Mother Panic Is Gotham's New Tenant

by Vince Brusio

There’s a new costumed crusader in Gotham City, and her name is Mother Panic. Writer Jody Houser talks to us about the book in this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview, and sheds some light on how Violet Page may be appear to be just another Gotham elitist, but don’t let the window dressing full you. There’s more to Violet Paige than anyone can suspect, so consider yourself informed enought to check out Mother Panic #1(SEP160201) from DC Comics in the September PREVIEWS catalog!

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PREVIEWSworld: The central character of the story, Violet Paige, has been said to be a celebutante with a mean streak and a bad temper. No one suspects her of doing anything outside of self-destructing for prime time viewers. So how long before we see that there's something beneath the hedonism? Will Violet be exposed in the first issue, or are there several layers to the onion, and readers will have to peel away at it over the course of several stories?

Jody Houser: Mother Panic makes her first appearance in issue #1, so we'll see that side of Violet right off the bat. As to why and how she's going the costumed vigilante route, that's a little more involved and will be a lot of what we're exploring in the first few arcs.

PREVIEWSworld: Readers will gather from the initial solicitation for the book that Violet is "just another bored heiress in the upper echelons of Gotham City's elite." And yet the bat signal is featured prominently on the book's cover. Should we expect this iconic signal to be just background music for the story, or might there be more going on that could lead her to cross paths with the Dark Knight?

Jody Houser: I think anyone running around Gotham City in a costume causing trouble is going to attract the attention of the Batfamily. We'll definitely see one or two of them in the first arc.

PREVIEWSworld: Violet is said to have a traumatic youth, and she seeks to exact vengeance on her "privileged" peers. What does one have to do with the other? Was she bullied? Was she shamed for being a rich kid? If we had a glimpse into Violet's psyche, would we make a connection with youth today, and draw some parallels?

Jody Houser: The trauma that Violet went through is tied into the overall power structure of Gotham rather than anything at the hands of other kids. I think the thing that makes Gotham-based characters interesting is seeing how everyone is shaped differently growing up in the city. In the case of Violet, it's something we haven't really seen before.

PREVIEWSworld: What helped inspire this story? And how did you convey your ideas over time during production, when artwork was being rendered by Tommy Lee Edwards?

Jody Houser: I believe Violet was actually inspired by a creator-owned idea that Gerard and Tommy had. When I came on board, a lot of ideas were already on the board, so it was basically down to tying things together and adding some new elements to build the Mother Panic narrative. I did several passes on the first issue script before we really nailed down the feel and pacing of the book.

PREVIEWSworld: If you could isolate a scene or two as your favorites because they capture a lot of the spirit for this new book, what would you freeze frame?

Jody Houser: The first appearance of Mother Panic in issue one, as well as the scene that immediately follows with Violet's mother, really capture what I love about writing this book and these characters.