By Jim Beard
This November the man who would one day be called Wolverine returns to civilization in ORIGIN II, a new limited series by writer Kieron Gillen and artist Adam Kubert, which promises not only a continuation of the story set down in 2001’s classic ORIGIN, but will also reveal new details of the early days of Logan, born James Howlett.
“The last we saw of James was disappearing into the woods with wolves at the end of ORIGIN,” says Gillen.
“That's where he's been ever since. He runs with a family pack, and has completely removed himself from human civilization. He's found a kind of peace. He's found a kind of family. The first scene is him, with the pack, hunting. The opening is really raw; I talk about the period novel feel a lot, but I have a sort of ‘Jack London with modern research’ approach to the wolves. Hell, the whole structure does owe a little to ‘White Fang.’
“That's where he's been ever since. He runs with a family pack, and has completely removed himself from human civilization. He's found a kind of peace. He's found a kind of family. The first scene is him, with the pack, hunting. The opening is really raw; I talk about the period novel feel a lot, but I have a sort of ‘Jack London with modern research’ approach to the wolves. Hell, the whole structure does owe a little to ‘White Fang.’
“The first issue is sort of an Overture for the whole grander piece. Logan in the woods with the wolves, and what disturbs that pastoral idyll. But I dare say the most important thing is the origin of the hatred between him and his greatest enemy.”
The writer insists that readers need nothing in advance to be able to pick up the series and dive into its secrets, that it can be enjoyed on its own beyond its predecessor.
“We tell you everything you need to know,” Gillen explains. “I'm writing ORIGIN II as a novel in the Marvel Universe, which builds everything from its opening scenario. I'm writing it so that if you know the Marvel Universe, you'll see the wider implications—and the wider implications are enormous—and the occasional soft nod, but if you just pick this off the shelves, you'll have a perfect experience.”
At the book’s core strides the man who later becomes Wolverine of the X-Men, on a path toward his destiny but still being shaped by larger events out of his control. Gillen calls it a story about “a fundamental step towards the sort of man he becomes.”
“The animal versus the man is always a Wolverine theme, and that's right towards the forefront,” he notes. “But the book—set just into this century, with [World War I] looming on the horizon—doesn't exactly let our civilized virtues off. You've never seen wolves mustard gas their enemies, y'know? In ORIGIN, we've seen James deal with anger. He's killed accidentally. But he's never had to deal with a berserker rage, the true extend of his capacity for monstrosity.
“That'd be interesting. And I hope you find our answer interesting too.”
Readers of ORIGIN II may also expect to learn more about one of the X-Men’s greatest foes, Mister Sinister, in its pages.
“This is a good example of what I mean by [the series] being self-contained,” Gillen says. “Nathaniel Essex has the sort of background that keeps Wikipedia editors at work forever. His appearance in ORIGIN II entirely fits into his personal chronology, but for those who don't know anything about him will treat him as he appears, as in, a disgraced London scientist moving into increasingly unethical areas, discovering a strange new species for the first time. One of the working titles for ORIGIN II was ‘Origin of the Species.’ Read into that as you will.
“What kind of man [is Essex]? Not a nice one, to say the least. Those who read my UNCANNY X-MEN run will see one take on my Sinister there, who was a flamboyant self-made creature of science. That's not the Nathaniel Essex you'll find in ORIGIN II. This is a century earlier, before he entirely reconstructed himself into that creature. He's grim, hard, awesomely clever and absolutely without ethics.”
Aiding and abetting the writer on the book will be Adam Kubert, an artist who knows his way around the Marvel Universe and Wolverine. Gillen calls his experience with Kubert on ORIGIN II “amazing.”
“I've loved his work forever, and I've tried to leave as much room [for it] as possible,” he insists. “I'm writing in a similar script-style to YOUNG AVENGERS, where I've done the more grounded scenes in full-script, before segueing into Marvel-method for the action sequences to let Adam really take lead. When I heard that he was heading down to the natural history museum to draw some of the wolves was a ‘this is all going to turn out great’ sort of moment.
Overall, in his own unique way, Gillen tries to explain what it feels like to follow up and expand upon one of the most popular comic stories of all time.
“I feel like I've been running naked through a forest to find myself at an isolated peak,” he says. “I cast one glance at the icy waters below, and throw myself off, screaming for the joy of being alive, with only my eyes betraying the true terror.”
Property of Marvel Comics.
No comments:
Post a Comment