Creator Spotlight: Erica Schultz
Erica Schultz writes, letters and edits comics. She writes Gunslinger Spawn for Image, and her Marvel scripts include Hallows' Eve, Daredevil: Gang War, Daredevil: Unleash Hell and Black Widow: Venomous.
Next up is All Systems Red, a graphic novel adaptation of the first Murderbot Diaries novel by Martha Wells, drawn by Gary Erskine for Cosmic Lighthouse. The Kickstarter opens October 15. We asked her what lettering taught her about writing scripts, how to write for black, white and red, and which shop she calls her local.
For readers who might not know your work yet, how would you describe what you do?
I write stories about people jumping around on rooftops in their pajamas. I also write stories about thousand year old vampires and sisters who have beef with each other. Oh, and cowboys who are also demon hellspawn. I get to work with incredible artists like Valentina Pinti, Adriana Melo, Giada Belviso, Carlo Barberi, Zé Carlos, Gary Erskine, Nelson Daniel, Robert Gill, Mike Dowling, Sergio D'Avila, David López, Luciano Vecchio, and others.
You're writing Gunslinger Spawn for Image, and Gunslinger is a man from the 1860s stuck in the present day. What does a character out of his own century give you to write that a present-day hero doesn't?
Well, I don't want to lean in TOO hard on the "fish out of water" trope, but there's always fodder for misunderstandings using that. Gunslinger's ineptitude with technology helps to get him in trouble, and you know what they say…no drama without trauma. Carlo Barberi also does a great job in showing confusion on Javi's face.
On Hallows' Eve and Daredevil: Gang War, someone else lettered your scripts. Since you letter too, what do you do in a script to make that job easier?
When all the art is in, I always go through the initial script and tweak dialogue to not only account for any acting the artist put into the panels, but also to account for any issues with spacing. Both Mike Dowling (Hallows' Eve) and Sergio D'Avila (Daredevil: Gang War) did amazing work, and I don't want to ever cover up the gorgeous art. Also, having lettered many comics myself, I can usually eyeball whether or not a balloon will fit in the space provided.
You've also edited other people's comics. What has editing someone else's book taught you about your own scripts?
Sometimes seeing someone else's script makes me question my process. Other times, it reinforces it. It depends on whose script I'm editing. I think to be a good writer, you should look at other people's scripts and see if you'd make different decisions than the original author and how those decisions would change the outcome of the story. I do tell new writers often that they should hire an editor. Editors are more valuable to the story than you think, and, despite what some people think, you cannot self-edit.
You lettered Vampirella for Dynamite years before you wrote her, in this year's Summer Special and now in Vampirella x Witchblade. What, if anything, did lettering her pages give you when it came time to write her?
Vampirella was a character I had only read through someone else's work. I'll admit, I was never interested in her until I lettered Nancy Collins' script for the Swords of Sorrow crossover. After that, I picked up my favorite Vampi story arc; God Save the Queen. Working with both Adriana Melo (Summer Special) and Valentina Pinti (Vampirella x Witchblade) was great because they're both incredibly professional. Also, Valentina and I worked together on both Daredevil: Unleash Hell and Laura Kinney: Sabretooth at Marvel.
Daredevil: Unleash Hell was a Red Band book and Daredevil: Gang War wasn't. What could you do with Elektra in Unleash Hell that you couldn't in Gang War?
Unleash Hell let us push the visual horror more than Gang War. All the Red Band books that were coming out were pushing the art more toward an R rating rather than the usual PG13. Also, since Gang War was part of a crossover, it didn't make sense to have one book in the Red Band line and not the others. I don't know how comfortable Valentina Pinti was, at first, in the horror department, but she rose to the challenge.
You've written for Marvel's black, white and red format, including Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood #3 and Star Wars: Darth Maul - Black, White & Red #3. When a page can only use black, white and red, what changes in how you write it?
For Darth Maul, it was easy. He's red. Whenever he was on the panel, we hit that point. Leonard Kirk was the artist on that story, and he got all the red lightsabers in, too. It was the same with Marvel Zombies. The story I wrote featured Beta Ray Bill, and his cape is red, so huzzah! I tried to make it easier for Nelson Daniel. For Moon Knight, we looked at who the bank robbers would be dressed as and leaned into characters that had red in them, so we went with Spidey, Black Widow, and Daredevil. David López drew a very handsome Jake Lockley.
Marvel's own description of Black Widow: Venomous calls Natasha's symbiote "a weapon with its own drives and desires." How do you write a weapon that wants things?
Anthropomorphizing and attributing human traits to random things happens every day. Just look at all the memes of faucets that look like faces. Sliver is a weapon, but they also have agency. In those stories, you see Sliver make decisions with Natasha and against her. Luciano Vecchio did an incredible job making Sliver's personality discernible visually. The concept art for that series is amazing.
What's something about lettering that people who read comics every week still don't know?
Good lettering can save a terrible book. Terrible lettering can tank a good book. Letterers are the unsung heroes of comics. They're the last rung on the ladder, and get the shortest amount of lead time. If you're making your own comic, hire an actual letterer and an editor. They're both worth the money. Simon Bowland, Jodie Troutman, Ariana Maher, Janice Chiang, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Aditya Bidikar, Tom Orzechowski, Nate Piekos…Hire these people. They're worth it.
What's a piece of standard advice about writing comics that you've come to think is wrong?
I've heard, "If you want to be a comics writer, just write comics, and you're a comics writer!" Sure. I guess that's true. However, if you want to be a professional comics writer who makes a living and a career at this, it's a little more complicated than that. Anyone can write a comic. Few can do it at a professional level (and make deadlines, etc.). Fewer still can make a living from writing comics. It's not as simple as writing a comic and then your name is up in lights. On the art side of comics, if you want to work digitally, great, but you must practice pencil to paper. When you're working digitally, any decision you make can be easily reversed with a click of a button. Working traditionally means you have to make decisions that are going to have to stick. And that makes you a better artist in the long run.
What are you reading right now, comics or otherwise?
I'm not reading anything right now because I'm too busy going to conventions and writing. I usually catch up with Uncanny X-Men on the Marvel app, and I'll pick up Spawn at the shop. I'm hoping to get some free time to catch up on my read pile.
Is there a comic shop you think of as your local? Tell us about it.
The Geekery in Matawan, NJ. Doug and Justin Preston (brothers) run the shop. They're great. It's an all inclusive shop where the most ardent fan can feel just as comfortable as the newest comics reader. They're good people, and I'll go to the mat for them any day of the week.
What are you working on next that you can talk about?
I'm working with Gary Erskine, Yel Zamor, Simon Bowland, and Paul Cornell on the graphic novel adaptation of All Systems Red. It's the first book in the Murderbot Diaries series of novels. The Kickstarter launches October 15, 2026. I'm also on the ongoing series Gunslinger Spawn from Todd McFarlane Productions/Image Comics.
Connect with Erica
Thanks to Erica for the time.
About the author
Hey, I'm Michael! As the creator and developer behind VerseDB, I get to combine my love for building software with a serious comic book habit. While I enjoy collecting, I'm ultimately in it for the stories they tell. For me, it's all about getting lost in a great narrative and appreciating the artwork. I built this platform to give readers and collectors a clean, organized place to catalog the issues, runs, and art that mean the most to them. Log your favorites and welcome to the community!
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