INTERVIEW: Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to ‘Lady Baltimore’
Image courtesy of Dark Horse / Provided by Superfan Promotions with permission.
Comic-book readers, perhaps starved for new content given the coronavirus pandemic, should take heed: good news is on the horizon.
Mike Mignola, creator of the Hellboy series, and novelist Christopher Golden are bringing fans an all-new series from the so-called Outerverse to Dark Horse this summer. The five-part Lady Baltimore, with art by Bridgit Connell and colors by Michelle Madsen, will take place 13 years after the events of Baltimore, The Red Kingdom, the final Baltimore-centered story that saw the ascendancy of the Red King.
The new story centers on the character of Sofia Valk, who led a quiet life in an Estonian village — that is, until the rise of the Red Kingdom and the outbreak of the second world war. Now she must assume the identity of Lady Baltimore and kick some continental butt. Monsters better watch out.
Fans can expect the first issue to drop June 10, so comic enthusiasts should consider their summer plans set.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox had the chance to exchange emails with Golden and Connell about Lady Baltimore. Golden is the author of such books as The Myth Hunters, Wildwood Road and The Boys Are Back in Town — among many, many more. He previously collaborated with Mignola on several graphic novels, including Baltimore and Joe Golem titles.
Connell, on the other hand, is a Chicago native and artist behind such works as Drinks & Daggers, Houndsbane and Doctor Who (issue #1 cover artist). This is her first time collaborating with Mignola and Golden. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
How did you go about creating the visual world and look of the protagonist for this new miniseries?
Connell: I’m a big fan of the Baltimore books, so I definitely wanted to give the Lady Baltimore series the same feel. Especially while talking about the Outerverse concept tying all of these titles together, it’s important that they all look like they’re in the same universe. On a technical level, it’s shrouding these locations in enough shadow for gothic monsters to look really horrifying as they erupt on the scene, but on an atmospheric level it’s honoring the visual work that Mike Mignola, Ben Stenbeck and Peter Bergting have done to establish the world in the previous titles, and building onto that.
Sofia’s outfit is her classic bomber jacket, at least when we first see her. I loved Peter Bergting’s design of her — I think she is mainly wearing men’s military clothes — just whatever she could scrounge up that she can run and jump around in. She’s got a lot of butts to kick.
Did you feel tied to what the Baltimore comics did in the past? Did you feel you could break away from that visual style?
Connell: Oh, I absolutely feel tied, but it’s a good tied. I talked with Stenbeck and Bergting before I even started, and asked them if there are any good tips they’d like to give me on how they personally think in the world. They are both amazing artists in their own right, and our styles may all be a little different, but I wanted to know what they think makes the Baltimore world and stick with that. There are also key effects that Mignola uses in his panels that I think influences other artists working on his titles while handling certain compositions, so I incorporated at least a hint of those elements as best I could.
I didn’t copy their styles, nor would I ever want to, but I keep several books of Mignola, Stenbeck and Bergting’s art by my desk that I flip through often, and one of those is the — very handy, for me — first Baltimore omnibus that recently came out. It’s just nice to have nearby to make sure I don’t stray too far from the classic feel of the series. I also hope that my own style brings some weird elements to the world as well.
What was the working relationship like with Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden?
Connell: Working with Mike is such a lifelong dream that when I first got the email from Dark Horse about the series, I thought it was a scam. I had to check and re-check the email to make sure it wasn’t from something like sorrysucker@shmarkhorse.com. But, yeah, it’s been fantastic getting a chance to pick Mike’s brain on what makes monsters work and what doesn’t. The harpy design was interesting and took the most time so far with fine-tuning, but as soon as we reached the final design I knew it before I even got a ‘that’s it’ — it just felt right. It’s like he has a purification formula to making monsters make sense, and there is a specific look to his world that has been artfully crafted over the years. I don’t mean to gush about it; it’s just pretty dang cool to be a part of.
And I can’t express enough how fun it’s been so far working with Christopher Golden. I think my favorite emails I get from him are the ‘Bridgit, you’re going to kill me, but …’ because they’re the ones that contain the most fantastic ideas, but he wants to check first to make sure I can handle the workload. He is an unending fountain of great ideas. I think he might have his hands in about a thousand different projects right now, but at the same time will answer some silly question I have about a witch’s hairstyle in five minutes.
He is also an incredibly rewarding person to work with in the sense that, yeah, I’m drawing a lot of scenes from historical and WWII-era reference, sometimes some pretty challenging action sequences. But at the same time, he likes to toss in the stuff I love drawing. Especially in issue #2, there are some gems of characters that he put in there, in some part knowing I was gonna get really excited about their scenes because they’re based on things I love in real life. The mindset he has for teamwork and communication is, for lack of a better word, golden.
Where did the idea for the new Lady Baltimore miniseries come from?
Golden: The relationship between Baltimore and Sofia grew organically from the moment we introduced her in Baltimore: The Witch of Harju. But I think it was while writing the Empty Graves storyline that the first spark hit me.
Sofia and Baltimore had already begun to grow close; he was always this doomed, damned character, not only expecting to die but yearning for that. None of the others could really get close to him, not even Thomas Childress, who had been his best childhood friend. Childress still talked to him as if he were the same person, while Baltimore thought of that as another life entirely.
Sofia became the one person who seemed able to connect to whatever humanity was left inside of him. A connection developed between them — not quite love, and certainly a platonic relationship, but they understood one another.
While planning out the final volume of Baltimore and thinking about that relationship, it made sense to me that Lord Baltimore would realize it was possible that Sofia would survive the coming final battle with the Red King. She came from nothing, while he had a lordship and a family estate that had no heirs. I knew that after the Red King was defeated there would be a quiet period in the world, but that darkness and monsters would start to rise again.
World War I led to World War II, of course, and Sofia would never give up fighting against the darkness. I also wanted to connect the stories of Baltimore and Joe Golem more directly, to have a midpoint where all of the vital characters could be shown to exist in the same world. Europe, 1938, as the second world war ramps up … that’s our stage. I missed Sofia, and it’s a pleasure to introduce new characters and stories into her life.
Was it easy or difficult to get the whole story arc into five issues?
Golden: It’s hard to discuss in detail without giving things away, but let’s just say there is a lot to accomplish in those five issues. It certainly hasn’t been easy. On the other hand, difficult isn’t the word I’d pick. I’d say it’s been complicated, but an absolute pleasure.
What do you like about Lady Baltimore as a character?
Golden: A million years ago, when I was a teenager, Stephen King wrote the introduction to an anniversary issue of Batman or Detective Comics. I can’t remember which, but in it he waxes nostalgic about being a kid arguing with his friends about who was cooler, Batman or Superman. He and his friends would extol the virtues of the two characters, but King himself always picked Batman because no matter how rich or well-trained Bruce Wayne might be, at the end of the day, he was just a guy.
I love Baltimore as a character — so much — but the thing that has me excited about writing Sofia is that at the end of the day, she’s just an ordinary person. Baltimore was chosen by higher powers to fight the darkness, was made both more and less than human. As we explore the Outerverse, you’ll find that Cojacaru and Joe Golem and certain others were also chosen … but Sofia is just Sofia.
She’s short, even diminutive, but she’s smart and fierce and has learned to be one hell of a warrior and a leader, and she’s not taking crap from anyone. She is going to lead by sheer force of will and determination. She proved her courage from the moment we first met her, and now she’s become a true leader and example simply by being herself. It’s hardened her somewhat, as she’s gotten so wrapped up in her work that she’s often shutting out the outside world, and shutting down her awareness of people and emotions — much in the same way Baltimore did. Fortunately, she has people around her who are not going to let that happen.
Did you ever think the Baltimore universe would be so successful and bountiful?
Golden: So much has happened over the years since Mike first called and said, ‘Hey, y’know that vampire graphic novel I’ve been talking about forever? I don’t think I’m ever going to get around to it, so what do you think about doing it as a novel?’ It never occurred to [me] while we were working on that original novel that it would be anything more. We were so focused on making it the best it could be — and I still think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done — that we couldn’t see past publication. In all the years since, Baltimore and his world — what we now call the Outerverse — have never been far from my mind. I hope it continues to grow for a very long time.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Lady Baltimore, by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden with art by Bridgit Connell, will premiere June 10 from Dark Horse. Click here for more information
