[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Welcome back to Marvel Live.
I am here with the incomparable Rebecca Roanhorse.
How are you?
I'm doing pretty good
Good.
Well, I want to read this because, I
mean, the accolades that you--
I almost want to--
I should be bowing my head.
A New York Times bestseller, Nebula, Hugo,
Locus Award, the 2018 Outstanding Award
for Best New Writer what's.
It like being such an amazing artist and creator?
I feel very lucky.
It's not just me I have a team that I work
with-- an editor and a publisher that's very supportive,
lots of fans, you know?
Which I obviously would be nowhere without.
And so it's really just a blessing
because I get to be here, and I get to write for Marvel,
and I get to meet people like you, and it's all good.
Yes, that's what I want to talk about.
Please, I always like to ask, what
is your origin story for-- say, for working here at Marvel.
Oh, gosh.
Let's see.
I think my first Marvel gig was--
I wrote a one shot for one of the Marvel
Voices special editions on Indigenous characters.
And I got to write Echo, who is going
to be coming to TV this winter.
And so, from there, it just kind of got to grow I got
to do a five issue Echo series.
I did another one shot.
And of course, this October-- and we'll talk
about that a little bit--
I'm branching out and I'm doing a whole new cast of folks.
Oh, it's so good.
So you talked about Echo, a character
that many people have just come into knowing
through Marvel Studios' Hawkeye, which is so exciting.
Yeah.
What has it been like to kind of really
delve into this character and expand her story and really,
essentially, showcase this character
for the Marvel universe and the Marvel fans?
So all credit to David Mack.
He was the creator of this character.
But to have someone like her, someone
who is Indigenous, who is also deaf,
and who is just a badass fighter--
INTERVIEWER: [LAUGHS]
--which is sort of my favorite kind of character to write
has just been a lot of fun.
She didn't have a whole lot of backstory built in.
We knew a few things from her previous run.
But I really got to build that out.
And of course, in my series, she develops the Phoenix power.
She's given the Phoenix power.
So wow, I mean, just be the most powerful being in the universe,
and let's see what we can do with that.
So I had a lot of fun.
That was really cool.
Was that an email that it's, like, hey, if you want to use
the Phoenix force, go for it.
Yeah, absolutely, right?
Right?
Yeah.
So you also worked on Marvel's Voices.
Yes.
And so I really want to ask you--
please talk to us about the importance
of working on Marvel's Voices as Native American,
trying-- elevating that part of the human tapestry that
is life.
What has it been like elevating that voice
and really taking steps forward for the representation
of Indigenous peoples?
Yeah, well, you know, Marvel has a number
of Native American characters--
Native American heroes.
Now, you have all this Native talent--
sort of writers and artists--
out there, excited to reimagine these characters
and to see where they can go.
And so the base is there, and then we
get to just expand that-- give them
sort of a proper back story, give them some nuance,
make cool stories out of what they're doing.
And I know it matters because I have readers, especially
young readers, come up to me and they're like,
I've never seen myself in a comic before.
I've never seen people like me or people
who live where I live.
And look at this.
It takes place on the Res.
Or they're there doing stuff that me and my family
do, things like that.
But they're also superheroes.
And that, I think, makes all the difference.
When kids can see themselves-- or any readers
can see themselves in the pages of a Marvel comic, I mean, wow.
Right?
Yeah, we're expanding.
Expanding the world.
Yeah, so that's what I wanted to ask.
What advice or sage words would you
have for some of our Marvel fans out there-- younger, older,
of all ages-- that want to see themselves represented and want
to start writing those stories?
What was some good advice you can give
to those young creators that may be working
with you, hopefully, some day?
Yeah, oh, gosh.
So I think everyone has a story to tell.
Everyone comes from a unique background.
They have a unique history.
You bring who you are to the page,
and you tell the story that only you can tell.
And whether that's through writing or through art--
because your vision is unique.
And maybe you feel like, oh, I don't have an original story.
But there aren't a whole lot of original stories in the world.
What you have is an original experience,
and that's what you bring to the table.
So if you're interested in writing
for Marvel or for anything else, just do it.
Just start now, and keep practicing.
And you never know when you get that call or that email
and you're going to be like, I'm ready.
I'm ready.
When the call goes out, be ready to answer it.
Well, Rebecca, thank you so much for joining us.
It's been an honor and a pleasure talking to you.
Thank you.
Enjoy the convention.
I will.
And I hope you get to see-- maybe you'll see
some Echoes out there.
Yeah, there's a Women of Marvel panel tomorrow.
So I'll be there.
Go check that out.
Please, yes.
Until next time, please stay tuned
for all the cool stuff happening here from Marvel
at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
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