Welcome to the 13th lucky installment of the now-pretending-to-be-weekly column, Leave Your Spandex @t the Door!
This week, the interview couch is occupied by a man who has managed to make a name of himself in Vertigo by writing about Snowwhite’s illicit affair with the Big Bad Wolf… literally! Ladies and gentlemen, a big round of applause for Mr Bill Willingham!
Bill Willingham is the writer of Vertigo’s hype title Fables and many older Vertigo gems, like Proposition Player, and several Sandman presents titles, including ‘the Thessaliad’. You can visit Bill’s website for more info on his past credits and current projects.
I recently got in contact with Bill to discuss his upcoming second Thessaliad mini, since a witch seemed too obvious a choice for the 13th column to pass by. For an exclusive sneak peek at some uncolored art from the first issue, and an excerpt from the second issue of the first mini, head to the column’s [ART GALLERY]
Manolis: Who is Thessaly?
Bill Willingham: She’s one of the more popular recurring characters in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman stories. She’s the last and most powerful of the Thessalian witches. Quite possibly the first of them too. She’s been alive for thousands of years, and possibly tens of thousands.
Manolis: Thessaly has early on been established as one of Vertigo’s (and comicdom’s) most charming shrews. Is there a method in her nastiness? What makes her such a bitch?
Bill: I don’t know that I would characterize her as a shrew, although my Fetch character, from the previous miniseries most certainly would. To understand her cranky ways you have to realize that she’s very much an island unto herself. She has no peers. There is no one else in all of the world like her. Normal people are fleeting things in her long life, like mayflies that live for only a single day. They aren’t much worth getting to know, because they’ll be gone in the blink of an eye. And this isn’t a tragedy to her thinking – she’s long since spent any passion she had to devote to the situation – it’s just the natural way of things. People come and go, while she endures. It’s neither fair nor unfair. Those looking at her from the outside may think she’s a shrew, or a bitch, because they don’t see that she isn’t one of them and hasn’t been for millennia.
Manolis: How powerful is Thessaly in your mind? Thessalian witches have always been referred to as powerful creatures in Sandman myth, and we saw the terror she could cause to the old Gods in the first miniseries.
Bill: She’s pretty tough. In her first appearance she pulled the mood out of orbit, just to provide a convenient gateway for herself.
Manolis: What is the name of this second series and what will it be about?
Bill: The name of the second Thess miniseries is Thessaly: Witch for Hire. It’s about what happens when someone signs Thess up for a new job, without bothering to tell her about it first.
Manolis: Is everyone involved with the first mini returning for the second installment?
Bill: Nearly. John Costanza couldn’t fit this into his schedule to letter it, so Todd Klein will letter Witch for Hire. Shawn McManus is going to illustrate it of course.
Manolis: Shawn McManus is Thess’ co-creator, how much does he contribute to the story?
Bill: Lots, obviously. Comics are a visual medium and so the illustrator carries the largest burden of telling the story. The best words in the history of language can’t make up for bad art. That said, Shawn is a master of clear and interesting storytelling. As in the last miniseries, he’s carrying the thing and I’m more or less just riding along.
Manolis: The first series provided a veritable scavenger hunt for hidden clues in the art and character cameos. Did you plant these together, or did you let him have his fun with them?
Bill: I’m not big on planting clues and hidden things for the readers to ferret out, simply for the sake of doing it. It has to have some important bearing on the story. In the case of the Thessaliad mini series each appearance served the idea that Thess was being constantly beset with death imagery – which is what she needed to ultimately figure out who was after her. So these were all worked out in advance, strictly because they were needed to advance the story.
Manolis: Will Fetch be making a return appearance here?
Bill: Could be.
Manolis: What manner of creature is he?
Bill: He’s a ghost. He claims to be a collective spiritual being, made up of the combined spirits of more than one person Thess has killed in her long lifetime. I’m not entirely sure if we should believe him.
Manolis: Does Thess really harbor a secret crush on him, or is he simply deluded?
Bill: We’ll see.
Manolis: Will their romance be resolved here, and will he finally discover how he died?
Bill: We’ll see.
Manolis: You’re not terribly forthcoming, are you? ;-) What sort of research was needed for this project? Have you read up on your old Greek myths?
Bill: Yes, I did. Then again, I’ve love Greek mythology for my entire reading life, so I don’t need an excuse to read and reread them at any time. As far as research goes: Each story creates its own odd research requirements. For the first issue of the new Thess series, for example, I had to research Positano Italy, how to curse and shop in Italian, and why a naga’s (from Hindu myth) gourmet dinners always turn to frogs, before he can eat them.
Manolis: Will any of those heroes be making their way in your Fables title?
Bill: Greek myth characters? Some. Maybe. I’m willing enough, but of course you’ll have to keep reading to see.
Manolis: How does it feel to play in the famous and acclaimed sandbox of the Sandman family of characters?
Bill: Gritty. The sand gets in everything.
Manolis: Has Neil Gaiman ever come in contact with you to discuss your work on the Sandman presents minis? Did you consult him on how to approach Thess?
Bill: Yes. In the early stages of the first miniseries, Shelly Bond set up a call between me and Neil, where I got to grill him about the character. Since the formal end of the Sandman series, he’s consulted on any stories involving Sandman related characters.
Manolis: Will any other familiar faces show up?
Bill: I would expect so, but I’m not telling.
Manolis: The starring characters in your books have shown a nasty tendency to have their heads blown off (Snow white and Merv Pumpkinhead) or eaten by carrion birds (poor Thessaly). Is this some sort of recurring joke, or your subconscious at work? ;)
Bill: There’s a pattern there, I suppose, only if you start by excluding everything that doesn’t fit the pattern. Fables is an ensemble cast book, one member of which got shot in the head, as opposed to the roughly 600 cast members that didn’t. Others, each of the Three Pigs, got their heads chopped off at various times during the second story arc. Merv Pumpkinhead didn’t have his head blown off. He pulled it off himself and used it to save the day – if you can believe his version of the story – knowing in advance it would get replaced. Thessaly’s hastily grown doppelganger got substantially eaten by ravens, head and all. Then there’s all those other comic series or individual stories I’ve done where no one at all suffers the loss of their heads. I’d list them, but it’s a rather long list. I don’t think I’ve got a specific vendetta against fictional characters’ heads – as opposed to hands, feet, or other body parts – but who truly knows all of the twists and turns of one’s own psyche?
Manolis: When will it be solicited?
Bill: I’m not sure. The Thessaly: Witch for Hire mini series probably won’t be solicited until it’s substantially complete – meanin
g all of the writing and most of the art done for all four issues.
Manolis: With the huge critical success of Fables, your older Vertigo work is being collected or resolicited. Is a Thessaliad trade in the plans?
Bill: The Thessaliad mini series will be included, in its entirety, in the Sandman Presents: Taller Tales collection coming out this October, along with the Merv Pumpkinhead story, the Danny Nod issue of The Dreaming, and the Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Dreams, But Were Afraid To Ask story. It’ll be a huge collection.
Manolis: What other projects do you have in the works?
Bill: Quite a few, but not many I can talk of in specifics. Fables will continue I hope for a long time to come. Then there will also be some more Vertigo work and some DCU stories, using pretty much the entire stable of DC characters – well, at least those I want to use.
Manolis: Thank you for your answers, and I’ll be on the lookout for your future work!
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The rest of you, tune back in 411comics and “Leave Your Spandex @t the Door†sometime in the future for an interview with the guys behind Image Comics’ Paradigm comic… No, really! I assure you it’s NOT an urban legend! Please have faith! Pleeeeeease!!!.
Do you want to discuss this article? Visit the message boards and voice your opinions (but please no death threats!). As always, I’m waiting for your comments through email or in the boards…
Manolis Vamvounis
a.k.a. Doc Dooplove
