This thing is such a ripple, the way lives are affected by gentrification. On one hand, yes, you're cleaning up this area, you're making it more livable for people. But you're not saying anything about the people that live there.
Noir deals with the disenfranchised: people who can't catch a break under normal circumstances. In noir books, you root for these people, but you know they are going to fail. That's what makes them so compellingly human. I can relate to that kind of stuff.
Believe it or not, but 'White Heat' and 'Little Caesar' keep dancing around in my brainpan while I'm writing 'Moonshine.'
The metro section of the newspaper every day is full of stuff I can use. It's the greatest inspiration for me because it's full of endings. That's where the ends of stories show up.
Superman is pretty much the way he was - you know - what he's always been. A lot of the Marvel characters are products of their time. I think Batman, as a character, has been able to adapt; he's pretty malleable.
If you read any sort of, like, military general autobiographies or biographies, most of them never wanted to fight, you know? It's necessary. War is necessary.
