DJ Kirkbride and Adam P. Knave Talk Amelia Cole #23 And...Under. (Dun dun DUUUUNNNN!)

Amelia Cole was in stores last week, giving fans the penultimate chapter in the "The Impossible Fate" storyline.

And, of course, it was awesome.

As ever, Knave and Kirkbride joined us to talk about the issue, how it fits into the larger continuity, and...seriously, why is this place named after a one-off joke from Superman: The Movie?

Reminder: Spoiler warning is ON. If you haven't read Amelia Cole #23 yet, go buy a copy and read along with us.

I like that Lemmy has apparently become a symbol of the resistance. Is there something to the fact that he remains intact even with Amelia gone?

DJK: She used magic to assemble all those pieces of rubble way back in issue 2, but he IS much more than that now. We've seen he can absorb other magic, and we see him making his own decisions. He's vary different than the monstrous golems Hector made back in issue 6. Amelia often overdoes it on the power levels, and in this case it resulted in something unique. Lemmy is so special in this book and in these worlds.

APK: And really Lemmy is a unique being for reasons we haven't even touched on yet. Will we? Wait and see!

Does Hector realize that -- even notwithstanding the universe being picked apart -- his powers will probably stop working and his superhero gig could get him killed if the Council continue with their plans?

APK: Hector is in a strange place, and we'll see more of that soon, but he hasn't had peace in so long and that can be blinding to your worldview. Happiness isn't something he knows, anymore, or didn't.

DJK: He also doesn't quite understand what's at stake. It's horrible what's happening in the unknown/blended world, but if he's trapped in this strange world of science, why not enjoy it? Laura treats him like a human and the good person he WANTS to be... it's less dangerous for him... why can't he finally relax? It seems more selfish given what WE know, but put yourself in his shoes. Life is suddenly so much calmer for the guy.

What's...under? Seems like you're adding a new element to the mythology fairly late in the story arc. Could they play a big role in the next arc?

DJK: We've gotten pretty stuck on this one-way track with The Council and worlds in peril, but there is still a lot of unexplored territory in the worlds. We'd love to get into detail with all of it, but even if we can't, we thought it'd be fun to make mention and let readers' imaginations go here and there.

APK: In fact we first hinted at the larger scope back in volume one. The track was laid early, and has always been part of our discussions. There is, as always, more going on than it seems.

How do you think those gridded pages with the alternating panels will play in print? With guided view, it's really obvious what you're doing, but do you worry, especially becuase you don't see Hector's face, that it won't be totally clear in the trade?

APK: We design, both thinking of it in the script, and Nick when he draws and designs pages, as a full page to work both for digital and print, so no, no worries there. It works full page. We also never under-estimate the smarts of our readers.

DJK: It does get complicated, though, switching between worlds. Is it clear to you, Russ? Fingers crossed we didn't make the wrong call on location captions, haha.

Certainly the kind of messianic nature of Amelia lends itself to this, but she's a very inspirational figure. In a town named after a Superman joke. Is that a coincidence?

DJK: We initially weren't going to give it a name, but as the book's scope grew and grew, we decided it was necessary... and then I made a joke. IT WAS A JOKE, ADAM! But then... well, we're goofy people.

APK: It was a GLORIOUS joke I still love that we went with. So there.

Certainly we see the barriers starting to break down in the end here. With both Lemmy and Hector approaching them, it seems like a good thing...but could it be a ton of trouble, since that's the Council's endgame?

APK: It really could be! That was Amelia's concern when she started working out how to get off the Magic World - any attempt could work in the Council's favor. It's a race against time, and the stakes are, well, everything.

DJK: That's why she's being so careful trying to get back to the blended world. It's not just about portals and whatnot, it's about finding weak spots that she can then shut because, yeah, traveling could be doing more harm. Of course, if The Council isn't stopped, it won't matter anyway, will it? (Dun dun DUUUUNNNN!)