Broken Frontier

Following the debut of the six-part mini The Freshmen by Seth Green, Hugh Sterbakov and Leonard Kirk this past Wednesday, Top Cow debuts a second new series called The Necromancer in August.

Although the series is billed as an ongoing series, it will one day come to an end, after about 50 issues or so… Of course, the series has yet to kick off, and that’s exactly why we chatted with writer Joshua Ortega about the book he’s helming together with former Witchblade artist Francis J. Manapul.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Necromancer evolves around Abigail van Alistine, a 17-year old teenager with some special gifts. What are her defining characteristics?

JOSHUA ORTEGA: Smart, curious, outspoken...and initially, confident and popular. She becomes entangled in tragic events which undermine the latter two characteristics, but through it all, she remains intelligent and exploratory. As the series goes on, her confidence returns and her full powers emerge—and she begins to understand her ultimate destiny.

BF: Two other characters showing up in the series are Locke and Mali. Why do they show up in Abigail’s life?

JO: Locke and Mali are ancient enemies who last battled at the end of the Dark Aeon, 300 years before Abby was born. Locke banished Mali to the Netherealm (or Necrenegrum in the Mage’s Tongue), but Abby—well, not so much as Abby as much as her latent power—returns Mali to this plane. And if Mali has returned, then you know his archenemy can’t be far behind...

BF: You’ve said that Necromancer is a project unlike any other Top Cow has done up to this point. Is this a series that will dramatically broaden the horizon of the Top Cow universe?

JO: I’d like it to, sure. Not the Top Cow universe as far as continuity goes, but the Top Cow brand itself. In the past, readers haven’t really looked to the Cow for multi-year storylines that unfold on a grand scale. Vertigo has been known for that—books like SANDMAN, 100 BULLETS, Y, and PREACHER—and they’ve done it quite well. In that sense, NECROMANCER will be a first for Top Cow.

BF: The book is an ongoing series. Will it have a clear-cut ending like series such as Preacher, Y: The Last Man and others have or will have? How much of the plot have you worked out already?

JO: Yes, exactly. NECROMANCER has a definite ending, and everything in the series will be building up to that ultimate, epic conclusion. I’ve completely plotted the first year (Books I and II), and I’ve outlined Abby’s entire story, which should run roughly 40-50 issues. NECROMANCER is essentially one, big graphic novel told in monthly instalments.

Of course, sales and reader response are going to determine whether or not we’re able to tell the complete story, but I think this book’s going to surprise a lot of people, and we’re going to have a great shot at seeing it through. And having Francis Manapul on the book sure isn’t going to hurt things...the work he’s doing on this series is just utterly amazing, and we’re both excited about the series and the chance to work together.

BF: Next to Necromancer, you’re also rumored to be working on a new Aphrodite IX series. How do you plan to present the character to make this take more successful than previous ones?

JO: Aphrodite IX is kind of like a cult movie. It didn’t sell well at the time, had a scattershot release, but it’s one character that fans keep talking about and want to see again. My take is to really flesh out Aphrodite’s character and world, weave in a lot of good SF and cyberpunk, while also elevating the series to a more mythical level. My Aphrodite IX pitch is actually what led to the NECROMANCER gig, but AIX has taken longer to get off of the ground since Top Cow has been focusing on new properties this year. However, CYBERFORCE relaunches next year, so maybe that’ll lead the way to finally getting a new APHRODITE IX book out on the shelves...and of course, fanmail to the Cow never hurts the cause!

BF: The artist on Necromancer is Francis Manapul, but an artist for the Aphrodite IX project has not been named. Do you already know who you will be working with?

JO: Not yet, though I know Eric Basaldua is interested in drawing a futuristic world, and I think he’d be a perfect choice for the book. Plus, he draws really amazing women, and Aphrodite is definitely one character that you want to look beautiful pretty much all of the time.

Whereas Francis and I are intentionally trying to ensure that Abby is not “over the top” or “in your face” sexy, part of the appeal of Aphrodite is the fact that she was designed to be physically stunning. She’s one of the few characters where it makes sense that she has completely unrealistic feminine proportions. She can be that ultimate fantasy, and it’s perfectly true to the story.

BF: What amount of input did Francis have in designing the world of Necromancer?

JO: As far as the visual look of the book goes, I’ve tried to leave as much of that to Francis as possible. He’s such a dynamic, creative artist, I don’t like to give him too many directions. I’ll describe a character or setting in some detail, but I really like to let Francis do his thing.

BF: As a novelist yourself, do you perceive writing a comic book as something different altogether, or do you think that once you have a knack for writing, it doesn’t really matter that what you’re writing is a novel or a comic—depending on what you want to achieve with the project, of course?

JO: They are different media, for sure, but at the same time, it basically comes down to storytelling. That’s what makes a project crash or soar—how good of a storyteller you are. I’d like to bring some of the qualities of the novel to comics—namely, clearly defined endings and rich characterization—but not at the expense of the comic book/sequential art medium. There are amazing things you can do with comics that you simply can’t do with novels, so I’ve found that a careful blend of the two works best for me.  

BF: Have you made much headway on ~Vibrations~, the sequel to your debut ((Frequencies))?

JO: Lots of headway, actually. I’m now just waiting for the right time to release it. A lot of fans and readers have been asking for ~VIBRATIONS~, but the timing has to be right. It’s funny, because there is a serial aspect to ((FREQUENCIES))—it’s the first part of a trilogy—as well as a strong visual component (see Chapter 11 especially), so in a way, it shares some similarities with comics. And btw, let me give a big thank-you to all ((F)) fans for the patience!

BF: How do you feel about the recent influx of other novelists such as Michael Chabon, Orson Scott Card and Jonathan Lethem into the comic book industry? Do you think many novelists are opening up to the medium?

JO: I think it’s great for the medium, and I think it’s great for the readers. Authors like Chabon, Lethem, and Card have great mainstream credibility, so when they come onto a comic project, that work is going to get press coverage that it may have not received otherwise. I’ve done a lot of talk radio and NPR for ((FREQUENCIES)), and now I’m able to do those same shows, but with a focus on comics instead. I did a recent signing at The Dreaming in Seattle following an NPR appearance with Ed Brubaker and Paul Chadwick, and we had people coming into the shop to buy comics who literally had never read a comic in their life. That’s great to see. The more readers, the better…

And for long-time comic fans, they’re going to get a style of storytelling and an exploration of themes that aren’t necessarily the norm...this goes for screenwriters too. Smith, Straczynksi, Whedon...all of these guys are bringing unique takes to the characters they’re working with, and fans really benefit from that. It elevates the whole comics game to another level.

BF: Do you plan on expanding your role in the world of comics in the near future? Do you have something else in the works, maybe even outside the green fields of Top Cow?

JO: Yeah, I have a number of comic book/graphic novel projects in the works, and I’m really enjoying the medium. I’ve already done a SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED story for Marvel (issue #8, with Ryan Sook on art), a STAR WARS TALES for Dark Horse (issue #23, a prequel to the KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC video games), and a LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT story for DC (release date TBA).

I just finished the script for an original hardcover Star Wars graphic novel and a MICHAEL CHABON PRESENTS: THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF THE ESCAPIST story. Both will be released in 2006. I’m also working with Jonathan Vankin at Vertigo on a really cool pitch, and there’s a chance I may be doing something set within the DCU as well, though nothing is definite at this point. Most recently, I’ve started work on a very trippy (you’ll see) 2-part BEOWULF story that will begin in November, and that’s been a lot of fun. The Speakeasy guys are great, and Adam Fortier has really done an incredible job with his company.

There are other things in the works as well, so feel free to check out www.joshuaortega.com for all of the updates.

Also, Francis and I are already posting in the NECROMANCER message boards at www.topcow.com, so make sure to stop on by and let us know what you think of the book and the TOP COW TRIPLE PLAY preview!

Speaking of Triple Play, in case you missed it, here's another chance to catch up on the entire seven-page introduction to the world of Necromancer that appeared in the preview book: