Exclusive: Ron Marz Talks Witchblade #176

With the oversized and overstuffed Witchblade #175 in the rear-view mirror, writer Ron Marz had a guest artist this month -- Maan House -- as he launched the next step in Sara Pezzini's journey.

It's a departure from Laura Braga's style but, as Marz discussed with us, he hand-picked House for the job (and, yes, Braga will be back next month).

Check out our conversation with Marz below -- but remember that these "commentary track"-style interviews are SPOILER-HEAVY. If you haven't already read Witchblade #176, go buy it and read along with us!

It's a great-looking issue, but WILDLY different from what Laura's been doing. Did you have a say in helping to pick out the artist?

Yeah, we looked at a few different choices, but Maan's stuff was the most appealing to me. It's always a bit of a gamble when you're using someone relatively new, because you're generally looking at samples rather than a pile of previously-published work. You have to hope the samples were done in the basic time frame of when an issue needs to be drawn.

In other words, if someone's half-dozen sample pages are awesome, but they took six months to complete, that's a problem if you need an issue turned around in six weeks. Thankfully, Maan was real deal. The pages were great, and he stuck to the deadline.

Some of the material -- especially that clown sign! -- really suit the style of art here. Did you tweak or rewrite to accommodate for a different artist?

I always try to write to the artist I'm working with. In fact, I try to make sure I know who's drawing an issue before I write it. That's sometimes not possible, but I think you always end up with a better book if it's a collaborative process, rather than an assembly line.

I want to be able to get a sense of the artist's storytelling sensibility and visual predilections. Play to the strengths, be mindful of things that aren't as comfortable.

Is Laura back next month? I know I've seen some Witchblade stuff on Facebook from her.

Yes, this was just a one-issue break for Laura, so we could get her a little ahead of schedule. Drawing a monthly book is a grind, and there's honestly hardly anyone who can do every issue of a monthly title. Laura had done six issues in a row, so it was time for a slight breather. She jumped ahead to #177, which just went to press last week.

How important is it to have an artist who can make some of the more generic "Witchblade stretches out and does Witchbalde-y stuff" panels work?

RM: Obviously drawing Sara and the Witchblade is necessity, and truthfully most artists approach it slightly differently. It's like drawing Superman flying, or Batman crouching on the edge of a building. There are signature images that have to nailed. Maan's take is a little more organic and gritty,

"We don't shoot dogs." Is that a nod to all the cops-killing-dogs stories lately?

RM: I wasn't even thinking of that, truthfully, and the issue was written before the latest rash of cops needlessly shooting dogs. But I'm a dog lover, so the notion of anybody shooting dogs is unacceptable. It's funny, I tried the first episode of "The Leftovers" on HBO, which begins and ends with dogs getting shot. I was iffy on the concept of the series, but I wanted to give it a chance. So when the first episode ended with the protagonist shooting stray dogs, I thought, "Okay, I'm out, this isn't for me."

Sara can't catch a break with these weird creatures the last couple of issues. Is that just playing to the strenghts of the artists or something more?

There's definitely something more going on. All of this weirdness happening in Sara's vicinity isn't mere coincidence. But obviously that's a mystery Sara has to unravel ... so I'm not saying anything more.

This feels very much like a one-and-done story, but that last panel clearly hints at something more. Is this a bit like the old school fo Claremont writing, where there's an A plot that's resolved and then other stuff under the surface that continues for longer periods?

It's not unlike a lot of episodic television right now, where there's a primary storyline that's resolved in some way, so there's some sense of satisfaction in each installment, and then secondary storylines that percolate in the background. Those subplots are really the ongoing spine of the story, and they eventually come to a boil and pay off. They're what keep the audience coming back for more.