The Le: Did you arbitrate any other lines of games while working with Wizkids?

Norman: Not while working for WizKids. Years before Heroclix (or even WizKids) I was involved with Marvel and the OverPower CCG. I don't recall what my title was for them specifically, but the roles I filled – handling an online presence, answering rules questions, facilitating tournaments, etc. - were very similar to what I did for Heroclix.

The Le: Were you privy to any special information about future sets at the time? For example, did they sneak a list of dials to you a month before a set was released?

Norman: It depended on the set. Timing wise, when I was brought onboard, SuperNova was already released and I think Origin was already as good as done. I was sent a spreadsheet with the Origin figures and feat/BFC cards a bit before the release and I had an opportunity to discuss them with the game designer, Seth Johnson.

After Origin, the plan was for Legion/Avengers to be next. I knew none of that. All that I knew was that WK had big plans for Heroclix, that things were going to be shaken up a bit, and that they were going to bring me “in the loop” as soon as they could.

At the NY ComicCon that year, I had a bit of fear as one of the WK designers that was there asked me what I thought about the idea of bringing Character Cards from Horrorclix into Heroclix. Bear in mind that I knew nothing about Legion or what was coming. I told him that as a cool thing to go along with the figure, it might be kind of cool – give some character back story, have some nice graphics for the character, etc. But from a game play perspective, how would it be relevant? “Oh, you'll see...” was all he would say in response.

A few weeks later at Wizard World LA, Mark Tuttle and Seth Johnson sat down with me to show me “the pitch”. This was the same Powerpoint presentation they had given to Bill Rock and other newsy types just a week or so before. I learned about Character Cards, Special Powers, the change from REV to CUR and so on.

I got to see the Avengers and Legion sets shortly before production went ahead (including the Legion Rulebook). In fact, I was an integral part of the review process for every set except Secret Invasion from that point on. SI had some special contracts with Marvel and since my name wasn't on the “list” I wasn't allowed to see certain figures (i.e., the Skrulls) prior to the sets release. But Justice League, M&M, Crisis, Arkham, and even Hammer of Thor were all sent to me long before the final copy was sent overseas for printing.

The Le: What two characters do you really like from the Marvel library, DC library, and Indy Library?

Norman: Marvel - Spider-Man and Hulk. Story-wise, I've always loved just how their lives are filled with this self-generating conflict.

DC - Superman and Batman. Superman was my first comic and has always been a consistent ideal. Batman is just Batman. From a comic book perspective, he was the first #1 I ever bought (Batman and the Outsiders, with the cover of him quitting the Justice League). From a mainstream perspective, everyone knows him and how much butt he can whoop.

Indy - DNAgents - Mark Evanier should be put in charge of one company or another's line. He has a brilliant story-telling capability and can weave threads for years without you even realizing what's coming up. He can do funny, romance, adventure, science, etc. I've reread both DNAgents many times. Sin City - Miller is another one whose work I love. The grim/gritty of Sin City is just incredible story-wise and artistically.

...See PART II now...