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with Matt Wagner
Interview
with: Troy
Brownfield
Welcome back to The BigQ! We caught our next guest as he was
about to depart for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Cruise,
and we're very grateful he took the time with us. You primarily
know him from his amazing creator-owned work on his varied
and epic incarnations of Mage and Grendel. Aside from a mountain
of other cool projects like Sandman Mystery Theater and reinvigorating
Dr. Mid-Nite in last year's DC mini-series, he's about to
see one of his creations realized on the big screen. The BigQ
is proud to welcome the great Matt Wagner.
THE BIG Q&A
Q1. The Mage project is build strongly on the themes of legends,
myths and religions from all over the world. How massive an
undertaking was the research for that project, and what were
some of the sources that you most relied upon?
A1.
I'd have to describe my research as continual rather than
massive. I take a great delight in the world's religious legendry
which most people would find at odds with the fact that I'm
an atheist. Still, I continually try to convince others that
my belief in mythology as metaphor as opposed to cosmic fact
doesn't preclude me from enjoying, perceiving and even being
moved to tears by the moral lessons and implications therein.
The sources I use are all around, not centered in any one
tome.
Q2.
What made you decide to release Grendel: Devil's Legacy
in its new form after so many years since the original project?
A2.
We'd been wanting to make this and all the other incarnations
of GRENDEL available to readers ever since bringing the title
to Darkhorse nearly ten years ago. Trouble was, the smouldering
aftermath of Comico's demise left us no access to the printing
negatives vital to any publication in the pre-digital age.
Now, the current technology has so advanced that this isn't
as much of a problem. Ultimately, we plan on re-issueing as
many of the original story arcs as possible. With Devil's
Legacy, I'm particularly struck with what a precursor to many
contemporary styles that the Pander Brothers' work entailed.
The long, hard-bodied women, the frenetic, panel-bursting
lay-outs seem to be somewhat "proto-Image".
Q3.
What's your target date for the next installment of Mage?
A3.
HA! And so begin the "When's MAGE III?" questions. I promise
it won't take another ten years. The events depicted in The
Hero Defined occurred to me nearly a decade ago and so, at
this point, I do have the emotional distance and necessary
life experience to move onto The Hero Denied. Still, producing
MAGE is a rather draining undertaking and I'm not quite ready
to move onto the final installment.
Q4.
It's widely understood/rumored that Mage is in development
as a feature film. How much are you able to tell us at this
point?
A4.
The film is being produced by Spyglass Entertainment (The
Sixth Sense ) in conjunction with Critical Mass Productions.
We've just received the final draft of the screenplay written
by John Rogers (Jesse James ) and everyone involved thinks
it just rocks the fucking house. Very exciting. The screenplay
is truly a fine adaptation in every sense of the word, which
means that it embraces a necessary group of "adjustments"
for the translation to film. Still, I applaud (standing O)
John for his brilliant interpretation. It is by no means a
panel-by-panel film version and yet so captures the heart
and soul of MAGE that even the most hardened fan will delight
in the familiarity of it all while still encountering excitements
in the film that are not to be found in the comic.
Q5.
Your writing on Sandman Mystery Theater was outstanding! What
are your favorite noir works, and will you be tackling works
in that vein in the future?
A5.
Favorite noir...hmmm. Well, I'd have to go with some of the
classics...Chandler, Hammet, Cain, Thompson, Willeford, Ellroy.
But I also like noir that doesn't fit into the typically niche.
For instance, I loved AMERICAN PSYCHO. It had been years since
I'd read a book that made feel dirty and stained. A horrifying
experience. I'm also a big fan of a book called TOPPING FROM
BELOW by Laura Reese. Its an S&M murder mystery that is really
provocative and intriguing and has a great pay-off. Again,
parts of it made me feel icky and uncomfortable which is how
Chandler's work originally affected its much less jaded audience.
ShotgunReviews.com would like to thank Matt Wagner for taking
the time with us, especially when he had a boat to catch!
Follow his work diligently as it issues from various sources;
Grendel: Devil's Legacy is out now, and the reprints
of the first Mage series are readily available. Get
to it. As always, direct questions, guest requests and brickbats
to Troy Brownfield at psikotyk@aol.com.
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