With the trade paperback of Ash & Thorn about to hit shelves, it seemed like the perfect time to have a correspondence with the unbelievably talented writer Mariah McCourt.
What was the genesis of the idea of Ash & Thorn?
MM: For pretty much my whole writing career I’ve wanted to tell a story focusing on truly older women. I wasn’t sure for awhile what context I wanted that story to be in, or what I wanted it to address, but I knew I wanted it to be two women who were very different and address the ways we ignore women over a certain age as if they’re no longer useful. A lot of my favorite characters are older women, so it really sprang from that.
Was the race of Lottie a deliberate choice?
MM: It was. As was Peruvia being white. There are dynamics going on there that are very deliberate and, I hope, some subtext that people will get. I think it’s very important to interrogate who we view as heroic and why, who we listen to and why, and that comes out a lot in the dynamic between these two. That dynamic factors hugely into the choices the two characters make, especially in issue #3 and the consequences after. The “turn” in issue #3 surprised a lot of people but I think if you look at it and the world we live in, the underlying issues we have, it’s actually not that surprising even if it is disturbing and upsetting.
Why is Pickle? Just why?
MM: So, I’ve a life-long obsession with fairies and fey creatures. Depending on the mythology and culture, they’re very complicated, finicky, mercurial, creatures whose motivations are difficult to figure out. Pickle is also a bit of a foil for our other human characters, a truth-teller who also gleefully obfuscates and cheats, and is a lot more than they seem. Pickle’s arc continues into the next seasons with some interesting developments, should we get to tell those stories. Plus, I like characters to have offbeat, food based, names. Just because.
Where did the recipes ideas come from? The recipes themselves?
MM: So, Lottie is a baker and recipes and baked goods as part of the character/narrative arc was built into the series. But it was Sarah Litt who suggested using some real recipes for marketing and came up with Pickle’s Pantry. They’re all real recipes I personally use. Some of them are family recipes, some of them are things I’ve randomly discovered through trial and error, and baking a lot with my kiddo even before the pandemic. I’m so glad they’ve been something I could share and I can say I never expected to do that with a comic!
What’s next?
MM: Although S1 does “finish” and have closure, the story of our characters is by no means done. So hopefully we’ll get to explore them more in future seasons, fingers crossed!
