The next wave of DC Comics’ New 52 has got some interesting new titles ahead, including the series we’re talking about today, Katana. Spinning out of Birds of Prey – and soon to be a member of the new Justice League of America – writer Ann Nocenti will be bringing Katana to her very own solo series beginning in February.
I caught up with Nocenti to get the scoop on what to expect from the new book.
Ann Nocenti: Well, Bob Harras called me and basically offered me the book.
IGN: Was it already determined that it was going to be a Katana series or was that a character you pitched?
Nocenti: They knew they wanted to do a Katana series and Bob asked me if I wanted to do it and I said “sure.” It was a long process; I think it started back in April. I sent them various pitches; the comic book process is very cool in the way things evolve. The first ideas you have aren’t necessarily the best ones. So everybody looks at your pitch and then everyone talks about it and you re-pitch it and it goes through a long process. You shed the ideas that don’t seem to be working. The ones that keep rearing their heads up are the ones you go with.
IGN: What do you think makes Katana a character ripe for her own ongoing series? What do you find compelling about her?
Nocenti: It’s always a crapshoot as to whether or not a new idea will have legs, but I think that she comes out of a long tradition of amazing film, history, and comics from Japan. I’m a huge lover of Seven Samurai and anything Kurosawa ever did. The comedic work out of Japan in terms of martial arts movies, some of them are hilarious.
And I miss really high level swordplay with humor, so that’s what I’m drawing on, is this great tradition. It always amazes me that Japanese comics have like 200 pages, how do they do that? They’re fat books; it’s a whole different kind of comic that’s very close to their films. So I’m drawing from that history and bringing it here; bringing it to Katana.
IGN: Most of how Katana’s been portrayed in the New 52 thus far has been focused on the whole dead-husband-in-her-sword idea. How much of a role does that mystery play in your story?
Nocenti: It’s huge in the first three issues. But issue #3 is a radical change. So the first two issues it’s a big part of her identity. What’s interesting is that when I read Birds of Prey I thought, they’re just humoring her, you know, “She’s off talking to her husband again through her sword.” But who’s in love with a piece of cold steel? Who thinks their husband is their sword? Her love for her katana is also just a love for the sword that defends her and that she’s a master at. So whether or not she’s crazy or her husband really is in her sword is one of the early questions that we deal with.
Nocenti: I like when people respect continuity, except for stories that shouldn’t have happened and we all kind of forget. [laughs] But I liked her restraint and grimness and professionalism in Birds of Prey. She’s not the kind of person you want to go out for drinks with or invite to a party. She’s not a cut up; she’s not loose. She does her job. What happens in the solo book is that she ends up creating a community for herself in Japantown.
These characters start to pull out another side of her. You have a persona right now; you’re defined by your friends and family and you’re kind of locked in your persona to a certain degree. But when you go far away to another place where you know no one, there’s a certain liberation. Something is going to start changing in her that is less grim and severe.
IGN: So it sounds like you’re going to start building out a new supporting cast for the character.
Nocenti: The first issue you see that she’s got new villains – really nasty new villains. She pretty much hooks up with a new supporting cast in Japantown right off the bat. We set the scene and then everything starts to change with issues #2 and 3. She’s also going to be very connected to the DC Universe. She’s got guest stars in issues #2 and 3 who are surprising. I want her to be connected to the DCU, even in her solo missions.
At the same time that she has these arcs, she has moments where she has to split to go be with the Justice League. She’s got to revert to her workman-like personality because she’s there to do a job. Just like being trained in the army. Yeah, you joke around in the barracks and you’re yourself, but when you’re in a war situation – which she will be, the Justice League will call on her for missions – then she’ll be required to be extremely stable and responsible. Whereas in her solo book, we can explore who she really is and explore what her relationship with the sword is.
IGN: What is artist Alex Sanchez bringing to the book?
Nocenti: He’s just phenomenal. I mean, I’m thrilled. He’s ancient Japan and he’s modern at the same time, which is exactly what we wanted the book to be. He can do the action, he can do the superheroics, but he can also do this tense sense of antiquity and be modern at the same time. When I saw the first page… it’s got such a range of styles.
It’s funny because Rachel Gluckstern, my editor – the support team at DC has been really awesome, they toss ideas at me and it’s been an extremely creative process – but she sent me links to Alex’s work and I said, “This guy has five styles! Which one is he going to use for the book?” And then I got the first page and he was using all of them! It was pretty exciting.
Nocenti: Well, Catwoman has an awesome, iconic personality. It’s a blast to write her. You get her; she’s an archetype. You can just kind of put on the cat-suit. Always when you start a new character your first few issues are like, “Oh my gosh, who is this character?” But now, I just know her. I can be her.
Green Arrow is different. Green Arrow has gone through so many changes; he’s been right-wing, he’s been left-wing, he’s been rich, he’s been poor, he’s been a social justice guy, then when I got him he was a rich playboy guy. So it was a lot harder to get into a character that has so many personas in the past and I just looked at his anger. The previous writer had him have a lot of anger with his boss and being in a corporate world. So I wanted to throw all of that stuff off and bring him back to something more street. So that was my arc on Green Arrow, but it was really difficult. Green Arrow was a very difficult character to get my head around.
Katana being kind of a clean slate is just really, really fun. There’s more pressure in terms of “brand new book! Brand new book!” and having no real strong history. But there’s less pressure in terms of “that’s not the Katana we know!”
IGN: That’s all I’ve got for you, is there anything you wanted to ad?
Nocenti: No! Your questions were great, thank you!
IGN: Well, thank you! I appreciate your time Ann, really looking forward to the book.
Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator. Follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyEsposito, or find him on IGN at Joey-IGN. He will love Star Wars until he becomes one with the Force, and then he will continue loving it as a blue ghost.
Source : ign[dot]com
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