Monday, December 14, 2015

ESSEX COUNTY HEADED TO TELEVISON



FIRST GENERATION FILMS CLOSES DEVELOPMENT DEAL
TO ADAPT JEFF LEMIRE’S BEST-SELLING GRAPHIC NOVEL
“ESSEX COUNTY”

TORONTO, December 14, 2015 - First Generation Films (FGF) announced today it has optioned Jeff Lemire’s critically acclaimed and best-selling graphic novel ESSEX COUNTY to adapt into a scripted television series. Writer Aaron Martin has been signed to pen the pilot script and showrun the series currently in development with the CBC.

Based on award-winning cartoonist Jeff Lemire’s much-loved graphic novel trilogy, published by Top Shelf Productions, this series intricately weaves the genealogy of a family’s origins across generations. The novel is an intimate study of an eccentric community and a tender meditation on family, memory, grief, secrets, and reconciliation.

Ted Adams, Chris Staros, Jeff Lemire and Aaron Martin will Executive Produce along with Christina Piovesan of First Generation Films.

“ESSEX COUNTY is a vivid and haunting book that has inspired a dedicated and distinguished following. We are thrilled Jeff has agreed to collaborate with FGF to bring his vision to the screen” says First Generation Films President Christina Piovesan.

This will be the first deal under the direction of Julie Di Cresce, VP scripted programming. Regarding the project, Di Cresce adds, “With Aaron Martin's wealth of writing and production experience, we hope to break new ground with this material. We are excited by his vision for adapting the novel and can’t wait to bring it to the screen."

ESSEX COUNTY has won multiple literary awards including the American Library Association’s Alex Award, the Doug Wright Award, and the Joe Shuster Award.

New York Times bestselling author Jeff Lemire is currently writing Marvel Entertainment’s “The Extraordinary X-Men”, as his original graphic novel series “Descender” is being adapted into a major motion film by Sony Pictures.

Award-winning screenwriter Aaron Martin’s previous credits include CTV’s “Degrassi: The Next Generation”, CBC’s “Being Erica”, CTV’s “Killjoys” and most recently Super Channel’s Slasher.

Today’s news comes less than three months after FGF announced the launch of the television division.

ABOUT FIRST GENERATION FILMS
With a decade record of success, First Generation Films (FGF) is a leading independent production company, responsible for award-winning, internationally distributed productions.
FGF is focused on growth and its commitment to working with the most innovative creative storytellers from around the world.

Monday, November 2, 2015

DESCENDER CONTINUES THIS WEEK!


Issue 7 of DESCENDER, the first part of our second arc, entitled "MACHINE MOON", is out this week.

This issue will have 2 covers; one by Dustin Nguyen and another by my talented wife, Lesley-Anne Green (who also did the cover for this week's BAT-MITE from DC Comics!)


DESCENDER VOLUME 1: TIN STARS is available now for only $9.99. 

The first issue of DESCENDER is available over at BOING BOING for free right now! 
CLICK HERE TO READ DESCENDER #1


Wednesday, October 21, 2015

ORIGINAL COMIC ART FOR SALE





















There are some new pieces of my original artwork for sale at CADENCE COMIC ART including TRILLIUM, my Jack Kirby/Fantastic Four variant cover for ALL NEW HAWKEYE #1 as well as new SWEET TOOTH art from the recent CMYK Vertigo anthology.

CLICK HERE to visit the store.





Friday, September 25, 2015

Lemire and Smallwood Launch MOON KNIGHT in 2016!


























I will be launching a new Moon Knight series in 2016 for Marvel along with amazing artist Greg Smallwood and Colorist Jordie Bellaire.


Read an interview about Moon Knight here!




Monday, September 14, 2015

Upcoming Appearances in Columbus and Kitchener

I will be doing a Book Club talk and Q&A at the Kitchener Public Library in Kitchener, Ontario on September 30, 2015.

The event begins at 6:30 pm. I will also be signing. Click here for details



I will also be a guest at CXC in Columbus, Ohio, October 1-3 

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

READ THE 1st ISSUE OF DESCENDER FOR FREE!

The first issue of DESCENDER is available over at BOING BOING for free right now! 

CLICK HERE TO READ DESCENDER #1


Go check it out and if you like it, remember the first graphic novel collecting issues 1-6 will be available in September!


Sunday, August 16, 2015

LIMITED EDITION DESCENDER PRINTS and SKETCHBOOKS AVAILABLE NOW!



Image of Descender Print Signed by Jeff Lemire (Version 1)Image of Descender Print Signed by Jeff Lemire (Version 3)Image of Descender Print Signed by Jeff Lemire (Version 2)

3 LIMITED DESCENDER PRINTS are now available through CADENCE SELECTS

The Prints are signed by me! Click here to order

Image of Jeff Lemire / Sketchbook #1 (Signed)

My sketchbooks are also still available. They feature rare short comics, variant covers, sketchbook material etc. Also all signed by me.  Click her to order


And original artwork from Sweet Tooth, Trillium and other projects is also for sale via Cadence Comic Art

Click here to browse the artwork



Thursday, August 6, 2015

Order PLUTONA #1 Now!


The first issue of my next series from Image Comics, PLUTONA, will be released in September. Plutona is the story of five kids who find the body of the world's greatest super hero, PLUTONA in the woods one day after school, and how this discovery will change their young lives forever.

Written by me and Emi Lenox and drawn by Emi and coloured by Jordie Bellaire, PLUTONA #1 is available for pre-order at your local comic book retailer until MONDAY AUG. 10. 

Plutona #1 Ordering info: 

Item Code: JUL150545
In Shops: 9/2/2015

There is an advance Review of Plutona 1 over at THE NERDIST.com  review!

Here's PREVIEW at CBR

And Emi is having a contest to win a signed Plutona postcard on her twitter https://twitter.com/emibot


Thursday, July 23, 2015

Deluxe Edition Essex County Now Available!

Essex County -- LIMITED SLIPCASE EDITION (SKETCH CARD EDITION)

Essex County -- LIMITED SLIPCASE EDITION (SKETCH CARD EDITION)

$150.00 (US)
Add to Cart
Also available -- a few copies left of the Signed & Numbered Limited Slipcase Edition - SKETCHCARD EDITION (Limited to 50 copies) that was released at Comic-Con! Get them while supplies last.
IN PRINT! (PUBLISHED JULY 2015)



Essex County -- LIMITED SLIPCASE EDITION

Essex County -- LIMITED SLIPCASE EDITION

$75.00 (US)
Add to Cart
Also available -- a few copies left of the Signed & Numbered Limited Slipcase Edition (Limited to 500 copies) that was released at Comic-Con! Get them while supplies last.
IN PRINT! (PUBLISHED JULY 2015)

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

LIVE FAN CHAT TODAY @ 2PM EASTERN

I will be answering questions live TODAY at 2pm-3pm Eastern at the MILLAR WORLD FORUMS http://forums.millarworld.tv

Ask me anything!

Monday, June 29, 2015

EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN Coming in OCTOBER!

As announced today on Comic Book Resources, I will be writing the new flagship X-Men book this October for Marvel Comics! Humberto Ramos will be drawing the book. It would be an understatement to say that I'm excited about the project.

The Extraordinary X-Men team will include STORM, NIGHTCRAWLER, COLOSSUS, ICEMAN, JEAN GREY and, making his Marvel Universe debut, OLD MAN LOGAN!

The first promo image by artist Humberto Ramos, inker Victor Olazaba and Colorist Edgar Delgado.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Essex County — Deluxe Slipcase Edition (Comic-Con Exclusive)!

Jaw-dropping Comic-Con exclusives from Top Shelf IDW and Jeff Lemire!

June 22, 2015
July approaches, so it's time once again to prepare for the biggest convention of the year — but this year marks a special landmark: Top Shelf's first Comic-Con since joining the IDW Publishing family! To celebrate, we've teamed with IDW to bring you some gorgeous premium editions of Top Shelf's most beloved books, developed exclusively for San Diego Comic-Con International!
These exclusives are available for pre-order from IDW’s webstore beginning today, June 22. Fans that preorder will be able to pick up their books throughout the show from the Top Shelf booth #1721, the IDW booth #2743, or for the first time from the San Diego Comic Art Gallery located in Liberty Station in the Point Loma area of San Diego (Wednesday, July 8 through Monday, July 13).
Essex County — Deluxe Slipcase Edition (Comic-Con Exclusive)
Essex County — Deluxe Slipcase Edition (Comic-Con Exclusive)
Top Shelf celebrates the award-winning masterpiece that made Jeff Lemire a household name. This elegant, foil-stamped slipcase edition features an exclusive letterpress bookplate signed & numbered by the author! Don’t miss the chance to get a deluxe version of this intimate study of an eccentric farming community and a tender meditation on family, memory, grief, secrets, reconciliation — and hockey.
$75, Limited to 500 copies, 3 per person.

Friday, May 15, 2015

New Essex County Cover Art Being Auctioned for Shannen Kootstachin Monument


























I am currently auctioning this brand new original artwork from the upcoming deluxe edition of ESSEX COUNTY.

The artwork will be used as a limited edition plate on a signed and numbered edition of Essex County and the original artwork is 15 x 20 inches.

ALL PROCEEDS from the sale will go to support the SHANNEN KOOTSTACHIN MONUMENT https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shannen-koostachin-monument

Shannen was one of the inspirations of drew from to create the EQUINOX character in my Justice League United comics, but she means so much more to so many people.

Bidding starts at $500 and ends in 7 days.

BID HERE, it's for a good cause! http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Jeff-Lemire-Essex-County-Original-Cover-Art-/271871318019?

Monday, April 20, 2015

BLACK HAMMER POSTPONED

Black Hammer has been a labor of love for me. It's a project that I've been working on, in various forms, for seven years. And as excited as I am to share it, sometimes life gets in the way of comics.

On March 26, my amazing collaborator, Dean Ormston suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on the left side of his brain which has effected his whole right side. Dean is now at home and recovering. 

As a result we have decided to post-pone the launch of Black Hammer until Dean is able to work regularly again. I'd like to thank all the fans and retailers for their patience and understanding as Dean recovers and promise that Black Hammer will be worth the wait! The important thing now is Dean's health, and making sure he has the time he needs to make a full recovery.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Limited Edition DESCENDER Print debuts at Emerald City Comicon!



I will be attending Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, WA this week. My table is located at Y-05 and I'll be sitting with my DESCENDER collaborator DUSTIN NGUYEN and my PLUTONA collaborator, EMI LENOX.

We will be selling and signing brand new, Limited Edition DESCENDER and PLUTONA prints at the show as well as DESCENDER buttons.

The DESCENDER PRINT (above) is a unique collaboration featuring art by both Dustin and myself and is limited to 500 copies.

The limited SEAN GORDON MURPHY ECCC EXCLUSIVE DESCENDER #1 Cover will also be for sale at the IMAGE COMICS BOOTH

When I'm not a Y-05, here's where you can find me:

Friday, March 27

1 - 2 pm Signing IMAGE BOOTH 

2-3pm: Signing VALIANT BOOTH

6:30– 7:30 p.m: DARK HORSE CREATOR-OWNED PANEL Hall D

Saturday March 28

12p-1p: Signing VALIANT BOOTH

5 - 6 p.m: Signing IMAGE BOOTH 

Sunday March 29

1:00pm DARK HORSE SIGNING.


2:30-3:30: IMAGE STORYTELLING PANEL

Monday, March 16, 2015

BLACK HAMMER IS COMING! ORDER NOW!



The extra-sized first issue my next creator-owned series BLACK HAMMER featuring art by DEAN ORMSTON (Lucifer), Colors by DAVE STEWART (Hellboy) and Letters by the legendary TODD KLIEN (Sandman) will be released in June! Make sure to ask your local comic book retailer to pre-order you a copy! 

I will also be providing variant covers for the first 6 issues, coloured by Dave Stewart...








HEROES NEVER DIE—THEY JUST GET RETCONNED!
Black Hammer #1
Jeff Lemire (W/Variant cover), Dean Ormston (A/Cover), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale June 10
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
Ongoing
Once they were heroes, but the age of heroes has long since passed. Banished from existence by a multiversal crisis, the old champions of Spiral City—Abraham Slam, Golden Gail, Colonel Weird, Madame Dragonfly, and Barbalien—now lead simple lives in a timeless farming town. Even as they try to find their way home, trouble has a unique way of finding heroes wherever they are!
• From the prodigious brain of Jeff Lemire (Descender, Animal Man, Sweet Tooth)!
• Amazingly realized by Dean Ormston (Lucifer, 2000 AD) and Dave Stewart (Hellboy)!
• Extra-long first issue—26 story pages!
New from Jeff Lemire!
"With Lemire, readers know they’re always going to get a tight story with spot-on dialogue."—USA Today

Thursday, March 5, 2015

DESCENDER #1 FAST-TRACKED TO SECOND PRINTING

LEMIRE AND NGUYEN’S DESCENDER
FAST-TRACKED TO SECOND PRINTING
New science-fiction series launches to critical acclaim


“Gorgeous.” —Vulture.com
“The best new comic book of 2015.” —Vox.com
“Your new sci-fi obsession is here, and its name is Descender…”
Entertainment Weekly

Writer Jeff Lemire (Sweet ToothHawkeye) and artist Dustin Nguyen (Batman: Li'l Gotham) take the comics scene by storm with the launch of DESCENDER #1—already optioned for film before even hitting the shelves—and an outpouring of advance praise. In order to keep up with customer demand, Image Comics is pleased to announce a second printing of DESCENDER #1.

DESCENDER follows one young robot's struggle to stay alive in a universe where all androids have been outlawed and bounty hunters lurk on every planet. A rip-roaring and heart-felt cosmic odyssey that pits humanity against machine, and world against world, to create a sprawling space opera.

DESCENDER #1 remains available for purchase across all digital platforms, including the Image Comics website (imagecomics.com), the official Image Comics iOS app, Comixology’s website (comixology.com), iOS, Android, and Google Play.

DESCENDER #1, 2nd printing (Diamond Code JAN158232), arrives in stores on April 1.

DESCENDER #2 (Diamond Code FEB150601) will arrive in stores on April 8.

More praise for DESCENDER:
“Your new sci-fi obsession is here, and its name is Descender… a gorgeous, moody story about a future where a lonely robot boy searches for a home in a galaxy that hates and fears him.” —Entertainment Weekly

"Jeff Lemire has dreamt up an emotional, imaginative new universe, lavishly brought to life by the great Dustin Nguyen. I can't wait to see where they take TIM-21 next." —Brian K. Vaughan

“The best new comic book of 2015.” —Vox.com

 "Lemire and Nguyen just pulled the curtain back on the medium's new best science fiction heartbreaker." —Matt Kindt

“Between Lemire's penchant for building sweeping yet personal stories and Nguyen's gorgeous, painterly art, the book is stunning to behold.”
Comic Book Resources

“Epic, intelligent, and full of heart.” —Comics Alliance

“Gorgeous.” —Vulture.com

“An epic sci-fi tale with a huge heart.” —Scott Snyder

“Remarkable…. Descender #1 truly takes you on a journey that’s so gripping, you’ll be begging for more..” —Bleeding Cool

“Exciting.” —The Los Angeles Times’ “HeroComplex”

“ ​Jeff Lemire has a real talent for ​drawing me into cold, alien worlds that I'd never dream I'd care about and then having me not want to leave them.” —Mark Waid

“The craft on display in this first issue of Descender is tour-de-force stuff.”
—Greg Rucka

Descender by Jeff Lemire & Dustin Nguyen is hauntingly beautiful sci-fi that manages to be both epic and powerfully intimate. Masterfully done.” —Jason Aaron

"What a beautiful, beautiful book. Descender is worth buying for the artwork alone, so it's almost a bonus that it tells such a compelling story about the future of humanity in a universe filled with terrors (planet-sized killer robots, for one). I can't wait to see where it goes." —Charles Soule

“A beautiful cosmic opera and nuanced think piece, balancing the fear of the unknown with the spirit of adventure. Driven by the gorgeous visuals of artist Dustin Nguyen, Descender is a book on the rise.” —IGN

“I love Jeff Lemire. I love Dustin Nguyen. But believe me when I say Descender #1 is the best I've seen from both. This is a 5 star book!” —Mark Millar

“Like the best sci-fi, Lemire’s script transcends the fantastic to dissect such universal issues as fear, acceptance and hope… From the same scribe behind such reflective graphic novel touchstones as the Essex County trilogy, The Underwater Welder and Trillium, we’d expect no less.” —PASTE Magazine 

“Bloody hell, Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's Descender looks fantastic... “
—Declan Shalvey

Friday, February 20, 2015

BLOODSHOT REBORN TRAILER DEBUTS

As we edge closer and closer to the series' debut, CBR presents the exclusive premiere of Valiant Entertainment's video trailer for Jeff Lemire and Mico Suayan's "Bloodshot: Reborn."
"[A]t the end of 'The Valiant,' something very dramatic happens to Bloodshot. It completely and utterly alters his life, and everything we know and everything we've ever seen of Bloodshot is really turned inside out" Lemire told CBR when the series was first announced. "I can honestly say that I've read every Bloodshot comic published now, and this Bloodshot story is unlike any that's every been published."
"[I]t's tremendous. It really is a masterpiece," Valiant CEO/CCO Dinesh Shamdansi told CBR News of the creative team's new take on the classic character, while Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons describes the book as "all new, and it's all innovative, and it's all f***ing amazing."
"Bloodshot: Reborn" debuts April 15.


Wednesday, February 11, 2015

TRILLIUM named of of YALSA's 10 Great GNs for Teens!

Trillium has been named one YALSA'S (The Young Adult Library Services Association) Top Ten Graphic Novels for Teens 2015!


YALSA LIST 2015

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT DESCENDER...


"Jeff Lemire has dreamt up an emotional, imaginative new universe, lavishly brought to life by the great Dustin Nguyen. I can't wait to see where they take TIM-21 next."  - Brian K. Vaughan, SAGA

"I am already rooting for poor Tim, theorizing about the origin of the Harvesters and gripping the cross bar of the roller-coaster begging for another ride."-- Damon Lindelof- co- creator of Lost, and HBO's the Leftovers

“Two largely separate aspects of your own fandom have just come together to create the comics version of a superweapon.”-BLEEDING COOL

“Jeff Lemire has a real talent for ​drawing me into cold, alien worlds that I'd never dream I'd care about and then having me not want to leave them.”--Mark Waid, IRREDEEMABLE

“The craft on display in this first issue of DESCENDER is tour-de-force stuff — Lemire’s ideas are, as ever, as potent as his prose, and Dustin Nguyen’s art is deft and delightful, running from warmth to chilling, gentle to brutal. A wonderful start that makes you immediately want more.”-Greg Rucka, LAZARUS

“No question, a large part of the emotional success of the book is due to artist Dustin Nguyen, whose familiar pencils punctuated with watercolor finishes lend a stunning wash to the entire world of Descender and its occupants. . . . 
A remarkably subtle beginning to what is clearly going to be Image Comics’ next great space epic, Descender #1 has everything you need to get hooked — political intrigue, social unrest, planet-level danger, and, most importantly, a boy with his dog. If you’ve been a fan of Lemire and Nguyen’s work, you won’t need any convincing of Descender’s greatness. And if you haven’t had the pleasure yet, there’s no better place to start.”-COMICOSITY.COM

“I love @JeffLemire. I love @duss005. But believe me when I say Descender #1 is the best I've seen from both. This is a 5 star book!”--Mark Millar, KICK ASS

"What a beautiful, beautiful book. DESCENDER is worth buying for the artwork alone, so it's almost a bonus that it tells such a compelling story about the future of humanity in a universe filled with terrors (planet-sized killer robots, for one). I can't wait to see where it goes."-- Charles Soule (LETTER 44)

“DESCENDER dazzles. . .One hell of a creator-owned debut by Nguyen, who looks like he’s on the verge of taking his art to another level by taking it in a different direction. You won’t want to miss this comic, folks..”--MULTIVERSITY

“The real deal.”--Joshua Hale Fialkov (THE BUNKER)

“Bloody hell, @JeffLemire and @duss005's DESCENDER looks fantastic... “--Declan Shalvey

Really really good.”--COMICVINE

“INSANELY good.”--Ray Fawkes

There's a lot of imagination in this book.”--CBR

“When considered within comics culture, it’s easy enough to see in Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen’s DESCENDER the strands of creative DNA that reach back to classics like Tezuka’s THE MIGHTY ATOM or Urasawa’s PLUTO. But when considered within the broader context of popular culture, Lemire’s writing and Nguyen’s art usher us into the presence of a work every bit as powerful as 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY or ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN.” —Dr. Shathley Q, PopMatters Comics Editor.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

SONY PICTURES PICKS UP LEMIRE AND NGUYEN's DESCENDER


Sony Pictures Entertainment announced today that it acquired the feature film rights to Descender, the forthcoming comic book series from New York Times bestselling author Jeff Lemire and New York Times bestselling comic artist Dustin Nguyen. Josh Bratman will produce the film with Lemire and Nguyen attached to executive produce. The first issue of the eagerly awaited series will be published by Image Comics on March 4, 2015.  


"Jeff Lemire has dreamt up an emotional, imaginative new universe, lavishly brought to life by the great Dustin Nguyen. I can't wait to see where they take TIM-21 next."  - Brian K. Vaughan, SAGA

"I am already rooting for poor Tim, theorizing about the origin of the Harvesters and gripping the cross bar of the roller-coaster begging for another ride."-- Damon Lindelof- co- creator of Lost, and HBO's the Leftovers

“ ​Jeff Lemire has a real talent for ​drawing me into cold, alien worlds that I'd never dream I'd care about and then having me not want to leave them.”--Mark Waid, IRREDEEMABLE

“The craft on display in this first issue of DESCENDER is tour-de-force stuff — Lemire’s ideas are, as ever, as potent as his prose, and Dustin Nguyen’s art is deft and delightful, running from warmth to chilling, gentle to brutal. A wonderful start that makes you immediately want more.”-Greg Rucka, LAZARUS

“Two largely separate aspects of your own fandom have just come together to create the comics version of a superweapon.”-BLEEDING COOL

“I love @JeffLemire. I love @duss005. But believe me when I say Descender #1 is the best I've seen from both. This is a 5 star book!”--Mark Millar, KICK ASS

“Bloody hell, @JeffLemire and @duss005's DESCENDER looks fantastic... “--Declan Shalvey

“INSANELY good.”--Ray Fawkes



DESCENDER #1 is on sale MARCH 4, 2015. An EXTRA-SIZED first issue for only $2.99. Please pre-order from your local comic book store.

ORDER CODE: JAN150567

Monday, January 26, 2015

DESCENDER: EXCLUSIVE BLEEDING COOL INTERVIEW

FROM BLEEDING COOL/ HANNAH MEANS-SHANNON:
When I heard Descender spoken about at the Image event at San Diego Comic-Con 2014, there was a perceptible but very limited 3/4 of a second of silence from the audience as they tried to grapple with the idea that Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen were teaming up on a book. It was one of those moments when you realize that two largely separate aspects of your own fandom have just come together to create the comics version of a superweapon. The magnitude of it got nearly a full second of silence before the enthusiasm cut loose. Revealing the promo imagery nearly prompted a silence again. It was just something that had to be seen to be believed. There was something so strangely perfect yet unpredictable about the feel that Nguyen had already so clearly established for the book that it definitely made a firm impression on the audience even amid all the announcements made that day.
DescenderCoverFinalLowRes-01-5984c (1)Now, we’re into Descender territory. The book is coming in a 30 page opening issue to stores in March, but I feel I ought to warn you that this book is so much more expansive than anything readers might be expecting. We knew it was about a cute kid robot in some way from the promo images, but what’s now becoming clear is that Lemire and Nguyen have exuberantly created an entire science fiction universe and are prepared to casually pile up the details to thoroughly convince you that you’re visiting foreign worlds. They are worlds oddly familiar, however, based in many ways on extensions of our own technological bent in the 21st century and the problems of industry that we currently face.
Two more teasers for what’s going to surprise you about the first issue of Descender: the absolute love of architecture and machinery that Nguyen throws into every panel of the book in trademark watercolor style to capture your imagination, and the unrushed but steady centrifugal force by which Lemire introduces and makes you care about the characters so far. In the end, the kickback on the first issue, no matter what you may be imagining, is going to be bigger than you expect.
Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen are kind enough to join us on Bleeding Cool today for a Q&A session about their new book.
STK666077-page-003Hannah Means-Shannon: Jeff, what made you decide you wanted to write a story that centered so much around technology, or at least the ways in which technology affects life in big ways?
Jeff Lemire: I think it’s just a projection of the world we live in. The difference between humanity’s reliance on technology from when I was a kid in the early 80’s to the world my own son, now 6, will grow up in is so immense.
Robotics, especially advanced robotics like what we have in the world of Descender, are sort of the ultimate example of this. Machines so complex that they are mirrors of us and become autonomous.
Having said that, I will say that the “humanity” of TIM-21 is at the core of the book, not so much an exploration of technology.
HMS: There are so many details and interesting contrasts in the first issue of Descender alone, like noting population levels at different locations at different points in time. Was it overwhelming creating the detail level for an entire planetary system, their history, and interrelationships?
JL: It was extremely FUN. I spend months building an entire universe. I have a big bible of the galaxy TIM-21 will be traversing. I know each planet, each alien species in great detail, and Dustin and I have worked really hard to give each world a very distinct look and feel. Even if all of this doesn’t make it onto the page, I think it will make the world feel more authentic in the end.
We also wanted a very diverse cast, not just robots, but aliens and humans of all kinds.
DESCENDER01p22-23 (1)HMS: People are afraid of what they don’t understand and stereotyping or generalizing is certainly one of our most impulse-driven reflexes. Is that kind of knee-jerk reaction partly what this story is about?
JL: Yes, it’s not hard to look at our own world, the way we treat each other, the way we react to other cultures and races, and not see this fear and ignorance. So of course, that it a big part of the book. Using science-fiction to comment on that. But, the book isn’t “preachy” either. The metaphors aren’t that ham-fisted (I hope). There is a lot going on inDescender. A lot of theses running through it. Fear and ignorance being one.
HMS: Can you tell us a little bit about how you developed the character traits and personalities of Doctor Quon and TIM? And why are those traits important to this story?
JL: That’s a tough one to answer without tipping my hat about what’s to come. A lot of the way Quon and Tim are presented in the opening of the story is informed by where they will be when the story ends.
Quon, in particular, is a pretty complex character. He seems like one thing at the beginning of the book, but there is a lot going on, and a lot that will happen, that will force the reader to constantly reframe how they view him. Likewise for Telsa, our other major supporting character.
HMS: How does Descender fit into your wider creative goals right now? Is working on a sci-fi story, for instance, something you try to return to from time to time?
JL: For me, Descender is the culmination of everything I’ve done. It takes a lot of the themes from Sweet Tooth and Trillium and, hopefully, takes those to a whole new level.
What I’m enjoying most is the sheer freedom. Being able to live in this huge world we’ve built and do whatever we want. We only have to answer to each other at Image. That freedom is exhilarating and really has me fired up, creatively.
DESC1 Variant lemire (1)[Variant cover by Jeff Lemire for Issue #1]
HMS: Dustin, here you are on a creator-owned book from Image. I know you’ve loved working on known characters and re-inventing them in some ways, but what is it like to be composing whole new worlds and characters of a sci-fi variety?
Dustin Nguyen: Its extremely, insanely, FUN. Plus being its a whole new property that we start from the ground up, there’s no restrictions or limitations, we can truly cut loose and do whatever the hell we want – which is the best part when it comes to making up new characters and worlds.
HMS: What has your process been like on a book that requires so much design and no doubt consistency? Do you have to do endless personal reference sketches for locations and characters?
DN: It’s actually been pretty freaking relaxing. Being Jeff and I are the only ones to answer to each other, it just makes it a TON easier, less cooks in the kitchen! We throw sketches and notes back and forth, it’s easy to reference your own work as well, and if anything needs changing or to be made up on the fly, I do it right there on the page. I trust Jeff to write amazing stories, and he trusts me to tell that story the way I see works. It’s how comics should be done, I think.
HMS: Can you tell us a little bit about what elements influenced your design of space ships and city-scapes and space-stations in the first issue?
DN: I grew up on mostly Transformers G1 material, and endless Macross/ Robotechmecha. I think you’ll see a lot of that…that clunky, very old-school style of machinery. I admit, its a bit dated in design, but damn I love it. Of course, in a setting as big as the one we’re creating, I also draw influences from plenty of other things so that we can vary different civilizations and cultures, relating to the anthropology of their inhabitants.
Stylistically, A lot of my actual interior and space station designs are call backs to the earlier years before comics, when I was doing 3D mechanical design and HVAC for different architectural firms. Again, probably dated in design, but I have a ton of fun drawing it.
IMG_20150106_214231 (1)[Sketch by Dustin Nguyen of TIM 21]
HMS: How did you devise the “look” of TIM’s unfolding of robot capabilities in the full-page spread in issue #1? Were there other iterations before you settled on this version?
DN: That was based off Jeff’s description of how TIM 21 reacts when threatened- kinda freaky. I did a few takes on it, but it was mostly to get TIM’s human aspects the way I wanted and not so much the robot parts. I sort of imagined it the way a Siamese fighting fish male flares out its gills when it sees another, or its own reflection.
HMS: What sorts of things are you most looking forward to illustrating as Descender continues?
DN: There’s a flashback sequence Jeff just wrote and the storytelling elements in it is fantastic. Besides that- the most exciting thing will be us trying out different ways to tell this gigantic story based around TIM, and having as much fun as we can. Oh, and some sweet aliens and robots :)
Descender #1 arrives from Image Comics on March 4th in a 30 page opening issue for $2.99. It is currently listed in PreviewsWorld with item code: JAN150567
*Side note: You really have to check out Dustin Nguyen’s Tumblr for teaser images in process for Descender and other cool stuff. Jeff Lemire’s blogspot will also keep you up to date on his approximately one million equally interesting comics projects.