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Elaine Lee
Writer
"I can make money doing the evil girls," says Elaine Lee matter-of-factly. "Good girls don't sell." Unabashedly slick and provocative, Elaine's writing has been called "really sick" by the king of horror himself-Clive Barker, who, she insists, is "a tremendously nice guy." Although "horror is kind to female creators," says Elaine, she has scripted all genres of comic book narratives, including the science fiction title, Starstruck, the first of many collaborations with renowned illustrator Michael Kalutha. Starstruck envisions a future where "women will be in command." The script originated (and was performed) as a stage play (a "space opera") before being published by Darkhorse Comics. Elaine has also worked on Indiana Jones for Darkhorse along with Prince Valiant for Marvel, Ragman for DC, Saint/Sinner for Clive Barker/Marvel and the Vamps series for Vertigo (to name a few).
W.I.G.: What are some of the challenges you face as a woman in the comics industry?
Elaine: For women, there are no mentors. The women in comics that are my age either came in starting as editors and colorists and then went into writing or drawing later, or they came in because of a boyfriend or husband. There used to be a time when all the colorists were somebody's girlfriend. It's almost like coloring wasn't respectable until men started doing it...I like Vertigo. It's women-kind and women-edited.
What about the women's market in comics?
The [comic] industry is completely rigid. A few of the male creators are now thinking about the women's market, more than the publishers, I think. I'm sure that Niel Gamin has to think about women readers because the Sandman has such a large female audience.
Tell us about your writing of Indiana Jones for Darkhorse Comics.
A lot of things I've worked on I've created myself and they've been sort of fringe, weird comics. But Indiana Jones was fun just because...it was sort of a formula thing, in a way. It was fun to see what I could do within that. I'm also a big Grail Myth, Arthurian nut, and I always thought they picked the most boring Grail mythology for the Grail movie, so I wanted to use some British/Celtic stuff in my story.
What sells-good girl or bad girl stuff?
The Starstruck books had lots of good girls in them, but the Vampire girls sell better. We were shameless. We sat down and brainstormed, asking 'What are we gonna do to make money? How about Vampire biker chicks?' Sex, death and big machines! [laughs] I have to qualify that; I might wonder what idea will make money, but when I sit down to actually write it, I have to like it. It has to move me in some way. I like a little sex and violence in my stories. But you do have to deal with the market that's there. There's a big split in comics between the people who want to make money and work in the business as it exists and the people who are reformers. The problem is, reformers aren't making any money.
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