Page 64 - Star Wars Insider #176

COMICS: CAPTAIN PHASMA

he jaws of a I love to work on Marvel’s Star
trash compactor Wars books, so the answer was
T couldn’t end the obviously a big “Yes!”
careers of Luke,
I’ve been lucky to have had the
Han, and Leia, opportunity to work on every era
and nor did of Star Wars—the fi ve-issue series
they do for the First Order’s lead Obi-Wan & Anakin in the prequel
stormtrooper, Captain Phasma. era, Shattered Empire and The
In a new, four-issue series from Screaming Citadel during the
Marvel Comics, the warrior woman classic trilogy, and now Captain
in gleaming armor rescues herself Phasma in the new “sequel” era.
from the refuse of Starkiller Base
and retakes her command. Star Kelly Thompson: I wrote Marvel’s
Wars Insider spoke with artist second Star Wars Annual and was
Marco Checchetto and writer Kelly in the process of trying to pitch
Thompson about the character’s another Star Wars story to Jordan
comic continuation. and Heather. We couldn’t get that
off the ground, but they offered
Star Wars Insider: Let’s start at the me Phasma, which was, of course,
beginning. How did you come to a dream-come-true opportunity
work on Captain Phasma? that I jumped on immediately.
Marco Checchetto: I was working 01
on Star Wars: The Screaming What role has Star Wars played
Citadel when my editors at Marvel, in your creative lives? What makes this new adventure

Jordan White and Heather Antos, MC: The first time I saw Star Wars for Phasma stand out?
asked me if I was interested in I was child. I only saw the scene KT: The parameters for this story
working on another Star Wars where Luke saves Leia in A New are quite strict, as our mission was
miniseries. I had a lot of fun Hope. It was love at first sight. I’m to tell the story of Phasma that

drawing The Screaming Citadel, a fan because George Lucas showed bridges the gap between The Force
which is wonderfully written by me not a story, not a world, but an Awakens and The Last Jedi.
Kieron Gillen and Jason Aaron, and incredible new galaxy. In pitching, the goal for me

was figuring out what Phasma’s
KT: The original Star Wars fi lms are priorities would be. And since
01 The comic takes in some some of my earliest fi lm memories, Phasma is always looking out for
strange new worlds—and etched indelibly on my brain. Like number one, her priority becomes
monstrous creatures.
so many other fans, they sparked escaping Starkiller Base alive and
02 Checcetto expertly uses my very early creativity and a deep making sure that the destruction
angles to convey a masked and lasting love of sci-fi and of the base cannot be traced back
character’s emotions.
fantasy. Funny stories? Well, I did to her. She hunts down the one
03 The comic will find Phasma have my first kiss—six years old, person inside the First Order who

escape the trash compactor
and hunt down her enemies. very chaste—in a living room she suspects knows that she lowered
(See opposite page.) while watching A New Hope! the shields, and she is completely
focused on that goal. That gave us
02
a really great chase element to our
story that has real stakes and
potentially devastating effects for
Phasma and others.

Marco, you’ve been drawing the
likes of Daredevil for a decade
now. How does drawing Star Wars
differ from a superhero comic?
MC: Wow, 10 years! And it still
seems I’m the new guy here!
For me Star Wars is more
difficult to draw than a superhero

comic. You have to stay very close
to the look of the actors, and it’s
not good if a reader can’t recognize

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