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So the first thing I want to ask is Tom -
Tom King:Why so many words?
Why so many words?
[Laughs]
Nrama: I would never!
What made it click for you?
King:It was two ideas coming together in my head at the same time.
Number one, my oldest son became a huge WWE fan.
The challenge of that just blows my mind, that they make it so compelling.
And every writer sees something they love, and they want to participate in it.
That was half of it.
It always stuck with me, what an odd person for it to be.
That’s how she became the main character.
And I just started running with that.
Nrama: Ryan, how did Tom bring you into that vision of Black Canary?
And what’s your history with her?
I know you’ve drawn your fair share of fishnets over the years.
Ryan Sook:I have done my share of fishnets over the years [laughs].
And I said I was kinda busy.
I literally had another thing lined up and I dropped it like a hot potato.
I apologize to whatever that was.
But yeah, I was definitely in on this.
I’ve been looking for an opportunity to work with Tom, whether he knew it or not.
And when Ben mentioned it to me I just said, “I would love to do that.”
But I said to myself, I have to draw this book.
It’s Black Canary, she’s one of my favorite characters.
And she’s got that great duality to her.
She looks like an angel but she fights like a devil.
That’s what drew me in.
Nrama: You both brought up some interesting points I’d like to touch on.
King:I mean, half of that is just trusting your artist.
And here’s the exact move, and the physics would never work this way, and so on.
That’s just not how I write or read superhero comics.
So I don’t want to say that I did incredible amounts of research into how fighting works.
All that is from Ryan.
And I projected that.
You know, I mean that.
You know, it’s gnarly.
And this is that kind of fight, so that was my research.
Also watching WWE over the years.
I’ve never been a huge follower of it, but a researcher of it.
It’s such a great overlay, it’s really, really fun to read.
Tom, how did you land on that particular relationship as the emotional heartbeat of this series?
It’s the two Black Canaries.
We’re picking up another person’s mantle.
You know, Neal Adams is laying it down, and I’m picking it up.
You’re trying to learn from the best to be the best.
All that stuff is in here.
And you don’t see that much in comics.
So it was a new territory to delve into there.
As for the personal side of it, yeah.
I mean, half my life is working on comics.
And I tried to put all of that in the comic.
There’s a lot of fighting in this comic, but there’s also a tremendous amount of tenderness.
How do you dig into that dichotomy with the visuals?
I have a sister and a mother and they have a relationship.
I have two young daughters, and watch them with my wife.
Because when I read it, it was believable.
The relationship between the two Dinahs, it’s not a father-son story.
It’s a very different dynamic.
How much of that spread was in the script and how much came straight from your brain?
I just loved that bit so much.
King:Nothing, nothing was in the script.
Ryan doesn’t have to protect me.
I can’t help but love to draw that kind of stuff.
And, you know, Clark cooking hot dogs with laser vision.
You’ve got to have fun with it, because that’s what they’re doing.
They’re having fun, it’s a get together for fight night.
But they’re still a team, that’s kind of what I really liked about it.
They’re like, what’s going on with Dinah?
Why is she doing this?
And I love their reactions.
It’s such a great scene.
Nrama: Ryan, I want to ask, what was your favorite specific thing to draw?
It really tells you what a hero is.
It’s more than the costume.
It’s stripped away.
Even though it’s never been my strength, I would say I’m learning to love it.
That’s always the best.
Nrama: This is a question for both of you.
King:Oh, man.
I mean, a few things.
Number one, she’s got an incredible silhouette.
But goddamn, Black Canary looks cool.
Like, oh, man, that that’s somebody I want to see.
There’s something about her that’s like, rebellious.
She’s the one who will raise her voice.
I love that about her.
And also, just to mention something that’s maybe my favorite.
What’s the best drawn superhero comic of all time?
That Alex Toth Black Canary issue.
That lives in my head as, like, the greatest of our medium.
Toth took her and made the greatest story.
So that makes her awesome.
Sook:Yeah, absolutely.
It’s just great.
She’s a great looking character.
I mean, that is really what it kind of comes down to.
For me, I go back to that duality thing.
That makes her really unique to me.
And of course, she’s a lot of fun to draw.
I’ve said this a lot, but I’m gonna say it again.
I’m getting back up and keep fighting because freaking Superman got off the mat.
And so this comic, obviously, is about a fight.
That it’s just impossible.
But they get off the mat and they’re like, no, it ain’t over.
You know, it ain’t over.
It ain’t over.
