Vita Ayala is fast becoming a rising star at Marvel. SDCC brought the reveal that they were going to be part of the next wave of Hickman X-Men titles, and then just a few weeks ago, the news that they would be bringing back Marvel’s Living Vampire, Michael Morbius, in November. Throw in the newest “Livewire” arc that just kicked off last month, and they are shaping up to have a very active and superpowered second half of 2019 and start to 2020.
At Flame Con, the first and largest comic-con for the LGBTQ+ community, I caught up with Vita to get a feel for what fans can expect with Morbius’s return, a little insight into their creative process, some hints on “Livewire,” and using your hometown as comic book inspiration.
You are having what I’m going to call a “Marvel moment,” because at SDCC you were announced as part of the second wave of Jonathan Hickman X-Men relaunch, and you’re bringing back Morbius, who hasn’t been seen on the pages of Marvel since 2013. Let’s go with the recent news first. So what can fans expect when the Living Vampire comes back?
Vita Ayala: There will be no weird plasma sucking things on his hands for sure. That was always the creepiest thing. We’re looking to do a story that’s touching back on some of his origin stuff, but more importantly, his struggles with who he is and how he he views himself and how he’s trying to twist himself to be something else. And also, there’s going to be plenty of action and stuff like that. And I can’t say whom but there will be some guest stars.
Things around what we have been calling here at Multiversity “HoXPox” have been tight lipped, but can you give us any hints about the X-Men story that you’ll be writing?
VA: I can’t because I am waiting on some notes. So I can’t even tell you what would be acceptable. Hopefully this one will be a fun book.
We’re two issues in to “House of X” and “Powers of X” at this point. Have you been reading them? What have you been finding of this world that Jonathan Hickman has created?
VA: They’re amazing. I read them in script form. When I read the second “House of X” I was like, holy crap, like we are in for something real wild. And it has only gotten wilder!
I remember reading that and saying to myself, “I don’t know what church Jonathan Hickman has created, but I’ll be packing the pews every Sunday.” Or Wednesday for that matter.
Who’s your favorite of the merry mutants?
VA: Oh, my God. That’s hard. I will say that Storm and Bishop brought me in. But I think I’ve connected the most with Mystique.
Turning to “Livewire,” a new arc just kicked off. She’s on the run, but she has a chance to come back in the spotlight. But it sounds like that chance is going to come at a cost. What can readers expect from ‘Hero?’
VA: So this storyline is trying to continue the journey that she’s been on. The first arc was about her acknowledging that she had made some really, really grave mistakes and internalizing that and understanding that there should be consequences. The second story arc was about her grappling with: does she know what it means to be a hero? Does she know how to help people? And so this third arc is her solidifying herself in what it means to be someone who has made these mistakes, but still want to help people.
The kind of sub genre will change a little bit, it’s going to be a little bit more kind of, I don’t want to say spy, but it’s much closer to like intrigue. There’s still plenty of action, of course. This is about the thesis that we set up in the first arc and kind of getting to the conclusion. I think Amanda is fundamentally a good person. And I think that her actions always come out of that. It’s very Socratic, I know. And so what does that mean for her? And how does she deal with the consequences of what she’s done?
Continued belowIf “Livewire” was to come to the big screen, who would you want to see playing the character?
VA: Gina Torres, always. In my mind I write her is Gina Torres.
What broader message would you want to take from your “Livewire” stories, your creator-owned work, even as you think ahead to what you’re creating for Marvel?
VA: I think one of empathy. I want to portray whatever the main character is of whatever story I’m writing as someone who has depth and someone who is struggling with their own identities or how they interact with the world around them, whether they be someone who was a hero, or someone who was an anti-hero like Morbius. I want to show that no matter how different someone is, they are going through the same processes that everyone else is going through. That’s very important to me.
You’ve done the franchise work, but you’ve done creator-owned work with “Submerged” and “The Wilds.” Recognizing that these can be two very different answers, which is easier to write, and which is more enjoyable for you to write?
VA: Yeah, that is a hard question, which is easier to write. Anything that has fight scenes is easier to write. So usually franchise work, but then also with franchise work, you have to really think about pacing in a way. That’s different, right? So the franchise work I do is muscle superhero. So there are some structural things that you really have to keep in mind when you’re writing it. And you still want to pack in the stuff that is the emotional, kind of like guts. So I’m going to say that it’s easier to physically sit down and write superhero stuff. But it is easier to figure out what I want to do with creator owned stuff.
And then was the second part of the question?
I think you answered both: which was easier, which was more enjoyable, because I found in talking to folks those can be two very different answers.
Your series “Submerged” is set here in New York City. You’re not just a resident here, you’re a native. How much real world New York City did you bring into that series, while managing to keep these fantastical elements? I watch shows that are set in New York City, and being a native of the area, I’m like, “the subway doesn’t go there!”
VA: I tried my best. It’s funny because Jessica Jones was filmed in my mom’s neighborhood in the Lower East Side, but it’s set uptown, and I’m like, “I don’t think so. I’ve been drunk in that bar. I know where that park is, that’s by Tompkins Square!” I tried to be as accurate as possible. I don’t know what these fantastical elements are talking about. Have you been on the subway? That’s what it’s like! I tried to be as accurate as I could be, because when things got really wonky, I wanted people to feel that. So I wanted to root it in reality as much as possible, and then pull the rug out from under people.
I think even TV shows today are being a little more careful with how they portray New York City because they are going to have folks, like you, like me, who are in this city every day and we’re going to see things and be like “that don’t look right.”
VA: The biggest sinner is Law and Order. They film in New York, but it’s never the neighborhood they say it is which isn’t always hilarious.
You’ve written prose in addition to comics work. Have you thought about adapting any comics work to prose or prose work to comics?
VA: There are a couple of things that I have squirreled away in notebooks in prose that I have thought about adapting because there’s such different mediums and they do very, very different things. But I like the visual component of comics. I like the ability to anyone that can engage with text, visually can engage with comics, whether or not they’re actually literate, which I love. It brings people in.
It brings in reluctant readers.
VA: Yeah, it really does. It really, really does. And there’s, there’s something about the relationship between a reader and what’s happening between the panels that I think is really important. So yeah, there’s stuff I would love to to bring to comics that I’ve done in prose.
Continued belowThe opposite, I’ve thought about maybe like things like “The Wilds,” because there’s so much stuff that I wanted to put in that is internal that really drags the pacing in a comic but could really enhance be enhancing the experience in prose.
Who are some of your favorite stories and creators right now? Who’s hitting it out of the ballpark, who should we be keeping an eye on?
VA: That is a good question. Nadia Shammas. I love her. She’s great. Ben Kahn is delightful. Tini Howard and Leah Williams are incredible. One of my closest friends Che Grayson has done both comic stuff and film stuff just ran a successful Kickstarter for a TV anthology series called Magic Hour, which is being executive produced by Indya Moore, actually. Those are people I would say watch out for.
Was there one character in comics that you haven’t written yet that you look at and you’re like, “damn, I want a shot at writing this character.” Who is that? And what spin would you put on that character?
VA: Renee Montoya. That’s always my answer. Give me Renee. Please, I’ll do anything. I’ve pitched Rene Montoya like yearly, like, “Come on, guys. Let me do it, please.”
Are there any projects on the horizon that you can share that we haven’t talked about yet?
VA: No, but I will say to keep an eye out mid-September because there some announcements coming. But that’s all I can say.
“Livewire” #9, which kicks off the “Hero” arc, is available now at comic shops and digitally on comiXology. “Morbius” will debut in November.
