Comic Attack was able to grab some time with Nubia and the Amazons co-writer, Stephanie Williams, and chat a bit about the Queen of Themyscira and what’s in store!
Comic Attack: First, we’d like to congratulate you and the entire team on this wonderful first issue! Could you give us a brief introduction as to who you are and what led to your love of comics?
Stephanie Williams: Thank y’all so much!
I am a STEM escapee turned comic writer – a career shift that has been six years in the making. I started podcasting which helped me find my voice and gain some confidence in it. I mainly talked comics, movies, and shows, but now and then hot pop culture topics. After the podcast Misty Knight’s Uninformed Afro ended abruptly, I started writing for publications like SYFYFANGRRLS, MARVEL, DEN OF GEEK, A.V. CLUB, and DC COMICS.
I would say my love of comics came when I realized that comics were nothing more than the soap operas my grandmother and mother loved but with everyone wearing tights. That’s when I started making personal connections with the characters in between the action pages.
CA: What does Nubia mean and symbolize for you first as a fan of the character and now as part of the team that’s reintroducing her to a new generation of readers?
SW: So I would honestly have to say she means and symbolizes the same things for me as both a fan and now as someone part of the team that’s reintroducing her to a new generation. I always thought she was an interesting enough character but needed the writer’s opportunity to help her stand on her own and not just as Diana’s Black sister or the Black Wonder Woman. It’s truly an honor to be able to say I’ve had the great fortune of writing for a character that I’ve always wanted to know more about, but now it’s me actively exploring all she can be.
CA: Speaking of the team, how did all the pieces come together for this amazing group to help visually tell Nubia’s story alongside yourself and Vita?
SW: The pieces fell together beautifully. Vita reached out to me about a possible opportunity to write some Amazons, and of course, I wanted all in. They were kind enough to suggest me to one of the Wonder Woman office editors and send them a copy of Living Heroes. The next thing I knew, I was having a phone conversation with that same editor and talking her ear off about everything Wonder Woman, Amazons, Nubia, and Themyscira related. It was a wrap after that, and a little while later, I talked to Vita about story ideas for Nubia and the Amazons. It didn’t hit me that I’d be working on the project until I heard Alitha Martinez was attached. The rest is history still in the making.
CA: As far as the creative process goes, what’s been your most challenging part and what area has been the most rewarding so far?
SW: I would say the most challenging parts have been the dialogue. You don’t realize just how difficult it is to mimic natural conversation flow until it’s time to do it. If you add in centuries-old Amazons sequestered away on some magical island, then it gets a little trickier. I’ve been figuring it out, though.
The most rewarding part so far has been doing the letter passes. You get to see how everything has finally come together. It’s the “I saw things I imagined” part of the process, as I’ve been calling it.
CA: There’s a painful duality to the Well of Souls when it comes to how new Amazons arrive on Themyscira. Will you be going deeper into Clio’s theory as to why and the connection to the Queen in this story?
SW: Yes, but that’s about all I can say.
CA: What’s immediately noticeable in the first issue of Nubia and the Amazons is the culturally diverse group of women reborn from the Well of Souls. Along with Bia’s introduction this has made quite the impact on readers. What can you tell us about this history making character and what her role means for this series?
SW: Of course! The inclusion of Bia in the series was a natural one. The same as we’ve introduced the other Amazons who came out of the well with her that day. We wanted to strive for a Themyscira that is as reflective as our reality.
As far as Bia’s role in the series, she is an active participant whose voice is vital to the story.
CA: Now to close things out, is there anything you’re working on that you can let us know about AND Is there a character you’d like to see Nubia just beat the brakes off of and how many issues would it take for you to tell us this story?
SW: I wish I could tell y’all about what’s next for me outside of Trial of the Amazons, but I can’t. I‘m sorry. I promise it’s all worth the wait.
And I’ll do you one better. I want to see a Nubia and Big Barda team up, and they can just rip apart parademons all day. Give me a Black Label book, and I’ll tell it in 6 issues.
CA: That would be an AMAZING team up and those two would put on a display of beautiful violence!
We’d like to thank Stephanie for her time and can’t wait to see what her and the rest of the creative team have in store for Nubia and other future projects!
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