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Lord Of The Rings Meets Breaking Bad For Charles Soule On Curse Words At Wizard World Austin

Gene Selassie talked to Charles Soule at Wizard World Austin,

Soule stated that this is not his comic con in Austin. He did a small press convention in Austin called Staple. This is where his first comic, Strongman (from Slave Labor Graphics) debuted. He loves this town and looks for any excuse he can to visit. He also bounced around quite a bit throughout his early years, spending quite a bit of time in Hong Kong, Manila and Singapore. He then went to New York to attend Columbia and got his degree in law.

Charles stated that he did love pursuing a career in the legal field but always felt the itch to write. He started working on comics in 2004 and Strongman was published in 2009, which was a thrilling experience.

He remembers one of the very first comics that he ever read was Fantastic Four #224, where the team was captured by space gods. This was the first time he ever saw Viking characters in a comic and Thor was nowhere to be found. This inspired him to pick up his next series as a kid, Secret Wars II. He then kept consuming more and more comics like Galactus unchecked.

Our talk moved on to his Oni Press comic, Letter 44. The setup is about a newly sworn in President of the United States receiving a letter from the previous President shortly after he's sworn in. It states that there is possibly an extra-terrestrial threat just past Mars and there is a manned spacecraft that was sent there to investigate and will be arriving to assess the threat within mere days. I asked if he caught any flak from either the right or the left for his political allegories of how the Presidents were depicted in the story. He stated no, that he kept the descriptions of them vague enough that either side could see the point he was trying to get across.

Soule did state that while DC's Red Lanterns had its own challenges as far as taking over a book during a critically acclaimed run, none were more intimidating than his taking over the writing chores of Swamp Thing (one of his all time favorite characters) from Scott Snyder (who became one of his very best friends). Charles said that Swamp Thing has had a murderer's row of amazing writers on the book, from Alan Moore to Brian K. Vaughan to Grant Morrison to Joshua Dysart to Scott Snyder. He was even more apprehensive as this was a period where there was much upheaval at DC as far as creative and editorial was concerned and anyone could be let go of a book at any time. He's grateful for the chance to be able to tell the epic that he had mapped out in its entirety.

We transitioned to Soule's Marvel work. And while his critically acclaimed runs on Daredevil and She-Hulk are perceived to be within his wheelhouse due to his law background, books like Inhuman and Uncanny Inhumans appeal to the kid in him. Charles stated that he was a fan of Medusa and Black Bolt for as long as he can remember. He loves the fact that he's been allowed to add so many new characters to their mythos and that the visibility of the franchise has been given an incredibly unsubtle push by the powers that be at Marvel. Seeing characters that he had a hand in developing pop up in other media (Lash on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D for example). Soule loves working with other creators' toys, but receives an absolute thrill when someone else chooses to work with the toys that he created.

Soule is gratified for the chance to write something as important as The Death of Wolverine. He loves collaborating with someone as talented as (artist) Steve McNiven, who is an absolute joy to work with. He appreciates the fact that Marvel didn't rush Logan back from the dead and we are now crossing the two year mark with him gone. He cited characters like X-23 and Old Man Logan as fresh perspective characters placed into classic Wolvie's adventures and that makes for some unique storytelling opportunities.

Being a huge Star Wars fan, Obi-Wan & Anakin, Lando and Poe Dameron were positively dream come true assignments for Soule. "These characters have worldwide reach, everyone knows Star Wars" he stated.

His next creator owned project is called Curse Words from Image Comics, with artist Brian Brown. It is about a wizard that pops up in New York one day and starts casting spells for money. He gains fame and fortune, but he's really plotting something nefarious. He essentially described it as Lord of the Rings meets Breaking Bad.

Soule appreciates fans supporting his work and thanked them for showing such overwhelming love.
We will continue to follow Soule's upcoming Curse Words. Check back with Bleeding Cool for more details and for more coverage of Wizard World Austin.

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