When Ridley Scott, visionary director of “Alien,” “Blade Runner” and “Gladiator,” connects together with your story, it’s most likely a good suggestion to discover it in any medium potential.
“Modville,” a four-issue neo-noir graphic novel set in New Orleans in 2169 that unfolds in a world of crime and synthetic people (often known as mods), was simply that story. Created by Jesse Negron, co-written by Joe Matsumoto and with artwork by Hendry Prasetya and Eko Puteh, the comedian touches on themes of father-daughter relationships, morality and humanity. The comedian sequence bucks the present development of reframing superhero narratives. As an alternative, it’s an authentic concept that can go direct to customers (versus being launched by a giant writer like Diamond and Penguin Random Home) and initially be printed in a status format (a 200-page hardcover as an alternative of single points). It’ll even have an idiosyncratic schedule, freed from month-to-month pressures.
Negron, who had beforehand labored with the director and his late brother, Tony Scott, pitched the seemingly radical concept of doing a comic book e-book to Tom Moran, senior vice chairman of Ridley Scott’s movie and TV firm Scott Free Productions.
“Tony was a big fan of Jesse’s. We met and talked about his ideas, and I said, ‘Well, what do you want to do? Film or TV?’ He said, ‘I really want to do comics, but you guys don’t do that.’ I said, ‘Why not?,’” mentioned Moran. “As an entertainment company, especially these days, you have to evolve. We have to reach out and expand to new forms of entertainment. Honestly, Ridley was probably like, ‘We should have done this a long time ago.’ He’s such a good artist himself.”
Director Ridley Scott mentioned doing a graphic novel felt like “a natural evolution.”
(Scott Free Productions)
By way of his firm Mechanical Cake, Negron might be introducing the graphic novel, in addition to a “Modville”-style sales space, at WonderCon in Anaheim this weekend. Negron, Moran, writer and editor Dave Elliott, and Anthony Francisco, a senior visible growth artist for Marvel Studios, will focus on the ins and outs of the corporate in a panel Saturday.
Launching ‘Modville’
Negron has been engaged on the concept for “Modville” for no less than 5 years. Negron and Chief Monetary Officer Tom Sanders launched Mechanical Cake in 2015 to not solely create comics however to additionally domesticate new concepts in multimedia.
“Mechanical Cake is a world-building [intellectual property] creation team that is focused in the sci-fi-fantasy-action-adventure genre,” mentioned Sanders. “The goal of any creative is not only to tell the story but to get it to the world and get the fans involved.”
The corporate’s affiliation with Scott already provides cachet to the title, however acquiring his blessing was solely step one.
“There’s no doubt that for me to launch at the bar of Ridley Scott, it’s a lot of pressure to be honest,” mentioned Negron. “It’s sometimes very difficult to work at the level he works at because he’ll just go, ‘Meh, I don’t know.’ To work at his level where he goes, ‘Whoa, you guys keep doing this. Whoa, you did that!?’ That was really important to me.”
Jesse Negron constructed the bike prop he’s sitting on as a part of the “Modville” sales space that might be assembled for WonderCon.
(David Roberson)
Getting on the identical web page as your enterprise companions is just one of many hurdles to beat when launching an impartial comedian e-book. With the sale of Diamond Comedian Distributors to Alliance Leisure, the comics business might breathe a sigh of reduction, however market leaders nonetheless are inclined to dominate consideration and shelf area, limiting gross sales for small presses and direct-to-market gamers. Diamond helped unknown titles get the phrase out by its Previews catalog, however with its chapter and subsequent sale, it’s unclear how the acquisition will have an effect on the comics business.
Of the 40 hottest graphic novels in 2024 (based mostly on items offered), solely 4 titles weren’t printed by the main comics corporations — which embrace Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Picture Comics, IDW Publishing, Darkish Horse Comics and BOOM! Studios. These titles embrace “Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder” by Graphix, “Uzumaki” and “Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1” — each by VIZ Media — and “Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze” by Titan Comics. This development is seen with periodical comedian books too, with solely 4 franchises outdoors of Marvel and DC capable of crack the highest 50 comics of 2024. These all occurred to be well-known ’80s titles similar to Picture’s G.I. Joe and Transformers, IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dynamite Leisure’s Thundercats.
But it surely’s an unsure time for all leisure sectors. Just like the film business, comedian e-book gross sales and shopper developments point out that introducing an authentic story, with out a longtime distribution community, just like the one Diamond supplied for many years, is a frightening and dangerous activity.
Movie and comics have quite a bit in frequent, which can also be why the union of Scott Free Productions and Mechanical Cake makes sense to the events concerned.
“They deliver like nobody else on the planet in this genre. Science fiction, action, the edge of fantasy. I can’t think of a better partner to team up with than Scott Free,” mentioned Sanders. “Doing a comic book is like doing a film or TV show but with more details. Everything on the panel is intentionally put there, just like you do in a film or TV show. If you’ve done it right, you pretty much have laid out a storyboard that anyone should be able to follow. We want to build a world for others to create stories in as well.”
Scott, recognized for his detailed storyboards, was additionally drawn to the comics due to his background as an artist.
“To watch Ridley draw is amazing. He’s such a visionary, from mind to pen to hand to paper. You can flip through his storyboards and see the whole movie. It’s truly an art form, and that’s essentially what you’re getting from comics,” mentioned Moran.
Invoice Sienkiewicz is without doubt one of the distinguished artists who will assist create the visible language for “Modville,” particularly in crafting covers for the sequence. Sienkiewicz mentioned he enjoys the “grunge” expertise within the story, which harks again to one thing acquainted.
Poster artwork from “Modville” by artist Invoice Sienkiewicz.
(Mechanical Cake)
“What I’m enjoying about ‘Modville’ is that, while it may not be a direct corollary to ‘Blade Runner,’ it has enough of the DNA to make it feel like it’s at least adjacent. I love the idea of investigating on deeper levels what constitutes humanity and morality,” mentioned Sienkiewicz. “When you’re doing a monthly book, you can afford to be a little more subtextual and be intriguing for it’s own sake.”
Publishing path
”Modville” has additionally carved out its personal route into a crowded market. It’ll launch with a status format (200-page books) and hardcovers then transition to delicate covers and to a wider market. In contrast to conventional comics and graphic novels, these editions gained’t be reprinted, making them one-of-a-kind commodities. Elliott mentioned he desires Mechanical Cake to be accessible to the general public but in addition to verify the artistic course of isn’t rushed to satisfy market calls for.
Writer Dave Elliott desires Mechanical Cake to “treat the publishing [of comics] the way the Europeans do with graphic novels and the way the publishing world used to treat novels.”
(Dave Elliott)
“More books are being published by Kickstarter at the moment than almost anybody else. So that model of working directly with the people who are fans of what you’re doing is something that is so important today,” mentioned Elliott.
“But a lot of other publishers you look at, they’re trapped into that, ‘It’s a new month. We have to have something out every month.’ I’m like, ‘No, we don’t.’ We put something out when it’s ready but not before. I wanted us to treat the publishing the way the Europeans do with graphic novels and the way the publishing world used to treat novels.”
It’s a mind-set that goes in opposition to what retailers and customers could also be used to. Paul Grimshaw, proprietor of Burbank’s Home of Secrets and techniques comedian e-book retailer, prefers serialized comedian books and graphic novels that “come out on a monthly basis and keep people interested,” however he says being distinctive can also be key. Certainly one of his top-selling comics over the previous yr has been “Saga,” an epic area opera/fantasy sequence written by Brian Ok. Vaughan from Picture.
“Honestly, all you need to do is be good. If you’ve got well-written, well-illustrated books, they will find an audience. Gimmicks are gimmicks. Gimmicks only last for a short amount of time. My favorite books are the ones that have good artists and are telling a solid story,” Grimshaw mentioned.
Ridley Scott’s affect
Apart from lending his identify to the mission, Scott additionally assisted in shaping the story and a crucial eye to the artwork route. It dawned on Elliott early on that Scott may see the connection colours performed to viewers onscreen and to readers on paper.
“In the beginning, the colors were a bit brighter and more vivid. And [Scott would say], ‘Maybe you can mute it a bit, desaturate it a bit.’ This was when I realized that he understood the difference between comics and film. We were talking about the fact that comics use color in a way [Scott] can’t use in film. It is a more muted palette so you can trigger emotion [differently],” mentioned Elliott.
“I started out as an artist, sketching every storyboard for each of my films, and it’s remarkable how instinctively the visual language of storytelling in ‘Modville’ unfolds,” mentioned Scott.
A web page of artwork from “Modville,” which is ready in a futuristic model of New Orleans, the place music additionally performs a component in setting the temper.
(Mechanical Cake)
Scott and Negron’s sensibilities appear to align effectively. Negron’s stylistic and storytelling influences are diverse: from the retro expertise and classy imagery of “The Rocketeer” to a Southern Gothic aesthetic born of a Baptist upbringing.
When Negron despatched Scott his first draft of “Modville,” the director made him dial again among the extra controversial and gratuitous components. Although he had been engaged on the story and artwork for years, Negron realized that Scott wasn’t attempting to alter his imaginative and prescient, he was ensuring that it will seize readers and maintain them coming again.
“He goes, ‘I’ve had a room of 6,000 people turn against me.’ So we toned it down a little bit in the opening [for ‘Modville’], and I think it was a good choice.”
