Trial of The Amazons: Q&A with Michael Conrad and Becky Cloonan!

I understand that when making Trial of the Amazons it involved you coordinating with the creative teams responsible for Wonder Girl and Nubia.
What was the process that led to this?
Was it a series of back and forth notes between editors? Did the writers/artists just get together and plan out how things would go or did editorial lay out what was going to happen in advance with you and the others working within that template?

Did you enjoy this collaborational approach with the event and do you wish you could do another one like it someday?

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Welcome back to the community @vince.gattuso.37133 and @nuuninuunani! :wonderwoman: Thanks for joining in on this Q&A - please don’t hesitate to let the moderator team know if you need anything. :0_wonder_woman:

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Could there be other Amazon tribes out there, maybe in Africa, Asia, or in Nordic areas?

Also, is there a working origin for Donna Troy that you’re operating from? If so, which is your model?

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Welcome to DC Community!

Your first question is something that I have thought about as I was reading Wonder Girl and then was raised again with Trial of the Amazons.

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Hi, and thanks for your time!

What are some individual aspects of your main cast that you wanted to make sure stood out to readers? In regards to both the writing and art of the characters.

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Hey guys, thanks for doing this! The big thing I love about this event is it shows how far the WW line has come in having multiple books and giving a spotlight to multiple characters. It’s been amazing to read. I really hope, as I’m sure you do as well, that DC continues to invest in these characters through more than just one comic. So it’s fine if you can’t answer this but I have to know: Are there plans for another Amazon-related ongoing title in the near future? Glad Nubia is getting another book, but with Wonder Girl cancelled I really think another ongoing would be great.

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BC: This book had such a big cast, so it was important for us to represent each of the characters with a standout moment. Having it work together across so many books was kind of a puzzle, and it took a lot of work!

MC: We wanted to make sure that each of the tribes had a unique personality…we had certain elements of DANA’s costume to reflect her allegiance with her tribe. Our job is to make sure these artistic elements shine a little bit more…finding ways (without doing too much exposition) to share with new readers “hey, this is what the character is about, this is their moral compass, etc.”

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BC: That’s the great thing about the Wonder Woman family, and the Amazons— there’s so many possibilities! There are a million stories about Amazons waiting to be told. As a fan I am 100% down with the idea of more hidden tribes.

MC: There is a real possibility of there being other tribes in the world, but thus far there are only three known. The Tribes do represent a number of ethnicities regardless of location. Donna Troy, and our current understanding of her origin is something we’d really like to further define for readers in the future… we know it can be a bit confusing at the moment. I don’t wanna spoil the fun by sharing that here though! We LOVE Donna!

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BC: The collaborative nature of the Trial has been the best part of the event for me, creatively!! Every two weeks, our editor Brittany Holzherr would gather Stephanie Williams, Vita Ayala, Joelle Jones, Michael and me in a group chat for a few hours. We meticulously coordinated the story over each title!

MC: It was so much fun to see how the other creators would approach such a story. The results show what the hive mind on the Wonder Woman books is capable of as a team. Independently the Trial would have looked/felt a lot different without such intense and lengthy meetings and conversation over the past year!

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BC: Ooooh, Doctor Poison!! I think it’s safe to say, without spoiling TOO much, that Wonder Woman and the team will need to get some antidotes ready. >:D

MC: Hey Vince! Thank you! Deadman 4-EVER

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BC: So far we’ve roped in a ton of dream characters already, and our editors have been very supportive of our wild ideas XD

MC: Cheetah! I’d also love to incorporate SHAZAM! Stuff like this needs a reason though… just because I love a character it doesn’t always make sense for them to show up… otherwise Animal Man would be there or something… which gives me an idea!!! Maybe it could work!

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BC: We are all BIG Artemis fans over here.

MC: You will certainly see a lot more of her. She is one of the more interesting Amazons, and I think everyone on the Trial teams really enjoyed writing/drawing her!

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MC: If I say RIGHT NOW who Donna Troy is, we run the risk of burning a really cool story. We understand her character is open to a lot of interpretation, we’d like to focus in on the critical elements of her character, and reinforce what really makes her shine. Jimenez’s work is a BIG point of reference for my view on her.

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MC: We will always advocate for more Amazon stuff…always. :smiley:

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MC: Esquecida- Peace Themyscirans- Sisterhood Bana-Mighdall- Stuggle

BC: The Amazon Tribes, as Tarot cards: The Esquecida: Temperance Themyscira: Justice Bana Mighdall: Judgement It was so much fun getting to know each tribe more during this event!

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Wow! Thank you so much for the reply, both of you! :slight_smile:

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MC: Thank you so much! Just as a point of clarity, Stephanie Williams is the Trial Steph, and the fantastic writer of Nubia. But, I’m glad you brought up the other Steph too, it’s a perfect opportunity to shout out Stephanie Phillips and here INCREDIBLE work on Wonder Woman: Evolution. I hope folks have been enjoying that book in addition to the books that are part of the Trial!

BC: This was the first time any of us had written a crossover event, and I’d like to shout out to our editor Brittany who somehow kept us all on track. We had group story meetings every two weeks, and after each meeting the Trial would take a clearer shape! I loved the collaborative nature of the Trial, everyone had such incredible ideas, and I always left feeling energized and inspired. Even Jordie Bellaire chipped in with Young Diana ideas, and how we could make things she was writing resonate in what we were writing in the trial.

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MC: I can’t pick a favorite, but JUMPA!

BC: I’m the same— it’s hard to pick a favorite. I will say, however, that Steve is the character who surprised me most. I went in thinking I had him figured out, but after writing more? Steve is a TON of fun.

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MC: I do think that this is a hugely important part of Wonder Woman and it isn’t something we wish to shy away from or obscure. As you said, it just has to make sense to the story, the story always comes first. I think having the kind of background Diana has ensures that she sees people beyond their genders, she sees their hearts, and that is something we could all aspire to.

BC: Team Ratatosk forever! :smiley: Amazon culture is 100% queer— Diana sees the world through a much more pure lens, one where everyone is valued. That’s been such an important part about the Trial, is seeing even more representation across the board.

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Thanks for the reply will enjoy continuing to read this.

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