Posted in: Comics | Tagged: chaos, Comics, dynamite, entertainment, Joyce Chin, Mairghread Scott, Swords of Sorrow

Mairghread Scott Talks Swords Of Sorrow: Chaos Special

Published Fri, 27 Feb 2015 07:00:04 -0600

With Dynamite's recent announcement of the Swords of Sorrow event lead by an all-female writing team, a lot of people took notice. Byron Brewer chatted with Mairghread Scott to talk about her part of the event, Swords Of Sorrow: Chaos Special. Cover art by Joyce Chin.

BYRON BREWER: Mairghread, how does it feel to be part of this landmark event bringing most of the women in the Dynamite universe together?

MAIRGHREAD SCOTT: Amazing! These last few years have been an extraordinary time for women in the industry and this event is a giant, feminist middle finger to folks who think women can't write a true swashbuckling, bullets-flying, fangs-bared, balls-to-the-wall action event. We have a top-notch roster on these books, everyone from G. Willow Wilson to Marguerite Bennett and our characters are even more kick-butt!

BB: How did you happen to sign aboard for this one shot?

MS: Blackmail. No, seriously. There are some people you don't say 'no' to and for me, Gail Simone is one of them. Especially when she asks if you want to kick-off an event with this kind of talent behind it. Hands down this is going to be the most outrageous comic event of the year. I couldn't pass that up. Plus I get to play with the evil ladies of Chaos Comics — talk about a bonus.

BB: Now this one shot is kind of the proverbial other side of the coin from the main Swords of Sorrow book by Gail Simone, right?

MS: Yes, while Swords of Sorrow #1 starts with our heroes entering this event, my issue focuses on how the villains of the story got onboard. I tried to write it as the shadow issue to Gail's book. You get the same great action but through the lens of ruthless villains like Purgatori and Bad Kitty instead of our noble heroes. It was a really interesting challenge because in a lot of events the villains start off already doing bad things. In ours, I got the chance to lay out their side of the story and show how this team of rivals came together before the heroes show up.

BB: Have you ever worked with the Chaos characters? Are you a fan?

MS: This is my first time writing in the Chaos universe. Honestly, the g-strings were a bit of a barrier for me. But once I started researching these women I was astounded at the depth, not just of their conflicts, but their evil. Villains like Purgatori and Mistress Hel ran out of <bleeps> to give before the fall of Rome and that's been something of a revelation for me as a writer. These ladies aren't just 'mean-spirited' or 'unlikeable' they are selfish, power-hungry sociopaths and they make no bones about it. The fact that many of them do it all in stilettos is a bonus, not a flaw.

BB: Can you tell us who may be starring in this one shot from the Chaos universe and what exactly they have to do with the event in general (non-spoilery, of course)?

MS: Gail has the toughest heroes in the Dynamite universe in her book so my book is all about the evil army that's determined to crush them! Of course, to make an army, you need soldiers and I've searched throughout the Chaos roster to make my squadron. You have the tortured hero of Chastity Marks, the vampiric vampire-hunter. Then there's the utterly selfish half-demon Purgatori. The tragic and regal Mistress Hel, goddess of a deserted realm and the id-driven Bad Kitty who is literally the repressed personality of a beat cop. Some of them know each other and others don't, but just getting them in the same room was a fight, so you know whatever (and whoever) gets them on the same team is going to be amazing.

For more on the Swords of Sorrow event, check out our original story on the announcement.

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