Julie Ditrich- short interview

BIO-

Julie Ditrich is a fiction writer and comics creator, and is the first official Australian female Phantom comic book writer. She is the writer of The Phantom title The Adventure of the Dragon’s Leg, featuring the art of Wendell Cavalcanti.

INTERVIEW-

(1) When did you start writing comic books?

I started writing comics in the mid 1990s after I graduated from university. I had completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree of Professional Writing but comics were never mentioned as a viable profession. I stumbled on the comics medium by accident and found that my storytelling style really suited comics. In fact, at university I was writing these epic fantasy screenplays for my film-writing subjects, which would have cost about $500 million to make at the time because the special effects needed hadn’t even been invented yet. What I didn’t realise was that I was actually writing comics stories. I just needed to make the mental connection. My first comic book series was published in the USA during 1993-94 and I had a mini-series published by Image Comics during 1996.

(2) Do you want to work on a new Phantom comic?

I’ve completed a second series of The Phantom for Frew Publications. It is called Return of the Golden Circle, and is a sequel to a story that was published in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The story is 96 pages in length (4 x 24 pages issues) and is predominantly set in Paris and the Deep Woods. I will start writing a third project in a few months and will begin a fourth one in 2022.

(3) Do you have your own plans of launching new superheroes or superheroines?

Yes. I released a six-page chapter, featuring a new superhero called Djiniri in a book that was launched in Australia in 2019. It was called SuperAustralians, and was published by Black House Comics and IFWG Publishing. The book contained 12 Aussie superheroes who connect through needing to fight and take down a common villain who poses a global threat. The extended edition of SuperAustralians will be published in 2022-23. I have always loved genies so Djiniri is a 1200 year old genie who originated in Oman. My collaborator Australian artist Marcelo Baez and I will begin working on more Djiniri stories next year. She is one of my most favourite characters I have ever co-created and I CANNOT wait for her to be brought to life and showcase her glorious history and her new adventures.

(4) If you are asked to write a comic for DC Comics, which character would you pick?

I would love to work on Wonder Woman, because of her inherent nobility, self awareness, and her inner and outer strength.

I would also love to work on Aquaman, as I have an infinity for water-based characters who live in the ocean (I wrote lots of mermaid stories in my early years and adore writing for the fantasy underwater realm).

(5) Can you tell us more about yourself?

In my professional life I work as a freelance comic book and fiction writer. I also work for a children’s charity called Books in Homes, which brings books-of-choice to children, living in socio-disadvantaged circumstances, or in remote or Indigenous communities around Australia. In my previous professional life I was a Clinical Hypnotherapist for 11 years and had a part-time practice in the Sydney CBD and in south-west Sydney. I also worked in publishing as a bookseller, junior publicist, publications manager, editor, and marketing manager so I always had one foot positioned in the book industry as I have loved books and reading from the time I was a young child. In my personal life, I live on a farm, and rescue and look after lots of animals. The list currently includes eight sheep, three steers, one dog, seven cats and two shadow (feral / stray) cats. There are also lots of wild native animals that pass through or live on the farm, mostly birds and reptiles. I also love art galleries, film, music and theatre in my quiet time and spending rare weekends away in the mountains or in glamorous hotels in cities such as Melbourne.

Here are two images Julie Ditrich shared with us from the upcoming comic title RETURN OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, with art by Wendell Cavalcanti.

Thank you ms.Ditrich for accepting the interview and also for making us the first site to upload the images from return of the golden circle.