With the release of Blood Type in June from Oni Press, we are delighted to be joined by New York Times bestselling writer Corinna Bechko. Corinna has written many comics, including Heathentown, Avatar: Adapt or Die and The Space Between.
Hi Corinna, it’s so great to have you here with us. Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Thanks for speaking with me! I’m a New York Times bestselling writer who has penned a lot of comics, from my start with Heathentown, to co-writing Invisible Republic and Green Lantern: Earth One, to this year’s Sister Imperator. Along the way I’ve written over 200 individual issues, like Avatar: Adapt or Die and The Space Between. My books have been nominated for the Hugo and an Eisner. I’ve also worked on three books about dinosaurs and space for the Smithsonian. When I’m not writing, my day job is working as a fossil preparator and in the Invertebrate Paleontological collections at the Natural History Museum of LA County. I think because of that an animal or two sneaks their way into almost all of my work. I live in LA where I participate in community science bat counts and parrot rescues in my free time.
When did you first discover EC Comics?
It was not long after I had moved to NYC at the age of 19. My boyfriend and I didn’t have much money so we hung out at St. Mark’s Comics a lot, an easy walk from our railroad apartment below Houston. I came across reprints there, and was hooked.
Can you tell us about the origins of Blood Type?
I love the format of EC stories: short, sharp, and wicked. I’ve written six of them since Oni oversaw the rebirth last year, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of crafting them. With “Blood Type” I felt we’d created a story that contained the seed of something larger hidden within it. Ada, the vampire at the center of the tale, took hold of me and wouldn’t let go. I was thrilled to discover that others agreed.
What can you tell us about Ada?
She’s fearless and self-assured, never doubting that she can think her way out of any situation. Sometimes she’s even right. Her philosophy is that it’s better to move forward than to stand still, even if stasis is the safe option. But no amount of momentum can keep her past from catching up with her.
What has it been like working with Andrea Sorrentino, Dave Stewart and Oni Press?
I’ve just started seeing pages from the first issue and they are absolutely gorgeous. I can’t say enough good things about this team! It’s truly an honor to be working with Andrea and Dave. As for Oni, I truly appreciate the care and love they have for EC. It’s almost a sacred trust for them. They want the stories to be the best they can possibly be, and it shows.
How would you describe Blood Type?
It’s a bit of an inside-out monster tale, in that we follow Ada and root for her instead of for the humans. That’s not a new conceit, but in this case it gets a fresh twist because we are working with the classic EC format, but in a longer form story. That means there are some sharp wicked little stories woven into the fabric of the longer story. Each one sheds some light (not to mention gore) on the main mystery, adding up to a blood-soaked whole.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
Thank you for reading! I hope you’ll consider picking up Blood Type. But even if you don’t, please keep reading and talking about comics. People are wired to enjoy good stories, so why not indulge and prove you’re human?
We would like to say a big thank you to Corinna for chatting with us and we wish her the best of luck with Blood Type.
Picture of Corinna Bechko by Stacy Cain.
