 So we just heard some incredibly fascinating stories about all of our cultural heritage. What I do is kind of different. I help shape pretend history. In the DC universe there are a lot of exciting characters like Batman and Catwoman and Huntress and I got to write the origin story of Huntress. It's called Huntress Year One and it's looking back at the makings of a strong female superhero. So I'm going to show you some of my favorite pages in the comic and by the way it was a comic first and then it was collected in this collected edition as a book. I know a lot of people aren't sure about what's the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel. Neil Gaiman said I'm a comic book writer. Being informed I write graphic novels is like I think I'm a hooker and I'm told no you're a lady of the evening. So anyway but I like getting to be an author for this graphic novel so I'm going to go through these as quickly as I can. I tried to create a film noir feel. When you write a graphic novel and you're not the illustrator you're the director, the casting director, the lighting director, the costume director and this is Helena our hero and her brother growing up in Gotham and their father is the dawn of Gotham and is beating their mother. Afterwards Helena is fuming at her father and she's not afraid of authority and she's a very devout Catholic girl and she just tells him to his face she wishes he was dead. A few minutes later she actually does regret this because Omerta an assassin sent from the boss of bosses in Sicily winds up coming in and killing the entire family in the middle of this dinner except for Helena. And this is that moment that all children in the DC universe go through where your entire family is murdered and then that sets you on a path and eventually someday you become either a superhero or a supervillain and the question is which will you become. I'm not following my notes so I'll just I'll just do this without the notes. So she is sent to Sicily to live with a family of assassins and she has this incredible tutor who I actually modeled this woman after a famous Italian movie star from the 50s and see that set she's watching Rigoletto did anybody see Rigoletto at the San Francisco opera a couple of years ago that's that set so people who know me see these little things oh that's from you know so anyway let's see so she's in Sicily and she oops I think I missed one there oh no okay she grows up and she falls in love with absolutely the wrong man he is the future dawn of Gotham Tony Angelo another mob family she this very elderly gentleman is the boss of bosses who tried to have her entire family killed but for some reason she was spared and now she's all grown up and he'd like to have her killed now and his second in command a man whose nickname is the Pope he's not the Pope but he anyway does anyone recognize the photo reference I provided for that was John Forsythe during his dynasty years it's anyway okay so so anyway and he's there's some there's some fun mafia talk here misogyny hilarious okay so she eventually gets a costume together and goes to confront Stefano Mandragora because he ordered the hit she finds out he ordered the hit on her family all those years ago and he says I can't read this from here but he says something along the lines of you must be an American we don't have capes in Italy and can you read the dialogue from the audience no oh that's too bad okay and so anyway but she actually has been raised in Italy but that is a an American phenomenon so then he signals to his goons to come in and he throws a knife at her and she catches it in midair and then which I'm able to do so that's realistic you can do that it's okay then she winds up having to go to Gotham because after she takes care of him there's still the matter of the man who pulled the trigger omerta and he is in Gotham so she starts to encounter all the Gotham characters she vowed she'd never go back but here she is and Catwoman is basically telling her I'll help you out but you have to remain independent that's what I want I don't want you to work for me or the bat and she asks and Helena aka the Huntress our hero asks Catwoman how long have you two been chasing each other around you and Batman and Catwoman says well maybe two or three years but it feels like 70 Catwoman also says I know smoking ages you but I'm only 29 darling and see in Gotham nobody ever gets older than 29 I think that's why I like it there inauspiciously she beats up Bruce Wayne immediately thinking he's in bed with the mob he was actually trying to set up the mob and he's having a mob wedding at Wayne Manor and she says oh I'm really afraid of you what are you gonna do beat me at golf and he says yes I think I could also at dressing for a wedding anyway so she winds up reenacting not meaning to but reenacting her childhood trauma with omerta coming in into the old house that's now abandoned and boarded up where the scene happened in her childhood and this is the cover of the book and that is the beginning of the story of the Huntress thank you