Friday, August 05, 2005

What I Wish I'd Hear From Chicago

Well, Wizard World Chicago is starting up, and Newsarama will have all the details. Will new creative teams be announced? I'm sure. New titles? Definitely. Murky comments on universe-changing crossovers? Without a doubt. Exclusive contracts being mentioned? The Magic 8-Ball says "yes". And the betting money's on the now-common "Some Huge Non-Comics Name Will Write A Comic".

That will be all fun and good, and I'll keep looking for updates. In my heart of hearts, though, I know I'll end up disappointed. You see, the Wizard World In My Head has much better news:

  • J.K. Rowling on Ultimate Spider-Man: Marvel ended the San Diego convention with a slide that simply said "KING". It's assumed to be Stephen King, and while that would have shook the industry in the 90's, I don't know his name carries as much weight anymore. If you want to really rock the house, Marvel, get J.K. Rowling. It's not only that she's the biggest name in popular fiction right now, or that she would draw the exact audience that is missing from the American Comics industry .... but she can write the heck out of serial fiction. Imagine each Harry Potter book as a comic miniseries, and each chapter an issue. Examine the structure she has in each chapter, and you'll find careful setup and payoff. Each chapter is satisfying on it's own, yet relates to the larger picture. She combines the strengths of compressed and decompressed comics in a way many current comics writers can't manage. Why Ultimate Spider-Man? Well, isn't the story of Harry Potter "with great power comes great responsibility"? She's also excellent at writing teens, so you'd want to see her on the school-age Peter Parker. The last reason, of course, is that this announcement is as likely as the announcement that Bendis has stopped writing the title.

  • Bryan Lee O'Malley on Jimmy Olsen: I don't even know why, but just the idea of this makes me smile. I'm sure O'Malley wouldn't just repeat his "Post-Modern Magic Realism Fight Musical" formula, but his genre-breaking ingenuity would be just the thing to take Jimmy into new post-Kirby territory, while still maintaining the send of the fantastic.

  • Susanna Clarke on a new Vertigo title: No specific title here, because I think Clarke should be turned loose, and see what she comes up with. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell reminded me of Sandman in the way it added awe, majesty, and fear to magic. I have few doubts that if she were to write comics, we'd see something as powerful as Neil Gaiman's classic run that defined the Vertigo imprint.

  • Grant Morrison and the Kubert Brothers on Detective: Lying In The Gutters reported the rumor some time ago, and now I want confirmation. Please. I so desperately want a good Batman book. I loved Morrison's take on Batman in his JLA run, and the Kuberts are both near the top of my list (though I still get them confused).

  • Warren Ellis and Butch Guice on The Daily Planet: Hey, at least three of us would buy it.

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4 comments:

Hate Filled Poster said...

"Bryan Lee O'Malley on Jimmy Olsen"

Genius. I finally was able to pick up Lost At Sea this weekend, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I would love to see O'Malley on Olsen.

"J.K. Rowling on Ultimate Spider-Man"

That would be huge, sales wise. I've never really got into any of the books though. Just read bits and peices of the books at Borders.

"Susanna Clarke on a new Vertigo title"

Never read any of her work, but you have me curious.

"Grant Morrison and the Kubert Brothers on Detective"

While I would love to see Andy Kubert on a Batbook his pencils are a lot tighter than his brothers. I would think Adam Kubert would bring to the title more of a sweeping moody Batman like Norm Breyfogle's renditions of the Bat.

Mark Fossen said...

I highly recommend Clarke's " Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell". One of my favorite books of the past few years. She just has a way of making magic seem as awesome (in the old meaning) as it should be. Reminds me a lot of Gaiman, and I know he's a big supporter of hers.

Hate Filled Poster said...

I'm a big fan of Gaiman so I'll check it out soon.

Anonymous said...

i love jonathan strange.. ms clarke really writes well..