In true superhero form, writer Marguerite Bennett goes from strength to strength in the comic world. Recently announced as a member of Marvel’s A-Force and Dynamite’s Swords of Sorrow creative teams, Marguerite’s stock continues to rise. And whether it’s a one-shot or on-going, superheros or superspies, Marguerite brings bucket-loads of wit and heart to each story she tells.
Historian
The line between storytelling mediums has blurred in recent times, and while pros and cons can be drawn from the melding of TV, film and comics, one pro is the Sleepy Hollow comic mini-series.
Marguerite, in collaboration with a stellar creative team, brings to life the fictional TV landscape of present day Sleepy Hollow. An adorably scary series, housed under BOOM!’s Studios imprint, fills in the gaps between the on-screen adventures of the time-displaced Ichabod Crane and head-strong Lieutenant Abbie Mills, as they attempt to thwart supernatural mysteries.
A sense of the writer’s love for the show and its characters lingers on every panel, as the comic balances light and dark, funny and heartfelt, while bringing the essence of the TV series to the page. It’s a tricky job weaving stories with characters that aren’t your own making, let alone ones that are played by actors on screen, but Marguerite walks the narrative tightrope and delivers a series of stories that shine a new light on the characters relationships. But perhaps the writing’s best feature is its quip-filled banter, a healthy blend of pop culture and historical references and a signature of Marguerite’s craft. Making the series a perfect companion, or intriguing stand-alone, to new and seasoned Sleepy Hollow fans alike.
DC’s Daughter
No stranger to pre-existing heroes, Marguerite has played god with more than a few characters over in the DCU. And in between Earth 2’s and Batman-family issues, she’s also brought new life to one of the universes most iconic hero’s in the one-shot Superman: Lois Lane.
Fans rejoiced as the wonder woman known as Lois Lane was given her own spotlight, and brief though it may have been, the action-filled caper was a welcome addition to the intrepid reporter’s history. Throughout its pages, Marguerite weaves a tale filled with sibling tensions, as Lois struggles with her role of ‘big sis’ and attempts to uncover the secret behind Metropolis’ influx of shape-shifting creatures along the way. In series of well-placed flashbacks, Marguerite gives the reader a fleeting glimpse at kid Lois, and paints a tender but troubled picture of the Daily Planet reporter.
Asgardian
Over at Marvel, Marguerite’s helped bring to the page a relatively new character in the on-going series Angela: Asgard’s Assassin.
The solo series follows Thor’s kin, Angela, across her latest peril filled adventure, and Marguerite, with Kieron Gillen and artist Stephanie Hans, provides supplementary flashback stories wedged in with the on-going tale. Stories that reveal a great deal about Asgard’s volatile hero.
The flashbacks, told by Angela’s long-time travelling companion, Sera, are everything you could ask from a five page arch, jam packed with pangs of love, pain, regret and mess of emotions in between. Marguerite and Co.’s short stories wander the page like ancient Norse poems, a blend of magic and harsh truths, and give new weight to the Assassin’s life motto of deal-making, ‘A price for a service. A payment for a debt’. It’s evident Marguerite has a flare for the flashback, revealing just the right amount of the Angela’s history to satisfy and keep you wanting more.
Butterfly
In Archaia’s Butterfly, Marguerite turns Arash Amel’s screenplay into a killer spy comic book. The story, between a covert ops father and the daughter who followed in his footsteps, is a refreshing take on the usual tropes we see play out in the spy genre. Marguerite puts the comic medium to work, unraveling the characters muddy histories by travelling between the two spies present day wrongs and past misdeeds. Butterfly’s mainly non-linear progression and use of duel perspectives, unravels the story in an unconventional way, becoming a perfect fit for the deceit-filled spy genre.
Part Bourne Supremacy, part Lost, the book’s blend of long silences and cryptic inner monologues, neatly captures the repercussions, as the characters torments and regrets become tangled in the game of spy-warfare. And while there’s little light to be found with its pages, this tricky telling of a family’s history, and future demise, builds a unique emotional bond between the characters and reader. Making it one spy story that’ll linger after its read.
Dark or light there’s an infectious sense of joy to be found in reading Marguerite’s work, one that seems to stem from a genuine love of the comic book medium. Warm, funny and just a little left of center, in the best kind of way, Marguerite’s is a voice worth listening to.
