Creating a Worldof Witches and Wonder A Conversation with Firebrand’s Jessica Chobot, Erika
Creating a Worldof Witches and Wonder A Conversation with Firebrand’s Jessica Chobot, Erika Lewis, and Claudia Aguirre.Firebrand, the latest original title from Legendary Comics is heading into the home stretch of its inaugural run on digital comics platform, LINE Webtoon. The weekly series follows teenage witch Natali Presano as she comes to terms with her role in a supernatural war, while dealing with the everyday pressures of young adulthood.Firebrand is the brainchild of Jessica Chobot and Erika Lewis. Chobot is best known as host for Nerdist News. Before joining Nerdist, she was a host and recurring personality on IGN and G4. Lewis has made a name for herself as a young adult and fantasy author with her work Game of Shadows, and The 49th Key, in addition to Firebrand.“Jessica Chobot has been such a huge part of the Legendary family for years,” said Robert Napton, Vice President and Editorial Director of Legendary Comics. “We were so thrilled to have an opportunity to support her exploration of a new creative venture and we know that she and Erika Lewis have created a truly compelling new heroine and story that fans will truly become immersed in.”Legendary Backstory had the opportunity to talk with Chobot, Lewis, and artist Claudia Aguirre about the exciting new series as it heads into the second half of its season. See what they had to say about creating the comic below!Q: As an intro, can you tell the readers a little bit about what Firebrand is all about and talk about the process in which it’s come to fruition. Where did the idea originate from, how did it develop, how did each of you become involved and come together to create it, etc.?JC: You know, Firebrand is sort of a combination of a coming of age story and a traditional hero’s journey. At its heart, it’s really about a young woman who we’ve seen growing up, who basically just never felt like she belonged anywhere. This was actually an idea that Erika had that she came to me with one day when we were just talking and hanging out. We started volleying ideas back and forth and eventually realized we should do something with this because it started to grow so quickly during that first conversation. So we just started meeting up after that and exchanging ideas and characters and relationships. Eventually it really felt like we had something and we wanted to shop it around and obviously one of the first places we went to was Legendary.EL: Jessica and I worked together at G4 and both had obsessions with witches and magic and all things insane. But for me, I’m obsessed with ancient myths and legends, especially when it comes to magic in different places around the world. Basque is such a unique place and culture and really unlike anything else around it. I did a lot of research into pre-Christianity times in Basque, finding timeless myths. We hope to bring to pieces of them to life in a very unique Erika-Jessica-Claudia type of way. I saw (artist) Claudia Aguirre’s work at another publisher and I was so impressed, and was like ‘oh, how cool it would be to have three women!’ So (Legendary Comics’) Robert Napton got in touch with Claudia and thankfully she was excited about the idea!Q: Claudia, can you talk about the process in designing the look of Firebrand from early sketches to the finished art?CA: Well, the creative process for me is like a movie in my head. Jessica and Erika are great. They are very, very cinematic in what they describe so I can see it in my head. I initially try to make sense of my own idea and I do some thumbnailing on paper and try to make it look really cool. Then, I start translating that onto the computer, so I’ll draw it and show everything to the team. They’ll tell me if it doesn’t work and give me feedback. After that, I do the inking process and then the colors too.Q: Which real stories and history (if any) did you pull from to inspire the style of witchcraft/characterization of the Sorgin in the series? Are there references to any of these in the story or in the artwork?EL: Historically speaking, the Spanish Inquisitions have been incorporated into the backstory of “Sorgin” mythology, our fictional universe. The inquisitions put paganism on trial during the spread of Christianity in Western Europe. Although you can find a good deal about the Spanish Inquisitions and witch trials, the specific story we tell in Firebrand is something Jessica and I made up.CA: For the art, there is definitely a strong influence from Spain, the border between Spain and France. It’s definitely a process of trying to piece things together to make a whole universe that isn’t there. It’s quite fun.Q: It’s evident that Natali Presano is a badass. How important is it to have kickass female protagonists like Natali in comics? Are there any comic characters out there that you drew inspiration from in fleshing her character out?JC: It’s always been important, and we’ve always tackled the story with Natali being a character with a lot of self-sufficiency. But, with how things stand in the U.S., it feels even more important right now. Not only to have that represented for women and girls, but really for anybody who feels left out from “average society.“ It’s helpful to have a character that shows, if you are true to yourself, you can utilize your power to get through tough times. You can be admired and I think that is so important to have that in a character right now.EL: Absolutely. When Natali sees a wrong, she wants to right it. She wants to do the right thing. But sometimes what she wants to do butts up against Sorgin law, and causes her to get in trouble. Not that it would ever stop her. Deep down inside, she has what it takes character to do the right thing and stand up for what she believes is fair. CA: We always needed people like Natali in comics - we need to not feel alone. For people who feel alone or have been through things, it is important to have these characters portrayed. We have the opportunity to be someone who makes a difference, so we have to make use of it.Q: Going back to the artwork, it features a cool contrast between the realism of the human world in Washington that Natali comes from and the more fantastical setting of Eder. Claudia, what went into imagining and designing both settings and what key differences did you want Eder to have to set it apart from the human world?CA: Well, I tried to make the culture. I sadly couldn’t find much in history before Christianity, so I found out a little of their principles and dialect and some stone monuments that they had. Essentially, I took a little of all of this and tried to make an evolving city of Eder. I tried to stay away from the Stone Age so I could make it a little more medieval. I could Google Map a lot of the places in Seattle, so that made that setting easier to do. But the main expansion for me was to try and make it a bit more magical. I tried to make the magical more blueish and the realistic setting of Seattle more grey.Q: Were there elements of your own lives that you drew from to go into the story or even into the artwork?EL: On the story side, I will say that for me, I am from D.C. and grew up in a politically charged environment. A very argumentative atmosphere. The kind of place you either love or hate. Also I am from a divorced family. Some of the characters may have been developed around real people. Also, I understand Natali’s need to want to feel accepted for who she is, to be a part of a family that allows her to be herself, because I never felt like I fit in anywhere.JC: I guess for me, it wasn’t too specific besides growing up and being interested in the paranormal and the occult and being the weird girl at school. I was kind of shunned by a lot of the kids growing up, so for me it was a matter of identifying as not part of the group mantra. Also though, as I grow up, realizing that there isn’t anything wrong with me, it is just what I like. So that is what I think I brought to Natali in a little bit of a subconscious way.Q: The “direct address” to the reader style of narration is a cool device that makes the story feel almost interactive in a way, drawing the reader in and directly questioning them. How did you decide on that and what do you think it brings to the storytelling?JC: Well, we didn’t start with that in the beginning - we had a traditional approach. But we decided to bring in Natali’s voice, because we wanted to break the fourth wall and feel more invested by having Natali talk more to them.EL: She is sarcastic at times, and very powerful. The real parts of her, like everyone, can be insecure and afraid and we try to really humanize her and let people into the fact that she isn’t necessarily what she puts out to the world. All of those things surrounding Natali, her internal voice, we were hoping to give people an insight into who she truly is.Q: The series is at times hilarious and at times deals with some pretty dark themes. How do you walk that tricky tightrope in the writing and the tone to maintain that balance?JC: It is a fine line, especially if you have a younger audience. However, these things really happen, so sugarcoating it isn’t necessarily a great thing to do either. So, drawing on all of the traumatic experiences of Natali’s we really wanted to approach all of them from the best angle we could. We wanted to give the backstory and make it relatable, but not turn off the readership by going overboard. These are all issues kids and families deal with growing up, so we wanted to address them but remain respectful.EL: You can see in the comments on each issue: people talk about things they go through. With Natali specifically, the balance of keeping the comic relief but also the dark tones, the greatest thing was using that inner voice and letting the reader into her head; knowing when she was excited, or feeling sarcastic or funny. We tried to make it palatable. We tried to do moments of light-heartedness, especially during those first few chapters.Catch up on Firebrand’s entire first season before new issues are releasedevery Wednesday over at LINE Webtoon -- source link
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