Wonder Woman Evolution: Live AMA with Stephanie Phillips and Mike Hawthorne! Monday 11/22 @2pm PT/5pm ET!

So much of Marston’s earliest Wonder Woman stories take Diana to space, too! So it really feels like a return to Golden Age roots.

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Mike: I’ve been freelancing for so long that I can’t operate in an office. So, yes, we’re really on our own in terms of task management and hitting deadlines. For time management you really just have to be a little militant about your attention. I think of my attention as my budget, and I allot it accordingly. If it’s frivolous it doesn’t get into the budget. Simple.

The real secret for me is timing your breaks. Lots of new work-from-home types with do a task, then give in to temptations like joy, rest and relaxing. You really have to keep your breaks “on the clock” so you get as much done as possible, then clock out and rest at the end of the day.

It can take some getting used to, but I honestly think I get more done at home that I would in some office. So much time is wasted with things like having to talk to people, or people talking to you, or having to pretend to listen to people, or like people and I just can’t handle it.

Stephanie: While there’s definitely some flexibility to working from home, I think the downside is that I just don’t really STOP working. There is always work to be done and usually that’s what I’m doing at any given moment. I absolutely love what I do, but we’re still working on finding balance!

I try to keep things organized with lists. Along with scripts I usually have outlines to work on, research to do for some project or another, PR/interview things, lettering passes and editing, and just general collaborations with my creative partners. I try to carve out a lot of time to talk with my collaborators and find that’s really motivational and an exciting part of the gig. I work with some smart people, like Mike!

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I hope we get to see more of Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman comics, after all Wonder Woman comic is good, but it can be better with him in it.:grinning:
You can tell I’m a fan of the character.

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Stephanie: Truth. Diana is a character dedicated to the truth and that’s something both Mike and I really wanted to represent in this story in a few different ways. There is a truth to uncover about WW: Evolution… and we’re kind of just seeding that truth a little bit as a time as we go. Once you reach the end and go back, you’ll see all these little pieces of truth we offered. Mike’s been so good at that and has had some amazing ideas for making that work.

I also think Diana is unique from the rest of the trinity because she was raised to be a warrior. Batman is the world’s greatest Detective. Superman was raised by farmers and is the best that humanity has to offer, with empathy being one of his greatest gifts. Diana is a warrior using this gift to defend the world. She was born and raised to do this, and we’re trying to find ways to force Diana to solve issues without her sword or fist, which is often her first line of defense, and rightfully so (she’s a bada*). She’s also this symbol of tenacity that I love. You are just not going to keep her down. It doesn’t matter if she’s taking on cosmic entities or the entire JLA… she is not backing down from a fight if it’s the right fight to be had.

Mike: Getting to draw any important character can be daunting, especially if it’s one of DC’s “Big 3”. With Diana I wanted desperately to be respectful of her history while also bringing a fresh take to the character.

When in that kind of spot I lean on doing homework. I had an idea for how I’d wanted to approach WW, based on a trip to Greece years back with my family (my wife is originally from there), so I dug into some art history books and looked to ancient Greek pottery and sculpture for inspiration.

I agree with Steph here in that Diana has just that one job. She’s Spartan in that regard, she doesn’t do anything but War. I wanted readers to take one look at her and see that.

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Mike: You know, before this my answer was always just Diana. But, Steph wrote this beautiful scene in issue 1 that has me thinking I have a Superman story in me. Also, I know everyone says this, but BATMAN! Of course…Steph, maybe we’ve got a Superman: Evolution or Batman: Evolution story we could do :wink:

Stephanie: YES SUPERMAN! I’ve written a little Superman for anthologies or digital-first books, but I also feel like I have a longer take on Superman in me. The more I get to work on him, the more I like him and the more I find his empathy both unique and necessary.

I love Green Arrow and would also like to do more with him. Like Mike said, Batman might be obvious but I’d love to do more with him or Batwoman. I think Supergirl is really interesting as well, but I don’t want to follow King or Evely on that one, ha! Their book is gorgeous.

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Stephanie: I feel like I go a little insane with research because it’s an excuse to read a lot and learn new things. My local comic shop joked with me that they try to guess what projects I’m working on based on what I’m buying the most of… they’re onto me! I love owning books and working on Diana meant a chance to complete a lot of runs I didn’t have in their entirety. Since we wanted this to also be a deep dive into her past as it informs her present, I tried to use a lot of the material that came before us in some respect throughout the story, even if it’s just referenced in a line.

Mike: For me? Tons, honestly. I’m not nearly so sure in my ideas that I’d take them at face value. My ideas lie to me all the time and tell me how great they are, but I say “Ideas, you lie some times!” and they say “No way, you can trust us!”… but then they lie.

I’m wiser now so I try to research it all. I mentioned researching ancient Greek art for Diana, but it carries onto the rest of the details in the book. For instance I wanted her to have a clear body type and researched athletes, settling on a combo of pole vaulters and sprinters. I wanted her to have the heavily muscled, exaggerated proportions look to her.

The entire book is like this for me, from little details (like her shield being based on Alexander the Great’s) to the world (slightly based on parts of Mojave Desert). I want to make the story feel as real as I can and that takes homework.

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Stephanie: Oh, yes. I am CONSTANTLY telling Mike to draw MORE sleeveless Wonder Woman! I DEMAND it!..I don’t know exactly how to pin down where a story comes from. I think it’s just a way of looking at the world and feeling inspired by my creators and the content that I get to take in as a fan. I love telling stories and I’m interested in stories that reflect things I care about and am passionate about. While I provide a script to Mike, I see it more like a blueprint. If I say I think this house should have windows, Mike might go and make these amazingly gorgeous stained glass windows because he’s talented and amazing, and now that house is going to be WAY elevated beyond what I could have imagined. We’re both still building a house, but we’re contributing elements that I feel are uniquely us.

Mike: Yes, once Steph has talked with the Oracles she gets her ideas THEN tells me what to draw. Stephanie is being too humble. She’s written this beautifully structured story. I just have to show up and make some pictures. I think this thing would read wonderfully in prose, honestly.

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These sound awesome™:+1:.
Nothing wrong with going with Supes or Bats. They may be obvious but they’re great. And GA is a great choice as well.
Hope those opportunities come at some point.

Thanks for answering :+1:

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Can’t wait to read and see your take on Diana, love the analogy to her being a Spartan. I’ve always thought that as well

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Stephanie: I was asked about working on a Wonder Woman mini series and if I had any ideas to bring to the table. The main concept I pitched was Diana standing trial for humanity and editorial really liked it! Not a super exciting answer, haha. I guess, in short, it’s something I pitched after being invited to work on a Wonder Woman project.

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LOL! Thankyou for the reply, I really like your sense of humor!:laughing:

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Mike: I didn’t directly draw inspiration from any film or anything but there is so much to work with that you can’t help but have it seep into your thought process. From Frank Miller’s WW, to Cliff Chiang’s, to the film version I was aware of it and wanted to take that and do something all my own with it.

Stephanie: While I don’t think there’s any one thing I could point to as saying “that’s the inspiration,” I think it’s hard to not be influenced by the many portrayals of Diana in multiple forms of media, and I also think that’s great that so much exists. To have the female member of the Trinity getting so much love in so many different formats, and from so many different and amazing creatives, has been really awesome to see. I’m so glad I’ve gotten to see it! We’re telling a story that looks at Diana in a very cumulative sense, so I think we’re looking at all the Wonder Woman stories out there and then using those as a jumping off point for our own story, while hopefully also contributing something unique to her legacy.

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Alright everyone, that’s going to be all for tonight! Apologies for not getting through every single question, but we SUPER appreciate everyone’s thoughtful responses and discussions. And of course, a massive thank you to Stephanie Phillips and Mike Hawthorne for joining us tonight!

Stay tuned for more awesome AMA’s in the future, and keep up with Wonder Woman Evolution :smiley:

Have a wonderful night, and see you all (hopefully) tomorrow for Office Hours!

<3 Jitsu :metal:

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