Interview: Ivory Madison on ‘Huntress: Year One’

Jami Philbrick

Jami Philbrick is a freelance comic book and movie news reporter living in the Los Angeles area. In addition to ComicMix, he writes for Wizard Magazine and CBR News and works in the post-production department at 20th Century Fox.

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6 Responses

  1. Damien says:

    Great Interview Ivory. I am really enjoying Huntress Year one so far and I can't wait to pick up issue 2 today.

  2. whynot says:

    She is so narcissistic and self involved. Her long history of "comic knowledge" rings extremely phony as she constantly cites comics written during the past few years as her "favorites." Not to mention her buddy Greg Rucka, who obviously got her the job, and, coincidentally, is her "favorite" writer.She knows next to nothing about comic books. She's only in it because Hollywood is snatching up any comic these days because it's devoid of original ideas.And all would be well and good, but her Huntress is…bad. Issue #2 was horrendous, full of plot developments with no explanation, inconsistent character behavior and no apparent purpose. The art is quite nice, though. Too bad about the words.If she was half as good as she pretends to be, she'd be Alan Moore.She's kind of shameful.

    • Russ Rogers says:

      I think that an artist who is asked to talk about herself, her history, her favorites, her point of view can't help but come across a bit like a narcissist. I certainly didn't interpret this interview that way. Being any kind of artist involves a certain level of self confidence. You have to feel that what you have to convey is worth many people taking notice.I don't think a writer needs to have a long history of comics knowledge to write good comics. It certainly can help. But take Jodi Picoult as an example, before her run on Wonder Woman, she had almost zero knowledge of the DC Universe. Her run on the series was well received by fans, got more good mainstream press than most comics. sold well and is going to be collected into a trade paperback. You really can't ask for much more than that.Even if Ivory Madison knew "next to nothing about comic books," she says she's taken the time to research the character. She's read nearly every story DC has published featuring The Huntress. And an encyclopedic knowledge of comic book lore doesn't guarantee a good story.whynot has a right to criticize her writing. But they make a lot of broad, sweeping statements (about Ivory Madison's personality, motives, history and writing) without bothering to back them up with any specifics. I don't see Ms. Madison pretending to be much in this interview. She doesn't make any grand claims about her own skills or how important she thinks "Huntress: Year One" is. She doesn't compare her writing to Alan Moore.Maybe whynot feels Madison doesn't deserve to be featured in a big interview like this. Maybe she hasn't paid her dues or established her credentials enough. That's not Ivory Madison's fault. This is an interview, not a memoir.I haven't read "Huntress: Year One." I haven't read any other articles about Ivory Madison. I was impressed enough with what I read here to check out redroom.com. I was impressed enough with that to become a member. But, I will look for "Huntress: Year One" and judge for myself.Nothing from this interview was even "kind of shameful." Not even close.

  3. John Cepelak says:

    Ivory Madiison is skilled in a number of areas, as one finds out with a little research and the Huntress shows another side of her talents.I found the story moved along the way a good Superhero story should, but most of the ones I have looked at are episodic and melodramatic, sometimes to the point of silliness, like a good 1950s "B" picture. This is made up for by the viewer's enjoyment of the gritty, realistic production values put into the way the final product looks and reads. The Huntress comes across that way, so for me it fills the bill.A person who is interviewed always talks about his or herself or what they are doing and the projects they are involved in. That's the purpose of the interview. There's nothing wrong with that.

  4. Anne Grgich says:

    I am a newbie at comics, so am going to start off on this one, a girl friend turned me onto Ivory Madison, when I get my hands on one I will comment back-it sounds very interesting!

  5. Anonymous says:

    Ann, why do you comment on things you know nothing about? Stick to promoting your ugly art.