A Date With Destiny:
Conversations with Nunzio & Christina
by Janet Houck
With the third volume of Amazing Agent Luna coming out at the end of May, and Destiny's Hand making landfall in June, Gomanga.com sits down with writers Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir. Join us as we get caught up with this amazing writing duo on their writing projects, their RPG gaming habits, and the not-so-hidden Suikoden connection in Destiny's Hand.
Thanks for sitting down with us again! It's been a while since we last talked with you! Besides Amazing Agent Luna and Destiny's Hand, what other projects are you working on? Where else can we read your work?
CW: We have a new graphic novel from Oni Press called Past Lies coming out in the next month or so. It's a mystery wherein a guy walks into a private investigator's office and asks her to find out who killed him in his past life. The art is by Christopher Mitten, who we collaborated with on Oni's The Tomb. He's got a great style that really sets the atmosphere of this story and brings the book to life. We're also doing a three issue Batman/Riddler story for Batman Confidential, a new anthology book from DC.
ND: And our fantasy series at Oni, Once In A Blue Moon, was supposed to have a volume two released this year as well. But we are looking for a new artist for that series. Jen Quick, who did volume one, now has her own book at TOKYOPOP. We wish her the best, but it means finding a replacement, and that's proven tougher for Oni than we'd hoped. Also, we have a romantic comedy coming from Oni, which also needs an artist before it can go forward.
Your collective work spans superhero action (New Mutants, New X-Men: Academy X) to fantasy (Once in a Blue Moon) to pulp adventure (The Tomb) to reality-based fiction (Maria's Wedding). So what's your favorite genre to write in, or do you even have one?
ND: I don't really have a favorite genre. We definitely try to mix things up, though, which has made it hard in Hollywood - they love to be able to think of you as a "type" of writer. Our manager is always telling us not to mix genres. Sometimes we combine genres too, which freaks her out even more! So, no favorite genre for me. I think I'm enjoying finally being able to write pirates right now, but that's a temporary favorite.
CW: I think, like Nunzio, that I don't necessarily have a favorite genre to write in. I know some genres better than others, and therefore are more comfortable with them. But I think Nunzio and I have set ourselves a goal to write something in every genre before we're done.
You both enjoy roleplaying games and manga, so what are you currently playing and reading?
ND: We play both console RPGs and actual paper-and-dice RPGs. On the paper and dice front, we play Champions for some superhero role-playing. Plus, I have adapted the rules for the Hero System to run a Star Wars game for Christina and some of our friends. I'm also starting to create an RPG to run for Christina, based on a favorite console game. On the console front, we play a lot of different games. The Shadow Hearts series are favorites, as was the Legaia series (which seems to be over, sadly). But *the* favorite series is one we'll talk about later (that's the one I'm adapting for a paper-and-dice game, as well).
CW: One of the other things we're doing is adaptation work for Random House. This has allowed us to read several Japanese series that we might not otherwise have become acquainted with. We've been working on Sugar Sugar Rune, Kagetora and Guru Guru Pon Chan. I think from a reader's point of view, Sugar Sugar has been my favorite. It's a really sweet, entertaining story. But Kagetora has also been fun, because hey, ninjas in love! What could be bad about that? And you know, clearly we like ninjas.
For the budding writers out there, how do you break into the business? How much of it is luck and friends who have friends?
CW: It's a large combination of things. Comics can be a hard field to break into. We got into it because a friend of ours was already established in the industry. He introduced us to the people at Oni and got them to take a look at our work. After that, we had published material that the people at Marvel and DC could see. But otherwise, the key is to go to conventions and meet the editors at various companies. If you're an artist, most of these companies do portfolio reviews at the conventions. If you're a writer, then you need to make the connections at the cons and get them to invite you to send your writing to them afterwards. And then there is the luck factor. We've had lots of things published and we still have to work hard at finding the next job.
ND: Christina is being a little modest. There were two things that got us in the door on comics. One was our connection to Greg Rucka. But the other was the experience we had writing in TV for two years. And that experience we got by way of Christina's job as a writer's assistant. It was a case of paying your dues, working the thankless jobs, making the connections and getting an opportunity. And she did most of that for us. Would Oni have taken a look at us without the TV credits? Maybe. But Marvel would not have.
Judging from the ominous last page of volume two, Amazing Agent Luna volume three looks to be a much darker book. Will this be the "The Empire Strikes Back/The Two Towers" volume of the series? Do you plan to live up to the teen rating, as Luna's social and professional life takes a dive for the worse?
CW: Volume three is definitely a darker book, and we struggled a bit with how to tell the story that we felt naturally came next and not make the tone shift too abrupt. Luna IS a spy, and that world is not all flowers and puppies. She's got hard choices to make and difficult scenarios to deal with. I don't know if we fully live up to the teen rating, but the material is more complex and mature. But I think everyone is concerned with not alienating any of the younger readers we've gotten on board, so it's a juggling act the whole way.
Now that Luna is settled in as a three-dimensional character with a life besides her work as a superspy ninja girl, are we going to see more action scenes, or will the focus always be on her social life and the pains of being a teenager?
ND: There will always be some action sprinkled through Luna's stories, because of who she is and the job she has. But the book won't become a true action-based manga. The focus will always be on this girl who is learning to deal with being a teenager. And having a crush on her enemy's son. That sort of thing. That being said, there's a bit more action in volume three. Things get darker, and that requires a little more action. Plus, we get to see a couple of up-til-now-combat-free characters in action.
Speaking of Luna's social life, is the triangle between her, Oliver and Jonah going to be turned up a notch in this volume?
CW: The triangle is always present, and volume three adds yet another potential player. But Luna gets some key moments with both her boys. And Oliver and Jonah are definitely going to need to work out their issues with one another!
Can you give us a sneak peak at what both you and Shiei have planned for the future? Any special omake features in this upcoming volume?
ND: That's being planned as we speak, so I'm not sure. I think there will be a preview in there for Destiny's Hand, so I don't know how much room there will be after that.
Now that you've written about ninja girls, you've turned to pirate girls! How long have you wanted to write Destiny's Hand?
ND: Me? Forever! I have always wanted to write a pirate story. And the plot for Destiny's Hand was a plot we came up with for a possible role-playing game. Once we decided to pitch it to Jason at Seven Seas, we had to mix it up a bit, focus it on Olivia and get the plot details ironed out. But in some ways, the story's been with us for a few years now. And, as I said, I'm a pirate fan, and so I've wanted to write a pirate story for much longer than that!
Did you need to do any research for writing in the genre of swashbuckling glamorous pirates, such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Sinbad?
CW: Yes, right. That was RESEARCH. That wasn't goofing off and ignoring the work that awaited us at home. Loved Pirates of the Caribbean! I can't wait for the sequel this summer. Johnny Depp was amazing.
And sexy too! Who is your favorite character in Destiny's Hand to write?
ND: For me, that's Olivia. I like writing most of them, and in a lot of our books, I'm drawn to supporting players (Control's my favorite in Luna, for example), but this is one case where the lead draws me in the most. I also have a soft spot for Michel Langrisse, who doesn't get a lot of time in volume one, but is set up for big things down the line.
CW: Hmmm… that's a tough one. Probably Olivia, but we've had so much fun with the supporting cast. And Buckethead's art has given them so much personality that my fondness for all of them just keeps growing. After Olivia, I think either Captain Blaine or Owen.
How did you get connected with Buckethead? His artwork complements the story perfectly!
CW: That's all Jason. He put us in touch with Buckethead, and his designs impressed us thoroughly. Jason definitely has a knack for pairing up writers and artists.
You've said before that Buckethead's sketch of the figurehead of Destiny's Hand, Lady Kate holding an orb inspired part of the story. How much did his artwork inspire you in the final writing stages, and how much input did you have on the character designs and the whole artistic side of the manga?
CW: We did initial character descriptions and bios. Buckethead then did up his character designs. After that, we sat down with Jason and discussed each character. We had Buckethead make a few changes, and conversely, we decided on a few things based on Buckethead's drawings. For example, we loved the bandolier that Buckethead drew on Owen. We decided that the mini kegs were filled with a very combustible alcohol. Good for drinking or throwing Molotov Cocktails!
I have to ask, is Frederick Matthau a homage to Suikoden's Mathiu? That was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the character designs, and both characters are strategists as well.
ND: That's the game I hinted at before. Suikoden is my favorite console RPG series by a wide margin. It inspired me to track down Pearl S. Buck's translation of the Water Margin Tale (called "All Men Are Brothers"), of which I now own a rare first edition. I love those games, and yeah… Mathiu influenced Matthau, in terms of how we saw the personality. But the look of the character was all Buckethead, though he may have drawn on the same connection. We only gave him a brief description to go on, and didn't mention Suikoden or Mathiu.
CW: You may be the only person to get that connection! We're both HUGE Suikoden fans. And sadly, very little work is getting done since Suikoden V came out.
Final question: Ninjas or pirates?
CW: Monkeys!
ND: Depends on the context… Who'd win in a fight? One on one, a ninja every time. In large numbers… pirates, because ninjas usually travel in smaller groups, but pirates have entire ships full of fighters. Or are you asking who's cooler? If so, that's an impossible question. Like asking if I prefer food or sleep. You kind of need both in your life, you know?
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