V.E. Schwab is the New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Before that hit novel, she wrote The Shades of Magic series and the Villains series. In 2019, the former fantasy series even received a comic spin-off series with Shades of Magic Vol. 1: The Steel Prince. After the success of that comic spinoff, her Villains series is now receiving a similar treatment. Written by Schwab with artwork by Enid Balam, the new comic series ExtraOrdinary is set between Schwab's first two novels in the Villains series.
ExtraOrdinary is about Charlotte Tills, who survives a deadly experience, thus becoming an ExtraOrdinary (EO). These beings, EOs, are given remarkable abilities, with Charlotte seeing how people -- including herself -- will die. For her death, Charlotte sees the man behind her murder, Eli, whose purpose in life is to kill off the EOs. After discovering this truth, Charlotte must try to escape her fate. In an exclusive interview with CBR, Schwab discussed the world of the EOs, as well as what it's been like to expand her novels into the comic book medium.
CBR: In ExtraOrdinary, we meet a few EOs with Charlotte, Eli, and Victor and they all have varying abilities. How did you determine what powers go to which EO, and what was it like developing the rules of this world?
V.E. Schwab: It's a really interesting thought experiment every time. Because an EO's powers are the result of not only the exact circumstances of their near-death experience but also their psychology, their final thoughts. I usually start with the power I want to give a character and then work backward to figure out the circumstances that generate that power. The upside is that when it comes to EOs, I'm limited only by what I can imagine and explain.
Between the EOs we met early on, which was your favorite to write for and why?
Eli has always been a favorite of mine. He's obviously the primary antagonist of the novels as well as the comics, and I certainly have a weakness for villains, but specifically for villains like Eli, who've been corrupted by their own ideals.
In #1, I was getting some Frankenstein vibes with Eli and Victor's story. Was this intentional, and what other inspirations did you pull from when creating ExtraOrdinary?
[Laughs], it's so funny because that backstory is taken directly from the first novel, Vicious, and people always make the Frankenstein reference; but, truthfully, I never thought of that, at least consciously. I wrote Vicious as a love letter to one of my favorite animes of all time, Cowboy Bebop, and Victor/Eli's dynamic was always inspired by toxic comic friendships like Professor X and Magneto.
What were you most excited to see brought to life via the artwork?
The powers. Superpowers often lend themselves to a visual medium, and while I've done my best in my books to help readers visualize the abilities, there's a particular joy to the clarity it's given in comics. Which is not to say that how you see it on the page is the only way to picture the abilities, but it's a very cool layer to be able to give the characters and the readers.
Along with writing for the comic medium, you're a best-selling prose writer. What's more challenging about writing for comics than prose? And what's been more exciting about writing in this medium?
The format is both a blessing and a curse as a novelist. There's refreshing freedom in not painting the entire picture yourself, but being able to work with an artist and lean into their strengths as well as your own. But the strictness of the page count and learning how to space the story out so I could get the entire story across in a specific number of issues is like learning an entirely new language!
You've written comics based on your past prose, like with Shades of Magic and now with ExtraOrdinary, which is set between your books Vicious and Vengeful. What's it like having the opportunity to expand these prose stories through comics? Why expand them in this medium?
It's a delight. I get to look at my novels and ask myself, "Which stories do I want to tell in prose, and which do I want to play out in comic?" It gives me a chance to take smaller/sidebar narratives that I'd never be able to give enough space in the context of the books and let them breathe and grow in a complementary medium.
A lot of your past work, as well as ExtraOrdinary, deals with varying forms of magic. What about these magical stories do you find so appealing to write?
I've always loved telling stories where the magical and the real intersect and bleed together. I like living in worlds where the potential for power, for the supernatural, for the magical, is always there, waiting to be found.
How does the magic in ExtraOrdinary differ from the past magic systems you've worked with in your other novels? What new parts of the magical and supernatural did you want to explore?
The magic in ExtraOrdinary is based on science and medicine instead of nature (Shades of Magic). I started with the body's reaction to extreme stress and documented cases of the temporary adrenal changes that imminent danger can trigger. I then took the principle and extended it into the realm of fantasy, but it always has one foot in the real.
What do you hope readers take away from ExtraOrdinary?
I hope it makes them wonder what kind of power they'd have, and what circumstances might lead to them. And if that's too morbid, I hope they find the world of ExtraOrdinary exciting enough that they check out the novels the comic sits between, Vicious and Vengeful and learn more about Eli and his nemesis, Victor.
ExtraOrdinary #1 is now available in comic book shops and on digital devices. Fans will be able to order in the US from their local comic shop, in the UK/Europe from Forbidden Planet and digitally.
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