Broken Frontier

Many comics fans were pleasantly surprised when Marvel Comics signed a distribution deal with Dabel Brothers Productions, a studio known for its top notch fantasy and science fiction comics. On November 16, Marvel invited members of the comics press to a conference call to discuss the newest Dabel property, Ptolus: City by the Spire. Present were Monte Cook, series writer and creator of the Ptolus universe, David Gabriel, Marvel’s Vice President of Sales, and Jim McCann, Assistant Manager of Sales Communication and the appointed MC of press conferences, marketing campaigns, and other such "shindigs" (as he likes to call them).

Although a new name in comics, Monte Cook is well-established in the field of role-playing games, having written for many of the classic properties and campaigns such as Dungeons and Dragons. His own creation, Ptolus, published by Malhavoc Press, is one of the largest RPG settings ever produced. For Cook, the hardest part of creating the comics adaptation was condensing this elaborate setting into a single self-contained story. It’s an experience that he’s found challenging but very rewarding however.

The first entry into the comic incarnation is the six-issue miniseries, Ptolus: City by the Spire, written by Cook and illustrated by Caanan White. The comic focuses on the character of Sheva Callister, an experienced but now-retired adventurer who quit the business when her partner was killed (there are talks of future adaptations focusing on other characters, though nothing is finalized). Sheva is a pre-existing non-player character (or NPC, as role-players refer to them) from the Ptolus game, one of the many colorful types that populate the exotic city of Ptolus. She thus has a rich history for the comic to draw upon. Cook likens the Ptolus setting to "fantasy noir," a combination of the imaginative conventions of high fantasy and the gritty, street-level approach of noir fiction and film. Callister is thus a character somewhat in the vein of a hard-boiled detective, an emotionally scarred hero driven by her own strong sense of morals in a dark and dangerous world.

Commenting on that world, Cook described the universe in which the story is set. Fans of classic fantasy and sword-and-sorcery will find much to enjoy as Ptolus takes place in a world that has much in common with a Dungeons and Dragons -style locale. It is essentially a medieval setting but one with a number of "unique differences," according to the writer. There have been far more advances in technology than readers might expect from such a world. However, much of this technology and the civilization that accompanied it is now in decline, leading to a level of urban decay.

The city of Ptolus itself is built on an ancient place of profound evil and many terrifying creatures lurk within its lower level dungeons and labyrinths. Demons and half-demons are said to live in the city in secret, keeping to the darkness just out of sight. And everything in Ptolus exists in the shadow of the great Spire, an impossibly tall structure which towers above the city.

At the beginning of the miniseries, Sheva Callister is enticed into one last adventure and sent to steal a precious relic from a noble house. Though Cook was hesitant to go into too much detail about the plot, this mission "may or may not" actually be a set-up for the adventurer by old enemies. He did reveal that in issue #2, Sheva has been shot and wounded, hinting at a darker conspiracy at work. By issue #3, he says, the characters will become more pro-active, taking initiative themselves rather than the frequent fantasy/RPG approach of reacting to what’s just attacked you.

Experienced with both running RPG campaigns and writing source material for the accompanying books, Cook says he has taken to the role of comics writer and enjoys the different approach involved in this style. The toughest adjustment has come from the amount of writing that the public does not see—the backstory, panel and character descriptions that never make it past the comic script page. It’s been an interesting give-and-take though, as he has been thrilled to see what artist Caanan White does with these descriptions. The result is often "cooler than what I imagined in my head," Cook says, stating that White has often gone "one step beyond" what was expected.

Though being a comics creator is new to him, Cook is a lifelong fan of the medium, having read comics since he was nine or ten. He still remembers the first comic he bought, an issue of John Byrne’s Fantastic Four. Nowadays, he tends to follow specific writers more than characters or series and is a big fan of the work of Ed Brubaker, Brian Michael Bendis, and Grant Morrison. When asked how he thinks Sheva Callister would fare against the Marvel heroines, Cook reasoned that as a highly skilled but non-powered human, she would be about on par with the Black Widow. Sheva’s magical sword with its evil power kept barely in check might give her a decided advantage however.

Overall, it is good to see Marvel expanding its publishing output and giving the Dabel Brothers’ licensed properties and creators a chance to shine. The first issue of Ptolus: City by the Spire is now available, with issue 2 on its way November 22. A podcast of the press conference will be available on www.marvel.com