Robbie Thompson at NYCC: Silk and Supernatural

For the last interview of NYCC 2014, I had the amazing chance to talk to Robbie Thompson from Supernatural who was there for the Marvel SpiderVerse panel promoting Silk, a new ongoing series from Marvel Comics that starts in February 2015 and centered around Cindy Moon (recently introduced in Amazing Spider-Man).

Bandit: So, how are you enjoying New York Comic Con?

Robbie: New York Comic Con is amazing. This is my first New York Comic Con ever. I’ve gone to Comic Con San Diego every year, for 16 years in a row. I’m a huge fan. My brother and I go down every year. It’s sort of our Vegas. Like he is Dean to my Sam. So, that’s sort of our road trip every year. That’s our road so far. It is very short, from L.A. to San Diego to get our nerd on. This is fantastic! I actually really love the venue. It’s great to see a lot of comics at a comic show because a lot of times you see kind of hyper, you know, TV shows and movies, which I’m happy to talk about our TV show but I grew up being a comic book fan so it’s great to see comics.

Bandit: I grew up with comic books as well, since I was a kid. I’m a Marvel girl.

Robbie: Me too. I’m a Marvel girl all the way. (laughs)

Bandit: But I actually am going to ask you about Supernatural.

Robbie: Okay, go ahead.

Bandit: So…

Robbie: Not a spoiler?

Bandit: No, no, not a spoiler. But, what so far has been your favorite episode that you have written?

Robbie: Oh! Gosh!

Bandit: I know. It’s like asking one of your children.

Robbie: You know, I’m very critical of the episodes I write. So, um, when I look at them, I don’t…I see all the mistakes I made and I see all the things I want to do better in the next episode. So, um, it’s really hard, you know. There’s little things in each episode where I’m like ‘Oh! Okay, that felt right’. The first episode I wrote was an episode called ‘Slash Fiction’ and there was a scene where Sam and Dean actually sing “All Out of Love” because Dean is really despondent about Baby being put in a corner, and it was a scene that I wrote, the first scene that I really wrote for the boys that felt like ‘Oh! That feels like the boys’. And I knew that Jared and Jensen would also just play with it on the day and make it just funny and how much they did. I wish to this day that people could watch the, the…I know we released a longer version, but there’s also a longer, longer version where Jensen and Jared were so funny and…that’s not on the page, that’s just them on the stage, doing great. So, there’s little moments in each one where I’m like ‘Oh! Okay, that feels close’ but I don’t know, I’m really critical of the stuff I write. I think you know the one that was probably my favorite, just on a personal level, was ‘PacMan Fever’. There’s a bit in there where, you know, Charlie is reading The Hobbit to her Mom, and that’s very personal to me because my Dad used to read The Hobbit to me as a kid. So, that really resonates with me on a personal level. But again, I don’t know, I look at them all and I’m like ‘Oh! This could’ve been better. I should’ve written that better. I should’ve fixed that.’ So, yeah.

Bandit: Like what? Give me an example.

Robbie: Oh! Gosh, there’s too many. There’s too many to say.

Bandit: One that comes straight to mind?

Robbie: Umm…Oh! Boy!…Gosh!…Well, you know in ‘Slash Fiction’ I wanted to see more of, you know, the two Bobby’s. You know, if you have Jim Beaver…I just saw Jim Beaver at the Supernatural premiere party we had kinda amongst ourselves. You know, you’re sitting there talking with Jimmy like you can write 20 minutes of that, you know. And I wanted to see more of that, you know. So, in that episode, I would say I wish I had gotten to do more of that. There are also things that you write that get cut and you’re like ‘Oh! God! I wish that didn’t get cut’ but decisions get made, what are you gonna do?

Bandit: Is there anything that got cut that you would’ve liked to be seen?

Robbie: Uh! Not really. It’s funny, you know. Things get cut and you hear about them and you’re like ‘Why wasn’t that there?’ but you didn’t know the story would work just as fine. And that’s usually our metric for what you know, what should be cut and shouldn’t be cut. I started as an editor, as an assistant editor, I should say. So, if it’s not plot or load bearing…there’s one thing though where, I can’t remember…they were watching Game of Thrones at a slumber party, it think it’s Sam or Dean who says…the boys changed the lines, I can’t remember, but we shot it and we didn’t cut it in but it was…one of them says like, you know, ‘Oh! I’m sure the Stark family will be fine’ and then Charlie says ‘You know nothing, John Snow’ which I thought was funny. And we shot it and it was great and Felicia killed it…It was Jared who said that line, but that got cut and I was like ‘Oh!’ sad face. But what are you going to do? Things get cut.

Bandit: So, we all watched the season premiere on Tuesday. Very, very excited.

Robbie: Dean is a demon, but that’s only part of the problem. The Mark of Cain is the big issue.

Bandit: So, if you were to write the rest of the season, regardless of anything, what would you do? In a fictional world where Robbie Thompson is the powers that be.

Robbie: Is just the boys on a beach in Hawaii, drinking beer. Cas and Crowley are best friends. They’re on the beach, as well, drinking beer. And they just hang out and talk about their feelings for forty-five minutes every week. I don’t know if I can answer any more because I’ll probably spoil some stuff.

Bandit: (laughs)

Robbie: That’s my…that’s my fan fiction. I loved, I always liked episodes where the boys have a day off because we never get to see that. My favorite moments to write were when the boys actually LARPed because it was funny to see them in costume and all that stuff but to me it was like ‘Oh! The boys actually get to have fun’ because we never get to see that. And having a brother myself, you know, there are ups and downs in life, some trials and tribulations, but there’s also like driving to Comic Con every year. You know, you get to have fun as well and if any two guys deserved to have a day off and have some fun it’s Sam and Dean, and Cas, and maybe even Crowley, depending on what season you are looking at. He can probably use a day off too. So, yeah.

Bandit: So, I know that the next episode you are writing is 200th and everybody is very, very excited about.

Robbie: That’s good to hear. I was excited to write it.

Bandit: So, is there anything you can tell us that’s not going to give anything away but is gonna make people excited?

Robbie: All I can say is that I wrote it with…I was very excited to write it. Um, it was kind of an idea that was floated and I really wanted to pursue. I thought being able to…I think Bob Singer put it best, you know, for us to be able to make fun of ourselves a little bit felt like a healthy thing to do, and what other show does that? Other than Supernatural? And also we wanted it to be a love letter to the show and a love letter to the fans because I know some fans are disappointed that we haven’t included any single cast member. And I understand that and I appreciate it. But you know, sometimes there are harder decisions and then…I hope that when people see it, they understand that there’s a lot of love behind it. I loved writing it. I love writing the show. I love this fandom. I love being a part of it. I consider myself to be a part of it. If I were to be someday released from high appeal, I would still be, I would join you all on the couch. I consider myself to be a member of the Supernatural fandom.

Bandit: At the Supernatural Jersey Con, Jensen did mention that it would be like two shows in one.

Robbie: Yes…I, yes…he’s right. I’ll give you that one. Always listen to Jensen, he’s very smart. And he and Jared and Misha, they are all very smart. Listen to them.

Bandit: So, I know a lot of pranks go on behind the scenes. Have you ever…?

Robbie: No, I’ve only been to Vancouver a couple of times and I’ve had really great experiences. I’ve never been pranked to my knowledge. Maybe there was a ‘Kick Me’ sign on me and I never noticed it, or tattooed on. But no, they’ve always been sweet to me. I went up for ‘PacMan Fever’ and I went up for ‘Slumber Party’ as well and I had a great time. It’s a great atmosphere up there. It’s a great crew and it’s a great cast.

Bandit: So, are you writing any other episodes this season?

Robbie: Yeah, I’m writing episode eleven but I can’t talk about. But it may or may not have Felicia Day in it and I’m writing another one that I definitely can’t talk about.

Bandit: So, is there anything else you want to say to the Supernatural fandom that absolutely adores you and the show?

Robbie: Just, thank you watching. Thank you for supporting it. Thank you for being so passionate about it. Please check out Silk in February coming from Marvel Comic books. Pre-order your copies in one month. Or maybe two?

Bandit: Two.

Robbie: Yeah, two months. Please, but Silk. But many copies and tell all your Supernatural friends about #Silk.

Bandit: (laughs) Definitely! Thank you!

Stay tuned to The Geekiary for our on-going Supernatural coverage, as well as more from NYCC. Also, coming February 2015, our review of Silk, the new Marvel Comic by Robbie Thompson and artist Stacey Lee!

Author: Bandit

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