The coverage for Dan DiDio taking over the reigns of The Outsiders with star artist Philip Tan has already started. Both Dan Didio and Philip Tan have spoken with Newsarama on the upcoming title and working together.

Dan Didio has the following to say:

Newsarama: Dan, how did the decision to write The Outsiders happen? Has this been in the works for awhile now?

Dan DiDio: We've been talking about this for awhile. I've been looking for an opportunity to do more writing. I've said before that I got a little bit of a writing bug back when I was working on the Metal Men material. Paul [Levitz] and I – before all the changes took place with DC – Paul and I were discussing this, and Paul gave me the thumbs up to work on one of the books. I just had to figure out what it would be. And when this assignment was opening up, I was very interested in it.

I don't want to take away from what Pete and everybody are doing on the book, but Pete's schedule was changing, and so there was an opening on the Outsiders. And this has been a group of characters that I've always loved. I basically had every issue of Batman and The Outsiders from back in the day.

But it didn't really come together until the point when Philip said he was going to be the artist on it. And then it just seemed to take off because there's a level of excitement and enthusiasm that Phil brings to everything he works on that is infectious. And the more excited he got, the more I wanted to do it.

Phil and I have been talking about it for awhile. We were working through the characters that are part of the story. We're bringing some new characters into the mix. For me, it's a lot of fun. It's going to be interesting to be a part of things from this side of the bench.

For the full interview click here...

Newsarama: Phil, how did you end up working on a comic with Dan DiDio? Did he come to you and ask you to do this project?

Philip Tan: We were talking about what I'd be doing next, back before I started on the Batman and Robin arc. My Green Lantern job was just finishing up, and I knew I only had a few issues of Batman and Robin.

He told me there were two possibilities: One was a high-profile "Bat"-book; the other was The Outsiders. But DiDio said he would write The Outsiders. And for me, I was like, "Really????" I asked Dan, if I take the Outsiders book, would it be OK to work on the plot script style, and that's what Dan wanted also. So it just kind of fell together.

It was what I wanted and needed at the right time. And we've been preparing ever since, which is nice to get a head start on things like that.

Nrama: What attracted you to working with a writer using plot-style scripts?

Tan: It's unusual to find a writer who is using that style. I don't think there's a better style or anything. But for me, it gives me more room to design the story. I like designing. I've done a lot of design work already of characters and settings. But this gives me the additional challenge to really break down scenes and stories the way I imagine them.

It's something that I've never done, but I'd really like to try. As much fun as I've had working with all these great writers in the last year and half, they write in really tight scripts. So it appealed to me from the get-go to be able to break down the stories. I really want to see what I can bring to a comic.

It's something I'm really, really excited about. It's a working relationship I've never done before. I want to see if I can make it work.

For the full interview click here...

(Source - Newsarama)