DC Writer Tom Taylor Reveals The Secret Ingredient To Superhero Body Horror - Exclusive
Contains potential spoilers for "Titans: Beast World" (by Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, and Brad Anderson)
Writer Tom Taylor ("Injustice: Gods Among Us") is taking the Titans on an exciting new journey, where DC's current premier superteam will take the spotlight in the upcoming "Titans: Beast World" event. The Titans' first event ever will feature the DC Universe transforming into beasts as an alien with connections to the classic villain Starro launches a dangerous attack on Earth. The book, led by Garfield Logan's Beast Boy, will see heroes and villains fight the invasion while being turned from their usual forms into animal hybrids.
Taylor told Looper that he had a secret ingredient when he was crafting what the horror-tinged story would look like: fan service.
"I had someone — a good friend of mine who's a producer, director, and filmmaker — years ago tell me how important the transformation is in any sort of horror, that people really want to see that," Taylor shared. "It's not my jam; I'm not a horror guy. Despite having written 'DCeased,' I hate horror. I hate zombies. I'm like, 'Whatever.' Then, I went and wrote five books of them. But other people who know the genre — I reach out [to them] like, 'What is it that people are looking for here?'"
Tom Taylor listened to what people wanted
Tom Taylor mentioned that he didn't have any particular animals in mind when it came to transformations he'd like to see in the upcoming event, despite a good part of "Beast World: Titans" being centered around the idea. But the fan-favorite writer of "Nightwing" and "Titans" said he didn't mind taking in ideas and suggestions from those who have long waited to see their favorite DC heroes and villains transform.
"In particular, I don't have an animal-id. That's not something that, 'Oh, I want to see people turned into animals,'" Taylor told us. "I reach out to people who do like seeing that: 'Hey, what do you want?' I like fan service. I believe in giving readers what they want, or we wouldn't be turning Damian into a cat boy in 'Nightwing.' It's like, 'Apparently, the internet wants this. Let's give the internet what they want.'"
Fan service is important to Tom Taylor
Discussing what he hoped to accomplish with his runs on "Nightwing" and "Titans" leading into "Titans: Beast World," Tom Taylor shared he wanted to bring the Titans back to their most popular iteration first seen in "The New Teen Titans." That meant a roster featuring the most iconic team: Nightwing, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Flash, and Wonder Girl. While some writers and creatives may see fan service — such as bringing the fan-favorite squad back together — as a bad idea, Taylor said it's integral to his comic book runs. "Everyone assumes that it's consistent, that the Titans have existed like this for a very long time, but they haven't been together like this for decades. Literally, you think that they have, but they haven't," he noted.
In the same conversation, Taylor said he wanted to bring out the best qualities of each Titans hero and show off what makes them so beloved in the first place. "I liked fan service, so I thought, 'That's the team that I want to put together again,'" he said. "I do want to see them sitting on a couch, watching TV. I want Beast Boy to say, 'Change into any animal.' I want him and Cyborg to eat pizza. It's important stuff."
"Titans: Beast World" by DC Comics arrives in comic book stores and online retailers on November 28, 2023.