Last week saw the phenomenal announcement from one of my favourite authors, that he'll be launching a brand new comic book series, partnered with Netflix and distributed by Image Comics. Who might this be, you ask. Well the ever erstwhile Scotsman who's responsible for making Nick Fury Black š¤, making The Avengers (The Ultimates) relevant again and showing the world what could happen if Batman followed his self-interest rather than any altruistic, crime-fighting calling (Nemeses). No not Grant Morrison, Mark Millar šš¾š (MM).
What's significant about this announcement is that Millar, known for flipping the proverbial script, setting the world right and murdering all your "hero's journey" sacred cows along the way; the series launch is a very high profile character driven affair. Prodigy will be a name as synonymous with greatness as all of the super anthropomorphic men in existence as he's described thusly:
In Prodigy, the world's smartest man isn't content with running the world's most successful business. His brilliant mind needs constant challenge and so he's become the go-to guy for governments around the world when a problem arises they just can't handle. A Nobel-Prize winning scientist, a genius composer, an Olympic-level athlete and an expert in the occult, Edison Crane is as addicted to the mysteries of the world as he is to sitting at the top of the Fortune 500. These are the tales of the world's most exceptional man and this story marks his first published adventure.
Yes, and..?
This work will be seminal for a number of reasons; firstly, let's talk about the medium. Mark created his own publishing company called Millarworld in 2004 and in August 2017, was purchased by Netflix for an undisclosed sum. If this doesn't prove to the "grown -ups" that comics ain't just for kids, then they're clearly not paying attention. Films with MM's name attached to them have grossed well over $2billion worldwide between 2008 - 2017. If those figures aren't enough to make you stand up and pay attention, then how about this. If you haven't already gleaned, the protagonist for this new book is (I'm assuming) an #AfricanAmerican. In the wake of the success of Black Panther it would be easy to say, now that the market's been fully tested, Hollywood knows it can make money off of "Black Properties". However, let's not be too glib. MM cast Nick Fury as not just a Black Man, but as Samuel L. Jackson FFS! You cain't get blacker than that! His worldview of the Avengers, put the world's top spy in charge of the toughest, most prominent superhero group on the planet. If that wasn't a prototype for Prodigy, then I don't know what is? Of his work MM has said:
āI gave myself a challenge when I created Prodigy. I wanted to write the smartest thing Iāve ever written and at the same time top any action set-pieces Iāve ever managed in the past and I honestly couldnāt be happier with how this has turned out.ā said Millar, President and Chief Creative Officer, Millarworld, a subsidiary of Netflix. āEdison Crane is by far the best character Iāve created in my career and Iām delighted that my genius friend Rafa Albuquerque is drawing the comic-book side of all this. Heās really one of the best artists in the world. I canāt wait to share this with everyone. This really is a beaut and weāre incredibly proud of it.ā Source
Prodigy Living Large & In Charge.
I love that at no point has anyone one in any of the major press cited the fact that this character is a black man. Should they? Perhaps it's a progressive #SignOfTheTimes that a man, be he fictional or not, is judged by the content of his character than by the colour of his skin? In 2018, if #BlackPanther didn't open you up to the power of black potential in movies and the pop-cultural significance of having positive role models for representation, then I don't know what to tell you!! Coming from MM, you can take it that Prodigy ain't gonna be squeaky clean and nor should he be. In this world we, as of time of writing, are hearing about a group of international press journalists banding together against the "Leader of The Free World", to protect their profession and defend it from fakery. Its a world where someone's going to have to get their hands dirty, doing the jobs that need doing. May as well be one of us!?
Of MM's line-up, I've just finished reading #KickAss 3 and I'm eating through his ongoing #HitGirl series. I've always wanted to read his Jupiter Circle superhero trope, which is up for live action transformation through Netflix as is his astounding American Jesus - a story where a young boy in The States, grows up to realise he's the reincarnation of Jesus...and then the fun ensues. Seeing as this is a Netflix property, you can imagine that it won't be too long after the series' sure fire success before it's slated for a live action series or film too. I for one cannot wait to rinse outymy wallet buying this series because I know it's going to be š„š„š„ .
Great times!!