break away from more established archetypes. His blend of horror, humor, and psychological complexity could create a film that stands out from traditional superhero fare. The Creeper’s unsettling persona and visual style lend themselves well to a film that could blend genres—horror, black comedy, and superhero action. His maniacal laugh and unpredictable methods could inject dark humor and psychological thrills, appealing to fans of films like "Joker" and "Deadpool" while carving out a distinctive identity in the DCU. Jack Ryder’s journey from cynical journalist to bizarre vigilante offers rich storytelling potential. Exploring themes of identity, sanity, and the nature of heroism, a Creeper film could delve into Ryder’s internal struggles and the impact of his dual life, making for a character-driven narrative that resonates with audiences seeking depth and complexity. And with being set in Gotham City, The Creeper’s adventures naturally intersect with the city’s gritty underworld, providing opportunities for noir-style detective storytelling. His background in journalism and investigation can be leveraged to create suspenseful plots involving corruption, criminal conspiracies, and moral ambiguity—making him an ideal protagonist for a film that explores the darker aspects of the DC Universe. The Creeper stands as one of DC Comics’ most unconventional and intriguing characters. His untapped potential, distinctive personality, and ability to straddle multiple genres make him a perfect candidate to lead a film in the new DCU. 

Predator: Badlands is doing very well, thanks for asking. The latest film in the long-running franchise set a few high franchise marks including domestic opening with $40M, best worldwide opening with $80M and best Cinemascore with an A-. The film also sits a the top of this week’s box office beating out the 2nd place film, Regretting You, by $32.9M… though that film is in its 3rd week. Other new films opening this week, Sarah’s Oil and Nuremberg, opened in 4th and 5th with just over $4M each. Badlands is the third Predator project for director Dan Trachtenberg, the first Prey showed how he could handle the franchise but then he wanted to follow it up with an animated film, Killer of Killers and then for the first time Badlands make the Predator the protagonist. 

Recent reports about problems on the set of Stranger Things may not have been what they seemed. There were stories being published that Millie Bobby Brown had filed a report against co-star David Habour, accusing the older actor of bullying. But the validity of those reports are now in question as both Brown and Harbour joined their Stranger Things cast members at the red=carpet premiere of the show’s fifth and final season. Brown and Harbour were seen joking together and even hugging. Brown has also spoke of Habour to Extra, saying: “It’s been amazing. We’re so lucky to have each other. The show means so much to the both of us, and to everyone here. This has been the last 10 years of our lives.” Brown stars as the psych-powered Eleven and Harbour plays Sherriff Jim Hopper who ends up adopting her. The fifth and final season will release on Netflix in three sets with Volume 1 on November 26 (four episodes), Volume 2 on Christmas (three episodes), and The Finale on New Year’s Eve. 

There is a major movie franchise out there that is not going by its original name and it’s thanks to the star. When screenwriter Derek Kolstad finished what would become is most popular film, he was inspired by revenge-thrillers with one-word titles like Payback and Shooter. He dubbed his film, Scorn. The problem came when the star of the film went out and talked about it, he always referred to it by the lead character’s name rather than the title. After a while, the studio realized that their star, Keanu Reeves, had done millions of dollars worth of brand recognition for the name John Wick… they decided to go with it and renamed the film. Why Reeves did this is unknown, but Kolstad has since admitted that John Wick is a better franchise name, saying, “I can’t imagine it being Scorn now.” Was this an intentional thing on Reeves’ part or just a happy coincidence? We may never know. 

If you check the major Hollywood sites like Deadline and Variety, they’ll tell you that October 2025 has been the lowest box office take in almost 30 years. It sits currently at $440 million with a few days left to add. In 1998 the box office did $455 million, which this month should just creep past. By comparison October 2018 did $832 million with just three films: Venom, A Star is Born and Halloween, taking in $481 million. But last year, October only took in $478 million showing the decreasing trend. Adding to the decline is the fact that no major releases were scheduled for this weekend because of the Halloween holiday. And what was put into theaters the whole month really didn’t get people’s attention. Tron: Ares was the highest profile film and that hasn’t even broken $70 million in its four weeks in theaters.   When you look at numbers like that, it’s hard not to think about what might have been. There was a big budget film slated for release this month, a film that got delayed and delayed and hasn’t even started filming. A film that finally has a finished script and is set to release in October of 2027… that of course is Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part 2. One of the most anticipated films currently in production, the sequel to the 2022 hit, bolstered also by the fan favorite HBO series The Penguin, would easily match and likely succeed the success of the first film. The Batman opened on March 4, 2022 and ended that month with $338 million domestically.  It was originally scheduled to be released October 3rd, looking at that release date, this year there really wasn’t any big film put in its place. The film would’ve done better than the first and that amount would’ve driven 2025 towards the top of the list, maybe even surpassing 2018. Ah, what could’ve been. 

DC Studios has potentially taken a significant step by filing for a trademark for a film titled "Salvation Run." A move that isn’t too surprising since the Salvation planet and the idea of using it as a prison for meta humans was introduced in the season finale of Peacemaker season 2. But the filing does indicate just how big this idea could be for the DCU. "Salvation Run" is a storyline from DC Comics that originally ran in the late 2000s. The story centers on the mass exile of some of DC's most notorious villains to a hostile alien world, forcing them to band together for survival. It was a concept originally pitched to DC by Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin. The trademark filing by DC Studios suggests that the company is considering developing "Salvation Run" into a feature film. While trademark filings do not guarantee that a film will be produced, they often indicate serious intent or early-stage development. The filing protects the title and concept, ensuring that DC Studios retains exclusive rights as plans evolve. Should "Salvation Run" move forward, it could introduce a fresh dynamic to DC's film slate. Instead of focusing on heroes, this story would shine a spotlight on villains, possibly expanding character development and offering audiences new perspectives on well-known antagonists. It also opens opportunities for ensemble casting, complex storytelling, and connections to other DC properties.