Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, dynamite, entertainment, Fabrice Sapolsky, Fred Pham Chuong, Intertwined

A Love Letter To The Hong Kong 70's Movies – Fabrice Sapolsky Talks Intertwined

Published Fri, 11 Nov 2016 17:30:15 -0600

Roger Langridge, writer of Betty Boop #2, talks with writer Fabrice Sapolsky about Intertwined #2, both on sale now from Dynamite. Art by Fred Pham Chuong

ROGER LANGRIDGE: The Chinese references seem well-researched. Is China a long-time source of interest to you? Is Chinese culture something you have a personal connection with?

FABRICE SAPOLSKY: Thank you! Yes, I'm very much interested in the Chinese culture. I try to read from as many sources as I can, knowing that I'm limited by language… I don't speak nor read Mandarin or Cantonese. But my sister-in-law is Chinese and my brother is fluent in Mandarin. I use his experience and knowledge. I also guess, as writers, we're like sponges and we can observe a lot. I'm thankful that I live in New York. The Chinese community is accessible and open-minded. I'm doing my best to avoid writing the wrong things (laughs). And, of course, because that book is Fred and myself's love letter to the Hong Kong 70s movies, there's a lot of that influence in Intertwined. Especially Bruce Lee movies, The Way of the Dragon being my favorite.

RL: Juan Jin seems not to be in control of events in this episode, at least in terms of the bigger picture (obviously, he's handling himself very well in a moment-to-moment context, judging by the prison fight!). Can we look forward to Juan being less reactive and taking a more deliberate, proactive role as the series progresses?

FS: This is true. Juan Jin has to go with the flow. He doesn't quite understand what's cooking behind the curtain. And he hasn't a full knowledge that he's being manipulated by forces greater than him. After issue #3, you'll see him take control. Because he'll reach a point where he can't escape his new reality anymore. He's also very spontaneous. He'll have to think before he acts in the future. Everything he's experiencing now is a life lesson.

RL: Juan's transformation into a dragon at this issue's climax was unexpected, though perhaps it shouldn't have been. How much of the magical goings-on in Intertwined comes from Chinese mythology and how much is your own invention?

FS: Let's not spoil things… But the dragon transformation is more a side effect of his interaction with the tree and the red shard than anything else. This is a rocky/organic dragon. A symbol of the Earth. There's magic in Intertwined. There's also magic in Chinese literature and folklore. Everything I came up with, from the concept of the Spirits to the powers, the costumes, the back story (that you'll read about in future issues), how Spirits of WuXing are replaced in every generation, was inspired by the real Chinese cosmology and philosophy. There's tons of room for creativity in this. I'm not the first one to create fiction from such a great culture canvas and I'm definitely not the last.

RL: The prison fight scene was choreographed in a highly visual, dramatic way. Do you script elements of the fight for Fred Pham Chuong to realize visually, or is Fred taking more of the initiative here (I note you're both billed as "Storytellers")?

FS: This really is Fred's show here. I write how the scene starts and how it finishes. Then he sends me a layout. We discuss it and he draws. That said, Fred isn't just the artist. I'm not just the writer. We share everything. We discuss everything. We're challenging each other all the time. He gives ideas. I sometimes draw roughs to help him understand how I see things. In the end, we have a stronger book that comes from an incredible connection.

RL: Xia's appearance on the final page looks like a portent of things to come; presumably her presence will take on greater significance as we go forward. Can you drop any hints about what to expect from her in the future?

FS: Lady Xia appears in issue #1 as this mystery Chinese Audrey Hepburn character. Then you see her again in #2 as the Spirit of Water. She's the tough one! She's the boss. I like writing strong female characters. And the Spirit of WuXing needed a leader. She's the natural leader. But she's also the one playing with fire. She took on herself to recruit Juan Jin as the new Spirit of the Earth, altering the course of nature. She'd argue that the course of nature had already been altered the day the previous Spirit of the Earth, Juan's uncle Da Wei, was murdered by another Spirit (as shown in issue #0). But yes, she's important. She'll be even more important in the near future.

RL: Do you have a favorite scene visually in this issue? Is there somewhere where Fred took what you wrote and really ran with it, or pleasantly surprised you?

FS: Very hard to say. I really love that issue from top to bottom. But I really dig page 2 with the big baddie, Nei Chang, killing a guy's family and saying, "I killed your love ones, we're family now." And of course, the prison fight. Plotting this, I knew Fred would have a ball drawing it. He did. He had fun. I think it shows!

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