Writer Antony Johnston brings manga flair to Wolverine
Writer Antony Johnston has handled everything from romantic comedy to the apocalypse, and in between, as an in-demand comic-book writer. This month, he takes a new spin on Wolverine, creating Del Rey’s manga version of the character in “Wolverine: Prodigal Son.” Drawing the series is Filipino artist Wilson Tortosa, best known for his work on Top Cow’s “Battle of the Planets.” Johnston talked to The Oklahoman about his take on the mutant hero.
Matt Price: Your Wolverine takes an “all-new, all-different” spin from the classic Wolverine character. How did you decide what to keep, and what to jettison, from the regular Marvel Comics Wolverine character?
Antony Johnston: I started with the aim of removing as much baggage from the existing character as I could; to strip him down to his essentials, without removing the things that make him who he is. So the costume, him being a superhero, the X-Men, his rogues’ gallery… all those were dropped. That left us with the core essence of the character – his personality, his claws, his healing factor, and of course his crazy hairdo.
It’s important to realize that this isn’t about taking Wolverine, the superhero, and shoehorning him into a story where he doesn’t fit. This is about taking Logan, the man, and building him into a manga hero. That was the biggest influence on those decisions, and I was pretty ruthless about it.
MP: Tell me about your artist on the series.
AJ: His name’s Wilson Tortosa, a Filipino, and he’s best known in American comics for drawing the “Battle Of The Planets” book from Top Cow a few years back. I hadn’t worked with Wilson before, but as soon as I saw his first few pages of “Wolverine” layouts I knew he was perfect for the book. His pages are very kinetic, and he also has a good sense of storytelling dynamics for when the art needs to be more contemplative. I especially like how you can clearly see that manga has been a big influence on his work, but he’s not aping anyone. He has his own unique style.
MP: What was harder: writing a book that would appeal to Wolverine fans, or writing a book that would appeal to manga readers?
AJ: We didn’t really think of this book as trying to appeal to existing Wolverine fans at all. There are a few references, little nods, that sort of thing, for those fans to recognize and raise a smile. But our main concern was writing for manga readers. Yes, it was challenging at times, because we knew we’d have an uphill struggle to convince them that actually, they really do want to read a book about Wolverine! But it’s a good challenge, and one I relished.
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