Connor Goldsmith: Marvel's Tini Howard, what are YOU doing here?!
Tini Howard: Hi Connor. I know you're in the middle of recording an episode but I had to come talk about Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1!
Connor: I am so thrilled that you are here to hang out with me and purchase ad space on my podcast.
Tini: That's right, even if I purchased it for the price of a bottle of wine.
Connor: It's good wine and we're gonna have a nice day!
Tini: It's Braddock family values, baby! We've got Betsy back with Brian, and Meggan, and even a little Jamie. And of course her girlfriend Rachel. It's our first solo outing with Betsy after 30 plus issues of her leading teams and going into Otherworld and fighting wars and being a boss. Finally Betsy's got to be Captain Britain and she's got to face it head-on whether or not they like her having the job.
Connor: With England, not banning mutants, but certainly closing all gates to Krakoa, pulling out of the Krakoan treaty, etc. It's a tense time for a mutant Captain Britain to emerge from Otherworld and try to address the people.
Tini: For the past 3 years I've been writing a lot about Betsy and Krakoa - in this book we're taking it back to England. She's gonna do the job, she's gonna be in the 616 world and we'll definitely, definitely be seeing some of Betsy's Excalibur foes returning. She's definitely got a lot of bad blood - people don't want to handle things - they've just been waiting for her to get back from Otherworld so they can hold her accountable.
Connor: Well the best Captain Britain series have always been about the uneasy nature of being a national hero. We've seen Betsy say that she serves the people of Britain, not the nation of Britain, and I'm sure people are in power who are not going to appreciate that approach.
Tini: Yeah, and instead of like an ideological argument about it, they're gonna pull out swords and there's gonna be monsters, and they're going to fight all over England.
Connor: It's been awhile since we had a solo X-Men title centered on an LGBT character, particularly someone in a relationship. It's fun to come into this book and have this new thing [relationship]...
Tini: It's super exciting for them to be textually together, and openly together, because there is a lot of fun at getting to write couples and romance. Writing the things that stress them and make them different and make them similar. Playing with their differences and that tension is sexy and fun. When they're not together yet you spend a lot of time trying to bring them together, bring them together, and once you get them together you're in like this sexy little crucible where you can kinda see who they really are together. It'll be really exciting because Betsy's dealing with something really big and she has not only her family to support her, but her girlfriend. And that's a thing we don't get to see a lot - a woman stepping into a role that's new and different for her with another woman who loves her, behind her and by her side. More than just love [inaudible word] with Betsy, Rachel's power helps Betsy be more independent in her own powers, and Betsy's powers help Rachel fulfill her Askani destiny.
Connor: Well that's very exciting. If you're listening, Tini and I would like you to call up your local comic shop and ask them to put Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1 on your pull list. A physical pre-order is the best way to support new comics.
Tini: Yes, please! Cerebro listeners, Connor and I would love for you to pre-order Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1 coming out in February from me and Vasco Georgiev who's doing incredible work. Erick Arciniega is our colorist - you're familiar with his work from Excalibur and Knights of X - bringing more of his incredible colors. Vasco's art is BEAUTIFUL. It's got this great superhero feel that just gives me delicious Alan Davis vibes. We'd love for you to go to your local comic shop, call them up, tweet them, @ them, send a pigeon and just, "hey can you order me Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1? Cause I wanna read it."
Connor: Send a Violet Swan!
Tini: That's right! Thank you Zalagang! You're my favorite and I love you.