Two wildly different people still have more in common than in dispute, but that’s not something we ever want to really admit.ĬS: They, like us, are just trying to get through their lives, but cannot always see the harm right in front of their face. We currently seem to be going through a period where broken people are trying to equate empathy with weakness, and that’s a very damaging concept to introduce to any civilization. Is that something that we’ll see play out as the series progresses?

It is really a dream project.įS: The main characters, Juniper and Bennett, despite being from different worlds, are maybe more similar than they might seem on the surface. It’s a genre I’ve always wanted to work in, and fortunately, I got the best possible partner-in-crime to do it with, Cat Staggs, who is nearly as messed up as I am.Ĭat Staggs: Gail has written a beautiful maze of rabbit holes for me to draw.

Gail Simone: It’s a crime fantasy, the story of two completely different human beings (a slick Chicago hitman and a mousey Seattle housewife) who inexplicably switch souls and bodies, and on top of THAT bit of odd news, they have a killer hunting them both. Staggs spoke with me recently about the genesis behind Crosswind, what kind of headspace they have to occupy when approaching the series, and why staging and body language are so important to sell the idea behind the book.įreakSugar: For folks are considering picking up the first issue, how would describe the conceit of Crosswind? Simone and Staggs are bringing that depth of skill to their new Image Comics series Crosswind, debuting this Wednesday, centering on a hitman and a housewife somehow doing a body/soul swap and how they manage to navigate their respective new predicaments. As for Staggs, her work on books like Orphan Black and Smallville Season 11 mix photo realism with a comic book sensibility that make the character’s emotions pop out of the panels. From Simone’s work on books such as Batgirl to Secret Six to Clean Room, it’s clear that she has a real interest in getting into the heads of her characters and how their inner workings influence their choices, something that’s not always easy to convey on the page and something not every writer can pull off effectively. Writer Gail Simone and artist Cat Staggs are masters of characterization.

Clean Room, Vol. 1 by Gail Simone