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Brian Pulido And Mike Wolfer Talk Lady Death – Avatar Plug Of The Week

Published Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:00:27 -0500

Lady Death is returning at Avatar. Creator Brian Pulido and co-writer Mike Wolfer talk to Avatar's Keith Davidsen. Warning… it's a little bit pluggy.

Keith: It's 2010, we're now well into the new millennium, and Boundless Comics is poised to bring back the beloved LADY DEATH comic book series. What's the new, fresh take on this modern classic?

Brian: Well, first, we jump fifty years into Lady Death's future, placing the action at 1351 AD. At the start, we meet her in a climactic battle with an archenemy we've never met before – Death Queen. In this first story, called LADY DEATH PREMIERE, we see Lady Death summarily get her ass kicked!

Mike: I think that's something that's going to take everyone off guard, right from the first page. We don't have the slow build-up – the introduction of characters, all of that tedious back-story – before things kick into high gear. PREMIERE begins during the final confrontation of Lady Death's greatest battle, her most crushing defeat, and we'll be filling readers in on everything they need to know as we move forward from that point.

Brian: That's it, exactly. And at the same time, in LADY DEATH #0, #1, #2, and beyond, we'll see her attempted ascent back to greatness, where through insurmountable obstacles, she'll need to overcome everything that Death Queen throws at her. How is this fresh, how is this new, how is this different? Hey, look, ultimately Lady Death is awesome unto herself, so how much do we need to change? She kicks ass.

Mike: Let's say that there's change, but not "changes." We're just making advancements in her character as it relates to this story. I don't want to shoot off my mouth too much here, but Lady Death is going to go through a serious personality conflict, a result of what Death Queen does to her in LADY DEATH PREMIERE. She won't be the same person we knew, but that's what our story is all about, like Brian said, her ascent back. Or not…

Keith: It's no small task to commit to a monthly ongoing comic book series. When we're talking about the bold new direction of LADY DEATH, how far down the line have you planned out for the series?

Brian: We've actually mapped out the first twenty-four issues in broad terms, and probably the first fourteen issues in very specific terms. So, yeah, we do tend to think really long-term and down the line. It's a good idea to think like that when you're telling fans you're committed to delivering books on a monthly basis.

Keith: Now, LADY DEATH has historically seen Brian Pulido flying solo on writing chores. What's the collaborative process like on the new venture?

Brian: Mike and I, we're co-writing the upcoming series. I'm writing the stories, he's writing the scripts… we go back and forth.

Mike: And this is much different than how I work with Warren Ellis on GRAVEL. In that case, Warren writes a fully-realized story and I refine it, adding my own touches, breaking it down and pacing it visually. On LADY DEATH, we're bouncing ideas off of each other at the beginning stages, and melding it all together into one plot that Brian fleshes out fully before I do the actual scripting.

Brian: I might start with three to five lines on what an issue should include, and bat it over to Mike. We talk it over, agree on a course of action for the characters, and tighten the plot. I then write a four- to six-page story of what that would be, and bat it over to Mike once again. He fleshes it out with a complete script, and then it comes back to me once more for further tweaks. All during this process, William Christensen of Avatar Press / Boundless Comics acts as an editor. So it's actually been a fairly liquid process.

Keith: So sharing the creative workload as an experience…?

Brian: Oh, it's been wonderful and frustrating and intense and simple all at the same time. But overall, for me, it's been a lot of fun and the end result – I know it's going to really blow people away.

Keith: Now, Mike, as a writer, you're no stranger to horror titles. So when we're talking about your coming onboard the iconic horror comic LADY DEATH, what is "Mike Wolfer, the Horror Maven" bringing to the table?

Mike: I suppose that I do have a certain way of telling a story that differs slightly from a typical comic book approach. Traditionally, comics are filled with lots of moments that are the staples of heroic, illustrated fiction: big, loud, posturing, powerful shots. We also have those moments in horror comics, but they're balanced with a slow-burn, tension-mounting, quiet pacing that heightens the sense of foreboding for the reader. That "works" for horror comics, but it's also been something that's been unique to my style of storytelling, and you can see it all the way back to my days doing Widow, or currently in GRAVEL and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Despite splatter, much of the impact of horror lies in subtlety, believe it or not, and that's something which I'm working into the new tales of LADY DEATH. We'll see the inherent, bombastic, set-pieces that this type of story calls for, but I'll be weaving in those little bits that will hopefully create a greater sense of dread.

Keith: And how does your experience as an artist dictate the way you write a LADY DEATH script for Marcelo Mueller to illustrate?

Mike: That's always been a very interesting experience for me, to write for another artist. Obviously, when I sit down and write a panel description, I have a clear image in my head of what the panel looks like; every expression, the lighting, the "camera" angle, etc., just as any other writer does. And many writers will include those exacting details in their script, but that's where being an artist myself changes my approach to scripting, because I'm perhaps overly-sensitive to the needs of the artist. Rather than nail it all down, I'm more apt to give the artist the freedom that he needs to envision the scene in his own way. A comic book artist can either realize visually what the writer imagined, or he can exercise his own creative expression and craft a unique vision all his own. I tend to prefer the latter, as it almost always results in a better end product.

Keith: We talked a little bit about "set pieces," as Mike called it. Much of Lady Death's previous adventures took place in a hellish dimension called the Blacklands, a fantasy world seen through Jack O'Lantern eyes (if I can throw in a little creative flair there). Same landscape, new landscape?

Brian: The "core" of this new series is the Underrealm, an ensemble of countries and fiefdoms inside this gigantic sphere called the Labyrinth. We don't actually spend too much time discussing the Labyrinth, because for now, our focus in only on the Underrealm.

Mike: It's all the same place, though, which we've seen in all of the previous Avatar series. The Underrealm is just a common term for the dimension that the Blacklands is part of.

Brian: And, in the Underrealm, Lady Death was once the undisputed ruler… until she takes a beating from the Death Queen, who takes the realm over for her own use. But we'll take Lady Death to some entirely new and unexpected places, as well. Gotta keep hush-hush, though – I can't be revealing all of our secrets! (Laughter)

Keith: The new villainess, Death Queen, appears to be a distorted mirror image of our heroine. She even wears a mask with Lady Death's maliciously grinning face (…which is creepy, by the way). Now, evil doppelgangers seem to appear throughout fantasy and science fiction (Spider-Man and Venom, the mirror universe of Star Trek, etc.). What do you see as the appeal of such antagonists, and how does that apply specifically to LADY DEATH?

Brian: Well, the first thing that I want to tell folks: this person, Death Queen, is in no way, shape, or form a version of Lady Death from the future. She's not an evil, or perhaps I should say more appropriately, "evil-er" Lady Death. It's nothing like that. In fact, that's where the surprise comes in! The question of who is Death Queen is something that fans should ask themselves. It's something that we will not reveal or let people know until issue #6. Now, what would be the attraction to the duality concept between antagonists and protagonists in comics? Well, it's simple. The protagonist of a comic is often a person who is not always fully formed, like Spider-Man. There's limitations on their confidence or strength, or there are weaknesses either visible or beneath the surface. And frequently, the antagonist is almost like an evil but perfect version of the protagonist, so that's why you see it a lot. You have Wolverine, you have Sabretooth. You have Spider-Man, you have Venom. You have Lady Death, you have Death Queen.

Keith: Will we see any familiar faces from the existing LADY DEATH mythology making return appearances in the new series?

Mike: Absolutely. One of the strengths of the previous series, and something that Brian excels at, is that solid backbone of supporting characters and sub-plots. LADY DEATH has always been strong in that regard.

Brian: Hey, thanks, man. (Laughter) Definitely, you'll see familiar faces from the Avatar era that ran from 2005 to 2008. But without a doubt, whether it's for new readers or longtime readers, we're weaving in and out all kinds of cool stuff to keep their minds tantalized.

Keith: From her debut almost 20 years ago at Chaos Comics, to her fresh, new adventures coming out later this year from Boundless Comics, how would you describe the evolution of the character? And as the character changes, what remains constant?

Brian: Well, Lady Death is strong-willed, she's uncompromising, she's a leader… all of that never changes. Through it all, there's a vulnerable core; this is still a girl named Hope who renounced her humanity to save her mother's soul in the past. Now we're seeing her years later, after never being able to achieve that dream, she still remains defiant and eternal.

Keith: How would you describe the LADY DEATH fan base, and what's the word on the street about the Boundless Comics LADY DEATH revival?

Brian: The LADY DEATH fan base comes in all shapes, sizes, ages, and genders. These people don't like characters to be watered down. They're not afraid of chicks who can kick ass. Quite simply, they're the most dedicated fans in all of comic fandom.

Mike: And being the new guy here, I'm seeing that loyalty already, myself. Brian and I have appeared together at nearly every major comic convention this past spring and summer promoting the new series, and I can tell you, the fans of LADY DEATH are being very, very nice to me!

Keith: Heh… that sounds like there's a story there. But I'll try to keep you modest…

Brian: Did we cover the whole question? I feel like we missed something there.

Keith: Oh, yeah – good catch! The second part of the question was, "What's the word on the street?"

Brian: Oh, the Fiends themselves are raring to go. Everybody's getting ready! They understand that this is going to have devastating consequences to a character they absolutely love, that our plans will forever alter her future. They can expect to see changes in Lady Death both physically and emotionally, stuff like they've never seen before. The fans are quaking in their boots! They're talking, and they're ready!

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