226: this ship full of snakes
Hullo.
UnMissing Lynx
No Future
What Makes You Beautiful
Links
Byyyyeeee!!!
Finally: the main event.
I don’t want to say too much about this, as we’ve said a lot already, and will inevitably saying a whole lot more. Jump aboard, and read. This issue is designed to be as accessible as we could make it, in terms of introducing where in the MU is, as naturally as possible. Yes, it’s emerged from the stories before this and rewards those who have been following along – that’s a big part of the endeavour, for me – but it’s also meant to be an open door for people to walk through. You want a large scale, high paced, emotional, character-led and startlingly beautiful superhero story? We’ve got you.
Here’s a four page preview to give a taste. As you can seem, Valerio and Marte are bringing incredible things to the page. Clayton makes the density look effortless. And for all of this, this is just us barging into Act One. Things only get bigger, messier, more human, more apocalyptic.
Hope folks like it. It’s available from comic retailers and digitally.
If you’re interested in the whole thing, here’s a checklist of all the books tying in, though I’ll stress that if you just follow the main series, you’re good. I’m very much in hoping people to want to read more, and to add to their experience, rather than demanding they have to read everything.
Oh! For UK physical readers…
…should hit the shores too. The prologue to the above, moving the last pieces into place for those who like the larger context.
I mentioned that Once & Future is wrapping up its run at issue 30. To celebrate, Dan’s continued to Be A Beast and do a connected 3-part cover. Which is above. I will pause for you to go “Coo.”
I’ll be wrapping up issue 30 in the next couple of days so he can start on it. We’re pushing the story page count to make sure everything feels appropriately enormous, as we try to tie this ship full of snakes into a bow.
And then we’ll see what, if anything’s, next. Once & Future was always a little more open than most of the stories I cook up from scratch, so you never know. What I do know is that 30 issues of Dan and Tamra is going to be a hell of a statement. For a story which was only originally a mini, it’s certainly gone some places.
A new Eternals-related special has been announced, with me working with the kinetic powerhouse that is Daniele Di Nicuolo. While it’s part of Judgment day, this is effectively the fourth of my deep dive Eternals specials. Here’s what I said to Comicbook.com…
“Having done so much work with Thanos and the Eternals’ shared history, the most common recurring question was “What about Eros?” Kieron Gillen told ComicBook.com via email. “I smiled enigmatically, which everyone missed, because no-one is in my house, watching my response, except my cats. I really should have thought that through. Anyway: as the world falls into hell, I finally reveal all. The world, more than ever, needs love. Can Eros finally live up to all the hopes he embodies?”
…which gives a taste, if only that. Expect the similar scale refocusing of the character as we saw in the other specials.
And before we go, I have to show Kevin Wada’s cover…
Heh.
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Sktchd got Josh Williamson and myself together to have a big long multi-zoom-chat about Events. That Josh is the writer of Dark Crisis over at DC, and I’m presently doing Judgment Day for Marvel (I’m pretty sure I mentioned) means we’re in a pretty unique position to do so, especially when we’re right in the middle of it. Sktchd is a pay site, so there’s a lot of this behind the paywall… but the free section is still 4500 words, which gives you an idea of how much Josh and I go on. Go read, and see what two brains look like when they’re melting down trying to think about Fractal Narratives and whatever.
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This article about a new set of Valerio’s designs for Judgment Day went live a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t want to link to it until the issue was out. If you’ve finished the issue and want to know more, here’s the article to read. I may do some commentary down the line on the design sheets, as they are just lovely. Valerio sending the first sketches for these over was the moment when I first realised both this would work, and also exactly how much it would be Valerio who’s making it work. I think these six issues are career best work from him, and just astounding. Also, I fear I’ve nearly broke him.
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I still haven’t managed to watch RRR, for obvious Parental Reasons, but Ritesh Babu’s extensive piece on RRR, Indian politics and cinema gives a lot to chew over, in terms of context and content. And in the time it’s taken me to write this newsletter, he’s released another piece on RRR at Vox. I suspect best start there for the shorter version of the longer themes.
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Laurie Penny, trapped on a Crypto-cruise, for a few days and reposts her article about it. It’s her draft a closed site(so has a few repeated paragraphs) but this is a lens into a fascinating, horrifying place.
I’ve had the last two articles in my working document for a few weeks now, but only got a chance to read them now, as I’m typing this in the back of the car, when Iris is asleep. We were planning on visting the inlaws for 5 days, and when we saw that London was going to combust, extended it for a couple more days either way. We feel like it’s that shot in the movie when the hero looks up and sees a big pillar falling towards their head, and they manage to just roll out of the way in time.
Oh, Iris is awake. Excuse me.
Hello again.
I better keep this relatively short – C has her first podcast interview about Golden Rage in just over an hour, and I need to get this out before then, and clear my inbox of whatever carnage my work has begat. How’s work been? Really – “soft” is the word I’d use, as if I’d been melted. Which is fine, as I didn’t have any hard deadlines. I worked up a version of Once & Future 30. I’ve worked up a version of Judgment Day 6. Both will be solidified as the temperatures drop. I’ve also been working on the synopsis for the first issue of the next big thing. I’ll likely wrap it off on Friday, and at the moment it’s another exercise in my apocalyptic strand of thinking.
Where do I get my ideas from?
[The Writer walks out the window and looks at wide-eyed horror at the hell world in which we’re trapped. He then looks the reader directly in their eyes.]
Where do you think?
Speak soon.
Kieron Gillen
London.
20.7.2022