Zach said he wanted to get behind new projects and not have to wait around for opportunities. The writers they are bringing in for their projects have also been friends with the them since college. Their goal is to develop ideas in different mediums, cover different areas and tell innovative stories.
I asked Zach what made them decide to choose Archaia as their publisher. Basically, Archaia represents the stories they wanted to tell. Zach said that Stephen Christy, the Director of Development (or "Awesome Dude at Archaia" as we call him) is a smart and ambitious guy. They were also fans of Archaia's Killer and Mouse Guard. "The books have beautiful stories and art."
Neil brought up that the first book coming out is Mr. Murder is Dead. It will be written by Victor Quinaz. It will be an original stand alone graphic novel. The story deals with Gould Kane, an aged top cop. "He's like Dick Tracy except he got old and fat." Now retired from the force, Kane was had a comic strip based on him in his prime, "The Spook." The arch-nemesis he had been chasing for several years is killed. Now, Kane has to figure out what happens when "the chase" is over. He decides to investigate the crime to get some answers. The book is due this Fall/Winter and has fantastic artwork.
The second project they have in the works is a four issue mini-series called Lucid. It will be written by life long comic book fan and actor Michael McMillian (True Blood). Matthew Dee, a descendant of Queen Elizabeth I's court Magician, John Dee, works as a covert spy set in current times. In this world, magic exists. The arms race here consists of every country having it's own magician, a James Bond type character with magical powers. They described the story as a "Jason Bourne-esque pulse racing story."
Zach said they want to stay clear of capes and superheroes. That makes sense as we have more than enough. Their goal is simply to tell good stories. While they would love to branch the stories into other mediums, they are not simply creating new stories in comics just to make movies later.
I asked Zach if he talked to his Heroes co-star, Milo Ventimiglia, about the comic industry (since Milo is behind Top Cow's " Berserker" and " Rest" at Devil's Due). Zach said they get along well and Milo is a a great actor and businessman. Milo shared his experiences in the comic industry. I asked about the competition and Zach said they don't see it that way. "We are only as successful as we encourage others to be."
Stay tuned for more information. You will definitely hear more about these projects here as they approach their release dates.
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