GVN Talking Comics Interview: Writer Jen Troy for Immortal Studios, 'Assassin G'

If there’s one thing talented writer Jen Troy knows, its writing for a strong, bad ass female character. And why shouldn’t she? She has been script consultant and writer for CW’s Supergirl. Her upcoming project, however, gave her the opportunity to write for ANOTHER bad ass character. One that has long since captured the imagination of Chinese language readers, and has been adapted four times for television, Assassin G.

Starting this week, Assassin G comes to Kickstarter in its first comic book and English language adaptation. Produced through Peter Shiao’s Immortal Studios, Assassin G, is written by Jen with art by the talented artist He Tao. Through this campaign, Margot Gan (the virtually unstoppable and ghostlike, Assassin G) makes her comic debut. Introducing her to a new audience while giving long time fan’s new elements to the character.

With this in mind, we recently had an opportunity to talk writer Jen Troy about this project and her excitement in bringing the iconic character to a wider audience.

GVN: Thank you very much for sharing a bit of your time, Jen.

JT: You’re quite welcome.

Starting in Writing

GVN: As is my norm for creators that we are fortunate enough to talk to for the first time, let’s talk a bit about your background. When did you take an interest in writing and which writers inspired you to believe that writing could be in your future?

JT: I first became interested in writing in the sixth grade when I was assigned to write an original poem. I really loved that project. It helped that my hard-to-please English teacher loved it too. From there, I discovered my love of movies and tv especially Gilmore Girls.

Working with Supergirl

GVN: As a follow up, you have written for and been involved in television for both Supergirl and the Flash. How did those opportunities come about and was writing for television your main objective or were you open to whatever opportunities became available?

JT: I love writing in all mediums. When I had to choose, I decided to focus on writing for the screen first. After working as Supergirl’s script coordinator and proving myself, the showrunners Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller kindly gave me the wonderful opportunity to write for Supergirl.

At the Turtle Lounge

GVN: Finally, before we get into the big news of your work on Assassin G, I noticed you also wrote and directed a short film entitled “At the Turtle Lounge.” What was that experience like and what do you feel you learned?

JT: Making “At the Turtle Lounge” was such a good time. I got to work with some of my dear friends and it continued to fuel my love of storytelling.

Assassin G

GVN: So, as I mentioned, you are collaborating with talented artist He Tao on Immortal Studios first comic book and English language adaptation of ASSASSIN G by Wuxia master Shiao Yi. Were you familiar with the book it was based on and how did you get involved in this exciting project?

JT: A mutual friend introduced me to Shiao Yi’s son and Immortal Studios’ fearless leader, Peter Shiao. After a great conversation, we both knew we wanted to work with each other. I was not familiar with the book until they reached out to me, and I was immediately drawn to our lead: a badass woman who uses her bare hands to kill a person. Her bare hands!

Pressure

GVN: We were honored to have an opportunity to talk to Peter earlier this year. He has done great work introducing Wuxia to a contemporary audience. Especially when it comes to sharing the work of his father Shiao Yi. So that being said, with the legacy behind Shiao Yi’s work and its popularity, did you feel any pressure on meeting expectations for the fans of Assassin G?

JT: Oh, my goodness, yes! Still do. I hope you all join us for this exciting ride of a Chinese American woman seeking revenge for her master in the ‘80s!

Artist He Tao

GVN: You are working with artist He Tao on Assassin G. How did that collaboration work? Did you send him a complete script to go by or did you discuss things as the process proceeded? I have found the connection between writer and artist can take many forms and both can work.

JT: He Tao has done an awesome job of bringing what I saw in my mind to the physical page. I wrote my script with as many notes as I could fit including specific ‘80s hairstyles and fashion. The script was then translated into Chinese. Later, potential changes were discussed over email.

Kickstarter

GVN: This project has just started its Kickstarter campaign. Have you had any experience with crowd funding or are you letting the good folks at Immortal Studios handle that aspect of the book?

JT: I do have experience with crowd funding! I helped produce an amazing indie comic strip documentary titled Stripped that benefited from a successful Kickstarter campaign. For Assassin G, the good folks at Immortal Studios will be handling it.

GVN: I thank you again for spending some time with us Jen. Before I let you go, do you have any other projects, television or otherwise you would like to talk about and how can fans follow you on the web or social media?