Buddy Scalera is a comic book writer and self-publisher.
He is best know for his co-writing work on Deadpool and his solo story in Weapon X. He has contributed to X-Men Millennial Visions, X-Men Unlimited and other comics. He co-wrote and self-published Necrotic: Dead Flesh on a Living Body. He also recently published a multimedia CD-Rom titled Visual Reference for Comic Artists. Currently Buddy has a two-issue arc of Agent X in stores.
Scalera worked at Wizard Online for many years as the original Online Editor.
All my friends want me to kill them. And being the nice guy that I am, I will do my best to give them a prolonged and glorious death.
Ever since Jimmy Palmiotti recruited me to be his co-writer on Deadpool, I`ve had to contemplate many forms of murder. There`s the basic stuff like guns, knives and rope, but Jimmy pushes me hard to kill people in unique ways.
[IMG2R]A few issues back, we killed a schoolteacher with a hockey stick. And before that we killed someone by burning him alive.
To most of you this was just fun reading, but to a select few, it`s highly personal. To my friends, colleagues and family, this was their proudest comic book moment.
You see, if you`re writing a comic book, you have this cool ritual that you do when you name a character. First you think, "what cool way will I be killing this character," and then you think, "which of my friends would like to die this way."
Years ago when I was reading comics, I never noticed the little inside jokes. Okay, I noticed the really easy ones, like when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby slipped themselves in as extra characters. But most of the inside jokes went over my head. It was only later when I started to read the graffiti in the background, or the namebadges on cops did I realize, "Hey, I know that person!"
I guess it`s natural for a bored creator to look for ways to spice things up a little. Does anyone remember the controversy surrounding the Lion King video? Apparently someone slipped the word "sex" into one of the clouds in the background. I applaud anyone who manages to slip in a little sex at work.
[IMG3R]Now that I am writing, I find myself giggling with glee at the opportunity to name a new character, especially if I know I will be killing them later. If it`s a good friend, I really need to be sure that they die in a way that will make them proud in years to come. In Deadpool #49, I killed a friend with a toenail clipper.
I bear a great responsibility to off my friends creatively. I mean, why just stab someone when I can slam their head repeatedly with the refrigerator door and then push their face into a blender? Or why merely strangle a friend when you can skin them alive and throw fire ants over their exposed flesh?
Recently, Deadpool fans have been e-mailing me, begging for me to kill them. Fortunately, with the upcoming Punisher story-line, we`ll be writing some exciting new deaths. I`m not sure how long I`ll be co-writing the book, but I`ll do my best to kill you all.
It`s the least I can do for my friends.
Buddy Scalera is the current co-writer of Marvel Comics` Deadpool series. He`s also the former online editor for Wizard. And he`s cute as a button.
