By Ariel Baska — Heavy Metal magazine is rolling out a new mini-series on December 16th featuring everyone’s favorite (and only remaining) Taarakian - Taarna. Silver-haired and scantily-clad, she was my badass queen of counter-culture. When I heard she was coming back, I was delighted to find that Stephanie Phillips, a writer I’ve admired, and whose work I have praised on this site, would be the one to revive her. I reached out to Stephanie, who has been extremely busy this year, and will continue to be as she works on Future State: Harley Quinn. Harley is a powerful and iconic figure to many, but I needed to ask about Stephanie’s whole body of work this year, and my first punk icon.    

Stephanie Phillips Interview

ARIEL BASKA: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I’ve reviewed your work on titles like The Devil Within, but you’ve had so many come out this year! From Red Atlantis to Butcher of Paris to Descendent to A Man Among Ye - and now a new series starring the Heavy Metal icon Taarna. How do you keep each character’s voice so distinct when you are working across multiple genres at the same time? 

STEPHANIE PHILLIPS: It’s definitely not always easy, but the more I write a character the better I get to know them and their voice. I think it also helps to have great editors who will engage in conversations about the characters and their motivations – just really focusing on who the character is before I dive into scripting them.  

ARIEL: As a long time fan of Heavy Metal, I am excited to see where your upcoming mini-series of Taarna goes with a hard-working and imaginative female writer lending her voice. What did you feel was your primary responsibility in your writing of Taarna?

STEPHANIE: My initial goal was to tell a story that would excite current Heavy Metal fans while also welcoming new readers. I also really wanted to make sure we gave Taarna some really challenging obstacles to encounter that might push her in ways we haven’t seen before. These challenges aren’t just physically grueling, but really test her mentally as well. What does it mean that Taarna is an entire universe? What does it mean for Taarna to fail? What does that failure look like and how will Taarna respond? These are all things I wanted to explore with her throughout the series. 

ARIEL: I also love the way you normalize inclusion of many kinds, but particularly languages and cultures in your other works as well. What has informed that aspect of your work?

STEPHANIE: I’m really fortunate that my daily life includes a variety of languages and cultures. My goal is always to represent this by way of inclusion, but never to portray someone else’s identity or experience. In my home, for example, we have Chinese, Spanish, German, French, and English represented pretty well in terms of languages, and my family is comprised of white, Black, Cuban, and Chinese. For me to not represent the diversity that I see on a daily basis would be for me to not accurately represent my world view. But, I never want to take on their experiences or voices. Their stories are theirs to tell. 

ARIEL: When scripting female characters that have been originally written by male creators, from Taarna to Harley Quinn (in your upcoming Future State), do you feel the gendered associations and assumptions about where “a woman creator” might take it?

STEPHANIE: I don't really think about that. The gender of the creator hasn't really factored into how I write the character as much as the freedom I am given by editors and publishers to really make a character my own and tell my own story with them. I think I've been really lucky to have great editors who help me tell the stories that I want to tell with these already-established characters. 

ARIEL: What unique challenges presented themselves while writing a character like Taarna, who is meant to represent a whole universe unto herself? 

STEPHANIE: I think it’s harder to empathize with something that is really a celestial being because, as readers, we are looking for something to anchor us to the character and universe. For that reason, I really wanted to give Taarna someone who could help the reader explore what Taarna is. This character’s name is Shaan and she’s a really conflicted character. Her people have been slaughtered thanks to Kako and her mother is taken by our main baddie, Urcuss. Shaan is fighting her own battles while learning to see the universe through Taarna’s eyes. In some ways, the connection between Shaan and Taarna will humanize Taarna a bit more for our readers, while also allowing Shaan the perspective of an entire universe. 

ARIEL: As an avid reader of Taarna comics, past incarnations of the character have always been a source of conflict for me as a woman - this tension between her as a figure of female power, and the exploitative style in which she was portrayed. My love of the character made me constantly question what I should and should not like as a woman. Have you experienced this in regard to this character and/or others you’ve recently taken up? 

STEPHANIE: I absolutely know what you’re talking about. When writing Taarna I actually tried to lean into this conflict more and start asking questions like, “why can’t she be just as powerful and feminist if completely nude?” Taarna is, after all, not a woman but a celestial being. Her body and sexuality never enter her mind – they are purely a vessel. Taarna can cut down an enemy whether she’s in full battle armor or naked. I think some of my discomfort with earlier portrayals of Taarna and wondering where I fall as a woman and a feminist also stemmed from my own discomfort with how society forces us to view our bodies and constantly mediate our bodies for male approval. So, immediately, I wanted to ensure that no person or thing ever mediates Taarna’s body. When we see her, she is fully in control of herself and her space and I’m really excited about giving Taarna this power. 

Heavy Metal - Taarna

Taarna
Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Patrick Zircher
Colorist: Marcello Iozzoli
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
Publisher: Heavy Metal
Price: $3.99
From the death of the last Taarakian and a collapsed universe, Taarna was born. Heavy Metal's flagship character from the animated film returns in a new series of cosmic mystery and battles throughout the multiverse in her war against Kako, the embodiment of chaos. This is the story of a millenia-old battle between godlike beings, with all sentient life caught in their path. A new life for Taarna begins from writer Stephanie Phillips (Artemis and the Assassin), artist Patrick Zircher (Savage Avengers), with covers by Christian Ward (Invisible Kingdom).
Release Date: December 16, 2020
Buy It Digitally: Taarna

Read more great creator interviews!

Ariel Baska has had many past lives, but right now she has a podcast, Ride the Omnibus, parked at the intersection of pop culture and social justice.