Monday, August 20, 2018

Interview: Comic Writer Jeremy Whitley - Rainbow Brite #1 from Dynamite Entertainment

Give a big sheep welcome to one of my favorite comic writers. Jeremy Whitley created Princeless and Raven: Pirate Princess. Comics with strong young female characters as well as LGBT and POC representation. These are the comics your kids deserve! 

This October Jeremy has a couple of awesome projects coming. Including Rainbow Brite! That's right, he is bringing her back. But what will she be like this time around? Check out what Jeremy has to say about it. 

Sharon: How did you get involved with writing Rainbow Brite?
Jeremy: Kevin Ketner, who is the editor on Rainbow Brite, had worked with me before at Dynamite and we had gotten along really well and wanted to work together again. Hallmark was looking for pitches from people on what they would like to do on Rainbow Brite and Kevin asked if I would be interested in submitting one. Hallmark went through all of the options they had and liked mine the best, so we went for it.

Sharon: Is this a reboot of the series?
JeremySort of. I mean, it’s not working on the same continuity as the original series, but we are trying to keep as many of the elements of the original series as we can while modernizing the way it’s told. The original was very episodic, largely because it functioned on the needs of a line of toys. We have no such restrictions and therefore are free to tell the story we want to tell in the way we want to tell it. We can introduce pieces of the world a little bit at a time and focus on building a fully realized world and mythology around Rainbow Brite.


Sharon: Since Rainbow Brite is such an iconic character were you given any creative freedom for the comic or were you and the artist given strict guidelines?
JeremyFor the most part we have been given a lot of room to make this the kind of story we want to make. Hallmark has particular messages and ideals that they want to see Rainbow Brite maintain, but they’re pretty open to recontextualizing that stuff in a way that makes sense. As well known as Rainbow Brite is, there’s actually relatively little canon. The original series only had 13 issues and a made for tv movie. Hallmark definitely has things they don’t want to compromise on, but for the most part, those aren’t things I’m looking to change.

Sharon: How does your Rainbow Brite differ from the original 80s?
JeremyI think the biggest difference is that the version from the 80s sort of shows up in the first issue fully formed. There’s not much discussion about who she is or where she comes from, she’s just here to save the day. Our story is going to focus a lot more on Rainbow Brite as a character. We’re going to see her before she’s Rainbow Brite and learn who she was and how she became the hero we know and love. As she grows, she’s also going to have a more varied power set than she did in the original, which we’ll explore the reasons for as we go.

Sharon: Why were these changes made?
JeremyThe biggest reason we’re making changes is to expand on and explore the world more. The cartoon had a very 80’s cartoon way of saying “here’s the world, this is how it is,” but this is a world that our heroine isn’t from and is just getting to explore alongside the reader, so we want to give her a chance to experiment and learn new things. Plus, when your protagonist doesn’t roll into the story with all of the power, it gives them a little more room to grow. I think characters that learn and grow are important for young readers to see. Nobody is just born a superhero.
Sharon: What aspects of the character did you keep?
JeremyThe biggest thing is that we wanted to keep her a character who, like Wonder Woman or Moana, is not just a warrior, but is a hero who values traditionally female values. Rainbow Brite is about the powers of kindness, honesty, empathy – not just punching and shooting. 

The other big aspect that’s part of her original character, but has actually become a much bigger thing since the original Rainbow Brite is that she is a magical girl. She’s originally a normal girl named Wisp with an extraordinary capability for compassion. She transforms into Rainbow Brite and if our story, we’re going to play more with her transitioning back and forth.


Sharon: What other projects do you coming up?
JeremyWell, my Marvel series “The Unstoppable Wasp” is making its triumphant return this October with a new #1 issue.

In addition to that, my creator-owned series “Princeless” is coming back with volume 7 starting in October as well. “Raven: Pirate Princess,” which started off as a spinoff of Princeless and has since become very much its own thing, is wrapping up year 2 with the upcoming 12th and 13th issues to cap that year off. We’ve already started working on year 3.

On top of that, we have a brand new My Little Pony mini-series coming out from IDW in October called “Nightmare Knights” and is going to be a ton of fun.
There are a few more things coming late this year and early next year, but nothing we can talk about just yet.

Sharon: Are you going to be at any cons this year?
JeremyYes! I’ll be at Dragon Con at the beginning of September, SPX in mid-September, New York Comic Con at the beginning of October, and Bull City Comic Con here in North Carolina at the beginning of October.


RAINBOW BRITE #1
10/3/2018
Writer: Jeremy Whitley
Art: Brittney Williams
Genre: All-Ages Adventure, Media Tie-In
Dynamite Entertainment
SKU: C72513027348201011
Rating: All Ages
Format: Comic Book
Page Count: 32 Pages
Price: $3.99
Cover A: Paulina Ganucheau
UPC: 725130273482 01011
Cover B: Tony Fleecs
UPC: 725130273482 01021
Cover C: "Classic" Cover
UPC: 725130273482 01031

The adventure begins for children and adults alike, as the classic character Rainbow Brite comes to comics and brings a little color to your life!

Wisp and Willow are best friends who live in a small town. They are inseparable, until one night Wisp discovers something is stealing the color from the world! To escape their grasp, Wisp must use her wits and the help of a new friend...from somewhere else! Then the adventure begins!

Follow along with writer Jeremy Whitley (My Little Pony, Unstoppable Wasp) and artist Brittney Williams (Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!, Goldie Vance) as we find out how this seemingly normal girl becomes Rainbow Brite and how it changes Wisp, Willow, and their world!

About the Author:
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He is the writer/co-creator of the original series “Princeless", “The Order of Dagonet", and “Illegal".  He has also done work for hire for companies such as IDW Publishing on the properties “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", “My Little Pony: Friends Forever" and “Courage the Cowardly Dog"."

Princeless" has been nominated for two Eisners, including “Best Series for Ages 8-10" and “Best Single Issue (Vol 1 Issue 3)".


“Princeless" has also won three Glyph Awards for representation in comics including “Best Story", “Best Female Character" and “Best Writer" for Jeremy’s work on the book.  This series was also nominated for “Best Cover" and “Best Artist" both for work by M. Goodwin.

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