The latest comic book from Immortal Studios is on the horizon. Assassin G is based on a venerated wuxia saga by Shiao Yi. Immortal Studios is spearheaded by Shiao Yi’s son, Peter Payhuan Shiao. Although this saga is virtually unknown in the West, the original story, Gan the 19th sister (Gan shi jiu mei 甘十九妹), has been adapted in four Chinese TV series. In the Immortal Storyverse, Shiao Yi’s epic has been updated to modern times and brought to the United States. This redux is the first time this story has been translated into English. Gan is now Margot Gan, an orphan who was raised to become a master martial arts assassin, the titular Assassin G.
This new interpretation of this venerated wuxia adventure is written by Jen Troy, who wrote for the CW’s SUPERGIRL and worked on THE FLASH, as well as the noted documentary of comic strips STRIPPED (2014). The artist is He Tao, featuring coloring by Hi-Fi Design and lettering by And World Design. He Tao will also do the main cover, plus there will be variant covers from celebrated comic book artists Joyce Chin and Gene Ha as well as a variant cover by painter Gian Gulang, who created the artwork for the Criterion Collection’s Bruce Lee boxed set and is creating his first comic book art for the project.
We chatted with Jen Troy about her take on wuxia and what’s in store for Assassin G.
GC: How did you get involved with Immortal Studios?
JT: A mutual friend introduced me to Shiao Yi’s son and Immortal Studios’ fearless leader, Peter Shiao. I’m so honored Immortal Studios has trusted me with ASSASSIN G: the story of a badass Chinese American assassin who seeks revenge for her master in the ‘80s. I was immediately drawn to our lead who uses her bare hands to kill a person. Her bare hands!
GC: What is your involvement with the martial arts? Do you practice any martial arts?
JT: I have always been a fan of martial arts. I was exposed to Bruce Lee and martial arts films by my dad. I wish I was coordinated enough to practice martial arts. Writing about it will have to do.
GC: Well then, what are some of your favorite Wuxia films?
JT: THE ASSASSIN is such a powerful film. It really shows the beauty and skill in it. Also, I enjoy KUNG FU HUSTLE.
GC: And what are some of your favorite comics?
JT: Assassin G is at the top of my list! I really love Dead Day. There’s such a beautiful story at the core.
GC: How does writing for a comic differ from screenwriting like what you did with SUPERGIRL?
JT: When writing a comic, you don’t have actors like you do in television so you need to write out exactly what the character is feeling in that panel. For action sequences, you only have a certain number of pages so you need to be very mindful to capture specific moments. Thankfully, the super talented He Tao was able to capture Assassin G expertly.
GC: We’re looking forward to meeting Margot Gan, the heroine of Assassin G – what can you tell us about her?
JT: Margot Gan is a badass Chinese American woman who has trained hard to unlock the great power inside herself. She wasn’t born into it, she trained to become this incredible assassin that can kill a person without a weapon. She was orphaned as a child and adopted by Shui Hongshao, her master that she is avenging. Plus, she loves couture fashion.
GC: And what can you tell us about her rival and love interest JP Yin?
JT: JP Yin descends from two powerful families in our world. He was orphaned as a pre-teen and has trained his entire life in martial arts. He is also a very skilled martial artist and has truly met his match in Margot Gan, our Assassin G.
GC: With Assassin G being based on one of Shiao Yi’s novels, how much of this story did you extract from the original? What have you changed?
JT: I’m so honored to be trusted with adapting Shiao Yi’s novel. I tried to keep as much as I could from the original and infuse it into the ‘80s. Of course the biggest change is instead of being set in ancient China, we’re in the ‘80s where big hair and big fashion reign supreme.
GC: Were you familiar with Shiao Yi’s works prior to writing for Immortal Studios?
JT: I was not familiar with Shiao Yi’s works before writing Assassin G. I’m so glad that I now get to be a part of this storyverse.
GC: I’m told Shiao Yi’s original story was adapted for TV four times already. Have you seen any of those and if so, what did you think?
JT: Sadly, I have not seen these adaptations. I think it has helped give me a fresh set of eyes when viewing this Assassin G adaptation.
GC: Given that the founder of Immortal Studios, Peter Shiao, is the son of Shiao Yi, how much latitude were you given to develop the story?
JT: Peter has been so kind and given me a wonderful amount of space to develop the story while also being available as a resource. I enjoy collaborating so having an open dialogue with Peter and my amazing editor Brian Cunningham helped when I needed to bounce ideas around.
GC: Assassin G is part of the Immortal Storyverse, so have you interacted with any of the other writers for The Adept or Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen?
JT: I have! Charlie [Stickney], Tasha [Huo], and Peter are truly great writers and human beings. It’s so nice to be in such good company.
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About
Gene Ching :
Gene Ching is the Publisher of KungFuMagazine.com and the author of Shaolin Trips.
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