Really…
Announced along with four other upcoming online-exclusive comics coming up at Marvel.com is Marvels Channel: Monsters, Myths and Marvels, and comic that will look to answer that question, albeit from a slightly different point of view.
Written by Frank Tieri, with art by Juan Santacruz, the series will
tell stories on “The Marvels Channel,” a channel in the Marvel Universe
dedicated to reporting on and investigating individuals, locations,
history and occurrences in the Marvel Universe. The central thesis
investigated in the first arc: “Galactus doesn’t exist.”
Forget what you though you’ve read or knew, and let Tieri explain.
Newsarama: First off Frank, explain the title here - "Marvels
Channel?" Your larger framework is, for lack of a better example, an E!
or a History Channel style set in the Marvel Universe, correct?
Frank Tieri: That’s right.
Take a look at our current TV landscape… ESPN, the Food Network… hell,
we even have the friggin’ Golf Channel, for crissakes. Nowadays, we
have television channels devoted to just about anything and everything.
So, let’s say super-humans really existed… wouldn’t there be a channel
devoted to them, too? A 24- hour channel that would show documentaries,
investigative programs, reality shows, talk shows, etc?
That’s the basic concept of the Marvels Channel in a nutshell. Think of it as the real Superstation.
NRAMA: So then Monsters, Myths & Marvels is one of those shows on the Marvels Channel, right? Then let's talk about your approach - we've got Front Line, and Marvels: Eye of the Camera
as contemporaries, and of course, Marvels...what is it about this point
of view that works for you as a writer, and for the audience?
FT: Actually, Monsters, Myths & Marvels really isn’t like any of those at all.
You ever watch those shows you see on the History Channel or the
Discovery Channel or Nat Geo where they’re investigating Bigfoot, or
the lost city of Atlantis or the moon landing conspiracy or whatever? I
don’t know about the rest of you, but I eat that stuff up with a
spoon—shows like Monsterquest and History’s Mysteries and Is it Real? (Is it Real? is particular douchey—they debunk everything)
. So I got to thinking… wouldn’t they have shows like this in the
Marvel U? Where they investigated the existence of stuff like the
Wendigo and Asgard and the Watcher?
That’s what we’re going for with M, M & M -- a riff on
those shows with our tongues planted firmly in our cheeks. So you can
expect to see the usual trademarks of these types of programs well
represented—the crazy conspiracy theories, the questionable expert
testimonies, the cheesy re-enactments (complete with actors that don’t
quite look like the people they’re supposed to portray)… it’s all here.
NRAMA: But the first target - Galactus...really? Why would
someone in the Marvel Universe doubt his existence? There've been
appearances in New York - there've been comic book covers...how can
anyone doubt that?
FT: How can anyone doubt we’ve landed on the moon? Or that
terrorists were behind the attacks on 9/11? And yet we question all of
it—on TV, on the internet, in films. People just question things,
that’s our nature—and you can’t tell me a giant dressed in purple who
reportedly eats planets wouldn’t be at the top of our list.
And that’s the fun of it. Yeah, we all know that in the fictional
Marvel U Galactus actually exists, that people actually did see
him—then the question becomes for Gordon Allsworth… what exactly did
they see? A giant robot? A hologram? Giant Man in a pimp suit? The
theories and claims made by him and his guests is where a lot of the
fun is—but at the same time, also had to be presented as somewhat
plausible alternatives.
NRAMA: As for Gordon… you brought him over from your Hercules
mini. Why was he a good fit for this? And what exactly is his theory as
to just what this "Galactus" is? Why would people continue to
perpetuate the idea that he exists?
FT: For those of you who remember Gordon from Hercules: The New Labors,
you’ll remember he was not exactly the model of journalistic integrity.
In other words, Gordon’s sleazy, unscrupulous and is not above slanting
a show to fit his beliefs. He believes Galactus is a hoax and his
investigation will very much show that.
As for who he blames for the creation of Galactus… well, let’s just say
the FF are the ones who take the biggest hit here. After all, they’re
the ones who had the most to gain after Galactus first appeared and was
thwarted—as a result, their celebrity skyrocketed, their status in the
superhuman community greatly improved , and yeah, they even made a crap
load of money out of it. Being the ones who stopped the unstoppable was
good for business, so to speak. As someone in the show very astutely
states, “Galactus made them”
NRAMA: How was it working with Juan Santacruz?
FT: Really great. This wasn’t the easiest project in the world
to pull off, ya know? It’s a fine line-- especially from an artistic
standpoint. But with that said, for every curveball I threw at Juan, he
kept crushing them out of the park. I really expect big things from
this guy in the future.
NRAMA: The info for this says that it has "commercials" in it...whu? Care to explain?
FT: Well, there’s commercials on real TV, no? So if I was going
to create a network, it only stands to reason I’d have them here, too.
So I tried to picture what commercials in the word of the Marvels would
look like. You’d have commercials for stuff like Heroes For Hire and
the law offices of Murdock and Nelson. You’d have celebrity
endorsements from people like Iron Man and Dazzler. And you’d have
strange inventions that would only exist in their universe. That’s the
type of stuff you can expect to see.
And each ad will be a page and appears at the end of an episode—just in
time for the usual commercial break, just like on TV. In one part,
we’ve got a take on a popular insurance commercial starring the Hulk, a
cheesy infomercial starring Iron man in another—but my favorite might
be an ad for something called “Horn Club For Men”. I’m sure anyone
who’s seen the ads we’re spoofing will immediately get it.
NRAMA: How many parts is your story? What's coming up next? Will
future stories be along this route, that is, investigative looks at the
"truths" the Marvel Universe's Joe the Plumber thought he knew, or will
the "Marvels Channel" have other programming?
FT: Monsters, Myths & Marvels will be in three
parts-- and is only the first show that we’re presenting. Other shows
we have lined up include something called Behind the Mask (an obvious
take on Behind the Music with superhumans) and an SNL-type
show guest hosted by Thor. Also, 3 parts is not necessarily the
norm—some will be in three 8 page installments, some in two or even
just in one part. We take it by a show by show basis and how much space
is needed to tell our story.
And you know, it’s still early in the process, and we’re still throwing
stuff against the walls and see what sticks. The fans will let us know
what shows they want to see more of and what shows they don’t. If they
like Monsters, Myths & Marvels,
there’ll be more installments (we already have two other topics in
mind—one on the Captain America assassination and another on the
Illuminatti). And if they have an idea for a show they’d like to see
spoofed, by all means, send it in. We want this to be as interactive
and fun for the fans as possible.
And now, if this interview is over with, you’ll have to excuse me—I have a fictional network to program…
Monsters, Myths & Marvels part one is up at Marvel.com, and part 2 will be online November 5th. Click here for hte story.Related:Taking it Online – John Cerilli on Marvel’s Online PlansMarvel Digital: Roger Langrige on Fin Fang Four
