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CROSSGEN KEEPS PULIDO'S LADY DEATH ALIVE
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BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO

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There's been speculation about the fate of Lady Death since Chaos! announced bankruptcy, and it was learned that CrossGen owned the rights to one if its core characters, Lady Death. THE PULSE has now confirmed the fate of one of comic's first bad girls! Joining the new Code 6 line will be Lady Death as we've not seen her before written by Brian Pulido with art by another Lady Death alumni, Ivan Reis. Pulido spoke exclusively with THE PULSE about this new project.
THE PULSE: Who are some of your creative influences? Who inspires you to write?

BRIAN PULIDO: I have no idea where the impulse to tell stories comes from. There is no "who" to inspire me to write. I know my Father had a gift with words, especially poetry, but he didn't apply it. I can say that I have a drive to imagine things, so I guess the who is me!

In terms of influences, that's largely a matter of the material I'm working on. I'll draw from anywhere. Nothing is safe when I'm looking for reference or researching.

THE PULSE: What made you want to work in comics?

PULIDO: It was by default actually. I had written a screenplay and was making a move to direct it. The producers agreed, but they would get all the rights in return. Though the money was good (relative to my meager means at the time), I declined. I looked around for a way to bring this story into the world, and turned to my hobby comics. I figured by making the story a comic, it would put a little more leverage on my side.

THE PULSE: What do you like the best about the comics industry?

PULIDO: The opportunity to tell stories that aren't restricted by a budget. I worked as an assistant director for commercials and music videos and was painfully aware of the financial limits even on multi-million dollar commercials. That's not an issue in comics. You simply write Ten thousand warriors storm the great wall and it gets done.

THE PULSE: How long have you and Mark Alessi been friends? When Alessi talked to you about his ideas for CrossGen what did you think of the company?

PULIDO: Mark and I met about a year before CrossGen launched. It was at a party in San Diego thrown by Wizard. Jim Mclauchlin from Wizard introduced us and we had a connection from the start. When I learned about Mark's plan for CrossGen I was stoked but was skeptical that they could keep the books coming out on time. He's proven me wrong and I couldn't be happier for them.

Mark and his team realized that to support the retailers and promote consistent sales, books have to come out on a regular basis. That way, retailers can count on the revenues. To accomplish this and maintain the commitment to quality CrossGen has, they decided to re-establish the bullpen approach to making comics. I've now witnessed that first-hand and it is amazing. The writer can talk face to face to the penciler, who can talk to the inker, letterer or colorist. The synergy is very, very cool.

There are other initiatives that CrossGen has introduced I haven't touched upon that are revolutionary to comics. That includes profit participation for employees and a global view of the comic reading market place.

CrossGen's plan will change how comics are made, marketed and sold. That's exactly what this industry need right now.

THE PULSE: What do you like the best about CrossGen Comics?

PULIDO: The commitment to the highest possible quality books. I like big, lush battle scenes. So does Crossgen. The commitment to a long, evolving saga. When I was offered this opportunity, one thing I wanted to do forever was to keep the Lady Death story set in medieval times. Mark loved that. The commitment to on-time shipping. I strived for that in Chaos! Comics to support the retailer. I am disappointed that publishers won't get their acts together and ship their products on time. It' is so important to the stability of the industry and helps retailers cash flow. I can't claim perfection in this area, but historically, our company did a good job.

THE PULSE: Who is Lady Death?

PULIDO: The essence of Lady Death is that she is an outsider. She is strong and smart, but belongs nowhere.

THE PULSE: When you first created Lady Death there seemed room for various paths for the character to take. What made you choose the path of Heaven and Hell?

PULIDO: Keep in mind that I created Lady Death very instinctually. I didn't plot out long story arcs. I just asked myself," what's cool? What hasn't been done before?" At the time, I wanted to deal head on with the most villainous evil of all time Lucifer. The duality of Heaven and Hell attracted me and so did the locations. I made Lady Death a little of both Heaven and Hell, but shunned by both sides.

THE PULSE: How will this version of the character be different from her prior incarnations?

PULIDO: Interesting story. When I first created Lady Death I had two distinct directions for her. The first direction was the one I published for nine or so years. The other direction is what I will present in "A Medieval Tale".

The core of the character remains the same. She is a strong willed outsider, but the setting and the foes will be different.

In this incarnation, the story is set in medieval Europe. Hope is the offspring of a unique coupling between a human being and an Eldritch a race of near immortal, pale skinned chaos lords who occupy a different plane of existence. She possesses the finest qualities and powers of both races, but essentially belongs to neither.

The Eldritch are beautiful, capricious near immortals who view humans as we view rats. We are simply playthings to them. When humans start encroaching on their lands, they start to hunt them. A religious order of Teutonic Knights opposes the Eldritch. But the Eldritch are faster than humans and heal quickly. Iron and the sign of the cross hurt them. They attack only at night. Their oblique eyes cannot face the day. And they are magical beings.

Hope is born in this struggle smack dab in the middle. Neither human nor Eldritch, but part of both.

Between the earth and the Eldritch lands is another realm called the Borderlands. Both races must cross it to get to the other land. They access the Borderland by a roaming storm-gate. It's filled with dangerous mythological beasts and civilizations. You will see my takes on all sorts of cool creatures like Nixies, goblins, Manticore, griffins, ghosts, savages, Hillsmen, you name it.

THE PULSE: What do you like best about exploring the fantasy aspects of Lady Death?

PULIDO: I looked back on my career and noticed that my readers responded best when I was taking them to places they've never been before. I inject the passion and action my stories contain and we're off to the races. That happened in the early Lady Death stuff and in Purgatori, Chastity, even The Undead.

This type of story causes me to research and discover new things. My excitement transfers to the pages and appears to get the fans going too.

THE PULSE: What other characters will be in this series?

PULIDO: I'm reluctant to give away much, but here's some tid bits. Lady Death's teacher is Wolfram Von Bach, a German warrior knight who has separated from the church (he has a rebellious streak like LD). In the first two years of the story line, I will introduce Celeste, an Irish battle-maiden who becomes great friends with Lady Death; Niccolo will be re-introduced as the Michael Angelo of his time.

The Eldritch, the villains of the series, aren't truly villains. From their perspective, they are simply cleaning up pests. Not only do they hunt humans; they dazzle them, fool them and generally play around with them like a cat does with a mouse.

The House of Tvarus is one of the many ruling Houses among the Eldritch Chaos lords. Tvarus is Lady Death's natural Father. His behavior is very unpredictable. Obsidia is her jealous manipulative, StepMother. The House of Tvarus is filled with cousins, uncles, servants and slaves. It's a big cast, filled with intrigue.

THE PULSE: What made Ivan Reis perfect to draw this story?

PULIDO: First, I wanted to help out all the former Chaos! creators I could. I made calls to CrossGen and other publishers to get guys (and gals) placed. CrossGen picked up Ivan for fill ins. When I saw he was doing work, I recommended him for the title because he is a tremendous talent. He can do a monthly book, no problem. He loves to attack new subject matter. He loves to put in detail.

When Chaos! Comics filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy, I contacted Ivan. The Company owed him money for about three issues of books. Even in the face of that, he wrote back and said he loved what we did together and would love the chance to work together again. I thought that was amazing. He didn't view me as his adversary as others did. He chalked up the failure of Chaos! to the loss of sales and was willing to stay in communication. I am deeply grateful for his handling of the situation.

THE PULSE: Will this be an ongoing series or a series of minis? What are the pros to the way you choose to present this title?

PULIDO: This is a monthly. I see only good things going in this direction. Now, I have accepted a freelance assignment as an independent contractor to Code 6 to write this new version of Lady Death. It will come out under the Code 6 label, even though CrossGen owns 100 percent of the property, because Lady Death does not fit into the CG Sigil-verse. So, Code 6 became the most logical place to release this title. I believe there will be an announcement soon on the release date of issue #1. As the writer, I intend to take readers on a wild ride. I haven't seen this type of story in comics. I'm excited at the prospect of writing a book and not being concerned about the managerial aspects of running a company.

THE PULSE: How will this series appeal to existing Lady Death Fans?

PULIDO: I'm guessing that folks who read my stuff liked how I unraveled a story. They liked the characterization, the action, the suspense and the wild places I would take them. When I brought in other writers on my characters, they didn't always get that. This story is pure, undiluted Pulido and Lady Death is still the kick-ass, pale skinned warrior with a sword that they love.

THE PULSE: Why should people who maybe passed on the Chaos! Lady Death, give this new series a try?

PULIDO: From a perception point of view, I believe a lot of readers got scared off by the Heaven and Hell stuff and from a perception that the book was all boobs and blood. Chaos! didn't help this when we did all the sexy covers we did. I'm not apologizing for that. Far from it, but it did prevent access for other readers.

Fan who read the books knew LD and the other books I published were not all boobs and blood. The Chaos! universe was a cohesive, continuity driven universe that respected the long time reader and listened to the fans. Our stories were thought provoking and suspenseful.

People should give this book a try for all the reasons above.

THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on?

PULIDO: This is the only comic book based project I am working on. I have co-founded a film production company, Eternal Entertainment, LLC (along with former Chaos! Comics CFO Adam Goldfine) for producing television shows and movies. We already have optioned three scripts and I have written a treatment and first act of a new thriller. I started out as a NYU film school grad and figured it is time to put my degree to use.