A Darker Shade of Scarlet Witch

Leave it to a mystical book like SCARLET WITCH to play with a little collaborative magic. Since launch, James Robinson and the book’s editors planned to not use one specific artist per story, but to instead mix things up on a regular basis.

With that in mind, Vanesa Del Rey launched the series, but other artists like Marco Rudy, Steve Dillon, Marguerite Sauvage, Annie Wu, and many others have added to the ongoing adventures of Wanda Maximoff.

Now, after saving witchcraft, Wanda needs to figure out what to do with the rest of her life, which gets all the more complicated when a demon attacks! We talked with Del Rey—who returns for issue #15 on February 22—about the unique challenges of this book, working with Robinson, and dreaming up demons!

Marvel.com: After launching this series, how is it coming back to Wanda and seeing where she’s at as a character?

Vanesa Del Rey: It’s great! I love drawing Scarlet Witch. I haven’t read all the books since the first issue came out. I don’t have a lot of time these days, but I’ve been loving the different styles of work for all the issues! And of course, the David Aja covers.

Marvel.com: This project has featured a different artist on nearly each issue. Does this set-up change how you approach an issue as opposed to something you’ve been drawing all the way through?

Vanesa Del Rey: This set-up doesn’t really affect the way I approach a script. When I’m working on a whole series, versus a single issue, I have to think more about the whole world the story is going to develop in. I have to focus on the atmosphere as a whole and then I approach each issue on its own. Each issue also has their own atmosphere, and when I say atmosphere I’m including the pace of the story, the media I use or technique, the character design. There are a lot of things to think about when working on any story, really.

Naturally the most notable difference between working on a single issue versus a whole series is I get more familiar with the characters and their world, thus wonderful things happen and I get to experiment and play with said atmosphere. The characters develop, and the reader gets a wonderful experience.

Marvel.com: James Robinson is the constant in all this. How has it been working with him throughout this project?

Vanesa Del Rey: James has been great for these two books I have done. His scripts are very clear, he includes many references for me to use, lots of visuals, fun action scenes with hexes and magic. Sweet metro architecture. There is very little exchange between us, we mainly let each other do the thing we do. Turns out alright!

Marvel.com: SCARLET WITCH #15 features Wanda trying to figure out her life and facing off against a demon. Do you enjoy balancing the every-day with the fantastic like that?

Vanesa Del Rey: Yes, I love it! I enjoy drawing fantasy quite a bit. It’s satisfying when I can make the fantastic seem realistic or more part of the real world. Add a little bit of a dark atmosphere and I’m set.

Marvel.com: When it came to designing the demon, what was the process like? Was it described fully in the script or did you have freedom to dream it up?

Vanesa Del Rey: The demon happened in my head as I read the script. There was a visual reference for me in the script and parting from that I created my own idea of what this demon should look like. Keeping in mind the over-all look and feel of the world in the book.

James Robinson welcomes Vanesa Del Rey back for SCARLET WITCH #15, coming your way February 22!