"Linda Medley Interview"

AUG 2000 Product

 

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In the past, creator Linda Medley has worked on such titles as DC’s Justice League America and DC/Vertigo’s Doom Patrol. This month, she returns to her Eisner Award-winning creator-owned title, Castle Waiting, which is now published by Cartoon Books. Worlds of Westfield Content Editor Roger Ash recently contacted Medley to discuss Castle Waiting.


Westfield: For those who are unfamiliar with Castle Waiting, what is the book about?

Linda Medley: It's always difficult for me to describe what the book is about, because it's about the lives of so many intricate characters. It’s about characters drawn from various folktales (Grimm's Fairy Tales, Mother Goose and others), all living together in an abandoned castle. I tell the tale of what their lives might be like outside of the familiar stories.

Westfield: You self-published 7 issues of Castle Waiting. Will new readers be able to pick up this issue and get all the information they need to enjoy it?

Medley: Although the new #1 is continuing the story where it left off in issue #7, it's not in the regular continuity and can be enjoyed on it's own. However, to get caught up on the story you would need to read the previous issues, which are all collected in The Lucky Road trade paperback, coming out in May.

Westfield: This issue has a back-up Bone story. How did that come about?

Medley: Jeff Smith and I had talked about doing a Castle Waiting and Bone crossover during our time together on the Trilogy Tour. When Cartoon Books decided to publish Castle Waiting, Jeff and I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to finally do that story!

Westfield: What can people look forward to in upcoming issues?

Medley: I don't want to give stuff away, but... the readers will find out the real identity of both Jane and the father of Pindar. The story just keeps kind of moving along. Two characters from the first issue return, Jane gets a boyfriend and I'll be introducing many more possibly familiar fairy tale characters.

Westfield: Why did you decide to stop self-publishing Castle Waiting and move to Cartoon Books?

Medley: I wanted to be able to put the book out on a bimonthly schedule, and splitting my attention between the creative aspects of writing and drawing the book and dealing with all of the business aspects of self-publishing was taking away from my ability to do that.

Westfield: Do you have any other upcoming projects you'd like to mention?

Medley: I'm spending most of my time on Castle Waiting, but yes, I'm drawing two pages in The Dreaming #55, which is written by Bill Willingham, and I'm also developing a Castle Waiting spin-off project called 12 Witches.

Westfield: Any closing comments?

Medley: I'd like to thank the fans for waiting for the book's return through its yearlong hiatus. Fans of Castle Waiting, both old and new, can expect to see the comic coming regularly starting in July, and they can expect to see even more great Castle Waiting stuff from Cartoon Books in the future.