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SDCC 2018 Interview: G. Willow Wilson talks Invisible Kingdom, Wonder Woman and more
Aug 15, 2024
AiPT!'s Dave Brooke had the opportunity to sit down with G. Willow Wilson, one of the busiest women in comics right now, to talk about her new Dark Horse series Invisible Kingdom -- which she describes as "Cowboy Bebop meets Dune," juggling so many stories between that, Ms. Marvel, and Wonder Woman, and a lot more.
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0:00
Hey guys, it's Dave from AOPTcomics.com
0:07
I'm here with G. Willow Wilson and we are talking about your new Dark Wars book
0:14
Can you tell us a little bit about it? Sure. How it got started
0:18
So, Invisible Kingdom is a sci-fi epic set in a distant solar system in which several
0:25
different species living on different worlds are kind of living in this cooperative society
0:31
until one day this young religious acolyte named Vess discovers a conspiracy between
0:37
the system's largest religion and its largest corporation and kind of has to go on the run
0:43
because both sides now are after her for the information that she has
0:47
So, it's fun, it's got a lot of classic sci-fi elements, there are big chases through
0:54
the galaxy and cool sci-fi worlds, but we also get into some interesting technical stuff
1:03
and philosophy and so it's really got something for everybody. I've been saying that if we do our jobs really well, which I mean Christian having just won
1:12
an Eisner well-deserved for his work on Black Bolt is killing it
1:16
Christian Ward is amazing. Christian Ward is amazing. If we do our jobs exactly right, it should come out looking like kind of Dune and Cowboy
1:22
Bebop have this beautiful, beautiful baby. I saw your tweet a couple days ago
1:26
That's right, yeah. I'm setting the bar high and just to give us something to live up to. Right
1:32
But really it's just been so much fun to work on. Christian is an amazing triple threat
1:38
He pencils, he inks, he colors, conceptually he's amazing. So visceral. Very visceral and colorful, so it's just been a real delight
1:46
How long has this story been percolating in your mind? You know, interestingly enough, it's been kicking around in my brain since the last
1:53
time I worked with Karen at Vertigo way back, I got going on 10 years ago
1:57
I'd always wanted to do something really sweeping, you know, kind of a sci-fi space opera series
2:04
but there really wasn't a good time back at Vertigo. A lot of stuff was happening, editors were going to different places, so I kind of just
2:11
shelved it. And then last year when Karen said, hey, I want you in my books at Dark Horse Burger
2:17
Books, do you have any ideas that you think might work? And I said, as a matter of fact, I have this sci-fi series that's been kicking around in
2:24
my head since the last time we worked together. So it really did seem like fate
2:28
You know, I've been saying to Karen, it feels like getting the band back together
2:32
So it's really been fun. We have a great working relationship. She gave me my big breaking comics
2:39
And so it's wonderful to be working with her again. And she just won the Lifetime Achievement Award
2:44
And she just won the Lifetime Achievement. The Lifetime Achievement, Eisner, I know, which is richly deserved
2:48
She's had a massive influence on comics over the course of the past 25 years
2:52
And I'm just glad that she's getting back in it and that I get to be a part of that
2:58
The story, even though you had the idea 10 years ago, or was it 10 years ago
3:02
Well, nearly, yeah. Nearly. It sounds very present. I mean, we've got corporations controlling people, religion, these aspects, these themes
3:12
I mean, is the story a warning, in a way, to people who are reading it
3:17
It's not so much a warning as it is an exploration of what it feels like to be an average person in that situation
3:26
You know, where we thought the world worked a certain way, and then we wake up one day to discover it doesn't
3:32
And it challenges not only what we believe about the world around us
3:36
but about what we believe about who we are, really, as people
3:41
And, you know, that's always been interesting to me, stories about average people caught up in these worlds
3:49
and kind of conspiracies and battles and wars that are much bigger than themselves
3:55
And I think it's kind of a, maybe not a coincidence, but it does feel very of the moment
4:04
because these are questions that we're asking ourselves right now, kind of in our broader cultural conversations
4:09
Which I think all good sci-fi and fantasy historically has, you know
4:14
It's kind of a fun and externalized, epic way of looking at questions that are very hard to ask ourselves in the present day
4:26
Yeah, sci-fi lets you kind of reflect on the world in a different way. Yeah, it makes it look at yourself through a very, very different lens
4:34
Working with Christian Ward is so visceral. Does that change how you approach your writing at all
4:39
Because you know he can, like, blow your mind. He'll just take it to 11. It really, really has
4:44
You know, he is a collaborator in the true sense of the word
4:48
He brings, you know, not just his artistic gifts, which are considerable
4:53
but also conceptually he has a very complete vision of how a world should look
4:59
And, you know, I ended up incorporating a lot of his ideas into the scripts
5:04
because I'll throw something out and he'll make a suggestion that just makes it ten times cooler
5:09
So I was like, well, all right, I'm putting it in the scripts. It's going in. And it's really, really nice, because we have a lot of the same tastes in the things that we watch, the things that we read
5:20
We're both huge Miyazaki nerds, and I think that really comes through in his art
5:26
And, you know, my first instinct is often to go a kind of smaller route or a conservative route
5:34
Like, oh, let's just have this pretty building up on a hill. And he'll say, let's put it on. Veep! Let it move around. Wow
5:40
You know, what if this person isn't really a person? What if it's like a holographic projection that can get bigger and smaller
5:45
And I'm like, that's fantastic. So his fingerprints are really all over the series
5:51
And, you know, I just feel very, very lucky to be able to work with him, because he's fantastic
5:56
Oh, my God. His work on Blackpool. I was just like... It was on another level. I turned a page and I was just like, what am I looking at
6:01
Oh, my God, yes. I had to linger, and I don't usually linger when I'm reading comics
6:05
Yeah, 100%. So how long is the story, or how many issues have you..
6:09
So it's going to be 15 issues total. 15 issues. It's broken up into five-issue arcs that will be collected into three paperbacks
6:16
So you could really read it multiple ways. You know, if you're somebody who likes to buy single issues and you love those cliffhangers and going to your LCS every month, there will be that
6:25
It will come out as a monthly traditional comic book. If you're more of a book reader and you'd like to have a three-volume trilogy, you can read it that way
6:34
And that's been interesting to juggle as well, to write for both of those audiences, you know, who are sort of reading at a very different pace
6:42
And, you know, I like a challenge. I've never quite worked in this way
6:48
And it's been a lot of fun to kind of stretch my own muscles and to do things a little bit differently
6:54
That's cool. Yeah, because so many comics these days, you're sort of writing for the six-issue arc that will be collected
7:00
And you can just sort of tell in a single-issue format. They just kind of stopped
7:04
Yeah, you're like, wait, where's the cliffhanger? You need the whole story, you need to read all six, which takes six months sometimes, or even less
7:11
You can do both. I think there are ways to do both. You just have to be smart about it
7:15
Which I try to do. I mean, you're so smart. I mean, you're writing so many stories
7:20
I try. I don't even understand how writers do this. I mean, you've got Wonder Woman coming out, you've got this Marvel, this book
7:29
How do you manage all of these stories in a single month
7:33
It's a challenge. But I have to say, it is fun to be able to switch back and forth, because they're all very different takes on the genre that they're in, really
7:47
You know, Wonder Woman is obviously a character who has 75 years of history, and just a huge backlog of stories from some of the best storytellers in the medium
7:57
So very big boots to foe on that one. Because Marvel is something that Slenovan and I created from scratch, and so it's kind of a playground that I'm very familiar with, and I know all of the little hooks and crannies
8:10
And then Invisible Kingdom is set in a completely different world, where there really are no rules, except the ones that Christian and I make up
8:19
And so they're very, very different. They demand very different things from me as a writer
8:24
And I will not say it's not tiring, but by that same token, I feel very lucky to be able to pivot between those two things, and kind of stay limber artistically, and not get stuck in a run
8:37
So I just feel very lucky to be able to do what I do. Do you ever have a moment where you're like, that would be a great idea for Ms. Marvel? Or... Or
8:45
You know what I mean? I don't know, I would be able to wrap my head around so many stories all at once
8:49
It's already hard enough reading so many stories all at once. I think, tonally, they're different enough that it's usually clear to me where something should go
8:59
Ms. Marvel, obviously, is very quirky. It's a YA series. It's very street level
9:04
Wonder Woman is more mythological, and it's on a much broader scale
9:09
And she's kind of going between two different worlds. You know, kind of the Olympian worlds of the Amazons, and our sort of mortal realm
9:17
And then this is sci-fi with aliens. So it's really quite different
9:23
Although, you know, I think when I do my job well, if I do my job well, there should be points that can relate to each of those things
9:33
And it's like, oh well, I'm not an alien, but I know how that feels. So, you know, that's the goal, I think, of any writer, is to make that connection across that distance
9:41
Right, right. Back to your tweet about Dune and Cowboy Bebop. Can you just talk a little bit more about that
9:49
I don't know if you can, but if I was a Cowboy Bebop fan, what is it that I would find in this mechanic
9:55
Or if I was a Dune fan. Sure. Or if I was both. Yeah
10:00
So, you know, the thing that I love most about Dune is kind of that more anthropological aspect
10:04
Is that it's a complete world imagined with commerce and religion and, you know, these different houses who are kind of grappling for control
10:15
And that's what I really, really love about Dune. And so that kind of aspect of the world that's very old and cultures that have been there for a very long time
10:25
this very complete philosophies, religious aspect, that gets pulled in from Dune
10:30
And from Cowboy Bebop, it's the fun, it's the lightheartedness, it's the zapping back and forth through space
10:37
It's kind of this ad hoc family of very different characters who are drawn together by a similar mission
10:44
You know, because I think if you go too far in one direction with sci-fi and make it very heavy and take itself extremely seriously
10:51
then you kind of lose a lot of the momentum, I think
10:56
And so what I like about some of the more lighthearted sci-fi, like Cowboy Bebop, is that it's relatable, it's fast-paced, it's not afraid to laugh at itself occasionally
11:07
And I really wanted to kind of attempt to marry those elements, which is not easy to do because they're very different
11:14
Because that's what makes up a complete human life here on Earth
11:18
We've got the big questions, the big philosophical stuff that we grapple with
11:23
But we also all like to spit coffee on ourselves and get in fights with our friends
11:30
And that's what makes a complete life and that's what makes a complete story
11:34
Well, I am so excited for Resident Evil Kingdom. It sounds so cool and it sounds so rich
11:39
And I'm just looking forward to it. So, thank you so much for watching. I'm David Brooke, this is G. Will Wilson
11:45
We're at the Dark Horse booth at San Diego Comic-Con 2018. Thanks for watching
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