Geoff Johns Quotes & Sayings

I think evil is very relative. — Geoff Johns

There's only one thing I know about life.
I know some things happen by chance,
And some things happen because we make them happen. — Geoff Johns

We always knew that we wanted to keep Atlantis off for a while and when it did show up, to make it a big story. The goal for Aquaman was to position him as an A-list character; position him as an important member of the Justice League. — Geoff Johns

The problem is there are so many stories out there where I can pull that superhero out, put any other superhero in, and the story works the same. For me, that's broken. I have to write a story that no one else but Aquaman or Shazam can be in, and as soon as you pull that character out and out someone else in, it doesn't work. — Geoff Johns

The ocean is 90% unexplored. It's a great canvas to paint Aquaman stories across, just like Green Lantern has space. It's more organic, which makes it different and interesting. It's alien, but it's terrestrial. — Geoff Johns

Batman and the Flash have a whole lot in common behind the mask. They've both experienced loss, know forensic science, and are both a bit introverted. In 'Flashpoint,' Thomas Wayne thinks Barry is crazy, but Barry thinks Thomas is crazy. It'll be really fun seeing those two trying to figure things out. — Geoff Johns

Every villain in the DC Universe wants something different, and not all of them want to rule the world. Or at least, not all of them want to rule the world in the way the Crime Syndicate do. — Geoff Johns

I don't care how people read their comics, I want them to read comics. I don't care if they read them on an iPad or a phone or in store, I just want them to read comics. — Geoff Johns

I didn't want to take the DC universe, put it in a box, shake the box and pour it out. I wanted to take the major characters and show what they could be like if they were put on a different path. — Geoff Johns

Overcoming fear doesn't have to be skydiving, if you're afraid of heights. Overcoming fear is an everyday thing. We do it all day long. — Geoff Johns

I've always been attracted to the characters that I didn't know anything about. If you do anything in life with passion and love, then it's worth trying. — Geoff Johns

I will never fully understand why things happen the way they do on this planet. Too many people hold their tongue here. Too many people hide their true feelings. And at the end of the day, that does nothing but hurt someone. The men and women of Tamaran were always taught to live by their emotions, to trust that first reaction, as it is the most pure. Cyborg argues that you need time to make the proper decision. I argue that time blurs the true intent. To Earth standards, I may appear brash and rushed. I never hide what I think. Perhaps that is why Tamaran was a target for so many invasions. Our captors may have enjoyed seeing what pain they inflicted upon us, for our tears were never hidden either. — Geoff Johns

Aquaman is one of the greatest characters at DC Comics and one of my favorites. — Geoff Johns

The best thing about my job is that I work with the best creative people in the business in their fields. — Geoff Johns

I'm excited for everybody to see the books. In Justice League #15, there's a lot of other stuff too that's setup in this storyline that's going to explore Superman and Wonder Woman and Cyborg. Cyborg has a huge role in this story, actually, that sends him on a new path as well. — Geoff Johns

Everyone knows Aquaman, probably from all the animation he's been in over the years from the '70s and the '80s, entering him into the pop culture. — Geoff Johns

As long as Green Lantern is still dealing with fear, it's going to be relevant. 'Rebirth' really grew out of 9/11. 9/11 happened, and then two years later, I was writing about fear. It was obviously connected. — Geoff Johns

'Forever Evil' is my love letter to DC super villains. It's my chance to take all of the villains I've worked with and all the ones I've never worked with and put them into one gigantic, epic story that will bring together the bads of the DC Universe. — Geoff Johns

'Justice League' takes place in the past, and Aquaman has a lot more to prove. He's just starting out. The perception is already beginning, and all these super humans are just showing up, and here's Aquaman. The perception is, 'What's next? Now we've got a guy talking to fish. What can be next?' — Geoff Johns

Were really trying to make Crisis as accessible as possible, which is extremely difficult to do because it involves so many characters. But, again, you dont need to know all the details. Obviously the mainstays are there Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and heavily focused on. There are a ton of great characters, and a lot happens to them over the course of Infinite Crisis . Some change and evolve, others fall, but it really is about trying to bring everybody on stage. We probably have 90 percent of the DCU showing up, if not more but without losing focus on what the story is. — Geoff Johns

Just because there's a crack in something, doesn't mean you throw it away. — Geoff Johns

I love finding balance. My favorite thing to do is action-driven, emotionally-charged scenes. — Geoff Johns

Batman: One more thing. When you find something out, you can call me on this.
Commissioner Gordan: A cell phone with one button?
Batman: A bat signal.
Commissioner Gordan: Christ. He actually put a bat on it. — Geoff Johns

There's a famous tension between Green Lantern and Green Arrow in the comic books. Those guys have always been friends. They started off as not on the same page, and then they quickly became best friends. — Geoff Johns

Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg are fantastic producers and showrunners, and they lead a very, very positive, fun, creative environment to work in and to work with. — Geoff Johns

With Aquaman I worked with such talented guys, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado. And he's a great character. I mean, Aquaman's a great character, he just hasn't been positioned in a role of importance in a long, long time. We tried to do that in this series; give him this platform because he deserves it, and give a very different perception of Aquaman while at the same time staying true to who the character is. Showing his power level, his fortitude, his sense of honor and commitment and responsibility, and hopefully showing everything that makes a hero a hero. — Geoff Johns

Aquamen is unique in the sense that he does it without ego. He doesn't always have to be right. He's made a lot of mistakes, and he really takes those to heart. — Geoff Johns

Green Lantern: "What are your powers anyway? You can't fly."
Batman: "No."
Green Lantern: "Super-strength?"
Batman: "No."
Green Lantern: "Hold on a second ... You're not just some guy in a bat costume, are you? Are you freaking kidding me?! — Geoff Johns

I think supporting casts in comics are missing. I think a lot of the time in comics, all we have are people in costumes talking to other people in costumes, superheroes talking to superheroes and supervillains, and that's it. — Geoff Johns

I love every character in the DC universe, except for Rampage. Rampage is a She-Hulk rip-off, and I like She-Hulk. — Geoff Johns

I tend to like writing long stories in comics. I worked on 'Flash,' 'Teen Titans' and 'JSA' for years. I always like diving into characters. — Geoff Johns

[ ... ] but dreams on paper are never as good as the real thing. — Geoff Johns

Batman: What do you think Alfred?
Alfred: I think you're a bad driver.
Batman: I've got Lucius looking into another car-
Alfred: Well you're going to need one if you actually want to catch these blokes. Tea's on the table behind you. — Geoff Johns

The Green Lanterns are very forward and very courageous, very forceful. The Red Lanterns are out of control, and they're not in their right mind because when we're angry or in rage, we say things and we do things we wouldn't normally do. — Geoff Johns

One of the things that I thought really worked was that you have 'Smallville' on television and 'Superman Returns' come out in the theater, and it was fine. Nobody freaked out; nobody thought they were competing. — Geoff Johns

I put my comics that are really valuable into regular mylar because I like to look at them. Once they're in those clam shell boxes, they're impossible to open up. — Geoff Johns

Do you know what body armor says about a guy?
It says he needs body armor. — Geoff Johns

Re-introducing Aquaman and getting him to a place like that and then ultimately having him headline a Justice League storyline that crosses over between his book and Justice League really is the culmination of where we've been going with the character since the beginning. His role in this will change the Justice League storyline, it will change him, and it will send them both in new directions. — Geoff Johns

'The New 52,' I was really excited that new people got to jump in on books. In particular, on 'Aqua Man.' — Geoff Johns

I absolutely love Aquaman, and the character has been a passion since 'Blackest Night.' — Geoff Johns

It might sound goofy, but I do believe that emotions have power. We're all driven by something, and most of that is emotional reaction. — Geoff Johns

I don't know who made the first Aquaman joke. I'm sure it was comics readers; maybe we all did. But it's the idea that the perpetuated story of Aquaman is that he only has powers in water, and he talks to fish. I think it's the idea of him in the middle of a city just doesn't make a lot of sense to people. It's just the character itself. — Geoff Johns

I'm not the hero of this story. I'm a man who's been corrupted by his own unbearable pain. I'm a man who has too much blood on his hands to be called good. — Geoff Johns

We look at it as the multiverse. We have our TV universe and our film universe, but they all co-exist. — Geoff Johns

The DC Universe has the best villains in fiction, right? I don't think there's any group of villains collectively or anywhere else that come close to DC's. Joker, Cat Woman, Lex Luthor, are all staples. A lot of the comic book icons are fiction icons. — Geoff Johns

I think every writer doubts themselves, every day. You procrastinate because you're afraid. You're always afraid it's not going to be as good as you want it to be. But, the key is overcoming fear. — Geoff Johns

Everyone looks up to you. They listen to you. If you tell them to fight, they'll fight. But they need to be inspired. And let's face it, "Superman" ... the last time you really inspired anyone
was when you were dead. — Geoff Johns

Any character can find an audience and work if you have passion for that character. You might have to just scrape off the dirt and the barnacles and pull it out and highlight it. — Geoff Johns

The more that we self-analyze ourselves, the nicer we are to people and to ourselves, and the more we understand each other. — Geoff Johns

Deathstorm sees Power Ring as a fascinating experiment. Deathstorm is a scientist who's been merged with the dead body of his lab assistant. It's given him a cold demeanor and a clammy touch. — Geoff Johns

I am always a sucker for the underdogs. I love Batman and Superman, but when it comes to the guys who don't stand in the front of the line, Aquaman is one of the key guys for me. He's so much fun to work on. — Geoff Johns

I think Aquaman feels - and deservedly so - like an A-list, premier DC hero. I hope that carries on; it certainly will carry over to Justice League. — Geoff Johns

We are finding new areas in the ocean every day. It's as alien as going to outer space. — Geoff Johns

In life, there's a lot that I'm afraid of. Death is always scary. My sister passed away. I'm not scared to die, so much as I was scared to not have her in my life, and it took a long time for me to reconcile that. There are fears everyday, and things that I'm afraid of. I fear everything, but I keep going. — Geoff Johns

I like collecting comics, I like buying comics, I like looking at comics, but I also read comics on digital readers, so any way people read comics is fine with me. Digital is just helping people who might not necessarily have access to comics help them; that's great. — Geoff Johns

Clearly, Simon Baz brings such a different viewpoint to 'Green Lantern.' The very nature of the corps concept of overcoming fear, I felt Simon was a great character to explore, while getting a different viewpoint on things. — Geoff Johns

Aquaman has the ability to be a huge character, and I think we really brought him to a new level in comic books, and I'm hoping that new level continues to everything that is DC Entertainment. Certainly, that's the goal. He's one of our most recognizable and most important characters, and it's going to continue to stay that way. — Geoff Johns

Alfred: Are you alright?
Batman: I'm going to need a better car. Police are here. They'll pick up the others.
Alfred: And they'll probably be back on the streets by sunrise thanks to Harvey Dent. I know you don't want to hear it, but if you want to make Gotham a safer place we need to rethink how we're going to do that. You should come home now. Dinner's gonna get cold.
Batman: Don't tell me it's cottage pie again.
Alfred:...I'll order a pizza. — Geoff Johns

I know a lot of people that still buy comics, go to the shop every week, I know people who read them on an iPad. My brother reads on an iPad every week, he downloads his comics every week. — Geoff Johns

The thing about Green Lantern rings is they pick whoever has potential to overcome great fear. — Geoff Johns

I really explored self-awareness and emotions through 'Green Lantern.' It might sound goofy, but I do believe that emotions have power. We're all driven by something, and most of that is emotional reaction. For me, it was about recognizing my self-awareness. — Geoff Johns

'Forever Evil' is, ultimately, a Lex Luthor story. And everything in there is reflecting who Lex is and what he's going through. And we continue to learn more and more things about him that we might not know, and he's going to continue to experience things and do things that are surprising, I think, to even him - especially us. — Geoff Johns

I love Captain Cold. I have him on my door at the office. He's grounded; he doesn't want to rule the world. He's not necessarily driven by ego, which a lot of villains are. — Geoff Johns

The truth is, we're all cyborgs with cell phones and online identities. — Geoff Johns

Evil is relative - and what I mean by that is that our villains are as complex, as deep and as compelling as any of our heroes. Every antagonist in the DC Universe has a unique darkness, desire and drive. And the reason for being of 'Forever Evil' is to explore that darkness. — Geoff Johns

'Flashpoint' is a showcase to demonstrate why the Flash is a major character, just like how we've done with Green Lantern. It's important that the Flash can hold his own. — Geoff Johns

The idea of introducing the Seven Seas is absolutely to challenge Aquaman on an emotional and personal level. His responsibility is unification of the world, and that just became a lot more complex when he learns about the fall of Atlantis and the splintering of the kingdoms. — Geoff Johns

I've been writing 'Green Lantern' for a long time, and one of the reasons I've enjoyed it is because the depth of stories you can tell is pretty endless with space and everything. — Geoff Johns

I want to do character driven epic storylines with Throne of Atlantis kicking off. — Geoff Johns

My favorite thing to do is action-driven, emotionally-charged scenes. If it's not just two people talking in a room, but it's on the move and things are happening and it's chaotic, and emotion comes from the characters and from the action, and the fall-out ultimately changes the character relationships, that exactly the kind of stuff I like writing. — Geoff Johns

The characters that have greys are the more interesting characters. The hero who sometimes crosses the line and the villain who sometimes doesn't are just much more interesting. — Geoff Johns

My sister was the inspiration for the character, the good qualities instilled in the character. The initial inspiration was there, but Stargirl has taken on a life of her own. She's her own character now. — Geoff Johns

I may not be smart enough to do everything, but I am dumb enough to try anything. — Geoff Johns

You're always learning about yourself, if you're honest with yourself. It's very tough to be honest with yourself. We all are dishonest with ourselves, a lot of the time. We don't want to deal with something, so we compartmentalize it. — Geoff Johns

I'm really proud of all the stuff we've built with Green Lantern - from Larfleeze to the different corps. The universe has expanded and will live well past my run. It was more than just telling another story, but really giving back to the character by expanding and adding to their mythology. — Geoff Johns