Talking A Wave Blue World’s ‘Sharp Wit’ Anthology With Joe Corallo, Eva Cabrera, And Chase Bluestone

To quote from the press release, Sharp Wit & The Company of Women is “a comic anthology celebrating the strength, power, and agency of women, specifically those whose stories begin and end at the point of blade!” Gal doesn’t have a sword, but she does have a metal bat and it was my pleasure to be able to ask the creative team behind “Gal Gallant in ‘Dance with the Devil'” some questions about their story for the collection:

Rachel Bellwoar: Why is Gal Gallant the hero America needs, and where did the idea for a softball-playing hero come from?

Joe Corallo (writer): To answer the second part of the question first, the idea was a hybrid of a few things. I love Golden Age comics and wanted to do a homage to that era. In particular, I wanted to honor some of my favorite heroes from that era; Phantom Lady and Captain America. I knew I wanted this to be a femme driven story, so she was going to be a woman. The name came from a desire to lean into that Superman “LL” type alliteration. The baseball aspect came from wanting to work in a patriotic angle to fit into that WWII era of comics, but in a way that was different from Captain America. As far as why Gal Gallant is the hero America needs, I don’t want to give too much away, but she’s fighting for mom, baseball, and apple pie, so how much more American could it get?

Bellwoar: One thing I didn’t pick-up on right away is that all of the characters (even the supporting players) in this story are female. Did that idea stem from the decision to set this story during WWII, when women were in charge of the homefront?

Corallo: You got it exactly right! Once I knew this was going to be a WWII era Golden Age pastiche, I wanted to take that idea of women in charge of the homefront to more of an extreme having all of the heroes and villains being women here.

Bellwoar: I love how the colors and textures used help give the impression that this is a comic from the forties, instead of the present day. Were there any period artists you looked to for inspiration?

Corallo: For me, I certainly had artists like Matt Baker in mind for inspiration when writing this story, but I’ll defer to Eva and Chase on how they approached this.

Chase Bluestone (colorist/letterer): Thanks for noticing! I’ve studied Jack Kirby’s style in depth before. I also looked at work by Bill Everett and Syd Shores. And while they’re not particular to just one artist, I want to highlight the printing methods of the time as a major research point as well. Understanding the process and its limitations was essential to reverse engineering the look.

Eva Cabrera (artist): When Joe told me about Gal’s story and her retro style, I immediately thought of my dear Trina Robbins, especially since she was a pioneer of the Wonder Woman comics and this comic focuses on girl heroes. Comics of that style were my inspiration, presenting a strong, and at the same time feminine, girl in the ‘40s.

My design proposal was with more vintage colors but the vibrant blue with Gal’s red hair that was ultimately settled on looks spectacular, especially because of the comic book style of that time with the dot plot.

Bellwoar: Besides looking cool, I love that all of the pieces of Gal’s costume serve a practical purpose. Was the costume designed first or did those details get added in later to meet the needs of the story?

Corallo: I had sent references to Eva for the different characters and we’d email back and forth on it as she worked on designs before any of the pages were started. Her side of that story is undoubtedly more interesting, so I’ll leave it to her!

Cabrera: Do you remember that movie where Geena Davis and Madonna appear as baseball players called A League of Their Own? (In Mexico, Un equipo muy especial). When I met Gal Gallant I immediately thought of that movie I loved when I was a child. Baseball girls who kicked ass, capable of competing and fighting like the boys in the war but on a baseball field. I loved seeing their light-colored uniforms with red socks. They didn’t have to look masculine to look powerful. They were extraordinary girls and that’s something I wanted to reflect in Gal’s character.

Bluestone: Eva and Joe have so much synergy when it comes to this stuff. Coloring the little variations in Gal’s gear was intuitive.

Bellwoar: Overall, how helpful were the characters’ hero and villain names in coming up with the designs and colors for their costumes?

Corallo: I hope the names were helpful in coming up with the designs and colors!

Cabrera: Very useful, I think it is important that her name relates to her style.

Bluestone: I used a limited color palette true to the printing technology of the 1940s; between that and the names I dare say the colors chose themselves!

Bellwoar: Along with being a superhero story, “Dance With The Devil” is also a love story. Was that always a component of the story you wanted to make time for?

Corallo: Absolutely! Romance comics were also big in the Golden Age, and I think that lent itself well to the kind of throwback feel we were going for. Writers like Ruth Roche and artists like Matt Baker did plenty of romance comics as well; the creative team behind a number of Phantom Lady stories, the newspaper strip Flamingo and more which inspired this story.

Bellwoar: While Gal isn’t exactly working alone, she doesn’t have a team like the League of Lady Looters. Do you see her staying a solo hero or does she have allies we just haven’t met yet?

Bluestone: Baseball is a team sport, isn’t it?

Corallo: In my mind, there are more heroes out there she could ally with. She does have someone within this story who works as an ally, too, who would potentially be more of a partner in the future, but people will have to check out the story to find out!

Bellwoar: I say “future Gal Gallant stories” because I’d like to will them into existence but are there any plans to bring the character back and, if so, will Gal have a civilian alter-ego?

Corallo: As of now there are no immediate plans for more Gal Gallant stories, but hearing that it’s something people might want is making me consider it! Gal would have a civilian alter-ego in a more expanded story, it was just something we didn’t have the room to include in this initial 6-Pager.

Bluestone: I would love to know more about Gal’s theoretical double life, especially if it means more baseball themed quips!

Cabrera: I would love to see Gal Gallant’s story expanded! I hope people like it a lot so I can continue drawing this wonderful character. I feel that there are many adventures that Joe can write about Gal Gallant and her universe.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Joe, Eva and Chase!

Edited by Michele Abounader, Sharp Wit & The Company of Women is available now from A Wave Blue World.