This weekend is Emerald City Comic Con, and on Saturday Dark Horse is hosting the “Exploring the Mythos of Prometheus/Aliens/Predator/AVP” with editor-in-chief Scott Allie and the writers room behind the endeavor: Josh Williamson (“Predator”), Chris Roberson (Aliens”), Paul Tobin (“Prometheus”) and Christopher Sebela (“AvP”). For fans of this grand franchise, this is a pretty exciting event, as many of us are looking forward to new developments and information about the shared Alienverse.
Well, today, to help build up the anticipation of the panel, we chat with writer Paul Tobin, writer of “Prometheus,” all about the series, the new approach and building this shared universe. “Prometheus” will be the book from which all the others spring out of, acting as a foundation and building off of the polarizing prequel film that came out in 2012. And with a sequel film on the way as well, this whole Alienverse thing is about to blow up.
We’re also excited to premiere for you the Paul Pope variant cover. And, really, that’s all I think I have to say about that, right? A Paul Pope variant cover sells itself. Take a look at it all below.
The Dark Horse Alienverse undertaking sounds pretty audacious so far, so what can you tell me about the experience? How has the writer’s room approach changed how you approach the comic?
Paul Tobin: It’s been interesting. I’m very much a solitary writer, so working in conjunction with four others (Josh Williamson on Predator, Christopher Sebela on Aliens vs. Predator, Chris Roberson on Aliens and… one other writer) was something I was interested to try. Editor Scott Allie made a wise decision to grab local writers, which means that we’ve been able to frequently gather, either at Scott’s house, or in bars, taverns, dance halls and caves… all in order to discuss how to interlock the storylines. We shoot ideas back and forth, hone each other’s ideas, really dig into the meat of the characterization and the storyline. I’ve really enjoyed the process.
What were your previous thoughts on the Alien and Predator franchises? With games and books and movies, what was your relationship with it like before this series started?
PT: I’ve read some of the comics before and definitely the movies. I thought Alien was a fantastic horror / suspense film, and then Aliens was an entirely different movie, a sci-fi adventure, but just as enjoyable. And I can remember sitting around with friend when Predator came out, discussing how WE would have survived if we’d fought the creature. And I’d previously worked on a related comic, doing an expanded adaptation of the Predators comic. So… the Alienverse is definitely in my regular human non-acidic blood.
And how about with Prometheus specifically? Because obviously that’s a film that there were many high expectations for, and the heavy emphasis on the mystery of it all didn’t necessarily work for everyone.
PT: No movie works for everyone, except maybe Iron Giant and My Neighbor Totoro. The ones that usually evoke the most debate are the ones who huge mysteries, grand schemes. Prometheus shot for incredibly lofty heights, and if there was any failing I think it was mostly in the time limit of the movie… you just can’t have a ten hour movie, and Prometheus needed more time to really delve into the themes. The thing is, the movie doesn’t really need to stand alone. What with the stories that we’re doing at Dark Horse, and of course Ridley’s next Prometheus movie, the mysteries become a little more clear.
So what can you tell us about Prometheus? Dark Horse has been pretty quiet about what its about and how it fits in — could you perhaps shed some light on this?
PT: All I can really talk about at this point is that it concerns a particular desolate moon, and a group with mixed agendas, a realization that everything is not anywhere NEAR what they expected, and a healthy does of Things Going Wrong. Many of the events in the other series spring out from the Prometheus series that I and artist Juan Ferreyra are building… a mixture of horror, and more horror, and also some terror.
Continued belowIn terms of the film, do people need to have seen the movie to “get” the book? What is the relationship like there?
PT: I personally tried to avoid having it be “necessary” to have watched the film, because I think that’s a cheat, in a way. A good story should be able to stand on its own. That said, having watched the movie certainly helps; it grounds the reader in some of what’s happening, the lore and mythos of why events and settings are important, and so on.
How close are you (and the others) trying to get with the new related titles? Is it more about capturing that feel or establishing something brand new?
PT: A little of both, really. I think it’s possible to establish something brand new while still capturing that classic feel. There’s literally a whole universe to explore within the Alienverse, so there’s plenty of possibilities, especially when all of these characters, the xenomorphs, engineers, predators and so on, interact with humanity.
On a similar thread, how have you found the process of doing this type of book? Because obviously you’ve done for-hire superhero comics and such, but this kind of licensed material is certainly different, I think.
PT: It’s not much different, really. I’ve done similar projects before, whether it be role-playing games like I’ve worked on, or Falling Skies, and so on. Honestly, there isn’t much of a difference between working on Spider-Man or Prometheus; they’re both established worlds where I need to play within a certain set of guidelines, a way that characters exist, a mood to convey. It’s actually quite fun to work within these guidelines; it shapes the manner in which stories can be told, demands a level of creativity. And it’s been interesting to see the focal points of my fellow writers on the project… to see them play to their own strengths, to wrestle with their own ideas and schemes.
In terms of getting into the space and zone of the series, what have you found most surprising?
PT: Honestly, it’s been how iconic these characters have become in culture. I personally remember when the first movies came out, and now they pervade culture to a huge degree, so it’s been a game of keeping the xenomorphs as part of that “known” culture, while at the same time really unleashing them… giving surprising takes to all of the various characters, human and otherwise.
You and Juan delivered the terrifying book “Colder” together. How is the collaborative process different on “Prometheus,” if at all?
PT: Juan and I are a bit more collaborative on Colder than we’ve been on Prometheus. We co-created (and co-own) Colder, so there’s no way I can just sit down and type up a script without consulting him. Nor would I want to: his visuals are too much a part of the series. For instance, the villain for the second series, a visual quirk of his, was entirely designed by Juan, and it’s shaped the entirety of the remaining arcs. But with Prometheus, so much of what needs to happen is being determined in gatherings between all the writers, that it’s difficult to incorporate wide swaths of material outside of the meetings. I do wish Juan was here in Portland, actually, to take part in the meetings. Artist Patric Reynolds is working on the Aliens title with Chris Roberson, and Patric does live in town, so he’s been a part of all the meetings. Helps to have an artist at hand, guiding us towards the best way to visually tell the story, even as we’re building the story itself.
And in terms of how you and Juan are working on Prometheus, what have you done in order to challenge or even differentiate this collaboration from that of Colder?
PT: With Colder, Juan Ferreyra and I can take our horror is any direction we want, so we can act more like horror hand-grenades, but in Prometheus, there’s nothing scarier than the xenomorphs, and they need to be the central point of it all, so they’re more like spear points than grenades. Juan and I still try to lean towards the unsettling than the “scary thing jumps out at you” style of horror, though, either way.
Continued belowAre there any aspects of the world, both established and the things that you and Juan will explore, that you’re particularly excited to unveil to the readers?
PT: That would be a yes. There are. But they’re secret things, right now… just waiting for the proper time to get out. Picture the slow twist of a closet doorknob at three in the morning… something lurking behind the door, the slow ache of the door creaking open, and the slight whisper of a voice that sounds like trickling water. Those are the secrets waiting to get out. They’ll be here, soon.
So would you say that this is a pretty unique experience in creation overall? And how do you think the series is benefiting from that? Artists, writers, editors all going out on the regular to drink, hang out, brain storm — I’ve not heard of this kind of intimate large scale collaboration in some time!
PT: Definitely a unique experience for me. I’m greatly enjoying the ongoing process with the other writers, and also the editors like Scott Allie and Daniel Chabon, who are adding quite a bit to the storylines. Also, a shout-out to Elizabeth Allie, because she’s been making dinner for us all, dinner with scrumptious desserts. This is how collaboration is supposed to work! As far as the benefits to the storyline and to the reader, it’s been huge. What would have been four separate visions has melded into one solid whole, and I think in a fairly seamless fashion. There definitely WERE seams to start with, but… a few tax-deductible cocktails later, I think we have most of them ironed out.
From a written perspective, do you find you guys are going to be playing more off each other, or the original writers of the films?
PT: I’d say it’s about 50-50. The storylines are definitely ours, with all of us putting forth our stories as fits our individual talents, but since these stories are based in the Alienverse, the impact of the earlier stories are HUGE.
And in terms of how fans of the franchise will see the book, Prometheus especially, is the goal here to say “we’ve started at the bottom, now we’re here?” Reboot/relaunch gets tossed around a lot these days, but I imagine a Prometheus comic certainly offers leeway there.
PT: I think the benefits of a story as huge as this one is that there are endless possibilities on where to dive in. There’s no particular need to reboot anything, because there are endless elevators to the top floor of this building. We can choose which way we want to scale the story… whether that’s to ride one of those established elevators, or take the stairs, or toss up a grappling hook and scale the building from the outside.
Also, one thing I forgot to ask: it has been discussed before somewhat, but can you explain how Prometheus fits into the tapestry of the connected books?
PT: We’re looking at Prometheus as the launch title, both in what events occur in my book, and also the characters who spring out into the other books.
As a final question, can you confirm for me right here and now that Ripley’s cat Jones is still the most important central character to the entire connected universe? Because as we all know everything always ties back to Jones’ survival!
PT: I can neither confirm nor deny that Jones ends this series outfitted in futuristic battle-armor, playing a deadly cat-and-mouse game with both predators and xenomorphs, leading humanity to a golden age while patrolling space with the Legion of Feline Defenders.
For more, check out Dark Horse’s panel at Emerald City Comic Con this Saturday:
Exploring the Mythos of Prometheus/Aliens/Predator/AVP
Room: TCC 301
Time: 4:00PM – 4:50PMJoin Dark Horse editor-in-chief Scott Allie and writers Josh Williamson, Chris Roberson, Paul Tobin, and Christopher Sebela as they delve into the interconnections of the upcoming Prometheus, Aliens, Predator, and Aliens Vs. Predator comics.
OR, you could always come to the Multiversity/Dark Horse party on Friday and get these guys drunk. Who knows what they’ll tell you then? (Just, uh, don’t mention this sentence. We didn’t say anything.)
