Gail Simone promises "dozens" of new characters for 'Firestorm'

Gail Simone has promised an expanded cast for The Fury of Firestorm:The Nuclear Men.

The Secret Six writer is co-authoring the DC Comics relaunch title with Ethan Van Sciver, with Yildiray Çinar providing illustrations.

"One of the funnest aspects of this book is that there are dozens of new characters, literally," Simone told Comic Book Resources.

"It's almost like the Green Lantern Corps in the amount of characters who will show up, and we have at different times, Jim Lee, Ethan Van Sciver and Yildiray Çinar all designing them, sometimes different ideas for the same character. That's a ridiculous position to be in, to tell Jim Lee, no, sorry, I like Yildiray's idea a little better, or to have to choose between Ethan and Yildiray. It's just insanity. I love it.

"Ethan's doing covers, he's co-plotting and I write the scripts. We toss back the biggest, scariest ideas we can, and then Yildiray adds what he does.

"Again, this is an artist that is in the process, he's motivated, he's full of ideas and he's gifted beyond reason. He is so good at drawing energy that this is one of the few books that could really showcase what he can do. I love that guy, and working with Ethan is a blast. He and I disagree on everything and still love working together."

When asked about her choice to feature two Firestorm characters - Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond - side-by-side, Simone said, "Did you say two independent people? Keep counting."

The Fury of Firestorm #1 will be released on September 28. Simone's Batgirl #1 is out this week.

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