Co-Creator Paul Levitz Talks About New 'Huntress' Miniseries

One of the most famous female superhero characters in the "Batman" universe, the Huntress, has returned along with her co-creator for a new six-issue miniseries. Although there have been several incarnations of the character, co-creator Paul Levitz's the Huntress first appeared in 1977's "All Star Comics" #69.

This new series continues the adventures of Modern Age Huntress Helena Rosa Bertinelli. She is the daughter of a mafia boss who vows to take revenge on the people who killed her family. As the Huntress, she has been affiliated with the Justice League, Justice Society, and Birds of Prey.

I was given the opportunity to interview Huntress co-creator Paul Levitz about the new mini-series. Levitz is not only an established writer but the contributing editor and overall consultant for DC Entertainment. He is also the author of the book "75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking."

In the new six-part "Huntress" miniseries, Helena Bertinelli returns to her home in Naples, Italy, after discovering a human trafficking and gun-smuggling ring is being run out of the city. As the Huntress, Bertinelli launches into an all-out war on the crime lords behind the villainous activities.

I asked Levitz how it felt to return to a character like the Huntress; there have to be challenges to stepping back into the writing arena with a character that has so much back history.

"It's been [a] great [and] fun opportunity to revisit an old friend and see her grown up in new ways," Levitz said. "[One challenge is] trying to decide how she's grown and what's changed. There's two levels of change: the post-Crisis changes and the ones from the new DCU. That's a lot of transformation."

Levitz hasn't visited his creation for quite a while before this. When asked if there was anything he wanted to do differently with the character, Levitz showed a lot of enthusiasm to take her to new levels.

"[There's] lots of things [I want to do differently]," he said. "Comics have changed a lot since the last time I wrote Huntress stories, and it provides the opportunity to address different issues, add different emotional textures, and tell stories [in] very different ways. The kind of 'caper film' approach I've taken to this mini-series wasn't viable in the early 1980s when last I wrote the character."

Right now, "Huntress" is scheduled to run for six issues. There are many fans of the character who would be interested in seeing her adventures continued on a regular basis. I asked Levitz if he would be interested in continuing on with a monthly title for the Huntress if this miniseries garners enough attention.

"I've told the guys how much I'm enjoying the series and that I'd love to do more," he said. "Now it's up to sales and their master plans for the line."

It sounds to me like if the "Huntress" miniseries delivers good sales numbers for DC, Levitz would be interested in being a part of the continuing adventures of the character. Just like with any new comic book, movie, or TV series, if the demand is there someone will fill it. Now is the time for Batman and Huntress fans to step up and show their interest and support.

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Eric Shirey is the founder and editor of Rondo Award nominated movie and comic book news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo!, DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other national entertainment websites. Besides his three decades long obsession with everything sci-fi, horror, and fantasy related in TV and movies, Eric has what some would call an unhealthy love for comic books. This has led him to interviewing and covering legendary writers and artists in the medium like Geoff Johns, Scott Snyder, Steve Niles, Bernie Wrightson, and Howard Chaykin.