The mini will focus
on a new Magdalena, and the people calling her into being, Holguin
says. "Patience is a young girl who grew up sequestered in a remote
abbey in Nova Scotia," Holguin said. "She is one of the Holy Bloodline
and thus a potential future Magdalena. But she has no idea who her
parents were or the profound destiny that awaits her. She's grown
tired of life in seclusion and has actually run away, living on
the streets of New York. Meanwhile, in Rome, it has become clear
that there is a new and growing threat in the world and the new
Magdalena must be 'activated,' even if she isn't ready.
"I wanted to set this
girl's personal crisis, her doubts about herself and her faith,
against a globe-trotting, Technicolor, Indiana Jones type backdrop.
We visit Rome, Nova Scotia, Manhattan, Malta and Prague just in
the first issue."
"I'm filling in the
background, the support network in the Church that deals with the
Magdalena. I'm using the Knights of Malta as a kind of secret army,
the foot soldiers in the war against evil. And there's a character
called Kristof who is what is called a ÔShepherd.' It's his job
to see that the new Magdalena is up to the task at hand, which is
easier said than done.
"The
first issue begins with Kristof traveling to a secluded abbey in
Nova Scotia to fetch the girl who is the new Magdalena only to learn
that she has run away. The girl's name is Patience - a name which
that nuns at Sinclair Abbey claims is proof that God has a sense
of irony."
Historically, Magdalena
has been called out to deal with the likes of Jackie Estacado and
a few random vampires. Holguin hopes to spice things up a bit. "The
Magdalena's weapon is a holy relic known as the Spear of Destiny
or the Spear of Longinus. It is supposedly the spear that stabbed
Christ in the side when he was crucified and it is sanctified in
his blood," Holguin said. "Now, the interesting thing about the
spear, is that legends of it actually predate Christianity by a
considerable time. The Spear of Longinus was originally called the
Spear of Lugh and wielded by the Celtic God of Light. The series
deals with a cult called the Bright Hand who believes that the Church
has co-opted their relic and intends to get it back and use it usher
in a new age of Pagan glory."
Spear aside, for all
intents and purposes, the Magdalena herself is a weapon, called
upon to deal with what the Church deems "evil." Holguin hopes to
have the character interact with some of the gray areas that might
run afoul of her black and white instruction book. "That's definitely
something I want to examine: The Church - the bureaucracy and mechanism
behind it - definitely has a very black and white view of things,"
Holguin said. "But the Magdalena doesn't necessarily agree. She's
not at all at certainties with what she believes and knows that
the Church isn't as infallible as it would us to think. She's constantly
at odds between following orders and following her instincts.
"One of the things I
wanted to do in the series was to not make the 'villains' particularly
villainous. They are not 'evil' in the typical comic book sense.
They believe something different and they are pursuing their ends
as aggressively as the Church pursues its ends. In fact the Bright
Hand considers the actions of the Church - essentially removing
God from the earth and the stones and the trees and relocating him
to some lofty, distant heaven, to be evil. And from their perspective,
they're right.
"So
a lot of the inner conflict involves trying to rationalize a black
and white agenda in a shades-of-gray world."
Holguin would like to
touch upon Magdalena's personal life, but that story will have to
wait. "Not so much in the miniseries, but it is definitely something
I would like to examine in an ongoing series," Holguin said. "The
first story really revolves around Patience and her own crisis of
faith, coming into her own and finding a courage and strength she
didn't know she had. And of course saving the world."
And the big question:
What kind of person is Magdalena? "That's the real meat of the story,
isn't it?" Holguin said. "Here we have a young woman who wants to
see the world, to experience life, to assert herself in the way
all young people want to. And she's called upon to shoulder this
incredible responsibility. She does have her doubts, not only in
herself, but in the very institution she's supposed to work for.
I mean, Christ himself had his moment of doubt in Gethsemane. What's
a young girl who's never even seen MTV supposed to think when she's
suddenly thrown into a world of intrigue, adventure and danger?"
The lineage of the character
will be touched upon somewhat during the miniseries, Holguin says.
"Well, there's some debate whether the Mary Magdalene and the prostitute
were the same person," Holguin said. "The previous line of Magdalena's
is mentioned, but I don't go into it too deeply. That's something
I would consider doing if we went to a regular series."
The Magdalena will be
called in to deal with things when it's obvious humankind is out
of its league, Holguin says. "The idea is that it's best for people
to deal with their own problems," Holguin said. "Struggle is essential
to the human experience. That's really the purpose to life. The
Magdalena's job is to deal with only the greatest, most unnatural
threats to the world. It's not her job to make the world a better
place, to feed the hungry and aid the sick. Although Patience might
have a different idea about that as well..."
While he won't be treading
lightly when writing about the Church, Holguin isn't out to dump
on the religion either, he says. "Well, I don't want to treat the
Church as a sacred cow, so to speak, but I'm also not looking to
intentionally insult or degrade anyone's faith," Holguin said. "The
obvious thing these days is to paint the Catholic Church as a cabal
of corrupt pederasts. But it would be just that -- crude and obvious
and not terribly unimaginative. In the series, we're dealing with
a very secretive branch of a very, very old institution. That's
where its strengths are and that's where its weaknesses lie. It's
so steeped in ritual and stricture, it doesn't necessarily see around
all the corners it should. I'm kind of portraying it as an institute
with honorable intentions, but one sometimes lacking in foresight.
From Patience's perspective, "But it has always been done this way"
isn't necessarily a valid argument.
"In
the end, it's really about the inherent difference between an 'Ideal'
and an 'Institution.' To make an analogy, I think you can have a
profound faith and dedication to the ideals of freedom and democracy,
while having equally profound questions about the institutions of
the Pentagon and the Congress."
On the other side of
the creative coin, Basaldua's artwork has earned raves from both
Holgiun and Top Cow EIC, Jim McLauchlin, as well as…well, just about
everyone who sees it. "The art that Eric is doing is just wonderful
and the character has really come to life for me. I suppose it's
a bit like in TV or movies - when you cast a role, suddenly the
character becomes much clearer. Just seeing Eric render our heroine
has brought her much more vividly to life for me and writing has
become easier."
And if al goes well,
this won't be the last time the Magdelena comes out of the box.
"As of now, I've committed to a four-issue miniseries," Holguin
said. "After that, if the reader response is strong enough I suppose
they would consider an ongoing series. I'd definitely be interested
in continuing, as long there were no scheduling conflicts.
As for long-range plans,
Holguin is hopeful he's given the chance to think that far ahead.
"Really, I've just worked out the four-issue mini," Holguin said.
"I have some rough ideas that I'd like to explore, but obviously
that would depend on Top Cow - and the readers - deciding they want
an ongoing series. That said, I'd like to do something with Casca
Longinus, the Roman Centurion who stabbed Christ on the cross and
was cursed to wander the earth until doomsday. And I'd like to maybe
to something with the whole Grail/Fisher King myth. We'll see if
I get the chance."
SOURCE
