I want to be a comic character

An edition about new projects, developing projects, impersonation and my love for Antonio Banderas

Aug 22, 2022

WELCOME TO A NEW EDITION OF MY NEWSLETTER

Hello again, friends! It’s hot outside, the pool or the beach is waiting for you (I hope so) so let’s go straight to the point.

DRINK THE ELIXIR

In the previous newsletter, I told you I was finishing two graphic novel projects, one with Mike Oeming and the other project with Frank Barbiere and Ricky Mammone. I have mentioned them in interviews because I began both books in 2019, before the pandemic, and they were affected by it (change of publisher included) and delayed… Until now.

The first of the two projects is Elixir, the Barbiere/Mammone book was finally announced by Dark Horse. This graphic novel will be published in March of 2023.

The press note: https://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/3570/drink-magic-elixir

The story:
In a fantastic vision of the future, magic has been replaced with technology. Two factions are in conflict within a sprawling metropolis: The Druids hold on to the past, while huge corporations exploit new technologies that threaten to eradicate magic forever. Mara, the daughter of a druid leader, becomes caught up in a dangerous mission to recover the elixir—a mysterious artifact that could restore magic and defeat the corporations once and for all. The only problem? It’s in the hands of her old mentor, a dangerous warrior who has mastered magic and the blade, and who’s driven by a personal vendetta to destroy the elixir at all costs. Caught between her family and a choice that could shape the future forever, how far will Mara go to recover the elixir for herself, and what will she do with it?

Sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?

The other project, where Mike and I share tasks of writing/creation/art (it’s a very funny merge) will be announced soon, but Mike posted a little glimpse.

I’ll talk you about this crazy experiment very soon.

BOOKS IN DEVELOPMENT

Some friends and subscribers asked me about the graphic novels of Motorway and Left Hand of the Devil, the audiovisual projects I have been developing as a 6-episodes TV show and movie feature are based on. I wrote about them in this newsletter edition.
Both projects are not published books YET. I’m working on them in a very unusual way for me: Both are graphic novels in the works, and I am developing the graphic version at the same time as the audiovisual projects. I wanted to try this system comic-book writers like Mark Millar use, and see what happens, how both “lines of work” influence each other. So don’t look for them in the stores or on Amazon but be patient. I’m working on it (wink-wink).
And speaking of the Devil, LHOTD producer Paul FitzSimons and director Mutsumi Kameyama will attend the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) next September to get more partners for our little revenge project.

“I WANT TO BE A COMIC CHARACTER”

We live in interesting times when doing comics, or graphic novels, sounds pretty cool. A sign of it is that different celebrities have joined the club. There always have been fans of comics who used his popular position in their own fields to break into professional comics. I remember Mark Hamill writing a comic-book for Dark Horse in the 90s, and later the director Kevin Smith’s runs in Daredevil and Green Arrow. But they were fans, writing the books was like accomplishing a child’s dream. But their careers in movies and comics were separated. But now, with comics as a source of ideas for movies and TV shows, people who did not necessarily have this “fanboy profile”, approach the medium as a way to feed their own careers. Believe me, I think they also surely feel attracted by the creative freedom of this world, but at the same time (don’t let us fool ourselves) comics are a cheap and relatively quick tool to create an IP to develop in more lucrative mediums. And the quickest way to confirm this is checking who is the final owner of the copyright of these books. They are not trying to write a Batman story anymore, they are now focused on creator-owned. I differentiate two variants of Hollywood people making these books, usually co-writing with a professional writer who “shapes” their ideas and of course, with a hired artist or artists drawing:

The first variant is simply people doing the book, as I said collaborating with people from the medium. One example could be actress Emilia Clarke’s Mother of Madness, a miniseries for Image comics co-written by Marguerite Bennet, with art by Leila Leiz. They do the book, and it’s fine if the deal is fair and everybody knows their rights and who own what. Please don’t think I am in same way “reporting an invasion”. I hate the people who thinks he/she is the chosen one to give ID cards: “you belong to this world and you not”. My plan today is talking about a funnier phenomena. And this is the second variant:

Actors who share their ideas and LEND THEIR IMAGES to impersonate these new characters. I found four examples: the uber-popular Brzrkr with Keanu Reeves, The Exiled with Wesley Snipes, Head Wounds with Oscar Isaac (this latest couple of books are a permanent presence in the ads which pursue my social networks) and finally Phenomenomx with John Legizamo.

The intention seems clear from the moment that Keanu Reeves sold the movie rights to Netflix even before the book was published. I read the first issues of Brzrkr and it’s a pretty enjoyable book. Mainly thanks to Ron Garney’s overwhelming storytelling. The case of Head Wounds is particularly interesting because Isaac basically provides his physical image. He doesn’t appear credited as creator, surely he created the main “high concept” but he doesn’t seem involved in the basic foundation of the book. He has “developed it”. And again, I am not against it. I will not deny that I joked about these movie star books, telling my friends they were “doped with popularity steroids” because this is an event never seen before! But that’s it, a joke. I honestly think that arousing this interest from people from other disciplines is healthy for the comic-books medium, and these books have the power to attract thousands of potential readers. In the end, we all win.

And thinking about this phenomenon… If I would have the chance to do something similar… What actor would I choose? Let’s be realistic to some degree. Clint Eastwood is not going to accept. Mads Mikkelsen would be a little twisted, don’t you think? But maybe Scott Adkins? Lena Headey? The fucking Nic Cage? Would I dare to dream with Chow Yun-Fat?

But in the end I think I would like to do a comic-book with Antonio Banderas.

He is a wonderful actor in dramatic roles, but I must confess I have a soft spot for his action movies, especially his recent roles for the Millenium company. I’ll never call it a “guilty pleasure” because I don’t feel guilty for the things I enjoy. Antonio (I call him Antonio and we never met but I am Spanish so he is OUR Antonio) has no problem balancing “potentially awarded” roles like his movies with Pedro Almodovar, with these Cannon-style actioners with directors like Issac Florentine. And always showing the same enthusiasm and dedication. So I take the chance to transform this newsletter into a love letter for the biggest star Spain has given to Hollywood.

PRESS

The podcast Plains, trains and comic-books made a 1-hour program about Polar: Came from the cold, first volume of the Polar series and seed of the Netflix movie adaptation:

Remember, if you reviewed some of my books, send me the link and I will post here.

And that’s all! And like I mentioned previously, if you have any question, proposal, etc for this newsletter, you have the comments section or you can write to my contact mail: victorsantoscontact@gmail.com.

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