Monday, July 28, 2003
Marvel Conference Call - Details on Neil Gaiman's "1602"
Marvel Comics held a conference call this afternoon to discuss legendary writer Neil Gaiman's highly anticipated, and highly secretive, 1602 project. In attendance were Marvel President Bill Jemas, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada and the man himself Neil Gaiman. Yours truly had things covered for CHUD, because that's the kind of guy I am - a man that terribly wanted to ask arguably the most talented comic book writer of all time about…Thor.
Gaiman opened the conference by speaking generally about the project's high concept. 1602 takes the Marvel universe as it stood around 1969 and has that universe attempt to "come into being" in Elizabethan England. One of the central characters will be Sir Nicholas Fury, the head of Queen Elizabeth's intelligence network. While the tale promises to be complex (it is Gaiman after all), one of the focal narrative threads will involve an object that is sent to England by the last surviving Templar. Not sure whether the object is a weapon or a treasure, Fury dispatches his top agent, a blind Irish singer named Matthew Murdock, to ensure the object's safe passage to the Royal Court. Other narrative threads include the Inquisition's aggressive pursuit of "The Witch Breed," rogue individuals with strange mutations that seek the assistance of an exiled Spanish aristocrat Carlos Xavier; as well as a storyline about Virginia Dare's return to England from a thriving Roanoke colony, with her mysterious "bodyguard." And that's just scratching the surface of the massive scope of this eight issue mini-series!
Gaiman went on to state that the idea for 1602 came to him, in part, after the events of September 11th. Traveling alone in Italy at the time, Gaiman was determined to tell a story that was free of skyscrapers, guns, bombs and airplanes. Instead, he was very much set on telling a story in a different time, a different period of history. When asked why in particular he wanted to set the story in 1602, Gaiman responded by saying that there was something about the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign that he found appealing - when Elizabeth was an older woman and King James of Scotland, who had a burning hatred for witches and all things magic, was coming to power. Conversely, this dynamic between James and Elizabeth will have relevance to the story. Gaiman also went on to state that this was a period where time moved much more slowly, it took people a very long time to get around - contrasted to a modern setting - and this idea of a slower time appealed to him and greatly influenced the development of his story.
It should be noted that a great deal on emphasis was placed by Gaiman on the fact that although 1602 may appear at first glance to be an Elseworld's or What If? type story, it most certainly is not. For reasons that will become apparent as the series progresses these events will be occurring. As to what affect 1602 will have on the Marvel Universe and current continuity, Gaiman stated that readers will "have to wait and see." Again emphasizing that this is not an Elseworld's scenario, he suggested that 1602 instead be "read as a puzzle and an adventure."
The majority of the conference centered on the characters that would be appearing in 1602, and there are plenty. In fact, if readers look closely enough, just about every major (and many minor) Marvel character (as Marvel stood around 1969) will be making some type of appearance or will me referred to in some manner. However, these won't be exactly the Marvel characters we know, but instead "analogs of characters." Some examples include Dr. Stephen Strange, who will be the Queen's physician, and who dabbles in the black arts on the side; Peter Parker, and agent of Fury's who according to Gaiman "perhaps never will get bite by his spider; and The Four Travelers and their ship The Fantastic. Interestingly enough, when asked whether there would be an event that "kicks off" the 1602 universe - a la the Fantastic Four going into Space and returning with their powers - Gaiman said there would be and The Four Travelers would be a part of that genesis.
Sounds cool - but what about the bad guys? You can't have a comic book without villains. Look for a "scene stealing" Count Otto Von Doom, known as "The Handsome" to play a major role in 1602, as well as The Inquisition, whose leader remains at this point a mystery, but according to Gaiman, whose identity should be clear by issue two. Now this only speculation on my part, but I don't see how it could be anyone but Magneto. If the Inquisition is bent on hunting down the "Witch Breed," who better to head it than a self-loathing "witch" and historically the X-Men's most feared adversary? Anyway, I guess we'll find out in September.
Want a little more speculation? When asked (one guess as to by whom) whether Thor would be appearing in 1602, Gaiman responded only by saying "What an interesting question…" You bet your ass it is Neil! My guess - Thor is Virginia Dare's mysterious "bodyguard," a Native American with the power to control the weather. Again though, we'll have to wait until September.
Gaiman stated that he was "having a wonderful time" working on this book, and that the best part was working with so many of these iconic characters and experimenting with them. He noted that the experience must be analogous to what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby felt when they originally created the characters. Gaiman definitely sounded very enthusiastic about the project. When asked you his favorite character to work with was, the scribe commented that, to his own surprise, it was Nick Fury - who in the series is "absolutely ruthless." When asked who he would have liked to included, but did not…Wolverine. Nevertheless, there will plenty of interesting characters in 1602, and according to Joe Quesada, part of the fun of the series will be figuring out who these characters are based on.
Quesada, incredibly impressed by what he's seen of the series, stated that he "could not kiss Neil's ass anymore," and that 1602 is "a spectacular work." Quesada was also quick to comment that 1602 will be an accessible all ages read that can be picked up and enjoyed by people completely unfamiliar with Marvel.
As for the artwork, Gaiman was extremely complementary of the work Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove had done so far, stating that Kubert had been able to accomplish the impossible. Interestingly, the covers will be done by Scott McKowen, a renowned illustrator for theater posters. Take a gander for yourself, attached are the cover for issues one and a few preview pages.
The first issue of 1602 will be released this September.
www.chud.com
Marvel Comics held a conference call this afternoon to discuss legendary writer Neil Gaiman's highly anticipated, and highly secretive, 1602 project. In attendance were Marvel President Bill Jemas, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada and the man himself Neil Gaiman. Yours truly had things covered for CHUD, because that's the kind of guy I am - a man that terribly wanted to ask arguably the most talented comic book writer of all time about…Thor.
Gaiman opened the conference by speaking generally about the project's high concept. 1602 takes the Marvel universe as it stood around 1969 and has that universe attempt to "come into being" in Elizabethan England. One of the central characters will be Sir Nicholas Fury, the head of Queen Elizabeth's intelligence network. While the tale promises to be complex (it is Gaiman after all), one of the focal narrative threads will involve an object that is sent to England by the last surviving Templar. Not sure whether the object is a weapon or a treasure, Fury dispatches his top agent, a blind Irish singer named Matthew Murdock, to ensure the object's safe passage to the Royal Court. Other narrative threads include the Inquisition's aggressive pursuit of "The Witch Breed," rogue individuals with strange mutations that seek the assistance of an exiled Spanish aristocrat Carlos Xavier; as well as a storyline about Virginia Dare's return to England from a thriving Roanoke colony, with her mysterious "bodyguard." And that's just scratching the surface of the massive scope of this eight issue mini-series!
Gaiman went on to state that the idea for 1602 came to him, in part, after the events of September 11th. Traveling alone in Italy at the time, Gaiman was determined to tell a story that was free of skyscrapers, guns, bombs and airplanes. Instead, he was very much set on telling a story in a different time, a different period of history. When asked why in particular he wanted to set the story in 1602, Gaiman responded by saying that there was something about the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign that he found appealing - when Elizabeth was an older woman and King James of Scotland, who had a burning hatred for witches and all things magic, was coming to power. Conversely, this dynamic between James and Elizabeth will have relevance to the story. Gaiman also went on to state that this was a period where time moved much more slowly, it took people a very long time to get around - contrasted to a modern setting - and this idea of a slower time appealed to him and greatly influenced the development of his story.
It should be noted that a great deal on emphasis was placed by Gaiman on the fact that although 1602 may appear at first glance to be an Elseworld's or What If? type story, it most certainly is not. For reasons that will become apparent as the series progresses these events will be occurring. As to what affect 1602 will have on the Marvel Universe and current continuity, Gaiman stated that readers will "have to wait and see." Again emphasizing that this is not an Elseworld's scenario, he suggested that 1602 instead be "read as a puzzle and an adventure."
The majority of the conference centered on the characters that would be appearing in 1602, and there are plenty. In fact, if readers look closely enough, just about every major (and many minor) Marvel character (as Marvel stood around 1969) will be making some type of appearance or will me referred to in some manner. However, these won't be exactly the Marvel characters we know, but instead "analogs of characters." Some examples include Dr. Stephen Strange, who will be the Queen's physician, and who dabbles in the black arts on the side; Peter Parker, and agent of Fury's who according to Gaiman "perhaps never will get bite by his spider; and The Four Travelers and their ship The Fantastic. Interestingly enough, when asked whether there would be an event that "kicks off" the 1602 universe - a la the Fantastic Four going into Space and returning with their powers - Gaiman said there would be and The Four Travelers would be a part of that genesis.
Sounds cool - but what about the bad guys? You can't have a comic book without villains. Look for a "scene stealing" Count Otto Von Doom, known as "The Handsome" to play a major role in 1602, as well as The Inquisition, whose leader remains at this point a mystery, but according to Gaiman, whose identity should be clear by issue two. Now this only speculation on my part, but I don't see how it could be anyone but Magneto. If the Inquisition is bent on hunting down the "Witch Breed," who better to head it than a self-loathing "witch" and historically the X-Men's most feared adversary? Anyway, I guess we'll find out in September.
Want a little more speculation? When asked (one guess as to by whom) whether Thor would be appearing in 1602, Gaiman responded only by saying "What an interesting question…" You bet your ass it is Neil! My guess - Thor is Virginia Dare's mysterious "bodyguard," a Native American with the power to control the weather. Again though, we'll have to wait until September.
Gaiman stated that he was "having a wonderful time" working on this book, and that the best part was working with so many of these iconic characters and experimenting with them. He noted that the experience must be analogous to what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby felt when they originally created the characters. Gaiman definitely sounded very enthusiastic about the project. When asked you his favorite character to work with was, the scribe commented that, to his own surprise, it was Nick Fury - who in the series is "absolutely ruthless." When asked who he would have liked to included, but did not…Wolverine. Nevertheless, there will plenty of interesting characters in 1602, and according to Joe Quesada, part of the fun of the series will be figuring out who these characters are based on.
Quesada, incredibly impressed by what he's seen of the series, stated that he "could not kiss Neil's ass anymore," and that 1602 is "a spectacular work." Quesada was also quick to comment that 1602 will be an accessible all ages read that can be picked up and enjoyed by people completely unfamiliar with Marvel.
As for the artwork, Gaiman was extremely complementary of the work Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove had done so far, stating that Kubert had been able to accomplish the impossible. Interestingly, the covers will be done by Scott McKowen, a renowned illustrator for theater posters. Take a gander for yourself, attached are the cover for issues one and a few preview pages.
The first issue of 1602 will be released this September.
www.chud.com
Sunday, July 27, 2003
MARVEL 1602 #1
by Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert, & Richard Isanove
"It wasn't meant to be a secret…I get it all the time now. I just arrived in Portugal, in Lisbon, to promote Coraline, and the first question I was asked, in the car from the airport to the hotel was ‘So, can you tell me anything about 1602?’
And I said, ‘It's drawn by Andy Kubert, colored by Richard Isanove, lettered by Todd Klein, covers by Scott McKowen and I saw a photocopy of the first issue and it looks pretty good.’
‘Yes, but the story ….What's it about?’
‘Oh, you know,’ I said. ‘Stuff.’
‘Well, is it the Marvel characters? Or characters you invented yourself?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘That's pretty much it.’
‘But how long is it?’
‘I think it'll be eight issues. It was meant to be six, but I'm writing episode 5 right now, and there's a lot of story to tell.’
‘So why is it such a secret...?’
It got to be a secret because the idea of 1602 was fairly straightforward, and really fun, and I hated the idea of people being familiar with it, even bored of it, by the time it came out. So I asked Joe Quesada if he'd mind if we didn't make a big announcement at the start. But the more people asked me, buttonholed me, pleaded with me, the more I liked the fact that only a tiny handful of people at Marvel and I had even seen Andy's amazing pencils or Richard's colors. This was starting to be a genuinely fun secret - like not telling someone what their birthday present is until it's time to unwrap it.
What am I going to tell you? It's really fun. It's set in the Marvel Universe. It looks gorgeous. You may even like it.
There are sixteen hundred & two good reasons for telling you all about it, and I'm not saying a word.
Think of it as your birthday present."
Neil Gaiman, May 2003
FC, 40 pg..........$3.50
http://previews.diamondcomics.com
by Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert, & Richard Isanove
"It wasn't meant to be a secret…I get it all the time now. I just arrived in Portugal, in Lisbon, to promote Coraline, and the first question I was asked, in the car from the airport to the hotel was ‘So, can you tell me anything about 1602?’
And I said, ‘It's drawn by Andy Kubert, colored by Richard Isanove, lettered by Todd Klein, covers by Scott McKowen and I saw a photocopy of the first issue and it looks pretty good.’
‘Yes, but the story ….What's it about?’
‘Oh, you know,’ I said. ‘Stuff.’
‘Well, is it the Marvel characters? Or characters you invented yourself?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘That's pretty much it.’
‘But how long is it?’
‘I think it'll be eight issues. It was meant to be six, but I'm writing episode 5 right now, and there's a lot of story to tell.’
‘So why is it such a secret...?’
It got to be a secret because the idea of 1602 was fairly straightforward, and really fun, and I hated the idea of people being familiar with it, even bored of it, by the time it came out. So I asked Joe Quesada if he'd mind if we didn't make a big announcement at the start. But the more people asked me, buttonholed me, pleaded with me, the more I liked the fact that only a tiny handful of people at Marvel and I had even seen Andy's amazing pencils or Richard's colors. This was starting to be a genuinely fun secret - like not telling someone what their birthday present is until it's time to unwrap it.
What am I going to tell you? It's really fun. It's set in the Marvel Universe. It looks gorgeous. You may even like it.
There are sixteen hundred & two good reasons for telling you all about it, and I'm not saying a word.
Think of it as your birthday present."
Neil Gaiman, May 2003
FC, 40 pg..........$3.50
http://previews.diamondcomics.com
SAN DIEGO
MORE FROM SAN DIEGO: GAIMAN TALKS ABOUT FILMMAKING, MIRACLEMAN AND '1602'
New York City, guns, skyscrapers and explosions. These are the things Neil Gaiman wanted to avoid putting in the Marvel comics series that he began developing almost two years ago. Addressing fans at Comic-Con International, the writer said he agreed to do a Marvel book just before September 11th, 2001.
"There's something about Marvel that automatically makes me think: New York and skyscrapers and people with guns and things that explode," Gaiman told fans. After the terrorist attacks of that day, he was unsure what the new book would be like. "I wanted to do something that had all of the fun of the Marvel Universe, but had no skyscrapers, no planes, nothing exploding and no guns."
Shortly after the terror attacks, Gaiman traveled to a convention in Venice and it was there that he found inspiration. "I thought, 'Oh, I know what my story is,' and '1602' was there in my head."
"1602", due out next month, looks to be the uniquely Gaiman look at the Marvel Universe. Although it has been in the works for almost two years, Marvel and Gaiman managed to keep mum about it until just a few months ago. The creator was concerned about hyping the book too far ahead of its release.
"The Internet exists in mayfly time anyway...you know: a half an hour on the Internet is like several years in the real world," Gaiman said of his reasons for keeping the project quiet. "The veil of secrecy has now been lifted. The veil of secrecy on '1602' was something that just sort of...what's that wonderful 'Simpsons' word...embiggened.
"The premise of '1602' is as follows: It's 400 years ago and the Marvel universe, for reasons that we do not know when we begin, has started occurring 400 years early," Gaiman said.
"It's not an Elseworlds. It's not a 'What If.' It's actually happening and it will have some spillover into the real Marvel Universe," he said, adding that the series would make some alterations to the universe.
"Sir Nicholas Fury was the head of Queen Elizabeth's intelligence service. The court physician was a magician named Stephen Strange. Fury's assistant is a young man named Peter Parker who has an obsession with spiders. His top agent is a man named Matthew Murdock, who is a blind, Irish ballad singer who turns out to be this very mysterious figure of the night.
"We have the witchbreed who are these persecuted kids with peculiar powers.
"There's the mysterious hand of Otto Von Doom, known as 'the handsome,'" he revealed, getting big laughs from the crowd.
Gaiman told fans that the book has been enormous fun to write and that it's given him a hint of what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby might have felt like when they created the characters. While the book was designed to be a diversion from real world events, Gaiman found that life often imitates art.
"The initial vision was not to be topical, but by the time I'm writing issue number five, and have a number of people heading into a small European country to try and rescue potential weapons of mass destruction," Gaiman said, noting how his story inadvertently dovetailed with world events.
Asked about the length of "1602" Gaiman told the crowd, "It's definitely going to be eight issues, unless it's nine."
The writer initially agreed to do the series to help fund his "Marvels and Miracles" campaign to free his "Miracleman" stories from a copyright battle with comic creator Todd McFarlane. The pair battled in court and Gaiman reported that his side won every single count against his former employer. McFarlane is, of course, appealing the court's decision.
"Todd's appeal goes like this," Gaiman explained. " 'Yes, I said to Neil that he was not signing away his copyright. No there was no indication he was signing away his copyrights. He didn't sign his copyrights away in 1993.
"'Yes, in 1996 I falsely filed copyright papers claiming that I had written the 'Angela' book and 'Spawn' #9. But, in the subsequent three years, the statue of limitations on copyrights, Neil didn't find out that I had done this and so his winning the case should be thrown out.'"
Gaiman said he still feels secure that his side will win out on appeal.
"I'm not a betting man but I would not put a lot of money on Todd's appeal as he's going with the 'Ah ha! Tricked you!' defense."
Further, Gaiman said it's looking as if McFarlane's hold on the books was practically non-existent to begin with. McFarlane thought he acquired the property from the now-defunct Eclipse Comics. However, Gaiman said, Miracleman creator Gary Leach's agreement with that publisher allowed that the rights to the material would revert back to him should anything happen to Eclipse. Given that, it seems McFarlane may never have had a legitimate claim on the character to begin with.
"I know that I have rights to Miracleman. I know I have rights to the stories I wrote. We plan on getting them back into print," Gaiman said. "What rights Todd has, I don't know. He did that peculiar statue of Miracleman where he's clenched."
So that the constipated Miracleman statue won't be the only representation of the character on the market, Gaiman is working with Randy Bowen on a new statue.
Gaiman touched on his recent forays into filmmaking. He just made his directing debut on with "A Short Film About John Bolton" which was screened at the con. He wrote the script for "Mirrormask" which collaborator Dave McKean is directing. He plans on directing the feature film "Death: The High Cost of Living" next.
Gaiman also debuted his new spoken-word CD "Telling Tales" at the con. "It has strangely cool drummy noises by Robin Adnan Anders," Gaiman said.
His book (another collaboration with McKean) "The Wolves in the Walls" is due in stores this week.
"We've got another children's book coming out in about a year, in theory, called 'Crazy Pair,'" Gaiman revealed. He added the "in theory" qualifier as McKean has taken on a tremendous workload and Gaiman is skeptical about how quickly he'll be able to clear it.
One final project Gaiman announced is a children's book called "The Graveyard Book" which is like "The Jungle Book" only set in a graveyard, where the protagonist was raised by dead people.
www.comicbookresources.com
MORE FROM SAN DIEGO: GAIMAN TALKS ABOUT FILMMAKING, MIRACLEMAN AND '1602'
New York City, guns, skyscrapers and explosions. These are the things Neil Gaiman wanted to avoid putting in the Marvel comics series that he began developing almost two years ago. Addressing fans at Comic-Con International, the writer said he agreed to do a Marvel book just before September 11th, 2001.
"There's something about Marvel that automatically makes me think: New York and skyscrapers and people with guns and things that explode," Gaiman told fans. After the terrorist attacks of that day, he was unsure what the new book would be like. "I wanted to do something that had all of the fun of the Marvel Universe, but had no skyscrapers, no planes, nothing exploding and no guns."
Shortly after the terror attacks, Gaiman traveled to a convention in Venice and it was there that he found inspiration. "I thought, 'Oh, I know what my story is,' and '1602' was there in my head."
"1602", due out next month, looks to be the uniquely Gaiman look at the Marvel Universe. Although it has been in the works for almost two years, Marvel and Gaiman managed to keep mum about it until just a few months ago. The creator was concerned about hyping the book too far ahead of its release.
"The Internet exists in mayfly time anyway...you know: a half an hour on the Internet is like several years in the real world," Gaiman said of his reasons for keeping the project quiet. "The veil of secrecy has now been lifted. The veil of secrecy on '1602' was something that just sort of...what's that wonderful 'Simpsons' word...embiggened.
"The premise of '1602' is as follows: It's 400 years ago and the Marvel universe, for reasons that we do not know when we begin, has started occurring 400 years early," Gaiman said.
"It's not an Elseworlds. It's not a 'What If.' It's actually happening and it will have some spillover into the real Marvel Universe," he said, adding that the series would make some alterations to the universe.
"Sir Nicholas Fury was the head of Queen Elizabeth's intelligence service. The court physician was a magician named Stephen Strange. Fury's assistant is a young man named Peter Parker who has an obsession with spiders. His top agent is a man named Matthew Murdock, who is a blind, Irish ballad singer who turns out to be this very mysterious figure of the night.
"We have the witchbreed who are these persecuted kids with peculiar powers.
"There's the mysterious hand of Otto Von Doom, known as 'the handsome,'" he revealed, getting big laughs from the crowd.
Gaiman told fans that the book has been enormous fun to write and that it's given him a hint of what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby might have felt like when they created the characters. While the book was designed to be a diversion from real world events, Gaiman found that life often imitates art.
"The initial vision was not to be topical, but by the time I'm writing issue number five, and have a number of people heading into a small European country to try and rescue potential weapons of mass destruction," Gaiman said, noting how his story inadvertently dovetailed with world events.
Asked about the length of "1602" Gaiman told the crowd, "It's definitely going to be eight issues, unless it's nine."
The writer initially agreed to do the series to help fund his "Marvels and Miracles" campaign to free his "Miracleman" stories from a copyright battle with comic creator Todd McFarlane. The pair battled in court and Gaiman reported that his side won every single count against his former employer. McFarlane is, of course, appealing the court's decision.
"Todd's appeal goes like this," Gaiman explained. " 'Yes, I said to Neil that he was not signing away his copyright. No there was no indication he was signing away his copyrights. He didn't sign his copyrights away in 1993.
"'Yes, in 1996 I falsely filed copyright papers claiming that I had written the 'Angela' book and 'Spawn' #9. But, in the subsequent three years, the statue of limitations on copyrights, Neil didn't find out that I had done this and so his winning the case should be thrown out.'"
Gaiman said he still feels secure that his side will win out on appeal.
"I'm not a betting man but I would not put a lot of money on Todd's appeal as he's going with the 'Ah ha! Tricked you!' defense."
Further, Gaiman said it's looking as if McFarlane's hold on the books was practically non-existent to begin with. McFarlane thought he acquired the property from the now-defunct Eclipse Comics. However, Gaiman said, Miracleman creator Gary Leach's agreement with that publisher allowed that the rights to the material would revert back to him should anything happen to Eclipse. Given that, it seems McFarlane may never have had a legitimate claim on the character to begin with.
"I know that I have rights to Miracleman. I know I have rights to the stories I wrote. We plan on getting them back into print," Gaiman said. "What rights Todd has, I don't know. He did that peculiar statue of Miracleman where he's clenched."
So that the constipated Miracleman statue won't be the only representation of the character on the market, Gaiman is working with Randy Bowen on a new statue.
Gaiman touched on his recent forays into filmmaking. He just made his directing debut on with "A Short Film About John Bolton" which was screened at the con. He wrote the script for "Mirrormask" which collaborator Dave McKean is directing. He plans on directing the feature film "Death: The High Cost of Living" next.
Gaiman also debuted his new spoken-word CD "Telling Tales" at the con. "It has strangely cool drummy noises by Robin Adnan Anders," Gaiman said.
His book (another collaboration with McKean) "The Wolves in the Walls" is due in stores this week.
"We've got another children's book coming out in about a year, in theory, called 'Crazy Pair,'" Gaiman revealed. He added the "in theory" qualifier as McKean has taken on a tremendous workload and Gaiman is skeptical about how quickly he'll be able to clear it.
One final project Gaiman announced is a children's book called "The Graveyard Book" which is like "The Jungle Book" only set in a graveyard, where the protagonist was raised by dead people.
www.comicbookresources.com
1602
After his last Sandman hardcover in 1999 (The Sandman: The Dream Hunters), Neil Gaiman turned to other things, including his best-selling, Hugo-Award-winning novel, American Gods: A Novel, in 2001 (see "American Gods Wins Hugo Award"); and Coraline, a children's book published last year. Now he is returning to comics with two major releases in under 60 days (four releases all together in August and September), a perfect storm for the growing legions of Gaiman fans. We talked to Gaiman at the BEA to better understand the implications for retailers.
Sales numbers on his recent books revealed that Gaiman's work away from comics has vastly increased his importance in the comics business. American Gods sold 90,000 copies in its U.S. hardcover edition (plus another 30,000 in the U.K.) and 500,000 in mass market paperback. Coraline sold around 130,000 in hardcover in the U.S.. Compare those numbers to Gaiman's best-selling comics work. Dream Hunters, according to Gaiman, had hardcover sales of around 65-70,000 when it was released in 1999. While the ten volumes of the Sandman series (the oldest of which has been in print for over a decade) have in excess of 2 million copies in print, the popularity of Gaiman's fiction has clearly increased the potential sales of the comic work dramatically.
The Gaiman releases will also benefit from the publicity, advertising, and merchandising activity surrounding an unplanned convergence of four Gaiman titles due for release in less than sixty days in August and September. Each had its own schedule; it's purely coincidence, according to Gaiman, that they're all being released so close together. First up is The Wolves in the Walls, a new children's book with artist Dave McKean, due for release August 8th. McKean's ideas for this book go back four years, but the work has just been completed and is being released in a few months. And a new volume of Little Lit, with a story written by Gaiman and illustrated by Gahan Wilson, will also be released that month.
August is also the launch date for the first issue of 1602, a new comic mini-series with art by Adam Kubert and colors by Richard Isanove, Gaiman's first work for Marvel in eight years. This book was originally announced in 2001 (see "Marvel Snags Neil Gaiman") and is now finally launching as the first of the two major Gaiman releases from the Big Two comic publishers. One reason for the delay, according to Gaiman, was the desire to get most of the mini-series complete before the first issue shipped, so that all of the issues could ship on time; he said about 75% of #5 was done. Originally announced as six issues, 1602 will be an 8-shot, priced at $3.50. Very few other details are known about it, other than that it will be set in the Marvel Universe.
In September, DC's Vertigo imprint will release The Sandman Endless Nights, a new Sandman hardcover written by Gaiman with art by some of his favorite artists: Frank Quitely, Milo Manara, Glenn Fabry, P. Craig Russell, Miguelanxo Prado, Barron Storey, and Bill Sienkiewicz. The scheduling of this book was driven by Vertigo Executive Editor Karen Berger's wish for a major publishing event to mark the imprint's 10th Anniversary. Beyond his desire to accommodate her, Gaiman's other motivation was Berger's ability to involve his dream artist roster. We saw some very nice pages at the show, including Manara's; this looks like a great book. Asked what sales he expected on the $24.95 hardcover, Gaiman said, "If it sells less than 100,000 copies, DC's not doing its job, and from what I can see DC is doing its job very well." This would be 50% larger than Dream Hunters, but given the hundreds of thousands of new readers that have been exposed to Gaiman through American Gods, it is probably a conservative estimate. DC was making a major push to the book trade at the BEA, and it will also do very well in comic stores.
Beyond the individual strength of each of these releases, the combined weight of the four products is going to give each more prominence than it would have had alone. And it's unlikely that the relatively modest prices of these four releases will represent a barrier to Gaiman's fans.
The next item coming from Gaiman? A Short Film about John Bolton, by Gaiman and produced by Guy Ritchie's company, will probably get released in some form soon.
www.icv2.com
After his last Sandman hardcover in 1999 (The Sandman: The Dream Hunters), Neil Gaiman turned to other things, including his best-selling, Hugo-Award-winning novel, American Gods: A Novel, in 2001 (see "American Gods Wins Hugo Award"); and Coraline, a children's book published last year. Now he is returning to comics with two major releases in under 60 days (four releases all together in August and September), a perfect storm for the growing legions of Gaiman fans. We talked to Gaiman at the BEA to better understand the implications for retailers.
Sales numbers on his recent books revealed that Gaiman's work away from comics has vastly increased his importance in the comics business. American Gods sold 90,000 copies in its U.S. hardcover edition (plus another 30,000 in the U.K.) and 500,000 in mass market paperback. Coraline sold around 130,000 in hardcover in the U.S.. Compare those numbers to Gaiman's best-selling comics work. Dream Hunters, according to Gaiman, had hardcover sales of around 65-70,000 when it was released in 1999. While the ten volumes of the Sandman series (the oldest of which has been in print for over a decade) have in excess of 2 million copies in print, the popularity of Gaiman's fiction has clearly increased the potential sales of the comic work dramatically.
The Gaiman releases will also benefit from the publicity, advertising, and merchandising activity surrounding an unplanned convergence of four Gaiman titles due for release in less than sixty days in August and September. Each had its own schedule; it's purely coincidence, according to Gaiman, that they're all being released so close together. First up is The Wolves in the Walls, a new children's book with artist Dave McKean, due for release August 8th. McKean's ideas for this book go back four years, but the work has just been completed and is being released in a few months. And a new volume of Little Lit, with a story written by Gaiman and illustrated by Gahan Wilson, will also be released that month.
August is also the launch date for the first issue of 1602, a new comic mini-series with art by Adam Kubert and colors by Richard Isanove, Gaiman's first work for Marvel in eight years. This book was originally announced in 2001 (see "Marvel Snags Neil Gaiman") and is now finally launching as the first of the two major Gaiman releases from the Big Two comic publishers. One reason for the delay, according to Gaiman, was the desire to get most of the mini-series complete before the first issue shipped, so that all of the issues could ship on time; he said about 75% of #5 was done. Originally announced as six issues, 1602 will be an 8-shot, priced at $3.50. Very few other details are known about it, other than that it will be set in the Marvel Universe.
In September, DC's Vertigo imprint will release The Sandman Endless Nights, a new Sandman hardcover written by Gaiman with art by some of his favorite artists: Frank Quitely, Milo Manara, Glenn Fabry, P. Craig Russell, Miguelanxo Prado, Barron Storey, and Bill Sienkiewicz. The scheduling of this book was driven by Vertigo Executive Editor Karen Berger's wish for a major publishing event to mark the imprint's 10th Anniversary. Beyond his desire to accommodate her, Gaiman's other motivation was Berger's ability to involve his dream artist roster. We saw some very nice pages at the show, including Manara's; this looks like a great book. Asked what sales he expected on the $24.95 hardcover, Gaiman said, "If it sells less than 100,000 copies, DC's not doing its job, and from what I can see DC is doing its job very well." This would be 50% larger than Dream Hunters, but given the hundreds of thousands of new readers that have been exposed to Gaiman through American Gods, it is probably a conservative estimate. DC was making a major push to the book trade at the BEA, and it will also do very well in comic stores.
Beyond the individual strength of each of these releases, the combined weight of the four products is going to give each more prominence than it would have had alone. And it's unlikely that the relatively modest prices of these four releases will represent a barrier to Gaiman's fans.
The next item coming from Gaiman? A Short Film about John Bolton, by Gaiman and produced by Guy Ritchie's company, will probably get released in some form soon.
www.icv2.com
TRAILERS
Tuesday afternoon, Marvel released three teaser images from the August-debuting 1602 miniseries written by Neil Gaiman, with art by Andy Kubert and colors by Richard Isanove. As is becoming traditional in instances such as these, no further information was offered by the publisher.
http://www.newsarama.com/1602.htm
Tuesday afternoon, Marvel released three teaser images from the August-debuting 1602 miniseries written by Neil Gaiman, with art by Andy Kubert and colors by Richard Isanove. As is becoming traditional in instances such as these, no further information was offered by the publisher.
http://www.newsarama.com/1602.htm
NEIL GAIMAN'S LOG
Tuesday, May 20, 2003
posted by Neil Gaiman 6:20 PM
I actually answered someone's question about 1602 today. (It's easier just not to answer. My normal answer to "What is it about?" is "It is about 140 pages long", which does not endear me to the person asking). But today someone asked what Marvel characters were in it, and I said "Lots of them," and then he said "I understand it has Man-Thing in it," and I said "Lots of them. But not Man-Thing." Which is a real answer. Man-Thing is not in 1602.
Anyway, Marvel are getting a bit more informative than I am, in their own way, and just e-mailed me to tell me that there's some early information up at http://www.newsarama.com/1602.htm. It's still a teaser, I'm afraid. But at least you can see what Andy and Richard are up to on the art (it's all taken from panels of issue #1).
www.neilgaiman.com
Tuesday, May 20, 2003
posted by Neil Gaiman 6:20 PM
I actually answered someone's question about 1602 today. (It's easier just not to answer. My normal answer to "What is it about?" is "It is about 140 pages long", which does not endear me to the person asking). But today someone asked what Marvel characters were in it, and I said "Lots of them," and then he said "I understand it has Man-Thing in it," and I said "Lots of them. But not Man-Thing." Which is a real answer. Man-Thing is not in 1602.
Anyway, Marvel are getting a bit more informative than I am, in their own way, and just e-mailed me to tell me that there's some early information up at http://www.newsarama.com/1602.htm. It's still a teaser, I'm afraid. But at least you can see what Andy and Richard are up to on the art (it's all taken from panels of issue #1).
www.neilgaiman.com
THIS AUGUST, EVERYTHING CHANGES
Like a teenage pop star, Marvel Comics has learned they can get a whole lot of mileage out of the art of the tease.
And with nary a bared midriff in sight, The House that Stan Built is back at it, with a new three part tease released Tuesday, hyping (or perhaps just hinting at hyping) Neil Gaiman's "1602."
The only accompanying blurb: "This August, EVERYTHING changes."
No further details were forthcoming at press time, with Marvel spokesman Michael Doran simply saying "More info to follow another time."
Those hungry for more information can get a tiny bit more information in the May 20 edition of Neil Gaiman's online journal. The author confirmed the project includes "lots" of Marvel characters (although he specifically says one in particular is not there) and that the teaser art is all from the miniseries' first issue.
www.comicbookresources.com
Like a teenage pop star, Marvel Comics has learned they can get a whole lot of mileage out of the art of the tease.
And with nary a bared midriff in sight, The House that Stan Built is back at it, with a new three part tease released Tuesday, hyping (or perhaps just hinting at hyping) Neil Gaiman's "1602."
The only accompanying blurb: "This August, EVERYTHING changes."
No further details were forthcoming at press time, with Marvel spokesman Michael Doran simply saying "More info to follow another time."
Those hungry for more information can get a tiny bit more information in the May 20 edition of Neil Gaiman's online journal. The author confirmed the project includes "lots" of Marvel characters (although he specifically says one in particular is not there) and that the teaser art is all from the miniseries' first issue.
www.comicbookresources.com
1602
Back in the early 1960s, Marvel Comics revolutionized and redefined the superhero genre. Amazing Spider-man, Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, Doctor Strange - within the span of five years, a dozen or so titles were launched that continue to this day.
Of course, the stories within reflected the changing times; over the years, Marvel's characters have continued to change, and are just as relevant in the new millennium as they were four decades ago.
But, what if the Marvel-verse had happened in another time, in another place? It's been imagined before, in fits and starts, from the occasional What If? one-shot, to the long-dead 2099 family of titles. Now, Neil Gaiman (creator of the DC title Sandman and author of the award-winning novel American Gods), in collaboration with artists Andy Kubert, Richard Isanove, and Scott McKowen, is putting a fresh spin, hopefully, on Marvel's beloved heroes and villains.
1602, an eight-issue miniseries debuting August 13, 2003, takes place in Europe at a time of great change. The Catholic Church's Inquisition is pursuing and rounding up "witchbreed", strange individuals with all sorts of unexplained abilities. Many of the witchbreed flee to the relative safety of England, where they are taken under the wing of Carlos Javier, an expatriate Spaniard with extraordinary abilities of his own. An elderly Queen Elizabeth sits on the throne of England - her ministers include Sir Nicholas Fury, her Minister of Intelligence, and Dr. Stephen Strange, her Court Physician and Magician. As issue #1 begins, Fury sends a blind Irish balladeer named Matthew Murdock to Europe to retrieve, from the last of the Templars, a mysterious item that may be either weapon or treasure. Unfortunately, this item has also come to the attention of Count Otto von Doom (also called The Handsome), ruler of Latveria.
All sorts of other odd things are going on, with strange weather, rumors of the end of the world, and a girl named Virginia Dare setting sail for England from the Roanoke Colony.
Gaiman got the idea for 1602 while participating in a comic convention in Venice, Italy, not long after the events of September 11th. He'd been mulling over the idea of doing a miniseries for Marvel, but by that time, he confesses, he didn't want anything with "skyscrapers, guns, bombs or planes in it. And the idea for 1602 fell straight into my head."
Gaiman repeatedly insists that 1602 isn't a What If?, or anything like DC's Elseworlds - a puzzling claim since that's exactly what it is! The fact that it's a more comprehensive re-imagining than most such stories doesn't really change its "What If-ness". Says Gaiman: "Read it as a puzzle or and adventure. Things will become apparent as the story goes on."
One of the greatest challenges for this project was in deciding which Marvel characters to include, and which to omit. In the end, Gaiman says he had two cardinal rules: "1) The Marvel Universe will come into existence much the same way we're used to, only 400 years earlier, and 2) Jettison anything that doesn't forward the story." Case in point: Wolverine. Also Iron Man, since no matter how you slice him "he's still just a bloke in armor." Nonetheless, Gaiman assures fans that he has tried to fit as many characters in as possible, although sometimes only as passing mentions. "Pay close attention to 'The Ballad of the Fantastic', sung by Matthew Murdock," says Gaiman.
On adapting those characters that did end up in the story, Gaiman says "A lot of the fun was in thinking about what I liked about the characters, having them completely free of baggage, and a few of them were obvious. Oddly enough, some of them that I'd never had much interest in over the years suddenly became my favorites. Take Nicholas Fury - he's half Walsingham [i.e. Sir Francis Walsingham, 16th century British statesman], half Bruce Wayne (can I say those words?). He's older, tougher, ruthless - and a complete joy to write." Although Peter Parker is included in the story, he "has not yet, and perhaps never will, get bitten by a spider." Some of the otherwise familiar characters may initially be unrecognizable. The cast includes a suspiciously feminine-looking character referred to as "Master John Gray".
Another challenge was in fusing the complex Marvel universe into the actual historical events of the period. For example, in 1602 King James of Scotland (eponymous of the famed Bible edition) is waiting to inherit the throne of England from the elderly Queen Elizabeth, and as a good Christian is "absolutely, utterly against anything magical, so he hates Dr. Strange as much as he hates the X-Men [the aforementioned witchbreed]." Other villains include the Grand Inquisitor, whom Gaiman says "most of the readers will figure out during the first two issues."
The covers for 1602 will be done by celebrated poster artist Scott McKowen, but all the internal artwork is by Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove. On collaborating with Kubert, Gaiman says "I'm having a wonderful time. The joy of writing the stuff and then seeing Andy draw it, is really cool."
One of the most satisfying aspects for Gaiman in writing this miniseries was in making something from the Marvel universe that is comprehensively his own. Growing up in England as a big comic book fan was "incredibly frustrating, because in England comics came over as ballast on ships, and Marvel comics always ended with 'continued in the next issue', but you could never find the next issue! There are times I occasionally worry that Spider-man will never get out of one of those deathtraps he was in in the 1960s..."
Other than these tantalizing morsels, Gaiman and the Marvel brass aren't giving away too many spoilers. Whether 1602 will be a big hit, will lend itself to a sequel, or whether it will have any lasting effect on the "regular" Marvel universe, remains to be seen.
An educated guesser can easily conclude that those completely unfamiliar with Marvel Comics may find some enjoyment in 1602, but only True Believers will get the full measure out of it, reveling in what looks to be a rich remolding of Marvel's cherished creations.
www.scifidimensions.com
Look for issue #1 of 1602 in comic stores on August 13, 2003.
Back in the early 1960s, Marvel Comics revolutionized and redefined the superhero genre. Amazing Spider-man, Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, Doctor Strange - within the span of five years, a dozen or so titles were launched that continue to this day.
Of course, the stories within reflected the changing times; over the years, Marvel's characters have continued to change, and are just as relevant in the new millennium as they were four decades ago.
But, what if the Marvel-verse had happened in another time, in another place? It's been imagined before, in fits and starts, from the occasional What If? one-shot, to the long-dead 2099 family of titles. Now, Neil Gaiman (creator of the DC title Sandman and author of the award-winning novel American Gods), in collaboration with artists Andy Kubert, Richard Isanove, and Scott McKowen, is putting a fresh spin, hopefully, on Marvel's beloved heroes and villains.
1602, an eight-issue miniseries debuting August 13, 2003, takes place in Europe at a time of great change. The Catholic Church's Inquisition is pursuing and rounding up "witchbreed", strange individuals with all sorts of unexplained abilities. Many of the witchbreed flee to the relative safety of England, where they are taken under the wing of Carlos Javier, an expatriate Spaniard with extraordinary abilities of his own. An elderly Queen Elizabeth sits on the throne of England - her ministers include Sir Nicholas Fury, her Minister of Intelligence, and Dr. Stephen Strange, her Court Physician and Magician. As issue #1 begins, Fury sends a blind Irish balladeer named Matthew Murdock to Europe to retrieve, from the last of the Templars, a mysterious item that may be either weapon or treasure. Unfortunately, this item has also come to the attention of Count Otto von Doom (also called The Handsome), ruler of Latveria.
All sorts of other odd things are going on, with strange weather, rumors of the end of the world, and a girl named Virginia Dare setting sail for England from the Roanoke Colony.
Gaiman got the idea for 1602 while participating in a comic convention in Venice, Italy, not long after the events of September 11th. He'd been mulling over the idea of doing a miniseries for Marvel, but by that time, he confesses, he didn't want anything with "skyscrapers, guns, bombs or planes in it. And the idea for 1602 fell straight into my head."
Gaiman repeatedly insists that 1602 isn't a What If?, or anything like DC's Elseworlds - a puzzling claim since that's exactly what it is! The fact that it's a more comprehensive re-imagining than most such stories doesn't really change its "What If-ness". Says Gaiman: "Read it as a puzzle or and adventure. Things will become apparent as the story goes on."
One of the greatest challenges for this project was in deciding which Marvel characters to include, and which to omit. In the end, Gaiman says he had two cardinal rules: "1) The Marvel Universe will come into existence much the same way we're used to, only 400 years earlier, and 2) Jettison anything that doesn't forward the story." Case in point: Wolverine. Also Iron Man, since no matter how you slice him "he's still just a bloke in armor." Nonetheless, Gaiman assures fans that he has tried to fit as many characters in as possible, although sometimes only as passing mentions. "Pay close attention to 'The Ballad of the Fantastic', sung by Matthew Murdock," says Gaiman.
On adapting those characters that did end up in the story, Gaiman says "A lot of the fun was in thinking about what I liked about the characters, having them completely free of baggage, and a few of them were obvious. Oddly enough, some of them that I'd never had much interest in over the years suddenly became my favorites. Take Nicholas Fury - he's half Walsingham [i.e. Sir Francis Walsingham, 16th century British statesman], half Bruce Wayne (can I say those words?). He's older, tougher, ruthless - and a complete joy to write." Although Peter Parker is included in the story, he "has not yet, and perhaps never will, get bitten by a spider." Some of the otherwise familiar characters may initially be unrecognizable. The cast includes a suspiciously feminine-looking character referred to as "Master John Gray".
Another challenge was in fusing the complex Marvel universe into the actual historical events of the period. For example, in 1602 King James of Scotland (eponymous of the famed Bible edition) is waiting to inherit the throne of England from the elderly Queen Elizabeth, and as a good Christian is "absolutely, utterly against anything magical, so he hates Dr. Strange as much as he hates the X-Men [the aforementioned witchbreed]." Other villains include the Grand Inquisitor, whom Gaiman says "most of the readers will figure out during the first two issues."
The covers for 1602 will be done by celebrated poster artist Scott McKowen, but all the internal artwork is by Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove. On collaborating with Kubert, Gaiman says "I'm having a wonderful time. The joy of writing the stuff and then seeing Andy draw it, is really cool."
One of the most satisfying aspects for Gaiman in writing this miniseries was in making something from the Marvel universe that is comprehensively his own. Growing up in England as a big comic book fan was "incredibly frustrating, because in England comics came over as ballast on ships, and Marvel comics always ended with 'continued in the next issue', but you could never find the next issue! There are times I occasionally worry that Spider-man will never get out of one of those deathtraps he was in in the 1960s..."
Other than these tantalizing morsels, Gaiman and the Marvel brass aren't giving away too many spoilers. Whether 1602 will be a big hit, will lend itself to a sequel, or whether it will have any lasting effect on the "regular" Marvel universe, remains to be seen.
An educated guesser can easily conclude that those completely unfamiliar with Marvel Comics may find some enjoyment in 1602, but only True Believers will get the full measure out of it, reveling in what looks to be a rich remolding of Marvel's cherished creations.
www.scifidimensions.com
Look for issue #1 of 1602 in comic stores on August 13, 2003.
