CLA$$WAR RETURNS WITH A NEW ARTIST

[MattBrady]

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

Com.X Friday announced Travel Foreman as the new artist for Cla$$war, the publisher’s beleaguered, yet critically acclaimed series. In limbo since issue #3 shipped, and original artist Trevor Hairsine headed off to Marvel. Cary Nord was salted to replace Hairsine, but had to leave as well. Newsarama has the Foreman details, as well as a chat with series writer, Rob Williams.

First off, according to the publisher, Foreman is currently completing issues #4 and #5 and will begin on issue #6 immediately following. Com.X’s aim is to solicit Cla$$war #4 in next month’s solicitations, allowing for the first miniseries to be completed by the end of the year. A trade paperback of the full miniseries is due in early to mid 2004.

Com.X: Len O'Grady, who was responsible for the colours on the first three issues, is continuing his work on the series so that we maintain colour continuity. "Cla$$war has really become a baby for me- it's clean non-fussy approach and Com.X's approach to color and art has been a real breath of fresh air,” O’Grady said. “It's not a case of the newest filter or gimmick, but with creating a palette that appeals on an emotional level, so I'm confident that these stories will hold up to the test of time."

The publisher’s Eddie Deighton explained that they held off announcing Foreman for a number of reasons, including allowing time to make sure Foreman and O’Grady could make their styles mesh, and making sure enough art was completed to show readers that the series would indeed be completed.

”We are aware more than any of you that our product has been plagued with difficulties - lateness, burglaries, art delays, etc. - the reason why we've been so quiet is that we've been keeping our heads down, getting on with the work and making sure the titles are well on their way before announcing and soliciting them,” Deighton said. “This will become apparent over the forthcoming months. We've proved we can produce quality projects, now we want to prove that we can meet deadlines and gain the trust from the retailers and give them the confidence to stock our titles.

”We're also very pleased that Travel has jumped on board - it was essential that we found someone that could maintain the integrity and quality that we had instigated. At the same time we needed an artist that could bring his own distinctive style to the second part of the story arc - we didn't just want a 'Trevor-clone' to finish the series off. It was a huge objective we set ourselves, but we feel we were successful in our mission. We are as excited about this project as we have ever been - I think this is apparent in the pages.”

Meanwhile, from Williams’ side of the fence:

Newsarama: So, as general as we can start off with, what's up with Cla$$war?

Rob Williams: Well, we're finally moving again. It's been a long process. Trev left to do Captain America for Marvel after issue three so that left us without an artist. Then it was a case of trying to find a replacement that wouldn't leave people feeling there's been a huge drop-off in quality compared to Trev's work, and considering how good Trev is that was a tough ask. We finally got Cary Nord on board, he confirmed he'd be drawing issues #4-#6, we announced it, and then, next thing we knew he'd dropped out, which left us without an artist again. We've looked and looked and we've finally found someone who's good enough to take over - and issues #4-#6 are being drawn and colored at the moment. We're making sure issues #4-#6 are completed before releasing issue 4, so there'll be no delays this time - Cla$$war will finally be on a regular schedule, thank the Lord.

NRAMA: From the creative side of things, how has the wait been?

RW: It's been a bit of a wait but it's been worth it. Travel's art is just wonderful - he's got a real Travis Charest thing going on. There's a dynamism and sense of natural drama about his work. Cla$$war helped launch Trev on the American market, I'm sure Travel's going to enjoy similar attention from the series. And Len O'Grady's colour work is as good as people will remember from issues #1-#3. He's a real hidden gem.

All in all, it's great to have Cla$$war up and running again - hopefully the reaction to issues #4-#6 will be as good as it was for #1-#3"

NRAMA: Backing up a little, for the uninitiated, or those that have just plain forgotten, what is Cla$$war?

RW: Cla$$war is a political thriller with superheroes. The United States Government created a team of super-soldiers, Enola Gay, to be the world's ultimate weapon. They ended the cold war early, won the first Gulf War in 24 hours; they are the world's police. They're also celebrities, dating movie stars, indulging in certain chemicals etc. Then one of them, American, is contacted by an ex-CIA agent, Isaac, who shows him the dirty side of the country - the crimes of the CIA over the years, the secret war on democracy, how the superhumans were created in secret experiments that saw hundreds of innocents die before the process was perfected. American finally sees the blood on his hands over the years, the people he's killed purely to make the owners of multinational corporations richer, and he goes AWOL. He and Isaac are going to try and destroy America's secret Government and return the country to its ideals. But of course, the US President can't allow that, and the rest of the US super-team is sent to stop them.

It's a mix of dynamite action, real-world politics, superheroes, conspiracy theory and Hollywood thriller. It's Superman meets All The President's Men.

NRAMA: What spoke to you to inspire Cla$$war? There’s been lingering talk that this is your answer to The Authority.

RW: Cla$$war #1 was written before I’d ever read a copy of The Authority so it wasn’t an influence on the series, as such. Maybe it influenced my storytelling style slightly after that but I wouldn’t say I was trying to answer The Authority in any way.

Cla$$war was influenced by my love of people like Noam Chomsky - I was reading his Class Warfare when I came up with the idea for the series - and Bill Hicks, my fascination with Nixon and American politics in general. I spend half my time reading books on subjects like the CIA, biographies of people like Martin Luther King. For some reason I’m captivated by US history over the past 50 years - things like Cuba and The Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, Watergate etc. It just made perfect sense to me to put all that in a comic. I also love intelligent superhero comics - a legacy from my dysfunctional youth and the effect Alan Moore’s Captain Britain and Marvelman had on me in the early eighties. So I figured I’d combine the two. I wasn’t ever trying to come up with a unique selling point for the book, I was just trying to create something that I’d enjoy reading.

NRAMA: Again, going back to bring the uninitiated up to speed, who are the main players in Cla$$war?

RW: American and Isaac are the central characters - an awol super solider and an ex-CIA agent who disappeared and went rogue some years previously. They know the secret, nastier workings of the Government and they are going to try and save America from the greed of the powerful.

Then there's Enola Gay - the Government's super-team - Icon, Burner, Heavyweight and Confusion. They are trying to track down American - to silence him - they don't want to give up the life of riches and privilege they lead, and they don't want to be held to account for past crimes.

And, of course, there's the President of the USA himself and his right-hand man and chief bodyguard - Jefferson. They're not going to go down without a fight.

NRAMA: What was the collaboration with Trevor like in the early days of the project?

RW: I was very lucky with that. Not only is Trev a superb artist, but also our sensibilities and storytelling just meshed. We were just coming from the same place with what we wanted to do with it. I’d drive down to his place and we’d sit working on it in the Trev’s office, me writing issues #5 & #6 and Trev drawing issues #2 & #3. We’d knock ideas back and forth - it was a really easy collaboration, which was great. Trev’s got this innate sense of drama about his work that a lot of artists just don’t have, and his stuff’s very accessible, much like Bryan Hitch’s. Speed was a bit of an issue for him but he’s conquered that now and is handling a monthly schedule really well for Marvel. He’s a talented sod and, if he wants it, he can be one of the biggest artists in comics.

There’s always things in a finished comic that bug you but Cla$$war #2 has very, very few of them for me. I know Trev and I are extremely proud of that issue in terms or art, atmosphere, character, plot, pacing - I think we hit the nail on the head there. Trev still says it’s the best single comic he’s ever done and the same’s definitely true for me.

It was a real shame he went off to Marvel, but they offered him a better page rate and the chance to up his profile in the industry. Hopefully Trev and I can work together on something else before too long.

NRAMA: What else do you have on the stove, aside from Cla$$war?

RW: “Family” is currently finishing up in the Judge Dredd Megazine - it’s a 7-part gangsters with superpowers series with art by Nikolai Dante’s Simon Fraser. I wrote a 9-part alien-action series with political undertones for 2000AD last year called “Asylum” that was drawn by Boo Cook. Another series for 2000AD is written - it’s a whodunnit murder-mystery set on Dredd’s Luna-1 moon colony called “Breathing Space.” Grendel’s Pete Doherty is drawing that, it’ll be published when the art’s completed, not sure when. The stuff’s Pete’s done on it so far is great, loads of atmosphere - pardon the pun. I’m also currently writing a James Ellroy-like undercover Judges series for 2000AD with art by the brilliant Henry Flint - another 2000AD artist who’ll inevitably hit it big in the States at some point. That’s called “Low Life.”

I’ve completed a Chewbacca story for Star Wars Tales #16 for Dark Horse. It’s called “Ghosts of Hoth” and explores the origins of the Rebel Base - who lived there before the rebels arrived on the ice planet and what happened to them. It’s an eight pager and has turned out really well. I’m pleased with that.

I’ve got some other things lined up but until they’re confirmed I’m keeping schtum.

I’ve also written for too many magazines to mention over the past decade thanks to my other life as a freelance journalist.

NRAMA: Speaking of that, what made you want to write comics in the first place? What and who influenced you to give it a go, despite a successful other job?

RW: My influences are probably the boring ones that everyone of my generation comes up with - Alan Moore, Frank Miller. Especially Moore - reading his stuff in the early eighties when I was an impressionable teen had a huge effect on me. Captain Britain, Halo Jones, Marvelman, V for Vendetta, DR & Quinch - these stories were way ahead of anything else I was reading at the time. Actually, Trev and I have contributed a piece for the Alan Moore 50th birthday anthology that’s coming out soon. That was nice, to do that.

I was also very influenced by Miller’s Daredevil in terms of his storytelling. Nowadays I’ve noticed a certain Mike Mignola influence creeping into my writing, his pacing, use of dialogue-free panels to create atmosphere. I love Grant Morrison’s work but I wouldn’t call him an influence. I couldn’t do the mad-ideas thing that Morrison does if I lived to be a million - the guy is something else.

Outside of comics I’d say Don Delillo, probably the best writer working today. I love his work.

And listening to Bill Hicks still gives me a kick up the arse to think that I should be doing more, thinking more. Now there’s a real inspiration for you.

As for why I want to write comics? I love them, always have. I thought I would’ve cracked my addiction by now but no. I love the form, and the way that people like Joe Sacco, Mignola and Moore use it still makes me think that this is a damn, damn fine art form. As long as I retain that enthusiasm for it I’ll keep doing it.

NRAMA: What can readers expect to see in the last three issue of the mini-series?

RW: We'll learn what really happened over the years in Area 51 in the Nevada desert. We'll see the history of Cla$$war's super-soldier project and how Nazi scientists, smuggled out of Germany at the end of WWII by the CIA, helped create the weapon that let America become the world's major super-power.

A new superhuman will be created in order to protect the President.

The US invasion of Glenada will escalate - with Enola Gay setting a trap for American.

And there'll be a rematch of the American vs Heavyweight jaw-busting fight of issue two.

It's going to be explosive

NRAMA: How explosive? Concept-ending explosive, or miniseries-ending explosive?

RW: The latter. We've talked about continuing the series. The story was always planned to be a 12 issue one, and in fact issue six will really just give an Empire Strikes Back style ending, with loads left up in the air. Hopefully we can finish the story. It really depends on public demand. If enough people like Cla$$war #1-#6 and dig the trade paperback when it comes out, then yes, there'll be a second 6 issue series. I hope so. I know where the story goes, where it ends. I think there's some great stuff still to come. It'd be a real shame not to do it.

[Evan Brown]

What happened to Cary Nord that he quit/never started on ClassWar? I'll have to ask him myself the next time he's at a local show here.

[stlfan79]

Nord took the job put never completed any work for Com.X. I had always loved Cary since his days on DD put I think that Travel will be a better fit because his art is so much more dynamic.

[Benjamin Ong]

Cary Nord has been chosen as the artist for their upcoming, new, ongoing Conan the Barbarian comic series. Kurt Busiek will act as writer on the project which is set to debut in early 2004.

[Ray Dillon]

That's, my man, Len!!! Colors are looking EXCELLENT!!! Really like your approach.

[metabaron]

I just can't say how glad I am that Nord is off this book. Travel Foreman is a good second draft pick for the book. I think it fits, although I wish Hairsine came back on it. But I think the book is really awesome due to the storyteller master, Rob Williams! I can't wait for all the book to come out!!!

btw- I don't want to come off as a Nord basher because I liked his stint on Daredevil v.1 and Mutant X v.1 w/ alternate reality Havok. very good stuff by him!

Dan

Catch me over at www.theintake.net doin it all for the Euros and the British Babes!

[sythspawn]

Does Travel Foreman have a website? I'd love to see more of his work.