047: Grouper mating involving the sharks
Hullo.
A relatively quick one this month, but with actual new art in, so as long as one picture = one thousand words holds true, we should be fine.
Contents!
You're so funny, Jedaha-ha
Roaring
The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
Trapped In Here With Me
Byeeeeeeeeeee!
****
The second issue of my Star Wars, with Benthic chilling with Luke, Leia, Han and the droids. Benthic was one of the smaller characters I just initially dug when watching Rogue One – in fact, even from the early stills. The two-tubes look is just an interesting iconic vibe, and I'm pleased I've got to play with him. Preview here.
I'm presently half way through issue 44, the first issue of my second arc. It's set somewhere considerably more verdant than the apocalyptic hellscape of Jedha. It's certainly giving me an excuse to obsess over Blue Planet.
That said, I need no excuse to obsess over Blue Planet. I'm still trying to imagine what would happen if human mating was like the Grouper mating involving the sharks.
****
The Image February solicits are free in the wild, which means this is out there...
THE WICKED + THE DIVINE: 1923 (ONE-SHOT)
STORY: KIERON GILLEN
ART / COVER B: AUD KOCH
COVER A: JAMIE McKELVIE & MATT WILSON
FEBRUARY 7 / 56 PAGES / FC / M / $4.99
Basically, a bunch of 1920s gods based on major modernist figures stuck in the middle of an Agatha Christie murder mystery, done in a comics-prose hybrid that’s clearly trying to start a fight with JONATHAN HICKMAN. (Yeah, you heard, Jon. Come at us, bro.) It’s high art versus lo art, with the most beautiful AUD KOCH artwork the world has ever seen. We’re so excited, we may have to have a lie down.
Aud's cover is up on the blog too.
You'll note this is a larger size than normal. This is because... oh, there's a lot in it. There's as much (if not more) comics as a normal comic, but there's also a lot of prose/design bits. It's unlike any of the other specials, or anything else we've ever done. It's us being very modernist while simultaneously teasing the modernists.
It's also the one special (so far, at least) where the whole of that Pantheon is in it. Which means that Jamie has had to design all the gods for Aud.
Here's 1920s Morrigan...
I’ll probably show a couple more before the issue drops.
*
Creators for Creators submissions are open again. Very proud to be involved with this. Good luck everyone.
Fun interview over at the Beat done at Comicon, before WicDiv 43, but clearly with 43 in mind.
This Paris Review article is about what to do with art from monstrous men. Or rather, it starts there, and goes to much wider questions about art and artists, with a specific eye on the unique pressures on women trying to do that.
Comics is always having new people enter it. It’s possible that you may not know the history behind Watchmen. If so, you probably should read Comics Bulletin’s piece on the ethics around it all. The David Brothers’ piece linked inside is especially worth nosing at.
***
As anyone who’s read the last issue of WicDiv will know, it’s been a big week. I’ll be writing at length about it when I do the Writer Notes (which I’m hoping to get done tomorrow, depending on how work shakes down) but Jamie and I have enjoyed the response, which has been what we’d hoped for. Suffice to say, it’s strange to do a book like this. More in the notes. Yes.
Bar that, it’s been mainly Spangly New Thing and Star Wars, as well as sending the WicDiv Christmas special to bed. C has just passed me her notes on the second Spangly New Thing script, and apparently they’re relatively light and the bits which are horrible are appropriately awful. The plan is actually to get all of Spangly finished before the new year, so the artist can do their layouts for the whole arc before starting actually executing it. That… should be possible, though when I’m still doing research that’s hard to tell. I’ve got a tradition of handing over scripts just after midnight on January 1st, so I suspect that alone is motivation for it.
Which means that I’ve taken the time to work out exactly how many scripts I have to hand over before the end of the year – which is two Star Wars, an Uber Invasion, a WicDiv and three Spanglies. Which is… do-able? Especially as one Star Wars is half done and the WicDiv just needs a quick polish.
Except then I remember all the other non-script stuff I have to write, and then I have to have a quick sit down again. Send flowers.
Byyyyeeeee!
Kieron Gillen
London
22.15.2017