Birth Of An Unseen World — Part 2
Plus: Secrets of The World To Come Issue #1
Before we dive in, if you missed Part One, click the orange pill below and get caught up.
I Love It But…
The Zoom started strong. Charles was clearly excited about seeing his story brought to life as a comic, and he had every reason to be. It was really good. Good enough that it sparked a wild idea in my head. A big one. The kind of idea I’d want to draw.
But it meant rethinking his original concept.
So I laid it out for him: I could give him notes on the story as-is or pitch him the big swing. And, if he liked the big swing, I proposed we should collaborate on it.
He didn’t hesitate.
“Let’s hear the big one.”
In Shakespeare’s version, Hamlet comes home after the wedding. In Charles’ version, he returns for the wedding, which sets the stage for an epic third act where everything goes to hell. That third act, and what comes after, is where my idea took root.
“Imagine this:
At the start of the wedding, we pan across the guests and land on a beautiful older woman in a red overcoat. Hard to miss her.
Then… mayhem. Fights, betrayals, death, the works.
The end.
Except… not quite.
What if we added one more scene? I’m not saying this is the scene, but you’ll get the gist.”
I could see it on his face: Where the hell is this going?
“We cut to a rainy tarmac. A lone Gulfstream jet preps for takeoff. Inside: one passenger. The woman in red. We move in over her shoulder as she swipes through weighty global news reports on her tablet.
A flight attendant leans in and asks—
‘Would you care for a cup of tea before takeoff, Ms. Juliet?’”1
Charles stared at me. Blankly.2
“Charles! Do you get what I’m saying? Charles?!?”
“You’re suggesting we connect the plays.”
“YES. Exactly! We create a series of Shakespeare adaptations that all live in the same world where Hamlet can meet Juliet, Othello, or King Lear.”
“That’s brilliant. You’re Brilliant!”
Charles didn’t say that last line, but I’m sure he was thinking it. Regardless, every project I had planned for the launch of Amazing got pushed back in lieu of what we were about to undertake.
What Do Idaho And LA Have In Common?
That pitch led to a string of creative meetings where we met several times, jetsetting between Idaho and LA until we landed on a story we were both crazy excited about: Disciple.3
We also developed a few core tenets for the world we were building. Just enough to give other creators small but clear guardrails. Guardrails that could unify the stories without boxing in anyone’s imagination.
Me And Bill
I first met Shakespeare in fourth grade, thanks to my teacher, Ms. Dorothy Cohen. His language, the iambic pentameter, flew over my head. I zoned out. Just didn’t see the point.
Ms. Cohen, being the great teacher she was, pulled me aside and gave me a personal homework assignment. West Side Story was airing on TV that night. She told me to watch it and report back.
Homework that involved watching TV? Hell’s yeah, count me in.
The next day, she asked what I thought. I couldn’t stop talking about it; I was obsessed, especially with the songs. My mom (whose name was Maria, by the way) got a full-throated serenade that night.
That’s when Ms. Cohen let me in on the twist:
“West Side Story is Romeo and Juliet.”4
That’s the moment I fell in love with the Bard.
One of the things I loved about Charles’ adaptation was how he kept all the original character names. It reminded me of Tony and Maria, except he adapted Shakespeare with his cards face up. I thought this was a novel approach because people familiar with the material come to it with certain character expectations, making it fertile ground to expand and twist those preconceived notions.
This idea would become the starting point for our world.
Next week: Part 3 of Birth Of An Unseen World and the Undiscover’d rules.
Inside The World To Come: Issue 1- Part 1
First off, THANK YOU. The love Priest and I have gotten for issue #1 has been overwhelming. I hope you stick with us, because as wild as that first issue was, things only get crazier from here.
As a thank you, here’s some behind-the-scenes bonus material for those of you who’ve already read it.
If you haven’t read it yet—STOP!
No seriously…
MAJOR SPOILER WARNING AHEAD!!!
Anyone who knows my work knows I love loading my stories and art with Easter Eggs and hidden clues. Here are a few (just a few, I can’t give it all away) from issue #1.
When I started designing the Dora Milaje of the future, I kept coming back to Vantablack (Vertically Aligned NanoTube Arrays), once the blackest substance in the world, absorbing 99.965% of all visible light. Then MIT topped it with a version that absorbed 99.995%. For this story, I imagined Wakandan scientists saying, “Hold my beer,” and creating something that absorbs 100% of visible light. Priest and I called it Wakanda Black.
Carnegie, Oklahoma, is a tip of the hat to my friend and one of the most imaginative writers I’ve ever met, Steven Paul Judd. The location also just worked beautifully for the story.
Risk fans know what’s happening here. Oh, and the mice are a clue.
Ketema’s outfit is based on Jack Kirby’s original design for T’Challa. Before he was Black Panther, the name was going to be Coal Tiger.
Storm’s wedding dress was designed by Scott Eaton, originally featured in Black Panther #18, Vol. 4.
The Paris scene? A nod to my longtime colorist and collaborator, Richard Isanove. I’ve worked with him for as long as I’ve been married. Which is why Nanci refers to him as my “French mistress.” She’s not wrong.
More secrets next week.
And Don’t Forget!
I’ll be signing this Saturday at Nirvana Comics in Knoxville, Tennessee. I’ll have some exclusive, limited variants on hand:
The World To Come blue cast variant – limited to 3,000 copies – $20, or $40 signed
The World To Come red virgin variant – ultra-rare, limited to just 1,000 copies – $30, or $50 signed
These won’t be reprinted. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Can’t make it to the signing? No worries, we've got you covered. You can order through my agent. Just click the tab below.
Thanks for reading!
You’re AMAZING!
JQ
This scene won’t appear in any of our books.
Several weeks later, I learned that this wasn’t a blank stare but part of Charles’s thinking process. Once we started collaborating on Disciple, I learned to speak “Charles” fluently.
Well, Charles jetsetted. I kinda shuttled back and forth.
Remind me to tell you the story of the day that Leonard Bernstein sat and listened to my band perform live at a club in downtown NYC.
I'd love to see the comic for Hamlet done in this style as the character design sketch here.
Dear Joe. It's good to see you drawing again. I was so excited to run to the comic book store this past Wednesday to pick up a book by one of the best writers ever to write Black Panther (and who introduced me to the character for the first time). And by you, the man who showed me that you can be an artist and a businessman.
I enjoyed the hell out of that first issue and am looking forward to the rest of the series. Thank you for drawing again. It's an honor to experience this excellent collaboration.