Geoff Johns Quotes

'The New 52,' I was really excited that new people got to jump in on books. In particular, on 'Aqua Man.' ~ 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 think evil is very relative. ~ 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 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

You were right, Barry...Every second was a gift. ~ 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

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

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

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

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

Nicole: You're a funny looking creature.
Larfleeze: Pfft! I'm not the one without a snout!
Nicole: I can sense the empty void within you.
Larfleeze: You must mean my stomach! I haven't eaten in two hours!
Nicole: No. There is a pit inside you that you have been trying to fill for centuries. I am here to give you hope.
Larfleeze: You know where I can find my lantern?!
Nicole: Your parents are still alive. And they still miss you.
Larfleeze: They... do? ~ Larfleeze

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

Gotham may have lost its king and queen, Bruce, but it could still have its prince ~ Geoff Johns

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

Aquaman is one of the greatest characters at DC Comics and one of my favorites. ~ 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

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

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 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

Do you know what people want most?

Something somebody else has. ~ Larfleeze

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

There's a reason I don't have a list of villains as long as Bruce's, Barry's, or even yours. When I deal with them, I deal with them. ~ 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

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

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

'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

Who the hell is Warren Ellis again?"
Hardison gaped at the man. "Only one of the greatest comics writers in the past twenty years. Might as well ask who Alan Moore is, or Frank Miller, or Mark Waid, or Brian Michael Bendis, or Marv Wolfman, or Geoff Johns."

Eliot gave Hardison a blank look as they wove their way through the hall. Parker took the lead, toting a printed sign with her. Eliot and Hardison trailed in her wake. They made a point of striding right past Patronus's booth. They didn't turn to see if he noticed them.

"No one?" Hardison said. "Nothing? Not even Kurt Busiek? Neil Gaiman?"

"I have a life. I do things, active things. I date women."
"Stan Lee?"

Eliot gave Hardison that one with a wag of his head. "Who hasn't heard of Stan Lee?"

"All right," Hardison said with satisfaction. "You had me worried there, man. ~ Matt Forbeck

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 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

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

The best thing about my job is that I work with the best creative people in the business in their fields. ~ 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 want to do character driven epic storylines with Throne of Atlantis kicking off. ~ 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

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

Family is what it can be, not what it should be. ~ 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

'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 absolutely love Aquaman, and the character has been a passion since 'Blackest Night.' ~ 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

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

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

[ ... ] but dreams on paper are never as good as the real thing. ~ 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

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 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

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

Because right now, I'm worse than dead. I'm forgotten. ~ 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

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

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

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

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

Even many of the teenagers who feel confident on navigating the web simply don't have the skills needed to 'write and create' digital tools, not simply consume them. ~ Geoff Mulgan

Then he just let it ring, the phone pressed to his head like a pistol, her picture in his hands. ~ Geoff Dyer

Elton John's opinion turned the label's opinion around, all in a day. ~ Barry White

To be sure, debates will linger about whether Medicare is too large or too small. Debates remain about the allocation of Medicare dollars. But December 8, 2003, demonstrated that there is no debate about this most fundamental fact: Medicare must survive. ~ Michael Johns

Geoff told me once that part of being gay is the journey to accept who you are. It's often not an easy journey, but once you make it, you're stronger and happier because of it. ~ Andrew Grey

A part of being in the army is you never really leave a man behind. ~ Geoff Stults

There was very little art in my childhood. I was raised in South Carolina; I wasn't aware of any art in South Carolina. There was a minor museum in Charleston, which had nothing of interest in it. It showed local artists, paintings of birds. ~ Jasper Johns

My culture gives me no categories to view suffering - especially suffering at the hands of an oppressor - as victory. My culture sees suffering only as defeat, as evil. It never sees suffering as a means of victory. This is why I need to read John's vision about what's really going on from God's perspective to correct my American, self-serving, "I will defend my rights at all costs" mind-set. I need to follow the slaughtered Lamb wherever He goes, so that I can reign with Him in victory. THE ~ Preston Sprinkle

To fight a war, you must believe it can accomplish something. We fight this one to save John's kingdom, or perhaps even to save all of mankind ... but isn't that what we always think? That all wars are useless - except the one we're fighting now? ~ Tad Williams

When you cure a blind person, he or she is not a statistic. ~ Geoff Tabin

We were perceived as a post-grunge band. ~ Daniel Johns

Recycling is an area where jobs could be created at low cost. Green collar workers. That's not very sexy. ~ Geoff Mulgan

I'm not saying [economic] growth is wrong, but throughout the years of growth, many things didn't get better ... If you look at America, the proportion of Americans with no one to talk to about important things went up from a tenth to a quarter. ~ Geoff Mulgan

My role is not to choose between safeguarding the economy and protecting the environment - it's about doing both. ~ Geoff Hoon

Touring doesn't kill me and I can handle it. ~ Daniel Johns

I have lots of records, quite a collection, actually, that I stole from my mom. I have the original 'Thriller' album and I have a really great 'Elton John's Greatest Hits,' and I also have a N.E.R.D. album. Records sound more original. They have more edge. ~ Elisha Cuthbert

When we first began and I was 14, my influences were the stuff that was in my parent's record collection like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. ~ Daniel Johns

Although if it's a dream that you truly believe in your heart,' Geoff attempts to console him, 'then in a way, you know, it is real?'

'It's not a dream in my heart,' Skippy scowls. ~ Paul Murray

Geoff Nelder inhabits Science Fiction the way other people inhabit their clothes. ~ Jon Courtenay Grimwood

In photography there is no meantime. There was just that moment and now there's this moment and in between there is nothing. Photography, in a way, is the negation of chronology. ~ Geoff Dyer

Scrambling through the drifts, Blay rushed over and landed on his knees. Qhuinn was sprawled on the ground, his long, heavy legs stretched out, his upper body in John's lap.
The male just stared at him with those mismatched eyes, unmoving, unspeaking.
"Is he paralyzed?" Blay demanded, looking over at John.
"Not that I'm aware of," Qhuinn replied dryly.
I think he's got a concussion, John signed.
"I do not - "
He went flying off the hood of his car and hit this tree
"I mostly missed the tree - "
And I've had to hold him down ever since.
"Which is pissing me off - ~ J.R. Ward

Like most things in life, there's also a spiritual side to my beard. Look at John the Baptist, one of the most important people in the New Testament. According to Matthew 3:4, "John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey." He baptized Jesus, who was God in human body, despite his appearance being that of a deranged vagrant. When I try to visualize John the Baptist, I see a bearded hunter who had to have some sort of weaponry to function in the wild. I would also assume he dipped the locusts in wild honey before he ate them. Based on what I read in the Bible about John the Baptist, I actually tried to eat a locust once, but it tasted terrible, which gave me the idea that John the Baptist probably dipped them in honey first. Then again, almost everything tastes good with honey. ~ Jase Robertson

I think anyone about to leave one job not surprisingly would use their knowledge, their experience, their skills drawn from their previous positions to try and earn a living in the future. That's what happens in all interviews. ~ Geoff Hoon

Pope John's advisers were worried about the freedom to speak and to come and go to and from the council. ~ Ian Mortimer

Fathers are always so proud the first time they see their sons in uniform," she said.
"I know Big John Karpinski was," I said. He is my neighbor to the north, of course. Big John's son Little John did badly in high school, and the police caught him selling dope. So he joined the Army while the Vietnam War was going on. And the first time he came home in uniform, I never saw Big John so happy, because it looked to him as though Little John was all straightened out and would amount to something.
But then Little John came home in a body bag. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

In the silence, nothing was fragmented. There were no separate strands to gather together, to fumble, to complete for attention. In the silence, all of that fell away, and there was only what was here, and what was to be done. ~ Geoff Ryman

According to this doctrine, however, the Buddha was never merely an individual human being but, like St. John's Word or Logos, an eternal principle temporarily made flesh. ~ Anonymous

I hate my Visa card but have to use it for diesel, insurance and big items. I prefer paying by cash whenever possible because that way I feel as if I've got a better grasp on what I'm spending. ~ Geoff Capes

In a sense who you are has always been a story that you told to yourself. Now your self is a story that you tell to others. ~ Geoff Ryman

When you work you learn something about what you are doing and you develop habits and procedures out of what you're doing. ~ Jasper Johns

One likes to think that one anticipates changes in the spaces we inhabit, and our ideas about space. ~ Jasper Johns

When I'm really entrenched in my writing, I seem to go through mini-writer's block cycles that usually last a week or so. They make me moody. My husband has a routine to help me get through the blocks. He forces me to take a day off, and he insists on my relaxing and taking in other forms of art to recharge my creativity. It actually works really well, but whenever I'm that into my work, I won't take a day off willingly.

I do have a system for when I have a novel idea. I like to research a whole lot first and take notes by hand, and then I outline and figure out the plot based on the history and research. Next, I write everything I can as quickly as I can without worrying about grammar or even writing well. Then, I go back and read through and start fixing things. It's kind of like a process to create the framework then I can go back in and make other layers shine.

Making the rest of the layers, really known as the editing process, is where things get crazy. I don't have a system for it because it's kind of a journey of discovery. I'll know things are wrong, but I won't always know how to fix them. When I discover the solution, it might take the story to a place I never would have guessed.

That happened a lot for A White Room. In the beginning I only had the idea for the first half of the story and just the story of Emeline – none of the subplots or stories of the other characters were there yet. Not even John's story. It was just Emeline u ~ Stephanie Carroll

We assess that there is no significant threat to the UK from nuclear weapons at present, but developments continue to be monitored closely. We remain committed to limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons through our international treaty obligations, and national programmes. ~ Geoff Hoon

My greatest urge in life is to do nothing. It's not even an absence of motivation, a lack, for I do have a strong urge: to do nothing. To down tools, to stop. Except I know that if I do that I will fall into despair, and I know that it is worth doing anything in one's power to avoid depression because from there, from being depressed, it is only an imperceptible step to despair: the last refuge of the ego. ~ Geoff Dyer

I would like to have insights into things like government, all those big ideas that you brought up that I simply don't have ideas about. I would like to be able to since so many people discuss them, but I don't want to work at them. I don't think my ambition is that strong in that direction. ~ Jasper Johns

I'm not your gilded prince with the gilded chairs, Letty," Geoff said simply. "I couldn't be if I tried."
"I wouldn't want you to be." Letty's voice felt rusty.
"I'm not particularly bold or dashing or heroic. I'm happier at my desk than in a black cloak. And I've never entirely mastered all the steps of the quadrille." He looked soberly down at her. "But what I am is yours, if you'll still have me. ~ Lauren Willig