Annie Wu Talks Black Canary

Annie Wu is one of the most dynamic artists in comics right now and her career is pretty dynamic too given she’s only been out of art school for 5 years. Tomorrow she debuts at the artist on DC Comics’ Black Canary title and wait until you see her work. I chatted with Annie today by email about the book, her approach and the rock song that defines Dinah and it is all awesome!

Q. Annie the last time we chatted you worked on a Batman Beyond Unlimited Batgirl arc and were just about to start on Hawkeye - how did you end up back at DC on this book?





After Hawkeye, I had the opportunity to try storyboarding for the first time, so I worked on The Venture Bros. for a while, doing mostly covers and editorial work on the side. I really wanted to do something weird next, but I wasn’t sure what it would be. When Brenden approached me about launching this with him at DC, it seemed very promising, especially for weirdness, and it made a good case for me jumping on board.



Q. I asked Brenden this question too - Black Canary is now a rock singer so what rock song do you think best captures the characters and the book?



This is more for the attitude than the sound, but what I want Dinah to exude is encapsulated in Peaches’ “Boys Want To Be Her.”

That’s perfect in every way.



Q. Black Canary is all about rock music and one of the first pieces you did was a punk rock Justice League - how do music and comics go together in your mind?



There was a time in my childhood when I wanted to be a music video director, and my brain still kind of works that way… I often have a song in mind for characters or scenes, and it helps me lock into a certain atmosphere while I’m drawing. And if we want to get really heady about it, there are a lot of parallels between the superhero and the glorified frontperson in a band. The adulation, the posturing, etc.



Q. This is a dynamic book with a physical lead character and it looks that way - what’s your approach on the book? When we spoke back around the Batgirl mini you talked about going to a martial arts studio to get a feel for Nissa’s abilities - did you revisit for Dinah? How do you and Brenden work together?



My approach is called “so much overthinking.” Okay, here’s how I see it… Characters like Nissa and Kate Bishop have a weapon of a choice, so I felt that warranted specialized research. I consulted an expert for Eskrima, I got a bruise the size of Europe for archery. My approach for Black Canary’s a little different, since Dinah’s an all-around fighting machine. The focus is creative usage of space and materials, as well as tailoring the fight to suit whatever foe she’s facing. In this book, we have baddies who get the full-on superhero treatment, but we also have the basic jerks at gigs and those guys can be taken care of with some bar brawl style antics.



Weirdly, I think I have had more personal experience come in handy for drawing Dinah’s fights than with any other book. I did A/V and tech odd jobs through high school and college – sound for screenings or lighting Battle of the Bands or whatever – so when Brenden says Dinah’s whipping a Shure SM58 at someone, I immediately know what kind of damage that can do. Most of my research for fights has been looking into how destructive instruments or normal items can be.



I appreciate how open Brenden’s been about this being a collaborative effort with a real back-and-forth – he’s made a point of encouraging discussion. For big plot stuff, he’s so great at what he does, I mostly do my best to stay out of his way. We have so many shared points of reference that we’re almost immediately on the same page, anyway.



Q. Dinah’s new look was created by the Batgirl Team - what new things can we expect to see that reflects your touch?



In general, I’ve been strangely comfortable with the fashion in this run… Even in Hawkeye, Kate Bishop was super-casual in her West coast adventures, but I had to gather so much reference because I thought, “Aw, crap, what do cute (broke) girls wear to hang out at the beach?” Like, what do I know? For Black Canary, though, it’s all leather jackets and people with metal in their face, which is what I live, so I feel very much in my element. Everything’s darker and roughed up. The rock star aspect is nice too, because I get to luxuriate a mix of high fashion and trash.





I knew early on I didn’t want to give Dinah one standard superhero outfit. Her stage look is her “costume” – it’s a bunch of different outfits that follow the jacket, bodysuit, fishnets, boots combo. I wanted her to feel like a rock star wearing endless ensembles without sacrificing that iconic “Black Canary” vibe (bringing back the fishnets helped). I’m also a total dork for meta nods… Like, this Black Canary’s not a florist but I’ve decided that she enjoys flowers, so I’m adding florals here and there.



Q. Okay Annie, you have drawn three very kick ass comic women so the question is - Nissa, Kate and Dinah all get in free for all - who falls first and fist pumps in victory?



I’m one of those jerks that ruins a fun hypothetical with loads of variables! So, it depends! If it’s in the future, Nissa could take everyone down with tech that Kate and Dinah can’t even comprehend. If Kate was secretly perched off in the distance, I’m sure she could eliminate them quickly. Though if it was bare bones, hand-to-hand, Dinah’s one of the greatest martial artists in the DCU, so she would wreck ‘em.





Can I also take this opportunity to point out that all three of these characters have winged animals in their names? I guess this is a thing for me now.



Thanks Annie (looking forward to seeing you at Boston Comic Con!)



Thank YOU.

Black Canary #1 is out tomorrow. Play this comic loud. And read what Brenden Fletcher has to say here.