A Sense of Doubt blog post #3442 - Kelly Thompson on WONDER WOMAN and various Twitter and Newsletters - COMIC BOOK SUNDAY for 2407.21
Another lazy post, but so much good stuff that I must share. How can I not share?
KELLY THOMPSON ON WONDER WOMAN!!
It's official.
— KELLY THOMPSON (@79SemiFinalist) July 18, 2024
I am writing WONDER WOMAN with artist Hayden Sherman @Cleanlined & colorist #JordieBellaire and IT. IS. A. DREAM.
In the best way let me say... you are not prepared.
ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1 is coming October 23rd. 🖤🖤🖤 pic.twitter.com/crw4Ina2Vz
Not trying to overwhelm you with two posts in two days, but this one felt worth it. I hope you’ll agree.
I’m finally achieving a long held dream of writing WONDER WOMAN. And I’m doing it with the most incredible team in artist Hayden Sherman, colorist Jordie Bellaire, and editor Chris Conroy.
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It’s wildly hard to talk about this stuff. I want people to be intrigued and excited but also… I love the first issue SO MUCH and I deeply do not want to diminish that reading experience for people.
So it’s going to be a bit tricky. I’ll tell you what I can. I’ll also say this is the best place to stay up to date with whatever IS going to be shared. I literally cannot wait for you guys to see the full wild look! Ahhhh! There will definitely be some new details and images coming out next week at SDCC and I’ll put all that info up here as soon as I get the all clear. You can also read about the existing released/official details here.
Here’s what we know now… ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN ON A MOTHERFUCKING PEGASUS MADE OF BONES. SO, Y’KNOW, SUBTLE LIKE.
We also know the first issue is 48 Pages (30 Story Pages). It’s out everywhere OCTOBER 23rd. It’s an ongoing. And it’s amazing. Okay, that last one is subjective (but I’m still right!)
This book is still in its infancy (although something like this has a long and detailed infancy), but it is already one of my favorite things I’ve ever worked on and while most of that is being in love with the Diana and the idea and with my creative team — part of it is also this whole Absolute Universe and the very IDEAS of DC ALL-IN.
It’s exceptionally fun to play in this universe of ideas we already love and brand new ideas we’ve never quite seen like this before. And I’m sure it goes without saying that the other two debut books (BATMAN and SUPERMAN) — by incredible creative teams of Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta and Jason Aaron and Rafael Sandoval — are pretty freaking strong… with creative teams like that it’s no surprise. Everything I’ve seen and experienced being a part of Absolute so far has been… just really fucking great.
Oh wait… did you ALSO want to hear about the new BIRDS OF PREY arc starting up in October? We’ve got the incredible Sami Basri joining us for art on this arc, and also because Jordie is taking on Wonder Woman and is a very busy woman — we’ve got the excellent Adriano Lucas taking over colors on BOP. The team is also changing a bit for this more espionage/spy centric arc based in Gotham — with Vixen rolling off and Grace Choi and Onyx Adams rolling on. You can read the full DC October Solicits here.
This team is now officially almost 50% BIG GIRLS and I could not be more delighted.
Check out Leo and Jordie’s terrific cover below. As DC was going for a united look for all the mainline October covers, I was worried that the limitations would hurt us, but of course, Leo remains the best and so he absolute nailed it. Though I confess he just turned in the final cover art for BIRDS OF PREY #15 and it’s one of my favorite covers of the whole run and Oracle fans will be DELIGHTED. ;D
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Okay. That’s gotta be it for today. But expect a BLACK CLOAK post soon too. I’m sorry, there’s just too much cool news!
Thanks for strapping in for the ride.
<3 Kelly
I Finally Reveal: Who REALLY Created Deadpool
All Photos Copyright By Gerry Duggan, Even The One I Stole
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The headline was my first foray into clickbait, but with that — let the summer of ‘Pool begin. Much has been written/said/yelled about the creation of Deadpool. I don’t want to go into the making of New Mutants # 98: I wasn’t there.
Rob showed up with the damn character drawn, he had the name, and he and Fabian proceeded to cook comic book history.
The End.
Or, rather…
…The Beginning.
Wade Wilson could’ve been one of the many one-off appearances in 1990’s Marvel Comics. A sea of new characters were introduced that decade but few caught fire due to a lack of oxygen. But…Rob & Fabian had made something special and he passed into special hands.
Because there’s so much chatter about who did what and when and how and why at the beginning of this character’s story, what happened after the big-pouched-bang tends to get short shrift. I thought I would give you my two cents on the matter.
I don’t think you’d be reading this if Joe Kelly & Ed McGuinness didn’t carry Wade around like a wounded war buddy. The duo treated Deadpool well, and gave him many gifts and curses, which, of course, were also gifts.
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This is hard to admit, but Frank Tieri…deserves credit, too. He was there when Wade needed him. The folks that were collaborating on Deadpool during the late nineties were never quite sure when the end of their run would arrive. Sales would spike and then dip and everyone was driving this character like a fully insured rental. Some of the talent in the kitchen at that time included Christoper Priest…
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…Jimmy Palmiotti, and Gail Simone. Hey, whatever happened to her?
They may not have had the wheel as long as they wanted or deserved, but they were cutting a path that future Deadpool creators would follow.
Dan Way, Paco Medina were the centerpieces of a long run that seemed destined to hold the belt for longevity. Honestly, they probably would still hold that record, but somebody leaked the Deadpool test footage at the end of Comic Con 2014.
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Prior to 2012 Brian Posehn and I had been knocking on the door of Marvel for a few years. Axel Alonso was looking for a place to try us out and Rick Remender was one of the folks loudly vouching for us with the bullpen crowd — he also deserves a nice rub down from Deadpool. He and Jerome Opeña are another pair of voices that gave the character some of his most iconic moments in X-FORCE. In their hands Wade was both deadly serious and gave you whiplash with a laugh on the turn of the page. Something we aspired to in our run.
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We didn’t expect to have our jobs for very long. Back in January of 2012, we submitted pitches for an “ongoing” Deadpool series to try and follow Dan Way.
It was an election year and we thought people would be sick of politics HAAAAAH — and folks might laugh at Deadpool killing zombie presidents because none of the other heroes wanted to be seen doing it. Well, that was the idea we planted to make them laugh and then they’d laugh and say “What else have you got?” — which by the way is my best advice - have something else to discuss always, but anyway — our editor Jordan D. White picked the wrong fucking story!
Or…so we thought. Zombie presidents would be our opener. It became a great lesson in trusting your editors. We knew we’d be funny, but we really wanted to break hearts. We would get to do that, too. And then right around the time we were getting ready to drop what I thought was going to be our finale in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly — the rocket booster hit.
The test footage leak was ensured whoever was on Deadpool was going to go. It made Deadpool a household name, and there wasn't even a movie to watch. If you watched the test footage and wanted more Deadpool — the only place to get that fix was your local comic shop.
Fun trivia about our first arc: I was so sure we’d be fired quickly that I made sure that Dr. Strange was in our second script. He was always one of my favorites, and Tony would’ve had draw Dr. Strange before we could be thrown out, and not only did he draw him, but he drew him so well that Steve Ditko himself approved. We were pen pals for a time.
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Of course, our good fortune extended beyond the “leak” of the footage, especially in regards to the casting of Mike Hawthorne, Scott Koblish and Matteo Lolli. The three of them would continue to have authorship over all the funny, and horrible things we helped bring into Deadpool’s world. We aimed to make you laugh and break your heart, and it was our artists that did the deed.
It was on their backs and the folks that preceded that I got to Deadpool issue 300. We had the help of many assistant editors and the pitches on our story from the editorial retreats — it was an embarrassment of riches. We had a lot of talent and consistency, like Joe Sabino who lettered every issue we printed. Later Acker & Blacker, Skottie Young, Kelly Thompson, Alisa Wong, continued the tradition and somehow throughout it all, Cullen Bunn’s collaborations shone bright and likely outsold us all. Many combined? No easy feat. Deadpool Kills is immortal. At present, Cody Ziglar and my old pal Rogê Antônio have the keys to the pouchmobile (Somebody take that — I can’t voucher for it).
Which brings us to today. There’s not a more successful Deadpool writer than Ryan. He wanted this all to work so badly he paid for his cowriters to be on set for the first film out of his own pocket.
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Next week Ryan, Rhett, Paul, and now Shawn and Zeb are going to set a new gold standard. I had a funny conversation with a guy who wanted no credit for Deadpool — Mr. Stan “The Man” Lee. The first time I met him as a pro I had a single issue of Marvel Comics under my belt: Marvel NOW Deadpool # 1.
I was writing on a live TV show, and he was visiting to promote a comic about a stripper with super powers. I would later write a comic about a kaiju with a dick, so we got on famously.
When I was introduced to Stan as a the “new Deadpool co-writer” he perked up and said “he’s not one of mine!” and I said “we’d never blame you for Deadpool!” and we laughed, and laughed and laughed until he asked me to leave his dressing room. Which I did promptly.
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Both Rob and Fabian have been very supportive and kind over the years, and I hope they enjoy this moment. There’s a fun camaraderie of folks that have “touched the pouches”.
I just wanted to take a moment to thank many of the folks that don’t get a moment in the spotlight. Sometimes an idea comes from a freelancer or someone in the bullpen that can change orbits. So many folks have pushed this big pouch up the hill.
Folks in senior leadership at Marvel from Dan Buckley on down have long been willing to take chances with the character, and the results speak for themselves. I’m grateful for everybody that was willing to roll the dice on something crazy, like Sana Anamat on Hawkeye VS Deadpool.
None of us created Deadpool, but all of us have created something about him that stuck. The Deadpool t-shirt I see the most at conventions was cooked from a bullpen artist from early in Marvel NOW.
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I can’t tell you the number of times that an idea was proposed by another writer or an artist that became something that not just made us look good, but something that became additive to the story. Canon is what sticks. A lot has stuck.
We’ve been so lucky, and I hope we’ve been as good to Deadpool as he’s been to us. He’s opened a lot of doors for me. It was such a fun privilege to get to have fun with this character.
Now it’s Marvel Studio’s turn and we all hope you enjoy the shit out of the film. If you’ve not done a deep dive on the character, there are many great Deadpool comics from Rob & Fabian on down.
Cheers,
Gerry
PS — If you liked some of these photos — I have a few remaining hardcovers I printed extra in case of loss/damage from my Kickstarter of Timing/Luck.
These books will never be reprinted in this format. As a special thank you to my readers, I’m bundling a year’s Substack subscription along with a the signed/limited hardcover edition of Timing/Luck in the cloth bound slipcase, and if that isn’t enough — some of the comps I’m signing will be the rare, SOLD-OUT, not to be reprinted incentive variants to FALLING IN LOVE ON THE PATH TO HELL # 1.
This is kind of the Duggan Blind Box, I suppose?
Loaded with the guaranteed treats of a year’s subscription, the limited hardcover and a roll of the dice of which signed comics you’ll receive, I can just promise you will get some of my personal comps from my Marvel, Image and DC work. But I’ll start with the Falling In Love comps, since they’re currently atop the stack.
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After subscribing for a year, direct message me on Substack your mailing address and then I, and the Lady Luck of comps will do the rest.
If you head into your local comic shop today you may see something SHOCKING:
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In my continued drive to do stupid things that lose me money, I have sent 50,000 copies of ZDARSKY COMIC NEWS to comic shops this week! It’s my new four-page physical newsletter that I’ll be putting out monthly, exclusively to comic shops. I’m writing, illustrating and designing the damn thing because what else do I have going on, really?
After this first issue stores can order as many as they like for pennies a copy, so if you miss out on this number one, I’m sorry, but issue two is even BETTER and you don’t need to have read issue one to follow the plot (the plot is I’m an idiot)!
I gave an interview with the fine folks at AIPT about the project, so please go check that out for answers to your burning questions, and for great quotes like this:
“Once those 50,000 are gone, they’re gone. I had to do some unsavoury things to pay for all of them and I just can’t bring myself to do any more “sensual” Captain Carrot commissions.”
Ultimately, the reason I’m doing this is because I love comic shops and I love print. I miss the days of Wizard Magazine and Marvel Age and Comic Buyer’s Guide and wanted to do my own little version of those which will hopefully be as fun for you to read as it was for me to make it.
WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO GO INTO A SHOP AND WANT TO READ THIS ONLINE
Too bad!! I’m sick of “online” and everything being available all the time! This is special and it’s for comic shops and it’s goddamn PHYSICAL (of course if any of my paid subscribers want to see a copy, sound off in the comments and I’ll email you one)!
Anyway, here’s the cover to ZDARSKY COMICS NEWS #2, out next month. Tell your shop you need it with this handy code!!
JUN247233 ZDARSKY COMIC NEWS #2 BUNDLE OF 10
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Also, ZDARSKY COMIC NEWS needs to sadly print its first retraction. Some comic retailers already went and attempted the WORD FINDER and realized it’s missing three BATMANs.
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I would like to point out that the word “Batman” actually appears three more times within the rest of the newsletter so I just wanted readers to think outside of the box, but the reality is I’m just bad at things.
ZDARSKY COMIC NEWS regrets the error.
DO YOU REALLY
Nah
While ZDARSKY COMIC NEWS will give fun insights into, uh, stuff, for REAL information on me and my process you can check out this extensive interview I did with POPVERSE about PUBLIC DOMAIN, THE DOMAIN, BATMAN, AVENGERS, all of it! We did this during C2E2 and I was very tired so maybe not everything makes sense OH WELL
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In PAL NEWS, it’s no secret that Charles Soule is very talented. He’s a comic book writer, a best-selling novelist, and a goddamn lawyer. But did you also know that he’s a stellar musician? Honestly, it’s pretty angering.
Well, he’s taken those talents and is putting out a genuine rock opera where he plays and sings all the parts (except for drums because it’s the one thing he can’t do, like a real loser). It’s a concept album that revolves around his hit comic book CURSE WORDS that he did with Ryan Browne and it’s AMAZING. Like, it’s so damned professional it makes ZDARSKY COMIC NEWS look like dogshit!!
Anyway, you should really pitch in to his Kickstarter for the project. It’s what Kickstarter was made for! Wild ideas of pure art and the love of making things!
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And that’s it for me this week! No new releases, JUST ZDARSKY COMIC NEWS! I hope you enjoy it!! Tell your friends, I guess!!
Love,
Chip
UPCOMING BOOKS
DAREDEVIL OMNIBUS VOL 1 —July 23
PUBLIC DOMAIN #7 — Aug 7
BATMAN #151 — Aug 7
THE DOMAIN #2 — Aug 14
SEX CRIMINALS: LETTER DADDIES — Aug 20
BATMAN: THE BAT-MAN OF GOTHAM TPB — Aug 20
ZDARSKY COMIC NEWS #2 — Aug 21
AVENGER: TWILIGHT TPB — Aug 27
BATMAN #152 — Sept 4
BATMAN: THE JOKER YEAR ONE — Sept 10
TIME WAITS #1 — Sept 11
THE DOMAIN #3 — Sept 11
CREEPSHOW VOL 3 #1 — Sept 25
DAREDEVIL OMNIBUS VOL 2 —Jan 1
THE ALL-NIGHTER VOL 3 — Jan 21
UPCOMING SIGNINGS
ROSE CITY COMIC CON (Portland) — Sept 6-8
CXC (Columbus) — Sept 27-29
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Hollywood Reporter Announcement
"The scribe notes that the comic book industry has changed quite a bit in the decade since she launched Bitch Planet."
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We’re finally announced! Click here to read Aaron Crouch’s whole piece in the Hollywood Reporter, but here’s a taste —
Issue No. 1 is narrated by Riley, a heavy metal kid who uses his ballpoint pen and notepad to process the horrors of modern high school life — from active shooter drills to social anxiety. Issue No. 2 is told from the perspective of Riley’s mother, an aging punk cartoonist with a true-crime obsession. Together, the two narratives paint a picture of a mother and son trying to survive a Portland plagued by wildfires and the coronavirus pandemic. Against that backdrop, there’s a murder mystery — and even the transformation of a character into a monster.
Oh, and this bit is directly relevant to y’all —
The scribe notes that the comic book industry has changed quite a bit in the decade since she launched Bitch Planet. It’s harder than ever to draw attention to projects, so she is experimenting with new ways to engage readers. She put Easter eggs into her newsletter, including one that directed people to a website for a fictional band featured in FML. A savvy reader even messaged the band, asking to book them for a wedding.
Getting the inquiry about the wedding booking was ::chef’s kiss:: Y’all are the best readers. That’s just all there is to it. Because you’re the best, have a sneak peek at the poster David painted:
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…I love it so, so much.
And check it out— story went up at 9:30 this morning and Katie, Proprietor and Lead Comics Concierge at Books With Pictures here in Portland sent me this message at 10:14ap.
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Speaking of Books with Pictures, David and I will be at the Eugene Location tomorrow, from 2pm to 5pm for a free signing, hangout and zine workshop. (Aaaand we’re gonna have some of those posters with us.)
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There’s more—a LOT more—coming but we’ll leave it there for now.
Feel free to hit me back with any questions. You can comment or reply (if you’re reading in email). And it’s not too late to text FML to 503-738-1029 and play along.
A Few Things to Call to Your Attention
Chip Zdarsky did this and it’s so brilliant I almost forgive him for being so fucking prolific. Almost.
The After Realm: Volume 1 is 200% funded but it’s not too late to get in. I just made my pledge today.
Also on Kickstarter, Uncanny Magazine is funding year ELEVEN. Lynne and Michael are miracle workers.
FML is out in November. You know what else drops in November? Anzuelo by Emma RÃos.
"Emma is a master of her craft, an absolute beast of an artist with the delicate touch of a poet." -- Emily Carroll (Through the Woods)
The Power Fantasy #1 by Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard is almost here! (August 7th.)
Mia Zapata & The Gits: A Story of Art, Rock, and Revolution by Steve Moriarty drops August 13th. I’m all about this one.
Bob Reyer recommended this graphic novel adaption of Medea and then Fraction went and got it for me for my birthday! Speaking of my birthday —
I posted this thread to Bluesky on my day and the replies and recommendations were so cool, I’m absolutely making it a tradition. THANK YOU.
My gift to myself was a tattoo of my family on my right leg. There’s a Kipling quote that Fraction and I quite like—yes, I know Kipling was not a good person don’t @ me, it’s not about him—that goes, “For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” A wolf tattoo design is a tough ask if you’re not into furries or irony, but Alice at Wonderland Tattoo did a marvelous job capturing my loves.
Why Don’t You…
Diana Vreeland helmed BAZAAR for 25 years, during which she very famously had a column called Why Don't You...
We miss the big weirdo fabulist that Diana was, so we are picking up the torch.
Why don’t you…
Paint eyes on your eyelids before you go to bed and don’t warn your spouse?
Have your family motto put on a banner and hang it up for all to see?
Agree on a family motto? Or just a you motto? A motto for your dog? I’m not the boss of you.
Make a list of all the albatross tasks that have been hanging around your neck for years and start one?
Now finish one?
Reread something you loved as a child?
Have a water balloon fight?
Buy a piece of art from a kid?
Leave a pretty postcard in a library book as a present for the next person who checks that book out?
If you’re a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, make a tickety-tok for the sole purpose of making your kid call you “cringe?” (Be sure to call it a tickety-tok.)
If you’re a kid, change your parent's ringtone on their phone to “We Didn’t Start the Fire?” I promise you, they do not know how to change it back and it will drive them nuts.
Do one of the above and tell us about it? We’ll publish any that make us laugh in the next newsletter.
Why Don’t—OH NO YOU DID!
This week’s OH WAIT YOU DID shout out goes to S. Suzuki who saw this
Use one of those stickers you’ve been saving? Just put it on something, c’mon. You’re acting like Nana and the good china at this point. IT’S A STICKER. Jesus.
…and did the thing! EXCELLENT WORK.
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Bonus points for having a chicken named Penny Rolle. If you know, you know.
xo
Kelly Sue
Yr Shark Mom
Hullo.
Booking
Artbook
Good Book
The Good Book
Playlistlist
Booklook
Links
Bye
I don't leave the house much any more, preferring to skulk around the writing shed, doing my best Gollum cosplay. However, on August 7th we're making an exception, doing a launch day signing for THE POWER FANTASY from 6pm to 7pm.
Come say hello. I will just be back from Gencon, so expect an excitably Jetlagged me. No, I don't know how they let Gollum-mode me on a plane.
At the time of writing we're heading into the last 24 hours before the end of The Wicked + the Divine: The Covers Version kickstarter. It's gone really well – it's just passed 85k, so thanks for all support.
If you haven't seen it, click through. It's a lovely art book of all the covers which will bring a taste of decadent chic to coffee tables everywhere. Hell, it's big enough to be a small coffee table in and of itself.
The Final Order Cut off for The Power Fantasy was on Monday, so the printers are rolling with the orders. That means I can have a break, and not hype the book any more. Oh no, clearly not.
Last time I showed a bunch of quotes from creators and critics, but here's another page of folks saying nice things about the book.
I'm pulling together a third one, as people say things. I just got a quote from Scott Snyder...
This book is one of the best new titles I've read in years. A fiercely smart and original take on superheroes that speaks to all the wonder and terror of this exact moment.
...which is lovely to hear.
The response of folks who've read it is something else. There's more Power Fantasy early reviews dropping – there's a great one on Comicbook.com but I won't link to it until later, as it's very much inching into spoiler territory on certain beats. This one on Graphic Policy is also really kind. A simple quote: “a perfect debut issue “. Steve Foxe actually wrote at length about it over in his Newsletter which is great stuff.
It's out August 7th. Too late to pre-order, but never too late to tell your retailer you're interested in a copy. Even if you haven't pre-ordered, it's the best step to make sure they know you're interested.
The final of our six character teasers dropped. Eliza Hellbound was one of the first two we actually talked about, so the small quotes we did were here, so a little was revealed there, and some more context to her in the other reveal articles later on.
But she's still the one we're keeping a little enigmatic, now and even later. She's this glowering presence in the early issues. She's the one who you see and think “What's her story?” and we don't lay it out instantly.
Her story is: maybe the single most existentially horrifying thing I've ever conceived? I can't think of what we're doing with her without looking away.
I don't want to oversell it, as that sort of thing is extremely personal, but it hits me like a truck.
1373 Lucifer was just a warm up.
Immortal X-men Playlist Notes
So – I've done my Cerebro interview. I think what I'm about to do may be my final bit of Immortal X-men dismount.
Immortal X-men Immortal X-men · Playlist · 56 songs · 1.2K likes |
These are my writer notes on my Immortal X-men playlist. I've threatened to do this before on books, but never actually done it. The playlists are always a mixture of things which are absolutely 100% things which describe the story structure, things which evoke mood (either of a character conception or the book itself) or just something which hits me at an angle, makes me laugh, and I add it.
This one is mainly mood – which is interesting. Having completed it, I also realise why I haven't done this before. These playlists are ludicrously long and it's taken ages.
Here's some thoughts and facts, and where my head was at.
Paris 1919 – John Cale
Basically, the Rosetta Stone of the whole run. As Sons & Daughters of Hungry Ghosts was to WicDiv, this is to Immortal X-men – basically a good chunk of the plot emerges from its lyrics. Okay, perhaps overstating it but – enigmatic conversation between two people in the Paris peace conference. “She makes me so unsure of myself / Standing there but never ever talking sense” and, of course, “You're a Ghost!” (lalalalalala). About peace, about building a better world, and with a distinctly old-world urbane mood but looking up to see blood flowing like Beaujolais in the future. I started every day writing the book with this.
Utopia- Goldfrapp
It took me a while to realise it, but my general mood for this playlist is “sad middle-class dinner party music” and this starts it. Obvious thematic elements on the surface, and its sci-fi sheen is very Krakoa, but it's also my nod towards Morrison. It was their theme-tune for Marvel Boy, specifically circling around its chorus: “Fascist Baby/Utopia”. This is a pretty, beguiling record, that's also a question mark.
Colouring of Pigeons - The Knife,MT. Sims,Planningtorock
In terms of tone, it's right there – this is a wonderfully alien music. This is kind of what I'd imagine Mutant music may be like, making the human throat sounds like something entirely new. It's also part of a opera about Darwin, so is specifically about evolution. If there was an Immortal X-men TV show, I suspect this would be the theme tune. Imagine slow, awful pans around the room of these beautiful people, faces like masks.
Noid - Yves Tumor
By this point, I wanted to have something with more life in it, while still feeling really mutant-music. No-one kisses to the Colouring of Pigeons, but down the lagoon there would be making out to this. I think I got into Yves from Leah? I'm unsure. If not this, other Yves.
Under The Sun - Junior Boys
More austere dance music for dinner-parties. David Kohl loved this.
Land - Patti Smith
One of my favourite records ever, with more of a heartbeat than a lot of things on the list. I suspect it found it here in a quite literal way – it's called Land, and Krakoa was that. Plus the song's overwhelming greatness, its mixture of highbrow and lowbrow... it's the goal. Immortal X-men was a book that would shout Go Rimbaud Go if it had a chance.
These Are The Days - Lift To Experience
Apocalyptic post-rock, writing its own mythology. Also, another long record. Very long records was the vibe too. These are not mainly pop bangers.
Monkey Gone to Heaven – Pixies
More apocalypse, in a popper format. About the end of the world (via climate change), but constructs itself around the bridge which is all about evolution versus transcendence, and seems to think we are all doomed. This is the fear which drives Moira, in many ways.
For Tomorrow – Blur
So we go back to something more bruised romantic. I don't think I connected it to any character individually (you'll note that none have so far) but listening to it right now, I just think Charles and Max. You'd think I'd say Moira - “She's a 20th century girl/with her hand on the wheel” - but Xavier and Magneto came to mind. In reality, it was more about the hope inherent in Krakoa.
F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.
Mood rather than content. This is Pulp heading towards the iciness of This is Hardcore, and feels sickly and uncomfortable.
hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it - Lana Del Rey
Obviously prime Sad Dinner Party music, and in a torch song place (which we've yet to have any of – there's quite a lot later on this list). I think I added it as a Hope reference, but I'm thinking of Destiny and Mystique when listening.
When Love Breaks Down - Prefab Sprout
While these playlists normally tell a shape of my thoughts as I assembled them. I almost always listen to them on shuffle, so mix the moods, but if you look at them in order, you can see what I'm thinking at any given time. This section is where I actively realised that as well as apocalyptic space-rock, there's such strong Bad Dinner Party notes. I started thinking of music that I'd have listened to if I went to dinner parties in the 1980s, with a certain sophisticated crowd. And here this was. There's something fundamentally 1980s buried in the aesthetic of the book – I suspect it's me dancing with Claremont.
Anyway – bar that, just a beautiful record, and sad. We've done apocalypse earlier – this gives a set of human eyes to look at the end of the world though. The end of the world is love breaking down.
Sketch for Summer - The Durutti Column
When I was on that 1980s-dinner-party space, I thought of The Durutti Column. Open the Chardonnay, dip the fondue.
Outdoor Miner – Wire
This was on a roll from the last one, thinking dinner parties where folks are hoping they'll get one of those fancy new Vienettas for desserts. I suspect this shows I would have ran a terrible 1980s dinner party. This feels like the point where I stopped adding the first rush – I had my aesthetic paintbox and a few things to orientate myself around. Outdoor Miner isn't quite as core as some of the other ones, so I'll give it a rest and only add things when I really need to.
GMF - John Grant,Sinéad O'Connor
Tellingly, this arrives some weeks later, and is the first one which is 100% just about a character. This is a Xavier song. If he had more of a sense of humour, imagine him laconically singing “I'm the greatest motherfucker that you're going to meet.” But there's a real sadness here too, and the sense of death haunting it. This doesn't end well.
Seventeen - Sharon Van Etten
A Hope song. I knew Hope would almost certainly going to be going away from the start, and what this does is what I aspired to be (in terms of emotional truth). Honestly, when this one hits, it fucking hits. It's used in Yellowjackets season 2, and I was shocked that they used the moody build without The Moment, and was relieved when they just dropped it on a scene later. If you pay for the song, use that bit. But yeah – the I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE still gets tears from me. It's getting them now.
Is That All There Is?- John Parish,PJ Harvey
And after that, this is some drunken drinks on the titanic energy.
It's Not Just Me - Let's Eat Grandma
Wow. This playlist is long. I see why I didn't do notes before. This was just pure energy – more on the upbeat side of the mood, but certainly the younger Krakoan-pop vibe.
Adore – Savages
Big serious song about life, death and ambition, that just locks eyes with you and doesn't break.
cellophane - FKA twigs
Sci-fi dinnerparty, when most the folks have left and the handful of people straggle behind, finishing off the wine, and considering moving to something stronger, considering sex but not kissing.
Dracula Mountain - Lightning Bolt
WAKE UP! FIGHT AT THE DINNER PARTY! PUNCHING! PUNCHING!
Atlas – Battles
Masterpiece of structure. Obviously smart, but also deeply propulsive. It sounds like an equation solving itself, and that's kind of what Immortal X-men shoots for – most my stuff does that, but perhaps Immortal more than most.
This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us – Sparks
Pure melodrama. Orchis vs Krakoa? Krakoa vs Krakoa? Sinister versus Destiny? Take your pick.
Nimrod From Enigma Variations - Edward Elgar,Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,Philip Ellis
If folks paid more attention to the playlist would they have guessed the Enigma reveal? Hmm. I dunno.
Pacific 707 - 808 State
Obviously sci-fi utopian vibe, but I was just thinking “PACIFIC” and “STATE”.
People, I've been sad- Christine and the Queens
See, when I realised it was Sad Dinner Party Music, I just saw Christine use the word Sad and I grabbed it.
Instrumental - Black Country, New Road
The Atlas/Dracula Mountain side of this playlist, where we get propulsion, but not exactly in a classically commercial way. It should also be noted: sure, I'm hitting vibe, but I'm also thinking of songs which provoke a certain mood in me. This is one of them.
**Into the White - Pixies
One of the Pixie's B-sides, where Kim Deal really does sound like she's going to another dimension. This is pure White Hot Room energy, and a song I looped when trying to get into that headspace.
Down By The Water - PJ Harvey
This one is puzzling me – it's a great record, obviously, but sits oddly. Was I thinking about Dr Stasis with the “bring me back my daughter” of it? It's religious enough that it could have some Exodus in it? Is it just the mood of murder down by the Krakoan Waters?
Fineshrine - Purity Ring
Big space-vibe mood, and so happy it's actually a little frightening. Love as body horror.
I Wanna Be Adored - The Raveonettes
The Messianic energies coming to the foreground here. Using the Raveonettes cover positions it in a different place too, which is fun.
Avalon - Roxy Music
My Otherworld nod. Also, sad dinner party, etc.
The Killing Moon - Echo & the Bunnymen
1980s dinner party, etc. Big sound, big mood. Perhaps thinking of Arrakko here.
A Love from Outer Space - A.R. Kane
Wonderful weird band with great sonic properties. I think I'm mainly thinking of mutant pop music here.
True Faith - New Order
Exodus and Hope, obv.
Out of Time - Joan As Police Woman
Blur cover, which Joan As Police Woman make even sadder. Out Of Time speaks of the dread as we get closer to the final gala, but is also meant literally – this is heading towards the White Hot Room, existing out of time.
Tenderness - Parquet Courts
For a song this late in the playlist, this is one of the key ones. This Orange-Juice-down-the-Pub sing along, and unlike almost everything on the list, which is kind of the point. It's a song where I'm trying to find a way out of the austereness of Krakoa and the realpolitik for the Quiet Council. “I can't count how many times I've been outdone by nihilism” haunted me. I strove to find a way to let these people to have a little tenderness.
The Order Of Death - Public Image Ltd.
Death and/or post punk's back on the menu, boys.
Still Life – Suede
Big melodramatic regretful song, which I always connect to assassins. We have them. This is for them, when they're feeling blue (metaphorically) instead of just literally.
Still Alive - Vitamin String Quartet
The theme song from the game Portal, as performed by a string quartet, which I heard at a friend's wedding and added the second the ceremony was over. I was thinking of just adding Still Alive for a while, but thought just adding a song about an AI who is still alive may give the game away with Enigma. But a string version? Which, by its nature, speaks to the fact it's more old world than a modern computer? That seems my jam. Nathaniel Essex, Still Alive, AI.
Comfortably Numb - Scissor Sisters
Not a huge fan of either Floyd or the Sisters, but I always loved this. That sort of dulled mood with a pulse of a dance beat is obviously very Immortal.
Protection - Massive Attack,Tracey Thorn
After some cynicism and sadness, I wanted something which was beautiful, but also strong, and willing to fight.
You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
I was listening this randomly on repeat, and thinking I'd love to put it on the soundtrack, but realised it was tonally way off and made no sense. Then, when I looped it, the opening lyric struck me: “I met a devil woman/She took my heart away”. Heart. Devil Woman. I immediately imagined Stasis and Mother Righteous singing this at Supervillain karaoke. It was in.
Dominion / Mother Russia - Sisters of Mercy
Mood is true, and at least a little of Colossus... but mainly for the Dominion namecheck.
See-Line Woman - Nina Simone
I think I may have just wanted to add some Nina Simone to my daily diet.
In Every Dream Home A Heartache - Roxy Music
Awesomely perverted sex-bot love song. The mood is pure here, towards Krakoa's end – it just feels absolutely decadent, collapsing in on itself. The title alone does it? Our dream house is a haunted house, full of sex ghosts.
The Box (Part 2) – Orbital
Big sci-fi mood, obv.
Retributions Of An Awful Life – Heartworms
The title alone would get it on here. By here we're heading towards Mother Righteous' downfall, but all the Sinister-clones' descent is here too. It was also just one of my fave new records of the year, and I wanted to not just be historical.
Our Mutual Friend - The Divine Comedy
I believe I got this from an Al Ewing playlist, and it stuck in my head, and found its way here. The chamber-pop aspect called back to Paris 1919, and feels like closing the loop. The betrayal of the middle-eight feels somehow deeply Immortal X-men, and I can't quite place why. Except for the word “Betrayal”.
Never Here – Elastica
This one has turned up on a lot playlists over the years – it's an atypical Elastica record, in that it stretches out... and Justine seems to have her guard down more, but only as she's got knives in both hands. It's a song about love and ambition again, and I suspect you could map onto a lot of people here. Being disappointed in everyone, done well.
Marlene On The Wall - Suzanne Vega
This, as the “I think it's called my destiny I'm changing” and “I'm fighting things I cannot see” lines may imply, this is just about Irene, with Raven as Marlene on the wall.
Looking For Clues - Robert Palmer
This jittery hypervigilance suits Immortal heading into the back end, as Xavier and Sinister try to put this all together.
Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead
Reaching the end, and we're getting big elegiac emotions. Reality falls. Despair. Similarly...
Don't Give Up - Peter Gabriel
The video is always in my head in this one, as it captures the tone. Kate Bush and Gabriel, holding on to each other at the end of the world. You think all is lost, but if you're not alone, you're never entirely lost. If you're two points of light in the abyss, you know something.
Soldier Girl - The Polyphonic Spree
This was in my Generation Hope playlist back in the day. It was Hope's iconic song from that. If she's going out, we'll go out with it playing.
And that's it. Do I need to do the Immoral X-men one too? I don't think so – I suspect its jokes are more obvious, and while the vibe is strong, there's also a lot of jokes. Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time, for example. Imagine Sinister belting that out as the universe burns. Remember: I always could have made it camper. Rise of the Powers of X one is fun too. And shorter. Maybe I will. Probably not. Though there are more jokes in there.
While we're talking playlists and to X folks – The Power Fantasy's playlist is here, which is all period stuff. If you liked the Immortal run, and you're here for that, I'd say you really should consider checking it out when it launches on August 7th. Speak to your retailer, etc.
Oh – the Image solicits for September are out and in an example of our novel, rules-breaking thinking we've decided to publish the second issue of a comic the month after the first.
THE POWER FANTASY #2
WRITER: Kieron Gillen
ARTIST / COVER A: Caspar Wijngaard
SEPTEMBER 11 / 32 pages / FC/ -- / $3.99
There are six people who can save the world. They save the world every day they don't use their powers. Yesterday, one used their gift. The world is still here. Have we been lucky, or has the fuse to end us all been lit?
Heh. Early solicits are such an exercise in me trying to not say anything that's happened. “Events occur, please read more.”
Sweeney does the alt, which is just great. I love her stuff.
Speak to your retailer, etc. Speak to your friends. Speak! SPEAK!
- The third part of my guide to writing DIE adventures is live – this bit specifically about how you write the adventure bit. Example quote: “If you asked a dozen questions in Persona Gen about who a Persona’s Favourite Pop Star was, it’d take a lot of time and give the game away. All you need to do is ask who their fave pop star is in Persona Gen… and when you reach the encounter, ask more questions to flesh out more details. So in Persona Gen the player could answer “Taylor Swift” and in the adventure there’s a whole set piece about trying to get backstage at a Taylor Swift gig. You add details to the encounter via questions in the moment”.
- I was on the latest Cerebro with Connor and I talking all things Hope Summers. Four hours of us chatting, basically, and kind of feels like the Krakoa debrief. I say lots of things I've never said before in it, and likely some things I shouldn't. This was fun.
- I get namechecked in this interview with Ken Levine about the story behind Bioshock. Ken basically says that a retrospective on Shock led to publishers thinking there was a demand there. Ken doesn't say it, but the journalist thinks it was likely me, and I suspect they're right. Tempted to add that to my list of “things I did which actually moved the dial as a games journo.” I probably should just mail Ken and ask it was me.
- Curse Words was Charles Soule and Ryan Brownes delightful, scabarous fantasy is running a kickstarter. For a concept album, written and performed by Charles. I am delighted. Charles lobbed my the mixes, and I'm charmed, and find myself incapable of not laughing at the word “Wizord.” Charles is annoyingly talented.
- A review of DIE RPG which digs into running Total Party Kill (our one off scenario). Heading to Gencon in a couple of weeks, it's just great to see people playing the game and writing about it.
- Kelly Sue's latest newsletter is her chewing over ways to market her forthcoming creator owned work, and thinking through the angles. I didn't do this sort of thinking in public – at least, not without a lot more shields in place – but it's fascinating stuff, and stuff I recognise.
- Wes Craig's Kaya is just a great fantasy comic, and I loved to see the new thing he's done here – a self-contained new black and white Story So Far comic for new readers to jump aboard. Trailers are a common tactic in my books, but this is something different and I really like it, and suits what Wes is up to.
- Oh – Chip's newsletter talks about about ZCN which is a delight and I want to write about more another time. Oh – AIPT quotes me talking about it already. Maybe I won't bother.
- The Covers Version isn't the only hot comic art book croudfunding at the moment – you can Christian Ward's Many Worlds over at Zoop. Christian is a master, and I'm looking forward to getting hold of a copy of this. Go back here.
As the final order cut off for The Power Fantasy was on Monday, I was thinking of having this week off – until I realised that I really should remind folks about the end of the Kickstarter, and then I saw how much else I had for a mailing list. I was thinking I should do it, but just the core.
I realised something else. I looked at myself in the mirror, and saw basically a month of excess facial hair which accumulate as I was banging the FOC The Power Fantasy drum. I needed to trim that off. I considered losing the beard entirely, but that felt a bit too 2014 in the “this is a new era” way.
But I did realise that since I've had so much stuff on, I should write to feel the shape of words. I found myself flicking on my most played tracks of 2016 playlist on shuffle – core WicDiv period. And it's a lot of memories, of some songs I've barely touched since, but my main response is – fucking hell, Kieron, this is the most depressed mess I've ever heard.
That prompted me to think... you know, you always say you're going to write notes on a playlist when you leave a book. Hence, the above Immortal X-men playlist notes, which thankfully is less of a scream than the WicDiv one was. Just a chance to write about stuff which is easy, to feel the fingers move, to feel slightly more solid by seeing thoughts coalesce before you.
In this case, mainly “Wait – I have no idea why this is here?” but still.
There's the line about writers that turns up a lot – no writer likes writing, all writers like having written. I can see the truth of it, but I also see the lie. At the best, when you're on, it's like the gods are plugged right into your nervous system. If you've had that and not liked it, you're a different kind of writer than I am. The only reason not to like that is if “like” is too small a word for it.
(“Oh, I met an angel on the way back from the pub whose very existence seared my skin and made me see new colors?” “How was it?” “Oh, I liked it.”)
But the “all writers like having written” is closer to the mark, but still incomplete. It's not just that “Oh, I'm happy I wrote that thing” but it speaks to the need of it. To go all Rorschach, You Are Compelled. You are less if you don't write.
Sometimes it's important as a writer to remind yourself of that compulsion, and let it take you wherever it takes you.
Like that sentence.
Work update? As I said – FOC on The Power Fantasy plus all the sign off at Image, which is always a lot of moving pieces for an issue 1. I found myself away at getting on for 2am on... 3 nights? The time difference to the west coast is a lot. I'm going to try and put some things in place to mitigate against that next time.
I also actually was writing the third DIE scenario I've been trying to do for weeks – I found an angle, attacked it, and found myself 2000 words over. I showed Chant, and asked what he thought, in terms of cuts. He quotes some of my own advice from my writing guide back at me, and gives a simple edit that I would never have considered which will basically reclaim 1500 words.
Good work, Chant. Editing is magic.
Speak soon.
Kieron Gillen
London
17.7.2024
This was issue #294 of Kieron Gillen's Wordmail. You can subscribe, unsubscribe, or view this email online.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2407.21 - 10:10
- Days ago = 3306 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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