The Baltimore legacy lives on in Lady Baltimore.
Picking up nearly 13 years after the last Baltimore epic, The Red Kingdom, the Outerverse (the name provided to this separate arm of the Mignola umbrella of titles) finds itself expanding. Led by a new leading lady and two new titles, writer Christopher Golden and a full bench of creatives have grand plans for this new pulpy universe.
And all that starts with a brand new Baltimore, debuting character Sofia Valk, who finds herself drawn into this insane world of monsters and madmen, backdropped by World War II, in Lady Baltimore: The Witch Queens #1, on shelves now.
ComicsXF got a chance to sit down with Golden to discuss the differences between the Mignola-Verse and the Outerverse, the genesis of Sofia and what it was like debut a new #1 issue into such a long-established comics property.
Justin Partridge: So we are picking up with the Baltimore title 13 years (in the narrative) after The Red Kingdom. Was there a pressure or slightly freeing nature to the work knowing it’s coming back with a cleaner entry point?
Christopher Golden: It was definitely liberating. We’d told Baltimore’s story, and now we’re starting a new era and it’s definitely Sofia’s story. Just like we joined Baltimore in the midst of a pretty harrowing fight in the opening of his first issue, we do the same with Sofia.
But this is her time, and I’m excited that we’re able to explore the Outerverse more as a whole through Sofia. Baltimore was never really interested in the larger world, just in his personal mission. I think going forward, Sofia’s perspective gives us a greater opportunity to understand this world, the people, her allies and her enemies. It’s really fertile ground.
JP: We’ve also just in real life experienced a sort of “gap” in the Baltimore publishing schedule due to COVID. Was there any sort of reevaluation of the issue or reworking that happened to the series during this time?
CG: Nope. We were all just extremely grateful that — if it had to happen — the decision to halt came before we’d had a chance to ship the first issue. That would have killed us, I think. Now we get to start fresh, and in many ways we’re better off, because the artists are so close to finishing their respective issues (Bridgit Connell on Lady Baltimore and Peter Bergting on Tales from the Outerverse), and we’ve had opportunities to look at the thing as a whole.
Nothing’s been reworked, but it gave us all a little extra time to make it as gorgeous as possible. I’m not going to lie, these stories are jam-packed. I think I felt like I wanted to put so much of what the Outerverse is into these stories, and that meant Bridgit and Peter were probably cursing me daily for the things I was asking of them. But they rose to the challenge every time.
JP: What was the genesis of this new Lady Baltimore like? Obviously the Baltimore title and the Mignola-Verse overall is a fairly large and pulpy umbrella, but did you have any goals in mind when thinking about what a new entry into the canon would look or read like?
CG: So, we should be clear that the Mignolaverse is its own thing and this — what we call the Outerverse — is separate.
Of course they do share that Mignola-ness. While Mike and I were doing the Baltimore and Joe Golem comics, we knew toward the end of the Baltimore run that this was one universe, but it was hard for readers to wrap their heads around. We hadn’t made it explicit at all, and that was purposeful. We were cagey, careful.
When we discussed doing Lady Baltimore, the intent was to go all in on this universe, to create a playing field where we could bring all of the main concepts and characters of the Outerverse into one era, one time period. That gave us a huge opportunity to really establish the history and mythology of this world and characters, and how they all relate to one another.
Lady Baltimore: The Witch Queens is a big, sprawling epic. Presuming we continue beyond that, the stories will be scaled back a little — still just as crazy and horrific, but less all-encompassing. I think I felt like if this was our one opportunity to do this, we wanted to pull out all the stops. That’s normally how people end an epic, but in this case, it’s how we begin.
JP: This is also the first “brand new” #1 issue we’ve gotten from these properties in a bit. Was this an exciting or slightly terrifying experience? Knowing that it’s having to stand on its own, beyond the shadow the Baltimore title we know?
CG: I talk a lot about how I’m fairly defined by a single trait — when I’m excited about something, I want everyone to share that excitement.
Instead of worrying about pleasing Baltimore readers, I just wanted us to do something that I could be truly excited about. It’s my hope that brand new readers will love it, and those who’ve read Baltimore will also love it and think it’s a faithful and worthy new addition to the Outerverse.
But our first audience is editor Katii O’Brien and associate editor Jenny Blenk, and our second audience is Bridgit Connell. If they love it the way I do, that makes me very happy. Mike and I have been thrilled with Bridgit’s art on this series. Now we hand the whole thing over to the readers, and hope they’ll embrace the story so we get to do more!
JP: How visually does this series differ from the “original” series? We have the new leading lady, of course, but was there an intention to try to make this a different “flavor” visually for the series?
CG: Bridgit has a different style from Peter Bergting or from Ben Stenbeck, obviously, but she’s doing fantastic work, and we carry on with using real settings and real period elements to give the more fantastical or horrific parts of the story a grounding in reality.
Bridgit’s done a beautiful job melding those elements, but of course that’s why she was our pick to begin with. Michelle Madsen’s colors pull it all together. Bridgit brings her own flavor and visual style to the Outerverse, but we all set out to make it feel like part of a larger whole.
JP: Finally, what is the thing you are most excited for us to experience in Lady Baltimore? Is there a particular creature or setting you are excited to unleash upon us? Personally I am really excited for the “ruined plague ships” teased in the announcement.
CG: I can’t pick just one thing.
Sofia as a character is my number one. I can’t wait for readers to really get a sense of who she is now as a fighter and a leader. Imogen is a real revelation for me, because she’s a woman with secrets buried under her secrets, and I think people will also love her uncle Einar.
The Ur-witches … man, they’re so damn creepy.
You’ll see the return of a bunch of characters, some who will surprise you, as well as the introduction of new ones. As for creatures … the first issue is loaded. The eyeball demon is probably my favorite of those.
If you love eyeballs, that’s your guy!
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Well, now we are doubly excited.
Thank you so much to Christopher Golden for talking to us and to David Hyde (and Editor Dan here at CXF) for making it all happen.
Lady Baltimore: The Witch Queens #1 is available now, and Tales from the Outerverse: Cojacaru the Skinner #1 hits shelves April 21.
Justin Partridge has loved comics all his life. He hasn't quite gotten them to love him back just yet. But that hasn't stopped him from trying as he has been writing about them now for a little over a decade. With bylines at Newsarama, Shelfdust, PanelXPanel, and more, Justin has been doing the work and putting in the time! Comics have yet to return his calls. Usually he can be found on Twitter screaming about Doctor Who.
