Prowler: New You

Hobie Brown has come out of the Clone Conspiracy still standing upright and facing what remains of his life with PROWLER #6 on March 22.

As Prowler prepares for a life after death and finally being able to live out from under the thumb of Ben Reilly, we talked to writer Sean Ryan about his experiences writing the character and how both Hobie Brown and Ryan’s feelings about the character have evolved over the course of the book.

Marvel.com: Emotionally, what state do we find Hobie in at that start of PROWLER #6?

Sean Ryan: Burnt out, confused and lost. Hobie’s a character that’s always been jumping from one thing to another, and now he finds himself in the middle of that jump. He’s not sure where this next jump is going to lead him. And he’s getting pretty tired of jumping.

Marvel.com: How does Prowler feel about his choices and behavior over the course of Clone Conspiracy now that the Jackal’s motives and behaviors have been laid bare?

Sean Ryan: The Hobie we see in issue #6 was locked up and kept in stasis during the majority of Clone Conspiracy. I think he finds it very disorienting to know that there was another version of him running around making decisions that he doesn’t necessarily agree with. I think that makes him question a lot about himself. Something this issue tries to do is get Hobie to really focus in on what he wants. The events of Clone Conspiracy have really thrown him for a loop in that regard, not knowing who he is.

Marvel.com: This event obviously had big effects on Spider-Man as well. At the start of issue #6, where are Prowler and Spidey in terms of their friendship? How about their brief partnership?

Sean Ryan: Things aren’t great. Spider-Man has [gone] through hell. But Prowler was also almost murdered. Prowler is feeling burnt out and is questioning his whole life. He’s angry and unfortunately, he’s pointing a lot of that anger at Spider-Man. The two don’t leave best of friends, certainly.

Marvel.com: Where do you view Prowler’s place in the Spider-Man section of the Marvel Universe? How about the larger Marvel U?

Sean Ryan: Prowler is one of those characters that will always show up from time to time in comics, but never really as the main character, or the character that is leading or making the big decisions. He’s always a part of someone else’s story. I find it sad. My biggest dream for Prowler is that he gives up being a super hero and moves to somewhere quiet. The Marvel Universe can always use heroes, but I think being a super hero is doing too much damage to Prowler.

Marvel.com: How, if at all, has working on this title changed your perspective or feel about, or approach to the character?

Sean Ryan: I didn’t really know that much about Prowler when I started the book. I knew of him and his costume, but very little else. And like I said in the answer above, I really feel for him now. He’s a lost guy. I don’t think he knows what he’s doing or what he wants. He feels trapped in being a super hero to me. I just want him to find some happiness.

Marvel.com: When we’ve spoken previously, we have not talked much about your collaboration with Jamal Campbell on art.  How did his work complement and enhance your approach to the book?

Sean Ryan: Jamal is amazing. Anytime I see an email come in with more of his artwork, it’s like my birthday. Jamal is so good at everything. So I knew I could relax and just throw anything at him. I knew whatever is in the script, he’d knock it out of the park.

Sean Ryan and Jamal Campbell bring PROWLER to a new beginning with issue #6 on March 22!