Cover revealed for the second volume of Gwenpool, featuring a fight against FemThor, and discussion on Hastings comic writing career.
http://massappeal.com/marvel-gwenpool-2-christopher-hastings-interview/
>By this time next week, Deadpool will take over social media. All of sudden, people will be at their local comic shops buying out Deadpool comics and TPBs, and that’s when they will first discover the pinkest superhero of them all, Gwenpool. Who the hell is Gwenpool, you may ask? We sat down with the writer of the upcoming comic, Christopher Hastings, to find out more about this intriguing new heroine.
>Gwenpool #1 doesn’t hit comic shops until April…but our friends at Marvel gave us a super advance sneak peek at Gwenpool #2!
>Mass Appeal: Where might readers know you from?
>Christopher Hastings: I’ve written a bunch of comics: The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, I am the current writer on the Adventure Time ongoing, I wrote the Fear Itself: Deadpool tie-in, Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe, and a smattering of other Deadpool stories here and there.
>We will definitely get into Dr. McNinja and Adventure Time, but let’s talk about today’s focus: the mystery of Gwenpool. I have been trying to get to the bottom of this since it was announced that a Gwen Variant Cover was popular enough to propel a character into existence. Give us some insight.
>There were a lot of odd steps to her creation. Things started off with this month of variant covers where Gwen Stacy was the theme. Much like Spider-Gwen was bitten by the spider instead of Peter Parker, it was sorta like, what if Gwen was Wolverine, what if Gwen is all of the Avengers, etc? And then there was what if Gwen was Deadpool? Chris Bachalo did that cover. For whatever reason, that particular character design seemed to be really exciting for a lot of fan artists and cosplayers. I think it’s crazy that a character that didn’t really exist, people were into the design so much, that they started dressing up as her. Marvel took notice of this and said, let’s make her real.
>>79733197
>That’s where things get a little sticky because she is not Gwen Stacy and she’s not related to Deadpool either, because she exists in the main Marvel Universe and Gwen Stacy is still dead there. I think once we got to that, it was like, how do we make this costume work and this name work without her being either of those things. That was a meeting I had with the Deadpool editor, Jordan White, and the Howard the Duck editor, Will Moss, because her first appearance was going to be in this Howard the Duck back up. We just sat down at a diner and talked about how to make her work. I came to the table with like, what if she has a fourth wall breaking ability similar to Deadpool’s, but it comes from this place of knowing she is in a comic book because she is from a world where the comic books actually exist? She also sorta has that cavalier attitude Deadpool has because she doesn’t believe there is any consequences to her actions. Where I think things get interesting is, she does not have Deadpool’s training or super powers…or any super powers whatsoever. So, she is starting from the bottom as this mercenary type.
>Everybody knows Deadpool’s look is derivative of Spider-Man, and it’s a tongue-in-cheek joke commonly played up by writers and artists. And Spider-Gwen is just a popular take on Spider-Man as well. So, now Gwenpool is like super self-referential. I feel like the idea for her solo must be high concept.
>It is a little bit like walking a minefield writing her. Her whole thing is about this “meta-ness,” but that can get annoying really fast. [Laughs] So, where’s the line to stop making the jokes. I am still figuring that out. I’m currently writing the second issue.
BIG SHIt
>>79733197
>By this time next week, Deadpool will take over social media. All of sudden, people will be at their local comic shops buying out Deadpool comics and TPBs, and that’s when they will first discover the pinkest superhero of them all, Gwenpool.
>>79733234
>The first thing you ever wrote for Marvel was a Deadpool story, correct?
>Yeah, Fear Itself: Deadpool.
>When you came to the table, did they have ideas about what they wanted you to write, or did they say, “Pick a character you want to write”?
>That second one has never happened. That would be so nice. I met the Deadpool editor, Jordan White, years ago at a convention and he picked up a Dr. McNinja book, and turns out he liked it. He told me he was an editor at Marvel and I goofily said, “Marvel, huh? Sure would like to write Deadpool,” like a total jerk. And he sort of chuckled and said, “Sorry, I work on Hulk, not Deadpool.” Then, some time later, he called me up and said, “Hey, I’m the Deadpool editor now and we’re in a bit of a pinch. There’s this Fear Itself: Deadpool book that none of the other Deadpool writers had time to write.” That’s pretty much how I have gotten every job at Marvel, Jordan calls me up and says, “There’s a book that needs a writer, will you do it?” And I say, “Yes,” every single time.
>Really? With Longshot, it felt like you might have had the choice. It seemed like they said, “Pick an obscure, out-of-play character.”
>I don’t know how that Longshot book happened. I think that was Jordan’s baby. I think Jordan had a soft spot for Longshot and wanted him to have a solo title.
>>79733272
>Now, let’s swoop back and talk about your baby, Dr. McNinja.
>Dr. McNinja, my sweet baby boy. Dr. McNinja is a doctor who is also a ninja. To give you sort of an idea of the tone of things, his sidekick is a 12-year-old boy who has a giant mustache and rides a raptor and shoots a gun like a cowboy. Dr. McNinja treats diseases like Paul Bunyon’s disease, which makes you turn into a giant lumberjack. His family, the McNinjas, are obviously a family of ninjas and they’re very disappointed that their son became a doctor instead of a ninja. Dr. McNinja is a place where I do whatever crazy nonsense I want to, but then I force it to try to make sense and have an internal logic. I’ve been doing Dr. McNinja as a regular web comic since 2005. I came up with him in college, I think in 2002 or 2003. You can read the entire thing online for free at DrMcNinja.com. There are also collections available from Darkhorse, including and omnibus which is like a 400–600 page…a ginormous book that is all the comics in black and white.
>There are two other comics that come to mind that seem to have a similar vibe: Cowboy Ninja Viking and Axe Cop. Are you aware of them? Which came first? Are they similar?
>I haven’t heard of the first one. But, Axe Cop did come after Dr. McNinja, but I think Malachai was 6 when he started writing Axe Cop. I don’t think he knew who Dr. McNinja was. The artist for Axe Cop, Ethan, and I are friends. There was a Dr. McNinja and Axe Cop team-up that we did a few of years ago. But yeah, definitely a similar tone, just sorta like let whatever you want happen on the page…explosions and insanity.
>>79733301
>That is pretty cool you guys have done a team-up.
>It was super fun. Basically, I pitched an idea to Malachai, the kid who writes Axe Cop, and he was just jumping on the bed saying all these crazy notes and ideas to Ethan, who was just writing them down like crazy. I got all these nutty ideas and then tried to make it into a narrative that made sense. And then Ethan and I went off and did our own interpretation of Malachai’s story, and then combined them together. I think it’s like a 10-page comic.
>Having had the web comic for so long, any plans for a Dr. McNinja show?
>I’ve tried to get a Dr. McNinja TV show made multiple times and it keeps falling apart. We’ve pitched it to Adult Swim twice over the years and they declined, as well as some other networks. We were really close to having it be a series on Xbox, in a similar way that PlayStation has their original content with Powers. But Xbox suddenly shut down that division and that was the end of that. I keep trying but it never happens.
>Now, were you a big Adventure Time fan before getting the writing gig?
>I absolutely was! Both of the TV show and the prior team’s run on the comic book. Of course, getting hired for the series made for a nice excuse to re-watch the entirety of the show.
>What Adventure Time character would you like to write a mini series for?
>Honestly, I already kind of get to do this whenever I want to on the main series. If there is a character I’m excited about, I figure out how to make them a major player in an upcoming story. Peppermint Butler as a sort of spymaster working against the King of Ooo is a great example. I love both of them, and wanted more, so I made it happen! I love the episode, Joshua And Margaret Investigations, so I figured out a way to get to revisit that time, and those two characters.
>>79733197
I thought Kirby was the pinkest superhero of them all.
>>79733327
Blame the movies
>>79733327
/co/ likes Gwenpool though
>>79733403
Eldritch abominations cannot be superheroes
I'm looking at youmutie scum
>>79733241
>>79733270
>>79733327
Well, so far, from what I actually read, every story featuring her has been pretty good.
>>79733425
>>79733446
>>>/tumblr/
>>79733416
Less the movies and more "Spider-Gwen", though ASM and ASM2 likely had a role in that given her prominence.
>>79733446
I heard she was drawn by Guri Hiru. Good enough for me. Anyone got the pics, preferably cropped? I really like that artist's style.
>>79733131
And cover of the first volume.
>>79733495
>pic
Guihiru?
So how long before people ship her unironically with a Peter Parker?NTRing another version of Gwen.
Besides >>79733495, here's a small bit from the holiday special.
Gwenpool? I think I just got food poisoning in my eyes.
>>79733578
She's not Gwen Stacy though
>>79733131
>featuring FemThor
And to think people argued this book wasn't mêmes incarnate.
My personal problem with Gwenpool isn't so much her character as much as it is the possible reasons behind her existence. It stems from my other belief that Marvel is reactionary in its practices (compared to DC's relative conservatism, letting books come and go at their own pace).
For me, Gwenpool feels like a reaction to DC's new-found popularity in Harley Quinn as well as Marvel's own popularity in Deadpool and Spider-Gwen. It's almost as if they pull out one of /co/'s tri-fusion templates and tried to see if they couldn't put them all together.
>>79733367
>I’ve tried to get a Dr. McNinja TV show made multiple times and it keeps falling apart.
In a better world...
>>79733609
>Gwen Stacy
All the better. Best Gwen is Marvel Adventures, anyway.Ultimate is entrenched in 'she's a tomboy so she must be gay/bi.' I want a heterosexual love story, damn it.
I suppose they're capitalizing on the Spider-Gwen namesake. Gwenverine when. Gwen-23, Gwenage...
Gwen Osborn... nope.
>>79733659
Whor could be good sometimes
>spiderman is gwen
>deadpool is gwen
>thor is gwen
>everyone is gwen
>>79733701
>/tv/mblr
You are trying way too hard and experiencing diminishing returns, it's time to go back to what we already called people from specific boards.
>>79733701
No sane person likes tumblr characters such as Spider-Gwen and Gwenpool
>b-but muh costume
They're hilariously bad.
>>79733722
You mean like /pol/eddit?
>>79733735
How is Spider Gwen a "tumblr character"
>>79733746
No, like fa/tv/irgin and /pol/lack. This may have been before your time.
>>79733735
Not fooling anyone, /tv/mblr
>>79733735
What makes Gwenpool a 'tumblr character'?
>>79733769
>>79733780
>>79733794
Not fooling anyone, samefag.
>>79733812
You can't handle the bantz.
>>79733681
That's the inherent folly of giving a shit about brand loyalty and company politics. They're always gonna let you down. All you can really do is by read/good shit and try not to cry too much over spilled milk.
>>79733794
The fact that anon doesn't personally like them and to justify his dislike must associate them with a website reviled on /co/
>>79733794
tumblr wishes they had meta jokes as good as Gwenpool
>>79733735
Woah woah woah hold on now.
Spider-Gwen is a mediocre comic and a bad idea but that costume is GOAT.
>>79733131
>Adventure Time writer
>made a popular webcomic
>writing a book on a female MARVEL hero
>female artist(s)
How is it preexisting character Squirrel Girl has a shit solo, with an author of similar credentials, while Gwenpool, a character just made from a variant, is pretty much set up to be gold?
>>79733873
>>79733874
So that anon complaining about Spider-Gwen is from tumblr then?
>>79733794
>meta story
>character being the textbook definition of "Here's a fusion between two things that sell"
You're a retard and probably going to argue Gwenshit isn't a pathetic attempt at grabbing sales because the author couldn't write a decent comic so he choses to rely on a OC Donut Steel for easy sales.
>>79733681
Doesn't that go back to what we've discussed in the hypercrisis threads though? DC being more organic at times and Marvel being more calculated.
But in the end if the product is ok it doesn't really matter much
>>79733934
Hastings did well on that Longshot mini too before this
>>79733940
>>meta story
>>character being the textbook definition of "Here's a fusion between two things that sell"
What makes these things "tumblr"
>>79733941
Too bad Gwenpool is shit and I am 100% convinced people buying her shit are also buying the following current ooks
>Thor
>Wonder Woman
>Faith
>Squirrel-Girl
Aka tumblr.
>>79733989
They're the kind of story you find in tumblr blogs dedicaced to writing.
Now you can stop spamming and proving even further that Gwenpool fans are an embarassement.
>>79734062
>They're the kind of story you find in tumblr blogs dedicaced to writing.
People write shit like that anywhere.
>>79733989
I think he's trying to pretend like there's controversy so that the book stays relevant because of that and succeeds.
>>79733941
That's true, but I believe that concerns the overall universes more than any specific titles or characters.
>>79734085
Because it's lazy writing and retards love it.
Glad we could come to an agreement.
>>79733197
>And then there was what if Gwen was Deadpool? Chris Bachalo did that cover. For whatever reason, that particular character design seemed to be really exciting for a lot of fan artists and cosplayers. I think it’s crazy that a character that didn’t really exist, people were into the design so much, that they started dressing up as her. Marvel took notice of this and said, let’s make her real.
ok but where was this outside of tumblr? I seriously never saw any hype for Gwenpool before, not the way it existed for Spider-Gwen. I don't get at all how this happened.
Gwenpool is cute vomit for vomit tier loving readers. It isn't necessarily wrong to have cute vomit material considering the steaming shit marvel seems to want to throw out there, but it isn't exactly great, considering it is really just a pink dead pool with tits and the opportunity to use more meta references.
Cute vomit tier.
>>79734148
I'm sorry I took your lame trolling seriously for 4 seconds. But to be fair I'm pretty tired right now.
>>79733197
>I wrote ... Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe
Fuckin' picked up.
>>79734642
seriously one of the best minis from Marvel in forever
>>79733131
Ah 2016: the year the world realized it hated Peter Parker, but it loved Gwen Stacy.
>>79735348
>And there came a day unlike any other, when Earth's Mightiest Gwens found themselves united against a common threat.
>On that day they became the Gwenvengers
>The Invincible Armored Iron-Gwen
>Gwor, Gwen of Thunder
>The Gwulk, Strongest Gwen There Is
>And Captain Gwenmerica, the First Gwenvenger
Gwenvengers Gwenssemble!
>>79734005
Chris Hastings mostly writes good stuff and Gurihiru does good art.
The problem with those books is that they're written and drawn terribly.
>>79733131
Harley Quinn...
They are not even trying...
>>79733403
I love Hasting and Gurihiru but I hate Gwenpool, help.
I guess I'll give this a try.
>>79733234
>character is called Gwenpool
>came out of a month of alternate Gwen covers
>isn't Gwen Stacy
literally what
>>79733197
>people will be at their local comic shops buying out Deadpool comics and TPBs
I think they meant person or maybe two at the most - casuals don't read comic books, that's what tumblr and browsing trades at Chapters is for if they're that desperate to not just go see the movie again.
>>79738242
>>79738251
>>79738256
>>79738264
>>79738270
>>79738275
>>79738281
>>79738286
>>79738294
>>79733591
She is, objectively, perfect
>>79733735
> Everything I don't like is tumblr!
>>79738302
this is how the preview ends?
>>79734911
Hope it gets storytimed sometimes in the future.
>>79738395
It's a part of the holiday special, that's the only part with Gwenpool in it.
Fuck you jerks this is cute and I like it. Bugger off.
>>79737406
when they decided to make her an actual character, her backstory is that she's Gwen Poole, a teenaged girl from a world with no supers, but where Marvel exists and she's a huge comic nerd.
When she wound up in 616 she concluded her options where either die like a dog along with all the other fodder civilians, or put on a suit in a bid to get plot armor and an avenue to come back from the dead. She's operating under the (correct) assumption that her survival hinges on her popularity. If her books stop selling and she gets canned, there's a 100% chance of her dying unnoticed in a crowd scene in someone else's book without so much as a close-up
>>79738431
Wow that is some fucking horrible art.
>>79738302
Kamala needs to get a girlfriend already.
>>79733578
>Gwenpool
>NTRing Gwen
>NTRing Deadpool
A force to be reckoned with.
Gwenpool cucka the Marvel Universe when?
>>79738632
>NTRing Deadpool
there's honestly a pretty good chance she'll canonically sleep with Deadpool's wife at some point. It's an open marriage, but still
>>79738709
I meant with Peter, being honest.
Is the number 1 out already?
>>79738878
Not until April.
>>79738891
Thought I missed, thank you.
>>79738878
>>79738891
>>79738917
April 13 to be exact
>>79733940
>because the author couldn't write a decent comic
>Chris "Dr Mcninja" Hastings
Well fuck you too, Anon.
im ok with a pink girl deadpool that gets to live with no deadpool downsides, but its getting kinda creepy that they keep making characters out of this girl that they killed off in the 70s.
>>79735348
>That Iron Gwen censorship
Gwen is cute, sexy, funny, clever, sexy, and wears no pants. Why don't people like her?
>>79739330
What censorship?
>>79740155
Because people see cute girl main character being silly and their instinctive reaction of "TUMBLR REEEEE"
I swear, I used to hear constantly about "only casuals like characters, real comic readers like writers," and I've yet to meet anyone who really hates Hasting's work, let along Gurihiru's.
>>79739185
>Not wanting Gwen to be ugly as sin from cancer.
>Not wanting to see the reactions the marvel universe has to a woman looking like that and still feeling comfortable with herself and still trigger tumblr.
>Not wanting Gwen jerky-skinned self to land the hot guy/gal and ride them til they get rawhide.
>Not wanting GwenPool to be so based she pegs twinky Peter Parker with one of those liquid dildos and seeing him shoot spidersilk like only GwenPool's spiderslut can.
>>79733131
>Cover revealed for the second volume of Gwenpool, featuring a fight against FemThor
A fight that no one will win clean, because Marvel needs to protect each character for other fights down the line.
>Gwenpool is an entirely shallow concept that will be carried by Hastings' writing.
>If it succeeds, Hastings will get no credit to its success, Gwen will never grow out of being a fake Gwen Stacy/Deadpool's into her own character despite clearly being popular, and future writers will make the character a boring meme.
>If it fails, the blame will be placed solely on Hastings because the idea is CLEARLY too ingenious and cynical to fail and Gurihiru art is unaccountable for low sales. The character will be pushed on to other freelancers until the meme has been forced enough to ensure sales.
I hate corporate logic
I honestly don't understand why Deadpool isn't going to fuck her sideways.
>>79740267
He has no idea she exists?
>>79740217
They already tried Lady Deadpool and she was exactly this. Everyone hated it and then they killed her off.
>>79738431
>>79740267
He's a married man, unless the time skip fucked that up.
>>79733131
>whor
It's really depressing that this thread has so many replies
