Yes, that is correct, women comic book writers… they do exist! Mandy McMurray has written for both Marvel and DC, as well as indie publishers Angel and Aspen. Currently she’s working on her own series while penning COTA: Children Of The Apocalypse for Angel. Today she sat down with Gavin at City Weekly to chat about her career and thoughts on comics both local and national.

Gavin’s Underground interview with Mandy McMurray

Gavin: How did the opportunity come about to work for DC?

Mandy: Joe Benitez and his ornery streak! For a couple of years I went to SDCC and never saw or heard of anyone from DC so I started cracking jokes about DC being run by robots. Joe laughed and told me his editor was standing right behind us. Then he shoved me into him with his foot and I was face to face with a real life, living breathing editor from DC. I choked, and Eddie Berganza thought it was some sort of joke Joe was playing on him. After the initial shock wore off, I set up a time to meet with him the next day, ran back to my hotel room at 3AM and wrote a Teen Titans sample script. I think Eddie took pity on me when he saw the dark circles the next day and actually sat down and read it.

Gavin: You also work with Angel and Aspen comics. How does it differ for you working with major and indie companies?

Mandy: I always wanted to work with Michael (Turner), so when the opportunity to work with him came up, I was thrilled. Then Michael got sick again and I was heartbroken. When he died I knew that working on Sonia’s story in Aspen Seasons was the best way I could honor his life. I got to add a little piece of the mythology to Michael’s dream. Working with indie companies in general is very different from the major companies. Their audiences expect different things and you’re usually only dealing with a couple of people so decisions are easier to make as a team. Obviously, most indie companies don’t work on the same budget as the big ones either so you really work on them because you love them, not because they pay the best rates. You also have some freedom in an indie company. You don’t have to pass off the story with four different departments and wait for approval which can be frustrating.