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Ultimate goal
With some iconic figures already to his name, bestselling comic writer Mark Millar tells Henry Northmore about finally realising a childhood dream
espite being one of the most successful writers of comics ever. Mark Millar still resides in Coatbridge. Like most UK writers he earned his stripes on 2000;“). ‘The older gttys like (‘irant Morrison. Pete Milligan. Alan Grant and John Wagner had all been poached en masse by the Americansf Millar explains in his fast-paced Glaswegian patter. ‘Nature abhors a vacuum and they needed me jttst because I could fill a page. The good side of it was that I learned how to write comics bttt the downside was that every single thing I wrote was rubbish.‘ Millar himself was ‘poached by the Americans‘ to co—write Swamp Thing with Grant Morrison at DC. However it was with The Authority la subversive take on the Justice League of America) that he first realised his potential. ‘To me March 2000 with The .-luthority was the first page of my career.’ It’s also where he perfected his take on ‘widescreen comics'. vast action set pieces grounded with a dark intelligence and pitch black humour. It was a move to Marvel launching Ultimate X-Men. followed by' The Ultimates. that saw his career go stratospheric. ‘I just instantly felt at home at Marvel. particularly with the two gttys that run the place. Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas. They said: “The company is just coming out of bankruptcy; we‘ll maybe get another 18 months so let’s just do something nuts." So they took somebody like me. who was an incredible risk. and put me on their most valuable franchise. It could have gone absolutely belly-up but it was a big hit.’ It was a massive hit that. alongside Brian Michael Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Mun. helped save Marvel
32 THE LIST 14-28 Feb 2008
‘NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM SO THEY NEEDED ME'
frotn the brink of destruction. Then there was the gigantic ('it'i/ ll'ur. a crossover that effected the entire Marvel universe. ‘lt was actually the most difficult
assignment l‘ve ey er had. It’s the bestselling comic of the last 15 years. yet when I see it sitting on my shelf
1 actually feel a bit sick. I just think of how much time it took tip and how much re-writing I had to do
just to co-ordinate everything with the other w riters.‘ And we shouldn't forget Millarworld. a series of
creator-owned comics that are tnore extreme than his mainstream superheroics. including The ('iiiiumies. (’hoseit. the forthcoming Kick-Ass and of course ll'tmterl. which hits the big screens this June starring James McAvoy. Angelina Jolie and Morgan lireeman.
Now he's getting his hands on I'll/thistle l-riur. ‘l‘nt doing [9/9 because it‘s a childhood dream. it's as
simple as that.‘ he explains. ‘You‘ve got to remember
that this was a book created in 196] and yet had co- habiting superheroes. superheroes without masks. superheroes getting married. shagging. hay ing babies: it was unheard of. nobody did anything like that. What I wanted to do was try and bring back the radicalism of those first ten years and do a 21st century version of it. ('lot'eijiielrl is pretty mttch a Fantastic Four story for me: it's all about a giant menace attacking New York and that can be as cheesy as (int/:i/lu or it can be as cool and frightening as (fUlI’l’fit’ltf. My big thing is not to make it retro. but to make it aw esomef
Fantastic Four issue 554 is published by Marvel on Thu 14 Feb.
l v
Eta:
* John Hegley Get all mushy with the Luton lyTlClSl as he gets involved in a post-Valentine‘s Day poetry lovelest. Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh, Fri 15 Feb.
3|: Des Dlllon This hitlist’s first Coatbridge writer. who gave us top novels such as ltchycooblue and Me and Ma Gal. launches his latest publication, My Epileptic Lurcher, about a recovering alcoholic and struggling scriptwriter wrth anger management issues. Waterstone's, Glasgow, Thu 27 Feb.
* Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde After last year's Kidnapped shenanigans. the One Book: One Edinburgh campaign gets back into gear with RLS’ tale of split identity. Among the various events are a talk and a workshop with Cam Kennedy and Alan Grant, the adaptors ot the new version, poetry readings about double lives and Ian Rankin in conversation with Catherine Lockerbie. Various venues, Edinburgh, from Thu 21 Feb.
* Glyn Maxwell The celebrated poet brings us his debut novel, The Girl Who was Going to Die, about a woman who pays a visit to a fortune teller and has to cope with some rather bad news. The clue is in the title. See review. page 33. Jonathan Cape.
* Lisa Applgnanesi With Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors from 1800 to the Present, we hear about how the medics have used amazing excuses to label ladies as insane. Mothers in particular have received a right old bashing. See review. page 33. Virago.
* Mark Millar With the skilful and glossy Civil War already out. the Coatbridge comics legend is now tackling Fantastic Four. See preview, left. Marvel.