RECAPPING AN EVENING WITH WARREN ELLIS @ HEROES CON 06

[MattBrady]

by Aaron Weisbrod

Arguably one of the biggest highlights of an already star-studded Heroes Convention was a rare state-side comic convention appearance by Warren Ellis.

Ellis – the writer of titles such as Planetary, Transmetroplitan, Nextwave, and a list of others as long as your arm – made the trip from jolly ol’ England to Charlotte North Carolina to sign autographs, meet fans hold panel discussions with anyone interested in attending. But Friday evening at that show – after the floor had closed, and many had headed out for the day – the magic began. With a nice-sized crowd in attendance, Ellis held court in the Hilton Ballroom beginning at 9:00 pm. It was an intimate discussion with the acclaimed creator.

After an Academy Award-worthy introduction by fellow writer Matt Fraction (which warranted him a one dollar reward by the guest of honor), Ellis greeted his Friday night crowd of approximately 300 people with alcohol and cigarettes in hand (after teasing his guests about the fact that only he could smoke because he was “special’) and delved into a brief lecture on the history of storytelling (one that, according to Ellis himself, was apparently very similar to the one he gave in Toronto a little while back due to his inability to properly finish his proposed discussion of writer Phillip K. Dick) before pausing for a brief intermission and then opening the floor for a Q&A style discussion.

Listed below for your reading pleasure are some of the highlights of both Ellis’ opening lecture as well as the following Q&A session…

On Writing:

“Anyone who tells you he writes for an audience is an idiot or a fake.”

“If I’m not responding in some gut way to what I’m writing, you’ll never see it.”

“Samurais used their stones, cavemen used wall paintings… they’re all stories. The whole world is made of stories… but not in the Neil Gaiman ‘the world is made of stories’ way.”

“Alcohol is a drug and I use it to get to a certain place, just like others may use [various psychedelics/hallucinogens] like the shamans of old. There are some stories you can’t get to on the natch.”

“Harold Bloom once said we weren’t completely human until Shakespeare began writing. This notion is fascinating… and bulls**t.”

“I use my stories to get you a little drunker with ideas…”

On Magic:

“I’ve not gotten to the point where I’ve dug myself a cave under my own house like Alan [Moore] has. I haven’t used it to try to get girlfriends like Grant [Morrison] has.”

“The heart of magic is talking to your own subconscious.”

“You can’t dabble in magic. It’s all or nothing.”

On his most passionate pieces of writing:

“Parts of Transmetropolitan. There are a lot of true stories buried in Transmetropolitan.”

“Also Scars. Scars is one of the only stories that disturbed me from beginning to end… and it’s hard to understand how it really did that if you don’t have kids.”

On why he writes about cities so frequently:

“Because two-thirds of the world live in them.”

On his ill-fated Vikings vs. Samurai series “Morning Dragons”:

“Everyone loved it and no one would fund it. It would need to be a graphic novel.”

On writing for Avatar Publishing:

“I have complete creative control and they pay on time.”

On what he thinks about when writing “Nextwave”:

“Quite clearly I’m not thinking about anything! [laughs] It’s an absolute distillation of the superhero genre. No plot lines, characters, emotions, nothing whatsoever. It’s people posing in the street for no good reason. It is a PURE comicbook and I will fight anyone who says otherwise… and afterwards they will explode.”

Ellis also later joked(?) that he wanted to name the recent Nextwave “coloring-book” variant issue “Erotic Waxplay.”

On artists he would like to work with:

“Most of them are dead… seriously. I would like to work with Joe Quesada, though, because when I write I operate by fear, and he’s my boss, so he would have to pay me to scare him… plus he’s a bloody good artist.”

Ellis then went on to discuss an amusing and touching story in which he revealed that Gil Kane was originally considered as the artist for WildC.A.T.S./Aliens. Chris Sprouse was ultimately selected as the artist, buy Kane was asked to do a cover. Having never seen the movie Aliens he, according to Ellis, drew a cover that featured Zealot fighting a traditional “1950’s alien complete with the glass helmet”… which in turn put editor Scott Dunbier in the uncomfortable position if having to tell comic book legend Gil Kane that the cover was unusable.

Ellis went on to joke that he wanted to use the cover as a “Retro 1950’s Variant.”

More on the creation of “WildC.A.T.S./Aliens” and the death of Stormwatch:

Ellis claims that, when told about the concept behind the crossover, he kept replying that it was “Bloody stupid”… until he was told that he could kill any character he wanted.

On writing for comics vs. writing for TV:

“I can write comics drunk. (laughter) The biggest difference is in levels of control. In television you can make suggestions at best.”

On science-fiction:

“Sci-fi works best for me when it is uses the future to discuss the present.”

On the most influential books he has read:

“I haven’t read them in years, since I was 14 years old, but they are On the Road by Jack Kerouac (applause), Nova Express by William Burroughs (applause), and Cure For Cancer by Michael Moorcock (faint clapping at best). I see I lost you all on that one! (laughter) All three were so ground-breaking – there was nothing like them at the time.”

On the inspiration for the crime stories in “Fell”:

“I follow the crime in the news.” Ellis then went on to comment on how he recently read a news report about a man who was arrested for turning his friend’s head into a bong.

On “Lazurus Churchyard”:

“I’ve thought about concluding it with Lazurus being the last living thing on Earth… but I don’t know if it would be self-parody or the most depressing thing I’ve ever written.”

On Scientology:

“Oh no! There will be one in the audience and my house will be burned down with Tom Cruise standing on the ashes naked on the ashes with a baby in each arm with three eyes and wearing L. Ron Hubbard T-shirts.”

“Sciencetology is one of the biggest scams ever inflicted on the American people. It came from a sci-fi writer who once said the best way to get rich would be to create a religion… and he did it.”

On “Fell”:

When asked what the response from the industry was concerning the popularity of the book, Ellis replied: “Deafening silence. When you are in an industry that wants to charge people a lot of money, [the success of Fell] flies in the face of ‘conventional wisdom.’”

Ellis also added it helps that each issue is self-contained and at the lower $1.99 price-point.

On his supposed content for superheroes:

“I never had contempt for the [superhero] genre – it just choked-out everything else.”

[RichJohnston]

"jolly ol’ England"

You'll pay for that.

[destro]

Damn, wish I coulda been there. Sounds like a good time. Some great quotes there.

As long as Mr. Ellis keeps coming with his mad ideas, I'll be a happy comic book camper.

[David Vega]

Bit disappointed that there was no Planetary update. This book, which is Ellis' best work, seems to have fallen off the radar again. Too bad.

As for his other books; Mr. Ellis has a smaill rabid fanbase who think everything he writes is gold. I find his work hit and miss (mostly miss). I love Planetary, and Authority and Global Frequency, but Transmet and his Marvel work have left me limp. Recently, I've become reluctant to pick up other work by Ellis because of the problems he seems to experience keeping books on schedule. Nothing personal, I've quit Alan Moore's ABC line for the same reason. I will pick up Fell in trade when it comes out, though, because I love crime books.

[Spacedog2k5]

Wow! I truly wish I could have made it, simply to see Ellis being Ellis! Perhaps this won't be his last American convention for a while.. Hmm. Maybe we can have expose Didio as the evil alien entity he is, having Spider Jerusalem assume the mantle of Editor. Now that *would* be something I'd paid good dineros to see.. hehehe..

[buji]

i only wish the rest of us could find a way of hearing the original audio from that night... probably much more fun than just reading about it.

still - nice report - and unexpected, so thank you.

[buji]

Originally Posted by Spacedog2k5

Wow! I truly wish I could have made it, simply to see Ellis being Ellis! Perhaps this won't be his last American convention for a while.. Hmm. Maybe we can have expose Didio as the evil alien entity he is, having Spider Jerusalem assume the mantle of Editor. Now that *would* be something I'd paid good dineros to see.. hehehe..

ack! don't get my hopes up! lol

[EmeraldGuy32]

I'd kill to see the Gil Kane piece.

[BlueThunderArmy]

I'm not a fan of everything Ellis does, but the sheer breadth of his imagination leads me to suspect he is a genius in ways other, better writers are not. And, though I may not love everything Ellis, he's put out a lot of good work lately.

[Kepler]

Originally Posted by EmeraldGuy32

I'd kill to see the Gil Kane piece.

Me, too. Poor Gil!

[c_andrew_s]

What a great article!!!!

Ellis' work is amazing. I love FELL; every aspect of the book is amazing

[jza1218]

One of the best speaking engagements Ive ever been to

[JohnPopa]

Originally Posted by David Vega

Bit disappointed that there was no Planetary update. This book, which is Ellis' best work, seems to have fallen off the radar again. Too bad.

As for his other books; Mr. Ellis has a smaill rabid fanbase who think everything he writes is gold. I find his work hit and miss (mostly miss). I love Planetary, and Authority and Global Frequency, but Transmet and his Marvel work have left me limp. Recently, I've become reluctant to pick up other work by Ellis because of the problems he seems to experience keeping books on schedule. Nothing personal, I've quit Alan Moore's ABC line for the same reason. I will pick up Fell in trade when it comes out, though, because I love crime books.

I'll never understand this presumption. I know a lot of Ellis fans, myself included and I'm probably the biggest fan of the lot, but not one of us remotely thinks 'everything he writes is gold.' We all have our favorites and we all have things we didn't respond to in the slightest. I just happen to think Warren's hits are far more enjoyable than most other comic book writers hits.

Most any creator is hit and miss, especially when you're looking at a ten or twenty year career. Why Warren gets called out for this so often boggles the mind.

[jza1218]

Originally Posted by David Vega

Bit disappointed that there was no Planetary update. This book, which is Ellis' best work, seems to have fallen off the radar again. Too bad.

As for his other books; Mr. Ellis has a smaill rabid fanbase who think everything he writes is gold. I find his work hit and miss (mostly miss). I love Planetary, and Authority and Global Frequency, but Transmet and his Marvel work have left me limp. Recently, I've become reluctant to pick up other work by Ellis because of the problems he seems to experience keeping books on schedule. Nothing personal, I've quit Alan Moore's ABC line for the same reason. I will pick up Fell in trade when it comes out, though, because I love crime books.

He did mention Planetary. Too bad I forgot what dates he mentioned but he did say that the next issue is the last part of the story and the following one is an epilogue.

[sebzero11]

Genius in a bottle.

[David Vega]

Originally Posted by jza1218

He did mention Planetary. Too bad I forgot what dates he mentioned but he did say that the next issue is the last part of the story and the following one is an epilogue.

Thanks for mentioning. At least it shows he is still thinking about the book and the end may come someday.

[David Vega]

Originally Posted by JohnPopa

I'll never understand this presumption. I know a lot of Ellis fans, myself included and I'm probably the biggest fan of the lot, but not one of us remotely thinks 'everything he writes is gold.' We all have our favorites and we all have things we didn't respond to in the slightest. I just happen to think Warren's hits are far more enjoyable than most other comic book writers hits.

Most any creator is hit and miss, especially when you're looking at a ten or twenty year career. Why Warren gets called out for this so often boggles the mind.

I have a grudging respect for Ellis. He is obviously a very talented passionate creator, and I give him credit for trying to drag comics out of the superhero ghetto they blissfully inhabit, by injecting a new (intelligent) spin in the genres he writes. But his online persona is really disgusting, and I have a hard time separating the man from the work. Just my 2p.

[Crump's Brother]

“I’ve not gotten to the point where I’ve dug myself a cave under my own house like Alan [Moore] has. I haven’t used it to try to get girlfriends like Grant [Morrison] has.”

Ha ha ha. Unlike Ellis' feelings on magic, I dabble in his work, and most of what I have read is great. Keep the good stories coming.

[kingofcities]

Originally Posted by jza1218

One of the best speaking engagements Ive ever been to

You got to attend this?!? Sonuva......!

[steveupson]

Never had contempt for the superhero genre?

Hmm...Maybe I don't understand what "contempt" means...

[DJ Sloofus]

"I can write comics drunk."


No, you can't.

[Aaron Weisbrod]

Originally Posted by David Vega

Bit disappointed that there was no Planetary update. This book, which is Ellis' best work, seems to have fallen off the radar again. Too bad.

As for his other books; Mr. Ellis has a smaill rabid fanbase who think everything he writes is gold. I find his work hit and miss (mostly miss). I love Planetary, and Authority and Global Frequency, but Transmet and his Marvel work have left me limp. Recently, I've become reluctant to pick up other work by Ellis because of the problems he seems to experience keeping books on schedule. Nothing personal, I've quit Alan Moore's ABC line for the same reason. I will pick up Fell in trade when it comes out, though, because I love crime books.

You know, I was *this* close to including his bit on PLANETARY but opted not to at the last second. Here it is... as well as a blurb on NEWUNIVERSAL as well...

On "Planetary":
According to Ellis, fans should expect #26 in October. Ellis went on to comment that #26 finishes the story, and that #27 is an epilogue that should be out maybe by hristmas, depending on John Cassaday's schedule.

On "newuniversal":
Ellis said that the first three issues are written and that he will be using the core books from the original run. He went on to add that Salvador Larocca will not start drawing the series for the next month to month and a half (although I believe he mentioned the character designs are done).

Cleanin' up,
Aaron Weisbrod

[fast eddie]

I've never quite understood all the hoopla over Ellis. Sure he's a good writer, but IMHO he's not up there with the greats. Fell is good and Planetary (his best) is so SLOW that it almost kills the book for me.

I think with Ellis, a lot of people get caught up in his online persona and can't separate the man from his work. He comes off as this strange, jaded, "Hey look at me, i'm drunk and crazy" kinda guy. You know what? It's been done. Alan Moore is still doing it.

Now, I realize this type of persona can be appealing to some, but if you strip away his "act", does Ellis' work still garner as much merit? I don't think so personally. But hey, that's just me.

[CitC]

I finally checked out Fell, and now I see what everyone has been raving about. Luckilly my LCS still has most of the issues on the shelf.

[LiamSavage]

Originally Posted by DJ Sloofus

"I can write comics drunk."


No, you can't.

But you can review them drunk, right Sloof?