An Interview with MATTEO STRUKUL

Italian author Matteo Strukul stops by to talk about his first novel in English, The Ballad of Mila, his broad and varied influences, his inspirational home country, why Chuck Wendig is a “badass wizard”, and much more…

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Matteo Strukul?

First of all, thank you so much Stefan for this opportunity to talk about my work. Well, about myself... I’m a man who loves life and rock ’n’ roll music (The Black Crowes, Rival Sons, Buckcherry and all the old stuff like Led Zep or Skynyrd). I adore American pulp-crime fiction authors (Jim Thompson, James Crumley, Joe R. Lansdale, among others), but at the same time I read so many European authors and literature (Friedrich Schiller, Wolfgang Goethe, Robert Louis Stevenson, Emilio Salgari), I love Italian red wine like Raboso or Grinton and I love my land that is Veneto in the Northeast of Italy. I’m so lucky to grow up in this area in towns like Padova, Venezia, Verona – so full of arts and beauty, I must confess that it’s an amazing place and for that reason I love to write about my land in my novels.

“Huntress: Crossbow at the Crossroads” (DC)

Writer: Paul Levitz | Artist: Marcus To | Inks: John Dell w. Richard Zajac | Colours: Andrew Dalhouse & Allan Passalaqua

In this adventure set in Italy, Huntress sets out to destroy a deadly human-trafficking and gun-smuggling operation

Collecting the complete six-issue miniseries, the story leads into WORLDS’ FINEST!

I first became aware of this series when I was on my late-2011/early-2012 DC binge, but decided to wait for the collected book (after all, it’s only six issues). Did it live up to expectations? Certainly – this is a fun, espionage-filled and action-packed tale of vigilante justice.