'We're Taking Everyone Down With Us' provides twisted spy tale
Word Balloons #1269: Matthew Rosenberg and Stefano Landini team up for Image Comics title
A young girl, her robot protector, and a war among spies are among the ingredients in the latest comic book series from the former “Punisher” creative team of Matthew Rosenberg (“The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing,” “4 Kids Walk Into A Bank”) and artist Stefano Landini (“Daredevil”).
The creative team sets their sights on the spy genre – with some wild twists – in the creator-owned title, “We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us.” I interviewed Rosenberg for Comic Shop News earlier this year, and the extended Q&A can be found here. The third issue of “We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us” goes on sale May 28 from Image Comics.
Matthew Price: What were some of the inspirations behind "We're Taking Everyone Down With Us"?
Matthew Rosenberg: I really like to wear my heart on my sleeve in terms of influences, and this book is really a love letter to a lot of that stuff. The obvious ones are the over the top action spy stories like James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Mission: Impossible, all the way to the more grounded stuff like John le Carré and Graham Greene. But there is a lot of other stuff thrown in there. From European thrillers like Diabolik to the darker 90's coming-of-age movies like Heathers, and offbeat buddy movies like Midnight Run or the Nice Guys. And for sure comics like Queen & Country, Deadly Class, and Hellboy are all big influences. And we just threw that all in a blender until we had a book.
Price: What can you tell me about your collaborators on the series?
Rosenberg: The book was co-created with the amazing Stefano Landini, who I worked with originally on The Punisher. Stefano's work is just the amazing blend of really clear storytelling and an amazing capacity for action and emotion. I've loved his work since we first worked together and he's only gotten better on books like X-Men, Black Panther, and Prodigy. Jason Wordie and Roman Titov are handling the colors and bring so much to the book. Just this really bold palette and flat colors that enhances Stefano's elegant lines without overpowering them. And Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is, I believe, the best letterer in comics. I dare people to read our book and tell me I'm wrong.
Price: How would you describe the series to potentially interested readers?
Rosenberg: We're Taking Everyone Down With Us is both a celebration and a satire of over the top spy stories. In a world full of sexy superspies and power-hungry villains, our story follows Annalise, the daughter of the world's greatest mad scientist. When the power struggle between her father and the most famous spy in the world blows her life apart, quite literally, she is forced to go on the run with only her robot bodyguard by her side. Now she has a choice, live the normal teenage life she never had, or follow in her father's footsteps and go to war with the world. It's a story full of violence and heartbreak about family, growing up, regret, and revenge. But, ya know, funny too.
Price: What has been your favorite part of working on "We're Taking Everyone Down With Us"?
Rosenberg: Honestly, I just really love these characters. They're so fun to write and put in these awful situations. And seeing Stefano bring them to life every issue just makes it even funnier and sadder the things we have to do to them in this story.
Matthew Price, matthew@matthewlprice.com, has written about the comics industry for over two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, Oklahoma.