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UNINDICTED CONSPIRATORS
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DODGING BULLETS
The Creator Chronicles: Matt Wagner
Tonight’s soundtrack: Bessie Smith, “Devil’s Gonna Git You”
A Word On The Film: If you’ve been wondering what award-winning artist and writer Matt Wagner has to say on a couch in front of generic hotel drapes, then I have some very exciting news for you and your budgerigar. Fans of found lighting and sound should also be impressed with the genuine “after the convention drag-ass” feel. The Tutorial sections have much higher production values, employing voice-over and fast-forward.
A Word On The Subject: Hero.
I don’t know much about his personal life, other than what he’s allegorically chosen to share through the MAGE comics1. I also haven’t read everything he’s done. He’s still in my pantheon of top modern creators, not only for the much beloved (by me at least) aforementioned MAGE, but for the sheer bravura that is Grendel.
Not everyone can take their first published work, a completely creator-owned concept, through the black and white boom, three decades of industry upheaval, a couple Batman crossovers, at least six protagonists, dozens of collaborators, copyright bullshit, wild shifts in scale and scope, spin-offs, mini-series, two publishers, and on into the foreseeable future - just the sexy people.
Oh, and you get bonus points for lasting this long without a cartoon or a movie to pump the coffers2.
Because Grendel is all comics. Maybe not by choice, I have no idea, but for a while there it seemed like the Grendel “saga” was just a huge lab for comics concocting. The storytelling experiments that went on! Dozens of panels on a page! Illustrated text! Parallel stories! Deco panels! Limited palettes! Expanded plots! The hero is an assassin! The hero is a woman! The hero is a depressed person! The hero is everyone! Everyone is the devil! Plus vampires and lightsabers, because they’re fun to draw.
Crime adventure comics that prove you really can do anything with the medium. That’s where Matt Wagner staked his claim and built his reputation. That’s why he’s one of the damn best.
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1 And the time Diana Schutz referred to him as “my brother-in-law, Matt” in just the sweetest way while slightly tipsy in a bar in San Jose which admitted no doubt that they were genuine family and not just comic book people.
2 I’m sure that’s the wrong verb, but it’s very late.
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