INTERVIEW WITH BUZZ DIXON GI JOE EXTREME SERIES WRITER

[jamarmiller]

INTERVIEW WITH BUZZ DIXON GI JOE EXTREME SERIES WRITER

Interview with Buzz Dixon : GI JOE EXTREME SERIES BIBLE and Episode 1 Writer.

To start off here are some questions I would personally like to ask;

1. Is the bible for the series (or a copy of the series bible ) available to view or purchase ?

Buzz: I have no material from either of the G.I. JOE series. I gave those away long ago to a person who deals in collectibles.


2. In many character/ cast list or even scripts for the series that I have collected it list some names never shown in the series for example:

Nelson

Sawsad

Steel Talon

The Grey Ghost

who are these people? and who were they suppose to be ?

Buzz: I can’t remember the exact details. The Grey Ghost or Steel Talon may have been names considered for the chief villain in G.I. JOE: EXTREME but I’m not 100% sure. Other characters would be named by Hasbro, we would start writing scripts with those names, then the names would be changed for legal reasons but early drafts of the scripts would remain.
( Note by Jamar Miller: in scripts the Grey Ghost is definately not Iron Klaw he maybe a early version of Clancy. see the thread for Episode 23 for a look at a complete scipt here: )


3. I felt like the series was the best written Joe Series to date exspecially when viewed as a whole . Were you suprised at the poor response to the series?

Buzz: I can’t say what I felt at the time. I was so immersed in other projects by that point I really wasn’t paying attention. I think it was the toy line that failed more than the series itself. (The G.I. JOE: EXTREME actions figures being larger than the previous action figures but smaller than the classic G.I. Joe action figures meant kids couldn’t play with them with equipment and vehicles from either previous series.)


4. Why did you write the Bible and the first episode and then decide to leave the project?

Buzz: Hasbro selected me on the basis of a pitch I made to them about the new G.I. JOE series being more like the black ops guys in Tom Clancy’s novels. By the time production actually got underway, however, I was heavily involved in another project and so how to bow out due to scheduling conflicts..


5. Out of all the characters on the show Black Dragon the teams residence ninja did not get a character specific show that all the other characters got. Why? and is thier any information you can tell us on Black Dragon that is listed in the bible ?

Buzz: Memory fails me here. Sorry.

6. Was General Hawk ever intended to show up in the series? its rumored that he was originally suppose to be in the series from time to time.

Buzz: My original intent was to tie G.I. JOE: EXTREME into the original series by basically saying the Joes were disbanded after Cobra was destroyed but now that a new menace had appeared General hawk was organizing a new team. How closely they followed that concept, if at all, I couldn’t say. ( Note by Jamar Miller : So the Clancy character was suppose to be Hawk originally / possibly as he is the one that orgainized the new team)


7. Were you responsible for all the great back stories for FREIGHT Wreckage Quick Stryke ?

Buzz: If it was in the series’ bible, it was my doing. I can’t comment on who did what after I left the series.


8.How did you feel about forgetting about all previous known Joes and starting from scratch with a all original cast

Buzz: It was fun, a chance to push the re-set button and bring G.I. JOE into the 21st century instead of staying in a faux Cold War setting as they had with Cobra.


9. Sgt Savage has a previous Episode that came out the year before Extreme called Old Soldiers never die and it was for the Sgt. Savage and Screaming Eagles Line. I personally really liked this concept. There is one episode in Extreme that does reference this ep but How much if any was used as a background for Sgt. Savage in Extreme ?

Buzz: The Old Soldiers toy line was a concept that never really caught on with the people buying the action figures. I think we included him more out of a sense of providing some history and continuity that otherwise wasn’t there.


10.Are there any Extensive Character Profiles in the bible for the series?

Buzz: I seem to recall writing bios for all the characters, but again memory fails me as to pertinent details.


11. Is it true (to your knowledge) that the extreme characters were originally going to be old Joes like

Duke as Lt Stone ?

Scarlet for Mayday ?

Snake Eyes for Black Dragon ?

Buzz: There may have been certain similarities, but I don’t recall deliberately writing them that way.


12. Is there any other little interesting tidbits you would like to share that you might remember about the series?

Buzz: Nothing that springs to mind. I was working mainly out of my home office so I had very little face to face contact with my counter-parts as Hasbro or Sunbow.


Okay now you are putting out Serenity. Got some questions about that.

First I would like to say I am personally a Christian myself and I appreciate your testimony in doing something like this.

13. Where did the concept come from ?

Buzz: I was Vice President of Creative Affairs for Stan Lee Media back in 2000. Someone suggested to Stan that he do a Christian comic book. Since I was the only identifiable Christian in the crowd the task fell to me. Stan was anticipating I would create a superhero title, but as I did my market research I realized Christian retailers preferred stories about more realistic characters and situations. I developed several concepts, including one about kids in a children’s choir. One little girl in that concept was a real trouble maker and I remember thinking to myself, “Boy, she’ll be a real handful when she turns 16.”

All of a sudden it was as if a flood gate opened and all these ideas for what eventually became SERENITY came rushing out. I’d say roughly 80% of the concepts for the final series came out in one for or another in the first 36 hours I was working on it!

Stan, by the way, was disappointed I hadn’t come up with a more traditional superhero concept, so he and I had an amicable parting of the ways and I took SERENITY with me as my severance package. Smartest business decision I ever made in my life…


14. Why a inspirational comic ? whats the market like ?

Buzz: SERENITY started out as an assignment, but rapidly grew into a love. As for the market, we had to develop and nurture that carefully over the years. It took us almost six years from first concept to finally seeing the books on the shelves. A lot of that time was spent educating publishers and retailers to the fabulous potential of inspirational manga.


15. Has thier been alot of resistance from the market about putting out a Inspirational Comic like this?

Buzz: Not so much from the market as from die-hard manga fans!


16. How is the book doing ?

Buzz: Very well, thank you. We made the Christian Booksellers Associations best seller list for Young Adult titles our first month out!


17. Where can one buy the book ?

Buzz: Check your local Christian book store, your local comic book shop, and if that fails try a big box store like Borders or go online at Amazon.com.


18 . Are there more plans for future takes for the serenity book ?

Buzz: We’re already hard at work on volume 6 of the series and have plans for anywhere from 14 to 18 more volumes beyond that!


19. Briefly tell us in your words what the book is about.

Buzz: SERENITY is America’s best-selling premiere inspirational manga, a comedic teen soap opera about an unhappy girl who finds a happy ending. Currently each volume features 90 pages of full color story in a square bound digest size trade paperback.


20. When did you become a Christian?

Buzz: I grew up in a good Christian family and was baptized when I was twelve or so, but the full impact of what it really meant to be a Christian didn’t sink in on me until my late teens, early adult life. Even now I’m still learning and discovering new things about my faith.


21. Lastly as Christian what kind of advice can you give young People?

Buzz: Don’t ask me – read the Bible!


22. Anything you would like to add about GI JOE EXTREME or Serenity?

Buzz: SERENITY is the most satisfying project I’ve ever worked on, but the G.I. JOE series run a close second.


Thank you for your time

Buzz: Thank you!


Please visit Serenity Web site here:

http://www.realbuzzstudios.com/#

[steve2477]

Cool interview.

[The Baron]

Cool! Did you do the interview, Jamar?

Is Buzz Dixon related to Chuck Dixon, do you know?

[jamarmiller]

Cool! Did you do the interview, Jamar?

Is Buzz Dixon related to Chuck Dixon, do you know?

ya I did all the interviews in both the Action Man section and GI JOE Extreme sections here

and no they are not related. Buzz is most famous to GI JOE fans for his massive amount of work on the original GI JOE SUNBOW series

[Road Bullet]

I know I’ve read this interview a few times over the last 11+ years that you posted it. Thanks for the great information. Wonderful to see you two touching on your faith, as well!

[jamarmiller]

thanks so much for the kind words and incredibly late reply, I dont get mail notifications for some reason and I am just seeing this now .