NEW GIRL IN TOWN: GRAY AND PALMIOTTI TALK TERRA

[MattBrady]

Sure, she’s relatively new, but in next month’s Supergirl #12, the girl from Krypton meets someone even newer to the DC Universe – Terra.

Yeah – Terra.

But wasn’t she dead? And wasn't there another one? Good questions.

As the solicit reads: The story finds the Girl of Steel down in the dumps - and no match for a monster that's using her emotions as a weapon. This looks like a job for a Terra, a mysterious new hero whose very steps make the ground tremble to make her presence known to the world. This issue will serve as a lead-in to the upcoming TERRA miniseries.

The issue, along with the upcoming series, is by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmioti, Amanda Conner, and Paul Mounts. We caught up with Gray and Palmiotti to (try) and learn some more.

Newsarama: First off, what got you started on this, and why Terra? Was bringing her back something that DC offered up as an option, or was it something you brought to them as an idea?

Justin Gray: We brought in the idea for a new character and after a few months of back and forth we were asked if we could take elements from that character and apply her to bringing a new Terra to the DCU.

Now - I know what you’re thinking and yeah, maybe the DCU didn’t need a new Terra, but in working over the ideas and looking at her original origin some exciting possibilities emerged. The same kind of thing happened when we brought Golden Eagle back in Hawkman.

Jimmy Palmiotti: Right – we’re always pitching new things, but the crew at DC wanted us to take a stab at this project and we had a few ideas on how to handle it and they went for it. Right place, right time, with the right concept.

NRAMA: But just to – try – to clarify…Terra died. Dead. Very dead. Years back. Are we talking about the same Terra here, or someone different? Any hints you can drop about her?

JG: Which Terra? Aww, never mind I won’t torture anyone today. This is a new Terra same as the old Terra only different. Does that clarify things?

NRAMA: Not exactly, but that’s all you’re going to say about it for now?

JG: Right.

NRAMA: Okay - then let’s hit her upcoming appearance in next month’s Supergirl #12 – how did that ball get rolling? Was it set in motion before or after the miniseries was planned out and scheduled?

JG: I think Supergirl, having undergone several creative shifts, fell behind in scheduling and we were asked to jump in and help give our buddy Joe a chance to get his plans rolling properly. I really like Joe’s scripts for Supergirl and am excited to see where he goes with her.

JP: Totally, this is Joe’s book, and we’re just here for an issue. With this opportunity we figured we would get our character established ahead of time and get Amanda on it as well. We probably would not have written this unless Amanda was on board. And yeah -this all took place after the miniseries was written but before events in 52 were established…confusing? You bet!

NRAMA: Well then - set the stage as much as you can for the issue – how does Terra get involved in Supergirl’s world? Obviously, Supergirl is the newcomer – but is Terra a tabla rasa, or does she know her way around the DCU?

JG: Terra is an enigma for obvious reasons. Every hero in the DCU is in the dark about who she is and why she’s doing what she’s doing, which is running around the planet saving and helping people. We’ve been working with Terra for months and months trying to find and develop what’s special about her. In the end it was a very simple angle, make Terra a superhero with plenty of emphasis on heroism. Everything she does is selfless and in the service of life. This is a great contrast to Supergirl who is trying to figure out what to do with herself and her powers. They meet when Terra is doing what she was born to do.

JP: And we let Amanda run wild with the first half of the book setting Supergirl up on a night out at a rave costume party on top of a building and let her go nuts with the background characters. Anyone that knows her work will know what to expect already.

NRAMA: All of that said, what are the “rules” – for lack of a better term – that you guys need to keep in mind when bringing back a character like Terra? In the broadest sense, she could be equated with Elektra, in that she was created for a reason, journeyed through her tragic arc, and it concluded. Obviously, there’s a little of an uphill battle here in bringing her back in fans’ eyes…how do you keep the locals form grabbing their pitchforks and torches?

JG: No disrespect to anyone, but some people will be complaining regardless of what we do. It is the nature of the business. Fans are justifiably attached to these people and that’s one of the greatest things about the DCU or any shared universe. However, there’s a big difference between respecting a character’s legacy and writing fan fiction. Am I fan of the previous Terra? Hell yeah, she was a chain-smoking bitch, of course I dug that, but she also lacked a proper origin and that opens the door for a new Terra. There were no rules given to us but we devoted a lot of time to figuring out exactly how a new Terra could fit with the old continuity.

JP: Justin is 100 % correct; we’re beyond trying to please all of the people on this one and are focusing on how what went before would nicely fit into what we are establishing now. It’s a wonderful jigsaw puzzle that makes sense once all is said and done. Till then, it will be a roller coaster for Terra’s original fans and we hope an exciting and visually appealing story for all new comers. There is a reason Amanda Conner is drawing this. You will discover why.

NRAMA: Fair enough. Wrapping up then - the goal for the Supergirl issue. Looking at Terra in the bigger picture – what are you looking to accomplish?

JG: Consider it the first look at the big secret surrounding Terra and introducing her to the DCU.

JP: We really want the fans to love the character and care enough to follow her exploits past the mini series

NRAMA: Okay – pimp us out of here…when are we set to see Terra again?

JG: In a five issue mini series with incredible art by Amanda Connor and some dude she lives with.

JP: We’re looking to have the mini series start with the New Year. The team is Justin and me writing, Amanda and me on art and the amazing Paul Mounts on coloring.

This has been in the works for quite a while now…since Amanda finished Power Girl…and I think everyone will be happy to see the amazing amount of work and detail Amanda is bringing to the book. We couldn’t be happier.

[Uchiha_Prodigy]

WTF did they do to Terra???

[mdg1]

What about the SECOND Terra?

[Ziggy]

amanda's the best. really looking foward to this!

[flamebird867]

Originally Posted by mdg1

What about the SECOND Terra?

i think they said they're gonna explain her. (hopefully, they do because they whole Terra II thing is pretty weird.)

[Floodnado]

Originally Posted by mdg1

What about the SECOND Terra?

Maybe she got Matrix'd.

[flamebird867]

Originally Posted by mdg1

What about the SECOND Terra?

i think they're gonna explain her. (hopefully they do, cuz her backstory is a mess.)

Also, I'm looking forward to this miniseries!

[Kevenn]

"There is a reason Amanda Conner is drawing this. You will discover why."

Is that because, like the Power Girl arc that Amanda drew, this Terra is also from Earth-2?

[holtom2000]

axe this title now. what a load of crappolla.

[Ace]

I don't mind the whole idea of Terra supposed to be one of the Leymen or the earth elemental for Earth ro whatever, and it going horribly wrong, and someone new stepping into the name/mantle, trying to redeem it.

that's cool with me.

I'd also be cool with them messing about with Terra II from the future.

I'd be less cool with them bringing Terra I back to life. Jean should have stayed dead the first time, y'know. And she wasn't even supposed to die in the first place. So this is the same deal plus.

Last we saw her, she was trying to escape from HELL in Harley Quinn anyway.

Still, they put a lot of thought into this, it seems.

I've got some faith for now.

[Ye Olde Iowa]

Argh! I'm angry! I hate this even though I haven't read it yet. Dan DiDio hates me and now he is bringing Justin and Jimmy and Amanda in to kick me while I'm down! Why don't they want me to be happy?! Growl!

Okay, in all seriousness, this sounds like a really intresting book and mini. Justin and Jimmy have proven time-and-again that they adore the old characters as much as we do, plus they seem to stick to continuity pretty well, even in their non-continuity work (like all the jokes about Kraven being dead in Claws). So, I think all you continuity hounds should chill for a bit before getting too angry about this new Terra.

Personally, I think this sounds like a lot of fun and I'm sure there will be reprocussions to this new Terra, hopefully with some tie-in to the former New Teen Titans.

Plus, we get more work by Amanda, who is just plain awesome and really needs to be doign interior work on a regular book. Personally, I'd love to see her team up with Joe Kelly on Supergirl, which has become an amazing book in two issues after jumping into the weirdest and perhaps most pointless story arc of the year with that Kandor debacle.

Regardless, this is Jimmy, Justin and Amanda on a new character. This is going to be awesome!

[avengingtitan]

Originally Posted by flamebird867

i think they're gonna explain her. (hopefully they do, cuz her backstory is a mess.)

Also, I'm looking forward to this miniseries!

Not really its easy to explain.

Seconds before her death Extant pulled her from the time stream and wiped her mind. Then he placed her on the Team Titans. After Zero Hour the Team Titans (most of them) were wiped out. She remained because she was the original Terra.

Only Brion (her brother) knows the truth.

How is that hard.


I love Terra and dont understand the need to make her a new character. I'll buy the mini because I'm a titans freak.

[BriGuy]

This interview did very little for me. All it did was confuse me. The only thing of interest revealed in this is that Terra is gonna be depicted as a dedicated hero.

AndI hope this doesn't have 11 pages of Kara at a club...

I like Amanda Conner and J&J can do good work, but this hasn't helped me decide whether to get the Supergirl issue or the Terra mini. Guess I'll just have to flip through it.

[Goat warrior]

Love Terra's picture. I'm gonna buy it.

[Kolimar]

The new Terra looks much cooler than Supergirl. Not only is Amanda a great artist but she has a superb grasp of what the guys like. WOW.

I will probably miss the brown costume but it's not a big deal considering this is a new character and it's a really attractive design.

[Stormbreaker]

I think Amanda's work is great. She's incredibly dynamic and tells a wonderful visual story. Why don't they give her an ongoing? I think she deserves one. As for Palmiotti and Gray, I don't really read much of their material, so I cannot comment on them.

[Andrew.T]

Yet another mess in the DCU... first Troia, now Terra.

Absolutely Unnecessary.

There's what, 3 Terra's running around?

What a mess. And ugly too. Saw the preview in the back of one of the DC Didio columns and she looked hideous.

Pass on this.

[jedifish]

I don't have much interest in the character, but I think Jimmy and Justin have been knocking it out of the park lately with Hawkman, Heroes for Hire, Daughters of the Dragon, Battle for Bludhaven, Jonah Hex and Uncle Sam, so I'll be checking it out.

[avengingtitan]

Originally Posted by Andrew.T

Yet another mess in the DCU... first Troia, now Terra.

Absolutely Unnecessary.

There's what, 3 Terra's running around?

What a mess. And ugly too. Saw the preview in the back of one of the DC Didio columns and she looked hideous.

Pass on this.

2. See my previous post.

Also does Terra look an awful lot like Bomb Queen?

[Spaz_Monkey]

Amanda Connor could illustrate the Yellow Pages, and I'd buy it!

[Gladiator X]

SWEET!
"New" Terra looks pretty cool.

Brunettes are so much hotter than blondes.

[Kolimar]

Originally Posted by avengingtitan

Not really its easy to explain.

Seconds before her death Extant pulled her from the time stream and wiped her mind. Then he placed her on the Team Titans. After Zero Hour the Team Titans (most of them) were wiped out. She remained because she was the original Terra.

Only Brion (her brother) knows the truth.

How is that hard.

Not at all. But a lot of people base their "it's too confusing/whatever" on their own lack of familiarity with the the characters/stories and don't bother to do a little research or simply ask around.

Originally Posted by avengingtitan

I love Terra and dont understand the need to make her a new character. I'll buy the mini because I'm a titans freak.

FREAK!!

[dudlyl]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

Sure, she’s relatively new, but in next month’s Supergirl #12, the girl from Krypton meets someone even newer to the DC Universe – Terra.

Yeah – Terra.

But wasn’t she dead? And wasn't there another one? Good questions.

As the solicit reads: The story finds the Girl of Steel down in the dumps - and no match for a monster that's using her emotions as a weapon. This looks like a job for a Terra, a mysterious new hero whose very steps make the ground tremble to make her presence known to the world. This issue will serve as a lead-in to the upcoming TERRA miniseries.

The issue, along with the upcoming series, is by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmioti, Amanda Conner, and Paul Mounts. We caught up with Gray and Palmiotti to (try) and learn some more.

Newsarama: First off, what got you started on this, and why Terra? Was bringing her back something that DC offered up as an option, or was it something you brought to them as an idea?

Justin Gray: We brought in the idea for a new character and after a few months of back and forth we were asked if we could take elements from that character and apply her to bringing a new Terra to the DCU.

Now - I know what you’re thinking and yeah, maybe the DCU didn’t need a new Terra, but in working over the ideas and looking at her original origin some exciting possibilities emerged. The same kind of thing happened when we brought Golden Eagle back in Hawkman.

Jimmy Palmiotti: Right – we’re always pitching new things, but the crew at DC wanted us to take a stab at this project and we had a few ideas on how to handle it and they went for it. Right place, right time, with the right concept.

NRAMA: But just to – try – to clarify…Terra died. Dead. Very dead. Years back. Are we talking about the same Terra here, or someone different? Any hints you can drop about her?

JG: Which Terra? Aww, never mind I won’t torture anyone today. This is a new Terra same as the old Terra only different. Does that clarify things?

NRAMA: Not exactly, but that’s all you’re going to say about it for now?

JG: Right.

NRAMA: Okay - then let’s hit her upcoming appearance in next month’s Supergirl #12 – how did that ball get rolling? Was it set in motion before or after the miniseries was planned out and scheduled?

JG: I think Supergirl, having undergone several creative shifts, fell behind in scheduling and we were asked to jump in and help give our buddy Joe a chance to get his plans rolling properly. I really like Joe’s scripts for Supergirl and am excited to see where he goes with her.

JP: Totally, this is Joe’s book, and we’re just here for an issue. With this opportunity we figured we would get our character established ahead of time and get Amanda on it as well. We probably would not have written this unless Amanda was on board. And yeah -this all took place after the miniseries was written but before events in 52 were established…confusing? You bet!

NRAMA: Well then - set the stage as much as you can for the issue – how does Terra get involved in Supergirl’s world? Obviously, Supergirl is the newcomer – but is Terra a tabla rasa, or does she know her way around the DCU?

JG: Terra is an enigma for obvious reasons. Every hero in the DCU is in the dark about who she is and why she’s doing what she’s doing, which is running around the planet saving and helping people. We’ve been working with Terra for months and months trying to find and develop what’s special about her. In the end it was a very simple angle, make Terra a superhero with plenty of emphasis on heroism. Everything she does is selfless and in the service of life. This is a great contrast to Supergirl who is trying to figure out what to do with herself and her powers. They meet when Terra is doing what she was born to do.

JP: And we let Amanda run wild with the first half of the book setting Supergirl up on a night out at a rave costume party on top of a building and let her go nuts with the background characters. Anyone that knows her work will know what to expect already.

NRAMA: All of that said, what are the “rules” – for lack of a better term – that you guys need to keep in mind when bringing back a character like Terra? In the broadest sense, she could be equated with Elektra, in that she was created for a reason, journeyed through her tragic arc, and it concluded. Obviously, there’s a little of an uphill battle here in bringing her back in fans’ eyes…how do you keep the locals form grabbing their pitchforks and torches?

JG: No disrespect to anyone, but some people will be complaining regardless of what we do. It is the nature of the business. Fans are justifiably attached to these people and that’s one of the greatest things about the DCU or any shared universe. However, there’s a big difference between respecting a character’s legacy and writing fan fiction. Am I fan of the previous Terra? Hell yeah, she was a chain-smoking bitch, of course I dug that, but she also lacked a proper origin and that opens the door for a new Terra. There were no rules given to us but we devoted a lot of time to figuring out exactly how a new Terra could fit with the old continuity.

JP: Justin is 100 % correct; we’re beyond trying to please all of the people on this one and are focusing on how what went before would nicely fit into what we are establishing now. It’s a wonderful jigsaw puzzle that makes sense once all is said and done. Till then, it will be a roller coaster for Terra’s original fans and we hope an exciting and visually appealing story for all new comers. There is a reason Amanda Conner is drawing this. You will discover why.

NRAMA: Fair enough. Wrapping up then - the goal for the Supergirl issue. Looking at Terra in the bigger picture – what are you looking to accomplish?

JG: Consider it the first look at the big secret surrounding Terra and introducing her to the DCU.
Is she related to the old Terra, maybe a young sister? And how does Slade play a part in her history, and or will she be making contact with the Titans, and how will this affect how Gar feels, and will she be gunning for Slades @$$??!
As much as I am against resurrecting dead characters this may turn out to be a winner. But only if some of the questions I asked are answered or maybe explored.
Will she be joining the Titans?
Will she be a one hit wonder?
What will her role be in the DCU?
Supergirl has no direction, no purpose, no personality.
She is just one big mess who started out strong and ended up lost.

JP: We really want the fans to love the character and care enough to follow her exploits past the mini series

NRAMA: Okay – pimp us out of here…when are we set to see Terra again?

JG: In a five issue mini series with incredible art by Amanda Connor and some dude she lives with.

JP: We’re looking to have the mini series start with the New Year. The team is Justin and me writing, Amanda and me on art and the amazing Paul Mounts on coloring.

This has been in the works for quite a while now…since Amanda finished Power Girl…and I think everyone will be happy to see the amazing amount of work and detail Amanda is bringing to the book. We couldn’t be happier.

new

[avengingtitan]

Originally Posted by Kolimar

Not at all. But a lot of people base their "it's too confusing/whatever" on their own lack of familiarity with the the characters/stories and don't bother to do a little research or simply ask around.




FREAK!!

Its really not that hard.

Its not like she's freaking Troia or Diana.

[TCJohnson]

Jimmy or Justin,

Gotta question for you if you are reading this.

I love most of your work (well, everything except Bludhaven) so I was deffinitely going to pick up the mini. I can't stand the Supergirl character, however. (Although seeing Amanada Connor draw a rave is tempting...)

Anyway, how important is the Supergirl issue to following what is going to happen in the upcoming mini?