Mr Bossman, how do you feel about the fact that Michael D. Stortion is such a popular and beloved character in the Magnus Archives fandom? Was that the intention when he was being created? Because I certainly do love the Hand Man

Honestly?

It was 100% intentional.

I told Jonny that we needed a semi-sympathetic monster for the structure of the story and referenced Greed from the original FullMetal Alchemist anime as an example. Someone that people would like as an edgy friend only to be confronted with the reality of their station and flaws and ultimately doubt if they were ever friendly at all.

Jonny took that brief and then took Michael (who was already on the cards) and then added the extra elements needed to fit that role for the narrative.

I’d love to claim ownership of such a fun character to write and direct for but that’s definitely Jonny.

it’s actually a really good example of how we used to write together. Often I would just deal with stuff at a big-picture base principals kind of way spotting patterns and that and then I would trust Jonny to come up with the most captivating and upsetting way to meet that brief. I find he works best within specific bounds rather than just given a tabula rasa to work with.