This is my secret shame - I have not yet seen the TV show, I’m afraid. I’ve been traveling for the past 9 weeks, but part of that is a little bit of an excuse. I got off the series about a year ago, and a book ending is a bit like a relationship ending. And when that happens, you need to be healthy, and take a step back. You’ve been living with this character for years at this point. They’ve been a big part of your daily routine, has been in your head- you know their needs, their crises, their conflict. You need to take a breather and let the next creative team have their space, and have their say. You don’t want to be the person who’s like, on Facebook all the time, checking out what your ex is doing. Being like “Who you with now? They treat you like I treat you? They’re going to fix your Mom’s computer?” Right now I’m in that space where I’m detoxing a bit from the series that I love so much. But honestly, I couldn’t imagine Kate in better hands, and I’m so impressed by the work that I have seen from this creative team, and from Ruby Rose. I’m so glad I did finally get a chance to partake.
CONFIRMED: Marguerite Bennett is doing a graphic novel adaptation of Downton Abbey! 
Hell yeah! I love musicals, and I grew up on musicals, and I think that would be a fantastic idea! Who do we talk to about this??
Well I’m spoiled, all of my parents - my mom, my dad, my stepmom, my stepdad, were all history and government teachers at some point. So growing up we got fairy tales. And we ran out of fairy tales, then we got mythology, and when we ran out of mythology, my dad told us Twilight Zone episodes as bedtime stories, and then history as we started getting older, Alexander The Great and Thebes, and The Siege of Leningrad, the battles of the Shenandoah Valley. So I grew up with this passionate love of history, and very engaged knowledge of World War II.
So when the wonderful Jim Chadwick, my editor on the series approached me - also, never do this - Instead of turning in an 2-page pitch, I turned in an 18-page document, going into all of the heroines and all of these arcs, up to, I think, the third trade paperback. And actually, DC was incredibly supportive for all the places that I wanted to go. And not just for the the content, but also for the the queer relationships, and you know, getting into the much darker and less “rally round the flag” American history version of the war. Even from the very beginning, when I was picking up an alternate history World War II, I think the initial consensus was that it would be OF COURSE led by Wonder Woman. I had to decline, and say, “You know what we absolutely have to do with fighting Nazis? We have to have Batwoman as a Jewish lesbian American hero,” not living in isolation in a Paradise, made of clay. So Batwoman had to be the first, and leading our charge. DC was absolutely supportive, and I honestly could not have asked for a better editor and better collaborators on that project.
The pleasure is all mine! And let’s see, what inspired me quite literally was the statues. Originally Lucia & Jim’s fantastic art, retro engineered a lot of the heroine’s backstory, coming from the original Bombshells designs. I knew I didn’t want this to be just an American story. I wanted to place them throughout the world for it to be a fully global conflict. That was led to the initial choice of having Supergirl and Stargirl in Soviet Russia, and having Zatanna in Berlin, having Vixen in North Africa.
So we knew it would be a digital-first, with 10-page chapters. And what I wanted to do was introduce each heroin from a different corner of the globe, and also have her 10-page chapter influenced by the art and media of the era. So you have Batwoman as this cheesy Saturday afternoon radio serial, you have Wonder Woman as a war film, Aquaman is a romance, Supergirl’s are propaganda films, Zatanna has the black and white Hammer horror. And I wanted the world to feel real in that way that there were enough women, that it felt real there were enough different kinds different genres, different types of media, that the world felt fully fleshed out when hit the ground.
For Supergirl and Lois, that’s something that I will always regret not having the time to properly flesh out and build up. We found out that we had been canceled with about four issues to spare and so I quickly dumped all the toys out of the toy box to tell people where these heroines were heading. I really honestly hope that people will make their own connective tissue through fanfiction, but it was something that I really had wanted, and hinted at. At the end of The Siege of Leningrad arc is that, you know, in the same way that Clark and Lois are this bastion couple in the DCU, I think Supergirl’s sense of wonder and compassion and optimism is something that would always appeal to Lois, no matter what time or place they are in. And so, in a world like Bombshells, this seems like a wonderful place that Lois would keep Supergirl grounded, they would really find each other in this war-torn world.
Hi everyone, so sorry to say, but we only have time for one more question- thank you for hanging out with us 
This brings to mind this essay on Bombshells: https://www.thefandomentals.com/jewish-reclamation-batwoman-bombshells/
And specifically this part: " Once again, Bennett subverts the exhausting idea that the jewish people must die in this era, because this time we’ve got jewish superheroes damnit! We’ve got Zatanna, Raven—aka Rachel Roth—and Mary Marvel! Well, Miri Marvel, but the point remains, once again: we’re the heroes of our own story. Or, in Miriam’s words, the heroines. This time, however, the liquidation isn’t just delayed.
The liquidation is stopped. Completely. Forever. And it’s the biggest, most influential change in the series so far.
Remember when I said miracle? I meant like, forty."
I can’t say ■■■■, can I? I can. A+! Well ■■■■, I had that problem this morning. Every day I wake up and think, “Oh my best years creatively are behind me, I’m past my peak.” Or you know, all of my good stories are already written, published. I guess the big thing when I sit down with a new project, how to get those voices to shut the hell up, is to write the story that I’d want to read. One of the big questions you always ask yourself is, who are you writing this story for? What audience is this for? Later you get asked, how do we sell this, and I wouldn’t worry about that just yet. You know, if it’s an audience of one, then it’s a successful project. Write the things that make you the most excited. I mean you’ll never be able to get back that sense of enthusiasm. You’ll never be able to duplicate that. And you don’t have to start the story at the beginning. Write your absolute favorite scene, what you’re looking forward to.Then write your second favorite scene, and then your third favorite scene. All the first draft has to do to be successful is exist. And that’s another thing; I wouldn’t treat it as a punishment, I wouldn’t treat it as labor. If this is something you love, do the parts that you love first. And after that, it does come down to discipline. And it can be a slog, and it can feel like pulling teeth. But you are what you do, and writers write and you’ll get there. It took me 30 years, but I got there.
But mom…
No!!! I miss out on this Q&A Cries forever.
I didn’t have a question, I just wanted to tell Miss Marguerite that Bombshells is one of my favorite Elseworlds stories, constantly re-reading it, my heart broke when Kortni died She is one of my favorite characters from Bombshells, thank you for sharing Bombshells with us, I hope that someday in the future we get to see Bombshells part 3.
Bravo.
Thank you all so much, I’m so so sorry that I wasn’t able to answer all of them. Because there was some fantastic ones I had to leave on the table. I really thank you all so much for coming out and being here with me for this. I really appreciate y’all, and I hope we get to meet in person someday! 
Thank you!!! Thank you for your advice, I greatly appreciate it!!!