[B5JMS] JMS: Can we have a...

[b5jms-admin at cs.columbia.edu]

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From: "David Williams" <dwilliams298 at attbi.com>
Date: Tue, 07 Jan 2003 05:34:37 GMT
Lines: 20


"Jms at B5" <jmsatb5 at aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030106175859.02067.00000357 at mb-cu.aol.com...
> On the comics front, I've turned in the first 2 issues of > Supreme Power,

Oops.  Missed something.  What and When is "Supreme Power"?  (ANYbody please
respond.)

> I've been told the writer/directors doing the dust-up on Rising Stars: The
> Movie are progressing well,

Just (3 minutes ago) finished RS21.  So when can we expect RS:Bright?  And
do you plan any other spinoffs of Rising Stars?

Also, when is the next Midnight Nation slated?

Best,
-David W.



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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 07 Jan 2003 06:24:47 GMT
Lines: 85

>What and When is "Supreme Power"?

Supreme Power is an updating of the Squadron Supreme book done quite a while
back by Mark Gruenwald.  It was one of the first books, possibly the first
book, to really examine the role of the superhero in society, and as such is
generally considered to have paved the way for such later works as Watchmen,
Dark Knight, Marvels, Kingdom Come and others.

Marvel said, basically, if you could take those characters, who were used at a
time when comics were still quite a bit more restrictive than now, due to the
comics code and other influences, and update them, recast them, free to do
whatever you want...what would you do?

Hence, Supreme Power.  While it has its moments of dark humor, it's a very
intense, serious book.  And because it's being done for the Marvel Max line --
which is aimed at mature readers -- there are very few limitations in terms of
imagery and language.  Marvel has said it wants me to take this book to the
wall, and that's pretty much where I intend to go.

Interestingly, unlike the aforemtentioned titles, this isn't a limited
series...it's intended to be an ongoing series, while trying to sustain the
kind of intensity you get in that kind of limited edition.  It's a massive
writing challenge, though one of my main goals is to do right by Mark's
original creation.

I think the first issue appears sometime in February or March.

>So when can we expect RS:Bright?  And
>do you plan any other spinoffs of Rising Stars?

This one, by Fiona Avery, is due out in February, I think.  I know that Top Cow
is planning other follow-ups to the Rising Stars story, but I'm not directly
involved in the writing of them due to my contract with Marvel.  One of them
may follow the events of Laurel Darkhaven, the teek who ended up a CIA
assassin.

>Also, when is the next Midnight Nation slated?

There are no more MIdnight Nation single issues; it was intended as a 12 issue
miniseries, and it's done.  I just learned (on this newsgroup, as it happens)
that the graphic novel is finally coming out and now available for pre-order on
Amazon.com.

Folks, I don't generally hock my stuff around here, because I think it's rude. 
But in all honesty, in many respects, from a sheer writing perspective,
Midnight Nation represents some of the best stuff I've ever done in the form. 
It's something that I poured a lot of emotion into, a lot of personal feelings
and history and beliefs, covering life, death, religion, god, how we achieve
meaning...all balanced against a cross-country quest by two people, one out to
reclaim his soul, the other a woman sent to help him or kill him, depending on
how the story ends up.

It is also, oddly enough, a love story.

It's one of the things I'm proudest of as a writer, and I commend it to anyone
who found the ideas in Babylon 5 of interest.  And the art by Gary Frank is
just gorgeous, and evocative, and full of emotion.  

There's a great Cinescape review of the book at --

http://www.cinescape.com/0/Editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Comics&action=p
age&obj_id=34965

-- which contains spoilers, however, so if you want to hold off on some of the
surprises, you may want to just get it cold.  The key part of the review,
though, says:

"MIDNIGHT NATION offered a unique twist on some very old cosmological concepts,
and managed to make the idea that "love conquers all" the very core of its
resolution without resorting to smarmy melodrama. That's a rare accomplishment,
and all the more reason why MIDNIGHT NATION will be remembered as one of the
most absorbing and emotionally moving sagas in modern comics history."

It's a nifty little story.  Honest.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd., 
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine 
and don't send me story ideas)