Alisa Kwitney On Writing Stephanie Brown and Cass Cain in Convergence: Batgirl #1

DC Comics is launching their Convergence event next month and it is bringing back classic versions of characters as well as characters that have not been part of the new 52 continuity.

Two of the missing characters that fans were most concerned about when DC rebooted their universe were Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain. Brown is now back in Batman Eternal in a rebooted form (she is Spoiler and has never been Batgirl) while Cain has remained “benched” except for a brief appearance in a Batgirl issue set in an alternative future. The issue also features a pre-52 Tim Drake.

Writer Alisa Kwitney has been tapped to write the two issues named Convergence: Batgirl #1. Kwitney is not a name a lot of comic readers may be familiar with as most of her comic work was a few years ago as an editor at Vertigo on titles such as Books of Magic. I chatted with Kwitney about taking on these popular characters and what she has planned for them.

Q. It was a surprise to see you name attached to this book when it was announced as it may be unfamiliar to comic readers. But you’ve actually worked in comics - can you tell us about your background and how you ended up writing this?

A: Marie Javins called me up and asked me if I wanted to write something for a big DC event. [Note: Kwitney and Javins previously worked together on Marvel prose books] Then she sent me the bible describing the high concept and all the possible protagonists and antagonists. It was a little daunting, but it was also exciting as I figured out how my story fit into the bigger picture.

Q. When you picked up this gig you said on your blog that Comics Continuity is like the Superbowl “if you know what’s going on you care and if you don’t t’s just a bunch of very fit folks wearing tight costumes, running around and occasionally slamming into one another.” I thought that was a good analogy because as a resident of of the home of the four time Super Bowl winning Patriots ™ I’ve seen the amazingly obsessive side and the casual folks who basically want the beer specials. Tell me what you did to prepare for the former folks. What books did you read? What did people TELL you to read? What did you think was relevant.

A: I read everything I could get my hands on to figure out who Stephanie really is and how Cassandra and Tim fit into her life. So I read Chuck Dixon’s early Spoiler stories and Brian Q Miller’s Batgirl, and I also read a bunch of Fabian Nicieza’s Red Robin. Plus I read a bunch of Flashpoint stuff, and some of Gail Simone’s Catman stories. [Note: An alternative version of Catman is appearing in the two-parter - see below]

Q. Stephanie Brown and Cass Cain haven’t been seen in the pre-52 incarnations for over 3 years - where are they now and what was the thinking to put them there?

A: Stephanie is in a Gotham that has been trapped under a dome for a year. Basically, the dome cuts the city off from the rest of the world, essentially turning the entire city into a walled ghetto. At first, Stephanie tried to help keep the order as Batgirl, but after a traumatic incident with an out-of-control crowd, she hung up her cape. As the story begins, she’s living in an apartment with Cassandra Cain, who is still Black Bat and is patrolling with Red Robin. Tim and Steph are no longer dating, and don’t really communicate much.

As I saw the story unfold in my mind, it seemed to me that Stephanie’s biggest challenge wasn’t really facing a powerful adversary – it was facing the fear that Cassandra was the better choice to be Gotham’s champion.

Q. You may be aware that there are huge fandoms for both Stephanie and Cass but they are also sometimes divisive about the characters because they were both Batgirls. What do you like about each character? What are their strengths? What are their points of … wait for it … convergence?

A: Steph and Cass are great foils for each other. Steph is wry, feisty, impulsive, emotional – a Kirk. Cass is a Spock – cool, contained, an astute analyst of people and situations. When Cass comes home from patrol, Steph offers to give her another reading lesson, because that’s not a skill Cass has had much time to develop. But I think the two both share a subtle sense of humor, as well as a deep sense of loyalty. When Cass reveals that she’s saved Steph’s batgirl costume for her, Steph takes it…and then asks, “You didn’t think to wash it?”

Q. Convergence is a bit of continuity and not-continuity so I assume you have some leeway - is there any point in series where you think that fans of the characters will be, to quote the Tumblrs, “having all the feelz”?

A: As a writer, my primary goal is to give readers all the feelz.

Q. What would you say to the fans who have a strong investment in these characters and may be hesitant to pick up this series?

A: I’d say that I understand how special these characters are, and I tried to be true to them. I hope I succeeded. I know I was very lucky to get the chance to write them.

Q. You were announced as a writer of a post Convergence title Mystik U. What can you tell us about that title that won’t get us in trouble with publicity department?

A: As you can probably guess from the title, it’s got magic in it, and it’s set in a university, and there will mostly be new faces, but also a few familiar ones. If I say any more, I incur an ancient curse, but I’m very excited to be writing a monthly!

Thanks Alisa.

Convergence: Batgirl #1 is on-sale April 8.