Barry Lyga on Outsiders, Origins, and Writing Superheroes for the Page

In this episode of Geek Freaks Interviews, Frank sits down with acclaimed author Barry Lyga to explore his multifaceted writing career spanning comics, YA thrillers, and prose adaptations of iconic superhero stories. Barry opens up about his journey from comics to novels, his work on the I Hunt Killers trilogy, how he crafted Thanos' backstory for Marvel Studios, and what it was like building an alternate DC Universe through The Flash book series. From creating Free Comic Book Day to writing some of the darkest scenes of his career, Barry brings insight, humor, and a deep love for the medium.

Timestamps and Topics:
00:00 Intro and Barry Lyga’s career overview
00:32 From comics to novels: The origin of Fanboy and Goth Girl
02:07 Common theme: Writing from the outsider’s perspective
03:37 Writing Wolverine: Worst Day Ever and the young outsider angle
04:24 How comics shaped his prose style and genre-blending
06:27 Switching genres with I Hunt Killers
08:11 Making dark characters likable
09:15 Challenges writing from a new POV and writing Superman
11:15 Behind the scenes of The Flash tie-in novels
14:17 Using obscure DC characters like Ambush Bug
18:14 Capturing Barry Allen’s voice and injecting science
20:52 Writing Thanos: Titan Consumed for the MCU
23:00 The challenge of creating Thanos without key Marvel characters
27:17 Matching the tone of Infinity War without seeing it
28:43 Thanos’ logic and why doubling resources wouldn't work
29:32 The origin of Free Comic Book Day
33:11 Modern comic book accessibility and barriers
35:53 The limits of digital comics today
38:16 The release of Before the Hunt and going indie
40:31 Final thoughts and where to find Barry’s books

Key Takeaways:

• Barry Lyga’s stories consistently center around outsiders, a reflection of his own childhood.

• His novel Wolverine: Worst Day Ever explores being an outsider among outsiders.

• Writing Thanos: Titan Consumed required building a full backstory that matched the MCU without relying on comic continuity.

• The Flash book series was set in an alternate timeline to allow more creative freedom while respecting CW’s canon.

• Free Comic Book Day began as a brainstorm to unite the comic book industry and increase visibility for local shops.

• Barry's newest release, Before the Hunt, is a self-published anthology of prequel stories to I Hunt Killers.

Memorable Quotes:

• “I think outsiders typically have a really interesting perspective on what’s going on.”

• “Creation is harder than destruction—that’s why Thanos didn’t double resources.”

• “You don’t have to be one kind of writer. It’s all about the story.”

• “I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw Infinity War. I thought, that’s my Thanos.”

• “Stop recommending Watchmen to new readers.”

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Links and Resources:

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• 📖 BarryLyga.com – See Barry’s full body of work

• 📘 Before the Hunt – Order Barry’s latest release now

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Apple Podcast Tags:
Barry Lyga, I Hunt Killers, Thanos Titan Consumed