This was taken place pretty much at January 9, 1999. So read on with Young Justice: The Wild Ride's very first interview, we hope to have more soon! And thank you to Craig Young of Young Justice: The Hangout for all the help in this! You're the coolest man!
On with the interview!

NOTE: Even now, three years after this interview, this single interview with Todd has been the highlight of my fanboy life. I was very honored to be able to talk to the man, and become friends with him over a duration of time. He is by far one the most talented writers in the industry. I highly recommend anything that was written by Todd Dezago... his way with characters and feelings is unparalleled.

Stephen: Ok, first question, what has been your favourite work to date?
Todd Dezago: That's tough--all have been such different experiences...I've really loved working with Mike Wieringo and Rich Case on our run on Sensational Spider-man. If we're talking favourite to work on, that would be it...We had lots of fun!! (Which is why Mike and I will be publishing our own book, TELLOS, through Image this summer!!) If you mean the work I'm most proud of, the that would probably be JLA: World Without Grown-Ups! Although, IMPULSE # 50 will probably usurp that very soon!!

Can you mountain bike?
I have one and do--but not as often as I'd like! I live in a really rural area and really have no one to bike with...

Any older books that you have done that you think particularly shine?
Hmmm...That's tough, too! I work as hard as I can to try to make every book better than the last; but that doesn't always work. Sometimes I feel that I do it and sometimes I don't...I'm actually very happy with some stuff I did that will never see print, but I feel that they're some of my best work--(the outline and plots for the intended first year and a half of Young Justice...)

What, or who, has been your greatest influence?
There are so many...! Can I just say "Anyone who's ever told me a story"...? Writers, Actors, Directors, Singers, Comedians...I'm so fascinated by stories; the way they're built, the way they're presented to us, the way we each perceive them...We're all so different in what we take away from a story, be it a movie, a book, or a song...That's kinda dodging though, isn't it? You want some names...Stephen King, Stephen Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Denny O'Neil, Martin Scorsese, Groucho Marx, Alan Moore, Lynda Barry, Bill Cosby, Frank Miller.

Who's your favourite artist, or writer?
I'm friends with so many people whose work I love, so I'll disqualify them right away, 'cause I know 'em! So let's make this favourite Artist and Writer that I'd like to work with, okay? I would love to do a BATMAN story with Kevin Nowlan! And I think it would be a thrill to Co-write a story with either Denny O'Neil or Alan Moore!

What's your favourite colour?
Joker purple...HAHAHAHAHA!

Who's has been your favourite person to work with?
No question. Mike Wieringo. His Art is so...clean and clear! He is a master Storyteller and we are ALWAYS on the same page! The artwork that he does for whatever we're working on is always far and away beyond what I was originally envisioning! He makes my job easy.

Who is your favourite character(s) to write?
I really enjoyed my run with SPIDER-MAN, although I'd have to say that I had much more fun with ROBIN, SUPERBOY, and IMPULSE! What a great gang! They were a lot more fun to hang out with! I'm sorry that I didn't get to take them where we were planning to go!

The 'JLA: World Without Grown-Ups' story has been one of my personal favourite stories that I have read so far. Any plans for us to see any of the long-term effects of the story? Such as Bedlam trying to take his revenge, or something along those lines?
That's really a question for Joey and Peter at this point...it's all in their hands. When I left Young Justice, I regretted leaving those things unresolved; there were quite a few elements planted in both that and The Secret that were intended to come back to haunt our heroes. What was going to happen to Bedlam? To Red Tornado? How would the Secret (and any other candidates) eventually be brought into the team? How come the JLA Watchtower didn't remain on the KidWorld moon? What would chairs look like if our knees bent the other way?

With you taking over Impulse as of Issue #50, what are your immediate plans?
To write the book...?
Long term plans?
To keep writing the book...? Sorry for the vagueness...I can't really answer those without giving away what's to come! I'm one of those people who thinks that we're just being given too much information anymore about what's to come...The solicitations and previews of upcoming comics has taken the spirit out of storytelling! If I'm going to put my heart into hours of hard work to craft what I hope will be, for you, a fun and surprising story, the last thing I want is for someone in Marketing to come along and spill the whole thing in two brief paragraphs! Why do we need to read the comic if we already know the whole story?! I don't mean to sound like Grampa Simpson here, but when I was a kid, the only way you knew what was coming next month was in the "Next Issue:" box on the last page! Next Issue: The RHINO!! I think the solicits spoil the fun...And personally, I myself LOVE to be surprised!! ...am I in the minority here...? Lemme know...(sorry to get off on that rant, everybody...)

Recent news has it that Impulse will lose touch with the speed force, and that he'll have a new power. Any chance of you spilling the beans, so to speak, or at least a hint of what it'll be?
See above. (...although, I think that's more of a rumour, 'cause I haven't heard anything about it...)

Do you have any new major villains in mind to tangle with Impulse?
Yes, both new and old! (As well as some borrowed Villains from some other DC books!)

Will Bart get a girlfriend? Such as say... Carol?
But don'tcha wanna be surprised...?!

Who would you say Impulse's best friend in the hero category would be?
I had originally planned to have some real bonding going on in Young Justice--putting the Boys into situations that would bring them closer together emotionally, stories that would let them see the world through each other's eyes (and, yes, at the speed he's always going, this would be tough for Bart...but he'd get a glimpse...). I wanted to show them growing together and learning to trust one another, so that they would have close, yet different, relationships with one another. That said, I think that he has a great friendship (that I hope to explore around issue 56 or 7...) with Arrowette!!

I've read that in issue #50 Batman show up. Is this true?
Maybe...
If it is, how is Batman gonna keep from... smacking some sense into Impulse? Not even the dark knight is THAT tolerant.
Maybe he doesn't...: )

Will any of the many other Speedsters of the DCU show up in upcoming Impulse issues?
Well, sure! Max will of course be around...and I want to talk to Mark about a crossover between just Bart and Wally, do some work with their relationship...
Any of the Young Justice cast?
Hey, ya never know... : ) I'd imagine they'd come around at some point, huh?

What was your favourite movie in 1998?
A Tie between Saving Private Ryan and There's Something About Mary!! I also liked What Dreams May Come, Wild Things, Blade, Out Of Sight...(I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the other good ones...)

I loved your Impulse in "JLA: WW/O GU", and in "YJ: The Secret", you've gotten Impulse nailed to a T, but do you have any plans on making Impulse more mature, or think a little before he acts?
Then he wouldn't be Impulse, would he...? No, if anything I wanna take some time and play with those aspects of Bart in my own way, see how he'll react to some of the things I can come up with...

Any crossovers planned for 1999 year? I know an Impulse/Spider-Man crossover would be top on my list.
None planned yet. I would be really excited to do some though!! How about Bone/Impulse? Leave It to Chance/Impulse? Hellboy/Impulse? Marv from Sin City/Impulse?! : ) (sorry, just some of my favourite non-DC books...!)

Any other books of yours that we should be aware of for the next little while, for us, the fans, to get our 'Todd Dezago Fixes'?
Mike Wieringo and I will be launching our own book through Image in May! It's called TELLOS and is a high-adventure, fantasy that will hopefully be full of fun, thrills and surprises every issue! If you don't usually pick up Image books, we're hopin' you'll check this out, because we're havin' a lot of fun doing it!!! : ) (kinda turned into a plug--sorry...)

If you were hired to pen an upcoming 'The Secret' series, what would be your plans?
I don't want to tell you the whole story, but it would be about her looking for her past...and finding a lot of stuff she didn't want to...! Truth to tell, it's already written...I had it in mind when Todd Nauck and I created her...

Any artists that you would specifically want to work with?
Oh, definitely Todd! He designed her and would be the only choice! She's our "little girl"--We had fun on that story and I can only picture it with his Pencils, so...

Crossover plans with other DCU characters? Non-DCU characters?
Oh, I've got a list a mile long--and Ethan's is even longer!!! We talk about team-ups constatly, but I want to make sure that we get Impulse and his own supporting cast right first! (top of our list though is Plastic Man...: )

Ok Todd, last, very last question, if you had complete and total control over the DCU for one month, what would you do?
Prob'ly something stupid and irresponsible...like let it stay up late eating frozen pizza and watching bad movies on the USA Network...! Seriously, though, probably something light and fun! Maybe something that centered around Impulse, grew out of our book--or Mxyzptlk!!! Dinosaurs for everybody!!! ...and Monkeys!!! Really, I dunno... Maybe someday…