Ron Marz, writer of John Carter: Warlord of Mars #5, talks with writer Brian Clevinger about King: Phantom #2, both on sale April 15th.
RON MARZ: Brian, you've said previously that you really had no experience with the Phantom as a reader. Does that make the assignment on this series daunting or freeing. Or maybe both?
BRIAN CLEVINGER: Definitely both! I was familiar with The Phantom, but I'd never read any of the comics! On the one hand, I didn't want to disappoint The Phantom's fans. But on the other, Lothar's new to The Phantom too. So, I did my research but consciously avoided reading Phantom comics. My thinking was: Lothar has no preconceived ideas about what The Phantom means, so he's left to figure out what it means for him as he's performing The Phantom's duties. It's a journey he and I took together, and doing so made this gig one of the highlights of my career.
RM: Obviously you've broken with tradition in breaking the line of succession for the Ghost Who Walks. What makes Lothar the right choice to take on the role?
BC: Y'know, I feel like it's just the next logical step for Lothar. Creators have been nudging Lothar in this direction for years. Decades even. He's been there with Mandrake since the beginning, but that was the 1930s. And, not to put too fine a point on it, but it's 2015. Y'know? We're long overdue for an Afrocentric legacy character like The Phantom to be someone who is from Africa. And who better than one of the first African superheroes?
RM: The classic Phantom costume appears only fleetingly in issue #2. What went into that decision?
BC: I hadn't realized it until you asked, but you're right. Lothar spends a decent amount of time in the costume in every issue except this one! It's just that he spends most of this issue undercover. I suppose it was less a decision about keeping Lothar out of costume and more a decision about allowing Lothar to use strategies that previous Phantoms might not. Come to think of it, though, maybe it's a signifier of his own discomfort with the mantle of The Phantom. He could've gone about investigating the baddies any number of ways, but he chose the one that would keep him out of the costume. Walkers have been The Phantom for something like 500 years. It's a lot to take on!
RM: I think it's fair to say you're best known for your creator-owned work, principally Atomic Robo, but you've also done your share of work-for-hire, like your Marvel projects and this Phantom series. Do you approach the writing of your own stuff vs. company-owned characters differently?
BC: Well, with Robo, we deal with a lot of historical figures, different time periods, and adventure genres. And what we try to do is get at the hearts of those things. To dive right in and bring out all the fun bits. The theory is that if we do it right, then the diehards will like it because they'll see the respect we give to the source material. As well, more casual fans should be able to roll with it because they're just getting an adventure yarn out of it. And I try to pull off the same trick with my freelance work.
RM: So who wins in a fight: The Phantom or Atomic Robo?
BC: Now that's just unfair. Can I cop out and say canonically Robo read tons of comics and pulps, so he'd know that if he ever found himself pitted against The Phantom, then it'd mean he was on the wrong side, and he'd stand down?
KING: PHANTOM #2 is on sale April 15. Check out the rest of the extended preview below!
