This is something I’ve been meaning to mention for a while but kept forgetting about it. On YouTube, DC Comics artist Ethan Van Sciver has a channel called ComicArtistPro Secrets. One of the things he does on his channel is interview other comics professionals. In late November he interviewed comics writer Mark Waid. At one point, Waid made a comment that really struck a chord with me as a Vampirella fan. He’s talking about what not to do as a creator when taking on character as a writer. Here’s the quote:
The worst thing you can do is take a concept in comics that’s been around forever and “fix” it without regard for where it came from. Or ever go into it embarrassed. Never take any assignment where you’re embarassed about the character and you feel like you need to fix it. It worked fine without you for a long time; it’ll probably work fine without you after you go. So just lean into what makes it work.
I’ve pointed out on this blog before that it seems like Vampirella has had a string of writers lately who aren’t fans of the character and even seem out-right revolted by her. The result is exactly what Waid talks about above – an attempt to “fix” or “reimagine” the character in a way that strips away everything that makes that character recognizable. I really hope future Vampirella writers will take Waid’s approach and not try to reinvent the wheel. And I hope Dynamite will vet future writers and try to find someone who is actually a fan of the character. I think Shawn Aldridge is doing a great job on Hack/Slash vs Vampirella, so they wouldn’t have to look far for an example of the right way to do it.
You can check out the full interview below. The above quote is around the 1 hr, 15 min mark.
“The worst thing you can do is take a concept in comics that’s been around forever and “fix” it without regard for where it came from. Or ever go into it embarrassed. Never take any assignment where you’re embarassed about the character and you feel like you need to fix it. It worked fine without you for a long time; it’ll probably work fine without you after you go. So just lean into what makes it work.”
That should be pinned on the wall of every professional comics writer.
Seems pretty obvious to me!