Parenting: one of the hardest jobs on the planet. Then again, being a super hero private investigator offers plenty of challenges as well. What happens when you’re both? That’s what Dennis Hopeless and Javier Rodriguez will explore in the November-launching SPIDER-WOMAN ongoing series that finds the title character “very pregnant.”
Hopeless kicked off the last SPIDER-WOMAN series with Greg Land for four installments of Spider-Verse goodness before Rodriguez hopped on with the fifth issue. When the duo joined forces, they not only brought in a new costume, but also a fresh status quo as Drew became a private investigator backed up by Ben Urich and reformed super villain Porcupine.
Coming out of Secret Wars, Jessica now has a bun in the oven, but she insists that it will not slow her down, even though Urich and Porcupine do their best to keep her out of danger.Hopeless and Rodriguez talk about Spider-Woman’s new role as mother, her supporting cast’s attempts to help and the father’s identity in a recent interview on Marvel’s website:
Marvel.com: You two are no strangers to this character and her world. How is it getting back to work chronicling Jessica’s adventures?
Dennis Hopeless: Fortunately, we never really stopped. I went straight from scripting issue #10 to plotting the new #1. SPIDER-WOMAN is an absolute joy to write and Jess’ post-Secret Wars story is my favorite yet. I’ve never had more fun making comics and I’m super proud to be a part of this team.
Javier Rodriguez: I can’t believe that we’re working on a title like this; so proud to be part of this perfect team. How Dennis builds and leads characters is a pleasure for any artist. I love stories focused on character development, [so] this is a dream. I’m happy!
Marvel.com: Like most of the Marvel Universe, Jessica is coming out of Secret Wars a bit of a different person. We’ll get to the pregnancy in a second, but how has she changed since the reality warping event?
Dennis Hopeless: I dunno. She’s pretty much the same person apart from the pregnancy.
When we catch up with Jess and her team, they’re right in the middle of their next case. The way they work these new cases has changed a bit. But this is very much the second season of street level Spider-Woman. The big new development is definitely Jess’ pending motherhood.
Marvel.com: Is the father’s identity being kept as a secret for now?
Dennis Hopeless: I wouldn’t call it a secret, but yeah, the baby’s father doesn’t play into the first arc at all. Jess could tell us if she wanted to. She just doesn’t want to.
Marvel.com: Okay, on to the pregnancy; that’s a big deal for anyone, but adds several new wrinkles into a super hero’s life. How is Jessica balancing motherhood and heroics?
Dennis Hopeless: Jess is very pregnant in issue #1. She obviously has to be a lot more careful about putting herself in harm’s way. This isn’t a notion Jess is very familiar with. She normally throws herself head first into dangerous situation, expecting to badass her way through. She can’t do that right now and it’s infuriating. That struggle is a big part of our first arc. How do you save the world without endangering your unborn child?
