Taking Scarlet Witch Back To School: An Interview With ‘House Of Harkness’ Writer Preeti Chhibber

Long before the events of WandaVision and Agatha All Along, even witches have to devote time to learning their craft. It just so happens Wanda and Agatha went to the same school to study there’s in writer Preeti Chhibber and artists Jodi Nishijima and Kiichi Mizushima‘s graphic novel House of Harkness. With colors by Ian Herring and letters by Jesse Post, find out more about what the Scarlett Witch and Agatha are getting up to in this interview with Chhibber below:

Rachel Bellwoar: Have you ever written for Wanda or Agatha before?

Preeti Chhibber: This was my first time! I’ve since done a cute mini Marvel Unlimited comic with Wanda where she helps a bunch of Marvel’s magical animals in Strange Tails, which was really fun. But House of Harkness was my first foray into the Scarlet Witch and Agatha Harkness realm. Scarlet Witch also shows up in my latest Infinity Comic, Realmguard, currently running on Marvel Unlimited. 

Bellwoar: What excited you the most about getting to explore their complicated (and competitive) relationship?

Chhibber: Having it be YA and ageing them both down to be the same age gave me a lot of opportunity to explore female friendship – those friendships can be just as intense as any romantic relationship, especially when you’re young, and you have so much of your identity tied up in how you’re perceived. So, writing the two of them, and not allowing either of them to really be the villain, was something I was excited to explore. 

Bellwoar: Adding to the spiciness, this isn’t just a Wanda and Agatha story but a Wanda and Agatha as teenagers story. What might surprise readers who only know them as adults?

Chhibber: Making them both the same age meant getting to twist the teacher/student relationship they’ve had over the years. Now, you still have that version of Agatha as the potentially more powerful one, but it’s only socially – magically, she and Wanda are fairly evenly matched. But at that age, social hierarchy is a huge part of the power balance. I wanted to let that be inspired from some of the age/experience power imbalance that’s existed for their adult counterparts. 

Bellwoar: Agatha and Wanda aren’t the only recognizable faces attending House of Harkness. How did you go about assembling the other students enrolled at the school?

Chhibber: The starting place was, “Magic users in the Marvel comics universe” and then “who will be the most fun” honestly. I initially broke it down into what characters would be Team Wanda, who would be Team Agatha, and then Loki and Nightmare were always Team Chaos, from the very first pitch. 

Bellwoar: To single out one of those characters, the student I was most excited to see was Nico Minoru. Why bring her and Wanda together?

Chhibber: I’m a huge Runaways fan, and so Nico was on the list immediately. She’s so complex, and also I was like, ‘we can give Nico an AU girlfriend!!’ 

Bellwoar: Like in Runaways, House of Harkness deals with adults (specifically parents) that aren’t always the best role models. Do you feel that’s an important message to make young readers aware of – that being older doesn’t always mean being right?

Chhibber: I do! I think kids are smart and they know when something doesn’t smell right. And I want to represent kids who get that feeling and let readers know it’s okay to explore it. 

Bellwoar: As someone well-versed in romcoms (having written one called Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot), is it challenging writing love stories for characters who are already romantically associated with someone else?

Chhibber: I don’t think so! What’s great about the characters in Marvel Comics is … everyone has so, so many romances, ha! Obviously, I have my preferences for ships with certain characters (RogueXGambitFOREVER), but these characters and their relationships are malleable. It’s part of why they have such longevity, there are so many opportunities for story and exploring those connections between characters.  

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Preeti!

House of Harkness is on sale now from Graphix.