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Dynamic Forces
Where did you come up with the idea for Lady Pendragon?
I was in an editorial meeting with Rob Liefeld, Eric stephenson and Larry Marder
and Rob was asking us if we had any ideas for new books. I remember pitching an idea
that was kind of goofy and everyone agreed that it wouldn't work. I walked out of
Rob's office and went into mine to grab something and I began thinking about
Guinevere from the Arthurian legends and what would have happened if she had recovered
the sword. To put this in more context, I had just finished reading Marion Zimmer Bradley's
"The Mists of Avalon". This book deals with the Arthurian legends from the women's points of
view and is one of my all time favorites. After reading the book, I had tracked down
a copy of John Boorman's "Excalibur" and had just watched it the night before this meeting.
So my mind was filled with the legend of Arthur. In the Movie Excalibur, Arthur impales his
bastard son Mordred with Excalibur and the sword is stuck in his armor as Arthur dies.
He asks Percival to return the sword to the Lady of the Lake, but Percival initially doesn't
want to do it. I always wondered what would have happened to the sword if it hadn't been
returned to the Lady of the Lake. Would Percival have gotten it? With Guinevere exiled
to a convent for her sexual escapade with Lancelot, it would make sense that after the
battle the church would come to pray over the bodies of the fallen nd to help clean up
the battlefield. These thoughts engendered the basis of the story in my head and you
know the rest.
Why did you choose Guinevere to center the story on?
Guinevere has always been kind of an enigma to me. A tragic figure caught in a world
beyond her control. I've always thought she got kind of a bum rap. During the Middle Ages,
the Catholic Church really demonized her and made her out to be kind of a Jezebel figure,
even though the accounts were fictional. I've always been a fan of the tragic, flawed hero
that has to overcome, so I thought she'd be perfect for the role.
Do you have some kind of axe to grind with organized religion?
Yes and no. I don't have a problem with the idea of Christianity or the people that follow it.
I do have a tremendous problem with hypocrisy and the utilization of religion as a
political means to power. History has taught us a great many things and one of the
greatest tragedies that I see is the number of people that have been mercilessly slaughtered
in the name of religion. Most major religions preach peace, love and joy, not hate,
intolerance and murder. There are so many examples of atrocities over the last two
thousand years that it makes me wonder if "organized" religion helps more than it hurts.
The idea of a church as a local communal worship place that looks out for its members,
helps the community and spreads the tenants of its beliefs is a great thing. Some of my
greatest memories of chidhood take place in church. Whether in a play, (I played pharaoh in the
Moses play, by the way) in choir or just hanging out with some of my friends from church, i feel
that the church is a good thing. The problem comes about when people start to become
intolerant of others. In America we have all the world religions under one roof and I
feel that people need to stop worrying about how the guy down the street worships and
prays and focus on whether our children are getting an education and the skills they'll
need to compete in this ever-global job market.
Hey, tell us what you really think!
I'm sorry. I don't mean to get up on my soapbox, nut it just bothers me to think that we
really haven't learned anything from history.
What are your long term plans for Lady Pendragon?
I'd like to continue writing and producing the book indefinitely. If the first three issue story
arc takes off, then I'll launch an ongoing series sometime next Spring. I have two more
story arcs in my head now and every time I write one of these it gives me new ideas. I'd
like to explore the Spear of Destiny, the spear that pierced the side of Christ and was
hunted down by Hitler during World War II. The occult theories and writings about this
weapon are amazing. I'd also like to explore more of what happened to the world that
Lady Pendragon inhabits and what has happened since the return of magic. There wasn't a
lot of space to do that in a three issue story. I already crammed too much stuff in there.
Who are the artists you'd like to do covers for Lady Pendragon in the future?
there are tons ranging from painters like Linsner and Alex Ross to pencilers like Brandon Peterson,
Greg Capullo and a few of the guys over at Top Cow.
Any plans for cross-overs or guest appearances by other characters?
It's difficult to make these things make sense, but there are tw ocharacters that I can see
meeting Lady Pendragon. The first would be Brigid from More Than Mortal, the two stories are set
roughly in the same time period and with Brigid being the protector for Ireland, there
are natural story lines that we can do. I would also love to have the Medieval Spawn
guest star in an issue. I think that would be cool.
Do you read comics? Any favorites?
I follow the work of people I enjoy reading, Frank Miller, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis,
Alan Moore, Kurt Busiek, John Ostarnder, Neil Gaiman, just to name a few. My favorite
comic book for the logest time was Spectre by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake. I thought
they did a wonderful job with that series. Recent stuff I've really enjoyed includes
Astro City, 300, The Coven, Superman: Man for all seasons, Preacher, Transmetropolitan
and Deity. I read about 20 comics a month. I'd probably read mre if my schedule wasn't
so hectic.
Are you excited about Lady Pendragon coming out with the toy and everything?
Totally. It's hard to describe. When I sit back and think about it, it kind of boggles the
mind. I just really am thankful to retailers and to the fans that have given me the
opportunity to do this. I love what I'm doing. It's challenging and sometimes a pain in
the ass, but it has great rewards.
Are you developing any other projects besides Lady Pendragon?
My sister has written a bunch of novels that I'd like to adapt as comic books. She's a
far better writer than I and I think the subject matter would work well. It's too
early to really comment on anything. There's also another property called Gladiators
that I'm working on, but I'm 100% focusing my writing energies on Lady Pendragon right
now. Creating a world from scratch and filling it with believable people is a lot harder
than it looks.
Any last words for the fans?
Yes, thank you. If it wasn't for you I couldn't be doing this. If you enjoyed the book I
do have one request, please recommend it to your friends, neighbors and even the guy
down the street that you don't even like.