Wonder Woman, Harley, and Batman... Oh my!

Welcome to my first-ever newsletter post! I’m Stephanie Phillips. I write comics like HARLEY QUINN, WONDER WOMAN, and BATMAN. It’s a pretty awesome job. The deeper into our current Harley Quinn run I get (issue 6 comes out next week!), and with the announcement of Wonder Woman: Evolution last week, I realized that Twitter really wasn’t the best platform to discuss these projects in depth and what it’s like to work on them. I’ve been such a fan of other creators’ newsletters and their ability to use this space to discuss their process and upcoming books, so I decided it was finally time to give this a shot for myself!

Subscribe below to make sure you don’t miss any future updates. I plan to make these newsletter pretty regular to discuss books and answer questions.

So, first things first, let’s take stock of what’s coming up:

WONDER WOMAN: EVOLUTION

Announced last week, I’m writing a new 8-issue miniseries with artist Mike Hawthorne called WONDER WOMAN: EVOLUTION. Official solicit text: Whisked away from Earth by a distant cosmic entity, Wonder Woman is forced to navigate a series of perilous challenges that push her to the brink both mentally and physically. At stake is the fate of all humanity, with the alien entities casting Diana as Earth’s proxy for a trial judging humankind’s worthiness to exist in the universe. Can Diana stand trial to save humanity without losing her own? Harley Quinn’s Stephanie Phillips teams with acclaimed artist Mike Hawthorne (Daredevil, Deadpool) for an epic Wonder Woman tale unlike any other!

The first time I was ever asked to write Wonder Woman, I approached Diana like a symbol. Granted, Wonder Woman is a symbol that has meant a lot to me in my life. A strong, powerful, kick ass heroine standing in THE trinity of DC heroes. I’ve always loved Diana, but writing a symbol? That’s different than writing a character, and I realized that maybe I didn’t feel as connected to Diana as I did to the IDEA of Wonder Woman. That realization inspired WW: EVOLUTION. This is an exploration of Diana as we put her through increasingly uncomfortable situations (mentally and physically) and watch her struggle, and even fail. We started with the idea that we wanted to literally strip Diana of this “symbol,” so we re-designed her costume. We removed the iconic lasso and the large “W.” We even took her away from Earth. Who is Diana without all that?

And the setting for this story is pretty epic, especially when Mike draws it, but the story itself is incredibly grounded. Very early on, Mike and I talked about the juxtaposition between the setting and the deep character dive we wanted the story to offer. We try to play with that contrast at every turn.

The final thing I will say about this story (for now) is that, yes, there are some deep psychological discussions about humanity and Wonder Woman, but there’s plenty of butt-kicking. There are monsters. There are villains. There are Amazons. There are epic-planet-destroying battles where Diana mercilessly wields a battle axe. And there are plenty of cameos from the Wonder Woman universe. But… not all may be as it appears. Question everything.  

Read more in this interview from Newsarama about the series!

HARLEY QUINN

My year started with the release of the first issue of the Harley Quinn ongoing, and I can’t believe issue 6 comes out next week, with the 2021 annual to follow. It feels like we just started. And things are about to pick up FAST as the series hurtles towards Fear State and beyond.

First, Keepsake is about to get his moment in the spotlight as we explore his origins in the Harley Quinn annual (out August 31). Keepsake also plays a pivotal role in Fear State and our conclusion to our first year on Harley. While I won’t spoil the annual, I think Keepsake is an equal parts laughable and fearful character. His unpredictability and his desperation make him a dangerous foe, especially when he finds a way to recruit his own Caucus of… oh wait. We’ll save THAT reveal for issue #7. ;)

One of the most amazing feelings when working on the ongoing series is getting to see something that we have been building towards all coming together. With the Gotham City Sirens reunion in Fear State, Harley finally has a chance to reconnect with Ivy. This has been such an important moment in our Harley run since before any scripts were even written. We have been planning for this moment for over a year, and I hope fans are just as excited as this entire team is to reach this point.

Oh, but let me be clear, Harley’s romantic life is the not the only on featured in this story arc. Our sweet boy Kevin seems a little lonely…

DETECTIVE COMICS: ARKHAM RISING

Harley Quinn is connecting with Detective Comics in October! Part 1 of “Arkham Rising” features the construction of the new Arkham Tower in Gotham City, and explores Arkham Asylum’s dark past. This story will establish a new precedent for the entire Batman universe moving forward, and features everyone’s favorite jester-themed-villain-turned-hero, Harley Quinn! But, for me, the real selling point to this story is David Lapham on art with Trish Mulvihill on colors. Whew. It’s an incredibly gorgeous, dark, and moody story. This back-up story starts in October and spins out of the Harley Quinn ongoing.

CONVENTIONS!

As promised in my tease about this newsletter… I am getting back to in-person cons (slowly and with copious amounts of hand sanitizer). My first convention back will be FAN EXPO BOSTON, Sept. 3-5.

Then, I’m headed to Portland for ROSE CITY COMIC CON, Sept. 10-12. I’ll be there Saturday and Sunday only, and you can catch myself and Amy Reeder in a special Harley-themed panel that Saturday.

Free autographs to anyone wearing a mask that covers your nose!

UPCOMING RELEASES (COLLECT ‘EM ALL!)

August
Harley Quinn #6, August 24
Harley Quinn Annual, August 31
Aquaman 80th Anniversary Anthology, August 31

September
A Man Among Ye #7, Sept. 8
Harley Quinn #7, Sept. 28

October
Sensational Wonder Woman TPB, Oct. 5
Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary, Oct. 5
Nuclear Fam TPB, Oct. 13
A Man Among Ye #8, Oct. 6
Detective Part 1 #1044, Oct. 26
Harley Quinn #8, Oct. 26

November
WW: Evolution #1, Nov. 16
Harley Quinn #9, Nov. 23
Detective Part 2 #1045, Nov. 23
Gotham City Villains Anniversary, Red Hood Story, Nov. 30