Before there were stories of superheroes people told stories of folk heroes. Before we worshiped a flying man in tights we were looked up to a steel driving man in overalls. While superheroes may be the modern day folk heroes the creative team of Joe Casey and Ian Macewan set out to create a modern mythology of their own with their new Image series, “MCMLXXV.” Set in 1975, Pamela Evans, Manhattan cab driver battles monsters with her enchanted tire iron.
To learn more about this new series and the character of Pamela Evans we were able to speak to the creators Joe Casey and Ian Macewan. In the interview below they discuss folk heroes, the feel of the 1970’s, and a bad ass women who fights monsters with a tire iron. To learn more about Pamela and her adventures be sure to pick up “MCMLXXV” in stores and digitally this September 12th.
When the series was announced part of the pitch that was given was the creation of a new folk hero in Pamela Evans. It got me thinking of classic folk heroes and superheroes and where they have similarities/differences. For you guys what is the difference between these two types of heroes? What makes a good folk hero and how have you applied that to a comic setting?
Joe Casey: Superheroes — as we know them today — tend to spring from some sort of scientific origin. Occasionally that’s mixed with the psychological. But whenever they’re created, they’re generally a product of that era’s up-to-the-minute technology. So what ends up happening is that, except for the rare exceptions – the very rare exceptions — they tend to be of their time and have trouble adapting to different times. Folk heroes, on the other hand, usually transcend the era in which they were created. They tend to have some kind of built-in resonance that makes them timeless. Folk heroes also tend to contain some sense of mythology to them, and that mythology is fundamental to who they are.
Ian Macewan: Superheroes have never felt like folk heroes for me, for a few reasons. The costumes look too much like uniforms, and instantly put them at a distance from everyday people. When I think folk hero, I think of someone who looks like everyone else, and goes to great effort to do good. Folk heroes sweat, and I think of their abilities as more earned than superheroes. I always thought great martial artists in wuxia films were more interesting heroes, because the insane level of training and discipline is baked in. They’re self-made. So, without spoiling anything, you’ll see Pamela earn her stripes.
What can you tell us about Pamela Evans? What about her makes you want to write/draw her story?
JC: Pamela is a Manhattan cab driver who happens to weld an enchanted tire iron. She’s set herself up as the first line of defense when it comes to invaders from the underworld. But as the series progresses, we discover that her history with that underworld is a little more complicated that you might’ve thought at first. She one of the purest heroes I’ve ever created, so to write that kind of character — especially after the numerous morally-compromised characters I usually come up with — was like a breath of fresh air.
IM: Her physical presence is everything for me. She’s fierce and moving through a New York that’s iconic for its level of danger. She and her setting inform each other, so for me the biggest appeal was finding the best way to harmonize the person and the place.
In just the first issue there is a notable amount of detail and character to the world. You introduce readers to one insane thing after another all against a lot of other mundane everyday things, like driving a cab. How big is this world and its history for you guys in creating Pamela’s own story? How have you balanced the fantasy with the grounded elements of the world?
JC: I honestly don’t worry about that kind of thing. I’ve been making comicbooks professionally for more than 20 years, so I’ve learned to trust my instincts. If it works for me, I feel like it’ll work for the readers. It always seemed to me that most comicbook creators are fundamentally world-builders. To make MCMLXXV feel authentic as a story with some real scope, everything about this world had to be thought out beforehand. But that’s just a normal part of the gig. So it all exists; this story just gives you a slice of it.
Continued belowIM: With fantasy stories set in a contemporary setting(relatively speaking… it may take place over 40yrs ago, but all the elements of “city” as we know now were there back then), it bugs me when too much emphasis is placed on escapism? So a key thing for me in that kind of story is a feeling of home having value, of wanting to preserve it rather than escape it. That, and again: sweat. Fantasy elements bring with them a feeling of distance, and I like to see people really exerting themselves in those situations.
It is no secret there are monsters and Pamela is a badass and will be fighting those monsters. How have you approached the structure of this series that has awesome fights but also hints at a larger story underneath? Is there a lot of room to play with the narrative?
JC: MCMLXXV is really an epic tale of a hero’s path to glory. Usually I’m out to push the envelope or break format in some way but this series has turned out to be a lot more traditional than I usually allow myself. This is as Joseph Campbell as I’ve gotten in a long time But then again, I don’t see a lot of new stories mining that particular territory at the moment. It seems to be out of fashion to tap into those deeper mythological tropes that have always existed across the ages in the most resonant stories.
IM: Yeah, we play a bit with narrative. I’ll say that I really like the length of time it takes to unfold in-story, but I don’t want to get too much into that before it’s out.
The series takes place in a verison of the 1970’s and captures the aesthetic of that era just with monsters. The story also about this hero that feels like she would be just as important in our present day setting and our own monsters. What is the significance of setting it in 1975 (MCMLXXV) and how have you as a team worked to capture that feeling for this series?
JC: The themes we’re working with could apply to just about any time period. That’s how the best myths tend to work. So, once you’ve got the basic concept down, it becomes about picking a time period or a place or an era that’s most interesting to depict on the page. Also, my personal take is that there’s a certain authenticity to Manhattan in the mid-70’s as a place where real shit went down. Socially and politically, the stakes were really high. That made it the perfect backdrop for Pamela’s greatest adventure.
IM: I mean visually, tonally, 70s New York is just a really threatening and attractive place. And the city as it exists in that era’s films often portray it as equally manic and desolate. Anything can happen to you and no one in a city of millions would notice, or even be there to see. A crowded, claustrophobic city where people are rarely seen at night. A city as a tomb.
You have collaborated with a lot of different creators Joe and seem to actively be working with different more independent artists with each new title. How did you come together on this title? For each of you what does the other bring to the series and your creative partnership that makes this series what it is?
JC: The only thing that makes any artist “independent” is when Marvel or DC don’t hire them. To me, that’s the publishers’ loss. I’d worked with Ian before and I knew what he was capable of. His sense of design and the way he can visually depict a world that’s hyper-real — in the best way — is what made him the right artist for MCMLXXV. I’m not sure he’s ever drawn full-on action sequences to this degree before, but he came through like a champ.
IM: Well I’ve read Joe’s comics for a lot of my life, from Cable to Automatic Kafka, and I’ve always loved the momentum of his books. As for what I bring, I only hope that I’ve succeeded in capturing the no nonsense, hold-onto-your-hat feeling that I admire throughout his years of writing. It’s something I think needs a certain amount of grounding, a solid rail to fly off of, which I think(I hope!) I’ve provided.
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What has been the teams approach to the style of the action for the series? Pamela is doing work in this first issue and is pretty brutal.
JC: Well, I think street fighting with a tire iron lends itself to a certain kind of brutality. Whether or not that tire iron happens to be enchanted is beside the point. And believe me, the first issue only hints at how brutal things get in this series.
IM: That’s it exactly: work. She’s toiling away, swinging and getting hard of breath. I always like it when you see that someone being great at what they do still involves lots of hardship. Sorta like drawing comics, really. “I’m working at my dream job”, I say as my neck cracks and my eyes struggle to stay open.
Anytime I have seen Ian’s work I question why he is not on more series? I was blown away by the issue of The Tomorrow’s and have even contemplated buying movies I have never seen just to have the box art. How has it been working in this single multi-issue format? Have you tried anything new with this series with your own style?
IM: The box art I’ve done for Arrow Films has been such fun work to do! This has definitely been my biggest comics project, and I tried a lot of new things with it. I’ve always used a brush to ink, but with this I got to play a lot with drybrush techniques to capture the appropriate lighting of the city. It’s also my first real dig into all out action, and I wound up putting a lot of thoughts on comics action into praxis. I’m especially fond of old Jademan comics from Hong Kong, and I paid homage to some of their staging in a few key panels. If you’re familiar with books like Force of Buddha’s Palm, you’ll catch them right away.
One thing I always love about a Joe Casey story is that they are filled with the unexpected. So going into this series what can readers expect and maybe not expect from the book and from you two as creators?
JC: In my opinion, the last thing any storyteller wants to be is predictable. We want to take readers on a journey that sticks with them long after they put the book down. I don’t think I’ve ever created a character quite like Pamela Evans, so that in itself was unexpected for me personally. I don’t rely on any real tricks this time out. We’re just telling the story as straightforward as possible. Readers can expect us to delve pretty extensively into Pamela’s past. We’ll see exactly how she got to the place she is when we meet her in issue #1.
IM: They can expect a wild, breakneck fight book, dripping with atmosphere. One where the shadows on the walls turn into muscle and sinew, and want to leap out and bite you. But there’s tenderness there too, between the swings and the stabs.
What do you hope readers take away from their reading of this upcoming first issue?
JC: I really can’t speak to what they may or may not take away from reading MCMLXXV, I just hope that readers give it a chance. I think this kind of character in this kind of story is what a lot of us need right now. We’re certainly not trying to make a big statement here. Job #1 is always to entertain. But I do think we’re all living in a particular moment where what we decide to creatively put out into the world carries a little more weight than it used to. And that’s a good thing.
IM: I hope they get a fun book that’s built to spill over with speed and struggle. A car that starts at 100 miles an hour.
