In his regular "DC Nation," column in the back of DC's monthly DCU titles, DCU Executive Editor Dan DiDio recently announced that Marv Wolfman would be writing a new Raven mini-series, so Newsarama took this opportunity to catch up with Marv and ask him about Raven, the Titans and his other projects.

Newsarama:  Last time we talked you were going to do a story for Infinite Crisis Secret Files, but you couldn't talk about it then. Now that the story has been published...

What was it like returning to the heroes from Crisis on Infinite Earths, in the Infinite Crisis; did you have any mixed feeling, turning the heroes into villains?

Marv Wolfman: Well, my favorite hero is the late 30s Superman, so that was a blast. There is something vital about him that reminds one, how good a character Superman is. I loved writing him in my Crisis novel, too. Same with Lois. As for Alex and Superboy, well, I had always thought coming out with Superboy Prime back in 1985 was a mistake - it added an unnecessary complication in now having to explain our Earth - which was supposedly real - had super-heroes, too. So I didn't mind seeing his change. As for Alex, at first I hated seeing him as a villain, but then when I realized here was a guy who had no life and, at less than a week old, had to grow up suddenly and, save the universe, then go into permanent exile. He was never given a chance to have a childhood. He went from newborn to adult in a few hours and he had people deciding everything for him.  It was that breakthrough that made it possible in my mind to see how never having had a life could slowly alter his mind. It made psychological sense which lets me write him with real conviction.

NRAMA: How did you get involved with the Superman Returns novelization?

MW: Simply put, I was asked, by DC editor Chris Cerasi, to work on it. There's no great story to tell about how I got it.

NRAMA: You had done a novelization of Crisis on Infinite Earths, was it different adapting a screenplay?

MW: It was different because in Crisis I got to make up the story, even if it was somewhat based on the original comic. Here I had to follow the original movie script, but was given the freedom to expand on it, come up with lots of new material, and dig deeper into the characters than a movie can.

NRAMA: What types of changes did you have to make to the script when turning it into a novel?

MW: I was encouraged by the script writers, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, to add scenes and to play up the characters, to give them backgrounds, etc. I was also encouraged to come up with new scenes and ideas to flesh out the story. For example, the entire first chapter, which is on line, is brand new. In it, I got to come up with lots of Kryptonian myth as well as create a background to Jor-El and Lara that had never been seen before. However I tried only to come up with ideas that would later play out in the whole story; to set up things naturally rather than come in and just throw in cool scenes. Everything in the novel had to be about telling the story, to explaining the characters, and to make it a novel rather than a movie. Why should one want to read the novelization when you can just see the film is a question everyone has to ask themselves, and the reason is the novelization, especially here where the screenwriters spent the time with me early on, and then going over the book afterward, meant I was allowed to write lots of material that we hope will enrich the movie experience, yet not duplicate it.

NRAMA: How did you come to collaborate with Geoff Johns on Teen Titans?

MW: Geoff asked me. Usually that's the case. Geoff had been a fan of the Titans George and I did and he wanted me to help out a bit with the deadline crunch. Working on Infinite Crisis was in itself a full time job, as was my working on the original Crisis, and yet he still had all these other assignments he couldn't give up. He very kindly asked if I'd be interested in working on the two Titans stories with him. I was thrilled to. Working with Geoff has been wonderful and he's been incredibly kind to me.

NRAMA: What was it like visiting the Titans again?

MW: It was easier than I thought since they weren't completely about the characters George and I had created. I was writing Titans using his Wonder Girl, his Robin, Superboy, etc. That way I didn't have to concern myself a lot with the difference between the way he writes Raven and the way I did, for example.  To answer the next logical question, I was pleased to see that he did go off in his own direction on my characters because I did the same thing when I wrote Titans. I made Robin, Changeling and Wonder Girl mine instead of following what the previous writers did. I think that's important because you've got to care truly about your work and you have to keep making the books fresh for new audiences.

NRAMA: Now you are working on a Raven mini-series, what it the story about?

MW: Emotionally, it's about a young girl who has found herself reborn in a new body and is trying to figure out her place in life. Story wise it picks up on the bit in the recent Titans Annual that I came up with that shows Raven getting an unexplained influx of emotions and what they do to her. It also asks where they come from and how it will affect her and everyone else in San Francisco.  It deals with her new life in school and establishes the new parameters for her character. And it takes an old DC villain and completely changes him.

NRAMA: Is Raven still one of your favorite characters?

MW: She always has been. Still is.

NRAMA: What is it about Raven that strikes a chord with you?

MW: More than any of the other Titans, her rich and detailed origin allows me to get into a very complex character. There are lots of levels to her that make her fascinating to explore. I wish, I could replicate that with new characters, but some characters seem to be created just right and there's no knowing why, or duplicating it. I see endless possibilities with Raven that don't always exist in other characters, even ones I've created. Her stories flow from her origins and character rather than just having her fight meaningless bad guys for no real reason.

NRAMA: Does this story fill in the one year later gap for Raven?

MW: I think so, but it also establishes her new status quo.

NRAMA: Is this the same Raven from the current Teen Titans series or has she been changed by the continuity wave?

MW: She is the same Raven from the current series.

NRAMA: Is this an attempt to see if there is enough interest in Raven for an ongoing series?

MW: I don't think so, but who knows?  I think some characters are perfect team members, but you can always do a series of mini-series with them. We'll see if there's any interest in that once the first series comes out.

NRAMA: Did you pitch this idea to DC or did they ask you to do a Raven mini-series?

MW: They asked me to come up with a Raven mini and I pitched the story that slowly morphed into the one you'll read here.

NRAMA: How many issues is the mini-series?

MW: Five.

NRAMA: Who's the artist?

MW: Don't know yet.

NRAMA: With Infinite Crisis, Teen Titans, the Teen Titans Annual and now Raven is it safe to say you are now officially working regularly at DC?

MW: I would love to do more, but as always it's up to them not me.  I would be totally thrilled if they like what I'm currently doing and want to continue working with me. They are good people, always have been, and the new people there are really trying to push the envelope, which I like. As for my next project, well, let's take it one story at a time.