Lady Spider

I've been a lifelong fan of comic books largely due to my brother, Michael. He introduced me to comics at a young age and used them to help teach me how to read.

Working in TV has all just been an elaborate plan to get into comics! Thanks to my older brother Michael, I’ve been a life-long comic book fan, and I’m very passionate about the medium. I love stories that are told visually, and comics are such a unique and beautiful art-form. As a kid, I used to draw comics, copying panels and telling my own stories. I never could get the hang of drawing though, so I had to turn to writing. I’ve been trying to get into comics for years, and fortunately, editor Ellie Pyle gave me a huge break, and I’m forever in her debt.

I basically begged and begged and then demanded [Laughs] to write some of the comic backup stories with Peter Johnson who was the producer on the project. I ended up writing half of the backup stories for that. That was pretty amazing.

The new series launch in February 2015 will make Silk one of two Asian American female superheroes leading her own mainstream series right now (the other being Ms. Marvel‘s Kamala Khan, a young shape-shifting Pakistani-American girl protecting Jersey from the big baddies)

 
Cover for Silk

Now not only is Silk a woman, but she’s a Woman of Color (WOC) as a Korean-American. Were you cognizant of integrating her lived experience into the story?

Robbie: Yes. It's a fundamental part of who she is, whether or not it's going to dictate story. But we're certainly not shying away from it. I've said this before because I've written a few characters that are gay and I always hate when characters show up and say, “Hi, I'm person X and I'm gay.” Who talks like that? A character needs to have an agenda — needs and wants — first, and the rest of that character breathes them into three dimensions. So yes, we have talked about the fact that Cindy is a diverse character in the Marvel universe and it is definitely something that is important to us as part of the comic.

an all-new ongoing series of done-in-one, in-continuity tales set during Peter's teenage years.

Spidey #1 Issue Cover

When [editor] Nick Lowe called me to tell me about the book, I was so excited that I think I actually did jump. He was so passionate about the book, and the opportunity to tell stories in this era. I love Spider-Man. The chance to work on this book, and be a part of this team has been incredibly rewarding and fun.

Thanks to a psychic cleansing, the alien Klyntar -- known to Earth's heroes and villains as Venom -- was given a second chance to leave behind its life as a rage-fueled monster and become a hero. It's fortunate, then, that the symbiotic being's current host is Flash Thompson, a former soldier and recovering alcoholic who appreciates the transformative value of second chances. In "Venom: Space Knight," writer Robbie Thompson and artist Ariel Olivetti have been detailing Flash and his symbiotic partner's shared exploitation of their second chances by working as cosmic knights errant for the mysterious "Agents of the Cosmos."

Venom Space Knight cover

The alien symbiote Venom has become a sort of prosthesis for Flash, a wounded veteran who lost his legs in combat, but regained mobility by wearing the symbiote suit as a costume.

the very real struggle of the obvious and not-so-obvious challenges in having lost limbs in combat, and to ultimately showcase the fortitude and resilience of the warriors Flash Thompson represents.”