C6C-News: DemonWars Update
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CrossGen’s first book to launch under its Code 6 imprint, Demon Wars: Trial by Fire hits stores in December and is the first comic adaptation of the works of fantasy novelist Robert Salvatore. Written by Scott Ciencin, with art by Ron Wagner, CrossGen plans for the five issue miniseries to be the first of many Demon Wars projects from Code 6. Newsarama caught up with Ciencin to find out a little more about him and what readers can expect from Trial by Fire.
While his name is new to the comic shelves, Ciencin has long since earned his chops, with his first published work - the TSR Forgotten Realms novel, Shadowdale becoming a #1 bestseller, and opened many doors for Ciencin, which included landing writing gigs on both the Buffy and Angel novel series, as well as novels in the Jurassic Park line, the Dinotopia line, Star Wars and Star Trek books, as well as a handful of other licensed property novels.
“Prior to Shadowdale, I was in TV advertising and I was writing and directing short features; one of those features was seen by a New York book editor who contacted me and helped set me down the road to that first fiction sale,” Ciencin said. “While I love the freedom and scope allowed by novels - I've written over 50 now, including NY Times bestsellers, I've always thought visually and considered myself a visual storyteller first and foremost, so I'm having an absolute blast with Demon Wars.”
Writing a comic series is a return to the medium for Ciencin, or more aptly, a vault over the fence separating fan from pro. “I learned to read with comic books and I have a collection that goes back to when I was six,” the writer said. “My dream growing up was to be a comic book artist, and I primarily started writing when I was ten or twelve so I would have scripts to draw. When I was in high school, a lot of my friends were older than me, so when they entered film school, I started learning that medium along with them, helping out on their projects and such. Ultimately, I learned that I could best express myself with a camera rather than a 3B pencil, and I ended up directing, and later writing books. In short, I've always loved comics, and they’ve definitely influenced my writing over the years.
“Over the years, I’ve read the regular stuff, plus a really varied mix of things ranging from Warren era Bruce Jones and Richard Corben, Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson's Manhunter, to Peter Gillis and Brent Anderson's Strikeforce Morituri and most of the ongoings from Warrior Magazine, where V for Vendetta and Marvelman/Miracleman first appeared. And that's never stopped.
“I love comics that break boundaries. Those opening pages of James Robinson and Tony Harris's Starman turned so many things on their ear, same with Ennis and Hitman and Preacher. Alan Moore's Promethea and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen go into incredible places. And, of course, I'm a huge fan of what CrossGen is doing. They've really captured the fantasy audience with the level of fine storytelling and incredible visuals that this material has been crying out for from the beginning, and now they're reaping the well-deserved rewards. I'd put the accomplishment on the level of what Peter Jackson pulled off in his adaptation of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, and, like that property, CG is only getting started.
With his love of fantasy, comics, and writing experience, it was only a matter of time until Ciencin made everything work out just right. He met Robert Salvatore in the same year he was contracted to write Shadowdale, and the two have been friends ever since. “We have similar sensibilities when it comes to character-driven action and going for the Big Ideas and Major Themes in our stories, and since I've always enjoyed collaboration, I had been looking for a way that we could work together practically from the beginning. Bob was well aware of the impact that graphic storytelling has had on the world, but he wasn't as aware of the incredible artistic opportunities the medium had to offer. Once I got him looking at the incredible books CrossGen is putting out, showing him one sequence after another of high end top quality feature-film caliber realizations of what we've been doing in the fantasy market for so many years, he became very excited. A large number of issues had to be worked out on the contractual side of things, but his interest and excitement about this medium was there from the start.”
Have a Corona
For those not familiar with Salvatore’s novel series, Ciencin provided a thumbnail guide of sorts. To start, the stories in the Demon Wars comics are set roughly 50 years prior to the events of the first Demon Wars novel, on a world called Corona.
“There's a sense of unrest among the people of this world, a feeling that the relative stability that's been achieved among the major nations can be undone at a moment's notice,” Ciencin said. “The cause for that tension is twofold: First, the rise of several fiends who have long wished to break out of their relative confinements and wreak havoc upon the world of humans, and second, the susceptibility of people in positions of power, both political and on the religious front, to temptation and other corrupting influences. Put these two together and you have a world on the brink of pulling itself apart.
“Our central protagonist, the young barbarian Ranger Andacanavar, is going to find himself drawn from one hot spot to another in this series, battling his own inner demons - his own people hate and fear him because he's been exposed to magic – while confronting a fantastic array of demonic creatures just itching for the chance to take advantage of the shaky situations in the mortal realm and gain power.”
As for the world itself, Corona is patterned after earth’s Middle Ages – to a point. Corona has a race of Elves on it whose mission is the keep an eye on the world’s security as creatures from the demon realm try to break through and destroy everything that mankind has been trying to achieve.
“The Elves help children who are clearly destined for greatness to learn their ways and become protectors of this world,” Ciencin explained. “From land to land, what one might find are corrupt Abellican Monks - think Name of the Rose in control in one place, hearty and magic hating Viking types in another, Celtic-style lands and people, a Crouching Tiger-like domain elsewhere... it's a huge backdrop and we're taking full advantage of that. There are also frost giants, bloody redcap dwarves, dragons, Lovecraftian creatures, and even a race of dark elves, along with some more benevolent supernatural beings such as centaurs.
“The main thing is that while the starting point is what one might consider archetypal fantasy figures, the presentation of this material is startling and very different from what's come before, with humor, compassion, incredible action and new and engaging takes on this material. The best analogy I can give is a recent news item I saw about director M. Night Shyamalan and
his fervent desire to direct the upcoming big screen adaptation of John Carter of Mars because he's a Star Wars fan and he sees this franchise as something he can put his mark on in the fantasy field. It's that kind of thoughtfulness and spirituality and ‘out of the box’ thinking and approach that singles out Bob's work and that's what we're striving for in the monthly comic.”
The choice to focus the comic series on the Ranger Andacanavar was partly due to Salvatore’s desire to explore the background of the character, as well as fan demand to learn about the protagonist of the novel series.
In the books, Andacanavar is a legendary warrior who now uses his political wiles to influence major events - while still being very comfortable with a sword in one hand and a mug of mead in the other,” Ciencin said. “In the comics, we're going back 50 years to show the forging of a legend; in a way, almost a Smallville approach. Our goal, and Bob is working very closely with me on this is to delight readers of the books with stories that show this young Ranger gaining his rep, and the hard lessons he had to learn to become this wise figure later. For those who haven't read the books, Andacanavar's tales are perfectly accessible because we're starting from the ground up and no prior knowledge of this world is required. If a reader thinks the idea of early kick-butt Conan - the '70s comics and the first film - merged with the characterization of Lord of the Rings and the intrigue of Name of the Rose sounds like a blast, then come on over, because that's what we're offering, and more.”
In the long-range view, Ciencin said that Andacanavar will always be center stage in the comic series, while supporting characters will change from one story arc to another, depending upon audience reaction and what makes sense for any given arc.
In terms of the storyline for the first Demon Wars miniseries – Ciencin is promising everything plus the kitchen sink. “Andacanavar must not only keep the emissaries of two nations from going to war but he must also somehow unite them against a common enemy so that all of mankind is not put to the flame when the frost giants bring Managarm, their god of war, to the material plane,” the writer said. “Along the way, there is love, loss, unlikely alliances, some bitter realizations about what it takes to truly change the ways and views of a people, and hope that such a thing is possible, though the price and the sacrifice required is very high. We've got vikings, magic-wielding monks, giants, demons... oh, my.”
Joint Efforts
Despite Ciencin’s name on the series’ writing credits, the writer said that Salvatore is working very closely with him. “Bob has final say on anything we want to do in the book, but he's also been unbelievably generous in allowing us to take what he's created and production design in
unexpected ways,” Ciencin said. “For example, with the Frost Giants of Alpinador, our incredible artist Ron Wagner came back with sketches of these very lean, hungry, wild-eyed beings, and it made perfect sense. They're scavengers, they're huge, and there isn't much to eat. In this world, how could they be those meaty guys one might see in a Frazetta painting? It would have made no sense. I found reference to a wolf-god in Viking lore and we made that the figure the giants worshipped because their main competition and central threat, living nomadically, is the wolf. That wasn't spelled out in Bob's books, but he loved it. What's essential is that we're logically consistent with what he's created, but we also make it visually functional and downright eye-popping comic book cool, as Ron would say.”
Speaking of Wagner, Ciencin counts the artist (who is inking his own pencils) as a true collaborator on the series, as he has adapted his writing style to better work with comics’ visual element. “I'm looking for whatever visual symbols I can find throughout to set mood and convey meaning, and I'm going for what Gene Roddenberry described as the way he learned how to write visually, which was to watch TV with the sound off; if the audience can follow everything without hearing a word, you're doing the job right,” Ciencin said. “That said, we have some really fun dialogue working to support the storytelling, and there are no descriptive captions, no thought balloons, nothing except 'here's the stage, here are the actors on the stage, here's what they say and do, go.'
“Working with Ron has been fantastic because we have a great understanding about how to best serve Bob's creation and each individual story. I've been extremely detailed in the visuals, but a large part of that is to get across costume, lighting, production design, and so on. Ron has a really free hand so long as any changes he makes don't alter the story or progression of character. For me, this is incredible, because when the pages come in, it's exactly what I pictured in my head - only 20 times better.”
Wagner isn’t the only Ron Ciencin is working with on the series – senior CrossGen writer Ron Marz is editing the series. “Ron is one of the very best editors I've ever had,” Ciencin said. “He's a master storyteller in his own right, someone whose work I've admired for many years, and he knows this medium, the overall process, and this audience better than anyone. He's fantastic at giving feedback that enhances what we're going for and ensures that we're going to get the biggest and the best visual and story payoff we can possibly get. What Ron brings to the table is an assurance to audiences that this book is striving for the exact same level of excellence Ron brings to titles like Scion and Sojourn each month, and that nothing is going to go through that Ron isn't 100% sure is pure knockout comic book storytelling.”
Despite being centered on a hero who is also the star of a multi-part novel series, Ciencin said he feels Demon Wars will both appeal and be accessible to readers who aren’t familiar with the source material, or have never heard of Salvatore’s novels. According to Ciencin, the main theme of Demon Wars is an eternal one that has been told since stories started.
”We're dealing with the forging of a great hero. Readers of the books know what kind of man Andacanavar will ultimately become, but that knowledge isn't the least bit necessary toward enjoying the comics. We hit the ground running and fill in all the blanks from page one, panel one, with the exact intent of making it a great read for anyone who enjoys character-driven action and fantasy. Readers of the books will see that everything agrees with the series, but also expands on what's been laid down. Those who haven't yet had the pleasure of reading Bob's novels will, we hope, be inspired to seek them out.”
Following Trial by Fire, Ciencin and Salvatore are already planning the second Demon Wars installment, tentatively titled Eye for an Eye. “The arc takes Andacanavar out of the frozen north to a more Crouching Tiger meets Arabian Nights domain, setting him against a demonic djinn who killed a close friend and is attempting to destroy an entire race of beings who are the only people on the planet who can ultimately stop him. It's going to be more good old-fashion sword-wielding bloody good fun.”
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