Interview: Matthew Rosenberg on Superspies & Supervillains in WE’RE TAKING EVERYONE DOWN WITH US

In the conflicts between superspies and supervillains, there’s always collateral damage—and that sometimes includes family. What happens a young girl loses her dad, who happens to be one of those supervillains? That question and more is addressed in the upcoming series We’re Taking Everyone Down with Us, debuting this March from Image Comics. In We’re Taking Everyone Down with Us, the Punisher creative team of writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Stefano Landini reunite to follow 13-year-old Annalise must navigate the world following the death of her mad-scientist father at the hands of the planet’s most adept superspy. What will Annalise do? Overthrow the planet? Seek revenge? Or lead a normal life with her dad’s robot protector?

I spoke with Matthew Rosenberg recently about the idea behind We’re Taking Everyone Down with Us, collaborating with the book’s creative team, the collision of villains and spies and how that impacts Annalise’s world, and how Rosenberg and Landini’s respective visions for the story made for a fun amalgam that blends pieces of both.

We’re Taking Everyone Down with Us #1 is one of the most dynamically rendered comics I’ve read in a good long while. The creative team is making interesting moves in storytelling and using the medium to the fullest in ways that aren’t seen often in modern comics. Whether it be in the structure of the panels on page, a pallet that pushes the boundaries of color layering, lettering that delineates each character, or the nuanced dialogue, the issue makes the reader want to pour over pages again and again. We’re Taking Everyone Down with Us is experimental and accessible and kinetic and everything a modern comic can be.

FreakSugar: Before we get into the book itself, what was the genesis of We’re Taking Everyone Down with Us?

Matthew Rosenberg: This book actually started at the start of the pandemic. Stefano and I were supposed to do a superhero book together, but then everything got paused, and when things came back on line we had been replaced. So, Stefano actually reached out to me about an idea he had and we just dove in. A happy ending.

FS: For folks considering picking it up, what is the conceit of the series?

MR: Our book is set in a sort of James Bond-esque world of sexy superspies and secretive supervillains. But rather than follow one of them, our story is about a 13-year-old-girl named Annalise, who is the daughter of the world’s greatest mad scientist. When the war between spies and villains comes crashing into her life Annalise, along with her robot bodyguard, are forced to go on the run. Together they have a choice, do they try to give her the normal life she never had or do they go to war for vengeance against the man who ruined her life. So, it’s about family, and growing up, and regret, and revenge. But, ya know, funny.

FS: One thing I’ve always loved about your work is your dialogue. It’s naturalistic scenarios that are anything but familiar. How do you capture the voices of Annalise and the others in the cast?

MR: Well, thank you. I don’t really have a good answer for that. A thing I’ve found that I do that differs from some of my peers is the order in which I build a story. I always try to start with the characters first, figuring out who they are and why they are that way. From there I build the world and story up around them. Maybe that has something to do with it.

FS: The layout, the art–it’s all just perfect. What’s it like reuniting with Stefano Landini on this and working with the rest of the creative team?

MR: It’s such a gift. Stefano is truly one of the rare triple threats in comic art. He can handle character acting so well, he can handle action perfectly, and his storytelling is impeccable. I think people will see, as the series continues, that we both are pushing each other even further and the whole book gets better because of it. And then Roman Titov and Jason Wordie on colors are just the perfect complement to Stefano’s lines. They understand perfectly when to play lead and when to hold back, so you get these really gorgeous colors that never overpower the art. And Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is simply the best letterer in comics. I’m really mostly just trying to get out of all their ways here.