Thursday, October 27, 2011

MARROW #1 by Faith Erin Hicks



Faith says:

Here's my pitch:
I picked Marrow to draw because I very briefly read X-Men in the late 90s, then stopped reading when I realized the stories would never come to a proper conclusion (it's important to me that stories have a beginning/middle/end). Marrow was a new member of the X-Men, and I liked her defiance to the rest of the team, as well as her strange look: the jutting bones and short hair (I always thought her green/blue costume was kinda ugly) was very different looking from the typical female X-Men, and as an awkward teenager who didn't feel terribly attractive, I identified with her.

I'm passionate about doing comics for younger readers, and I think superhero comics have really dropped the ball on that. I do outreach to schools and libraries, and I always find kids/teens who are really interested in comics, wildly enthusiastic about Bone, Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach or Smile. I meet maybe one kid in 30 who reads a superhero comic. So my Marrow story would be for teens and maybe a little younger, with action and bravery, but also about a young mutant with alienation issues, someone who doesn't really fit into "normal" society.  My Marrow story (one with a beginning/middle/end), would start with her Morlock origins: she'd be a kid growing up in the sewer with a surrogate mutant family, knowing that she was very different from the world above. She'd chafe at being forced to stay in the sewer, where it was safer and she could be protected from the scorn of "normal" humans. But she'd start to explore the world above and, like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, would fight crime in the shadows. And then she'd probably run into some of the X-Men, and there'd be fun conflict between the groups. 

Bio: Faith Erin Hicks writes and, draws a lot of comics. Her work includes Demonology 101, Ice, Zombies Calling, The War at Ellsmere, Brain Camp (art only), The Adventures of Superhero Girl and Friends With Boys, which is currently being serialized online at http://www.friendswithboys.com
She can also be found at http://www.faitherinhicks.com and is always very, very sleepy.

9 comments:

  1. Not a character I really know, so I'd have to get to if this hit the shelves.

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  2. Woah, I didn't know this character existed. It's kind of refreshing, actually--she even seems more "super" to be able to do the same things as the other x-men without an idealized figure and whatnot

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  3. I think this is one of my favorites so far in that Marrow is a character I have almost zero interest in as she is now, but this makes me wish I could run out and pick up this book.

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  4. I don't even know who Marrow is...but I really admire this artwork.

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  5. I think the idea is fantastic! Comics nowadays are just not market for anybody out of the "White Male, 18-35" range (just look at the DCnU debacle!)
    It'd be great a comic staring a Non-White, Female hero who is not stunning (or at least, not conventionally attractive)

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  6. how did i miss this earlier?! AWESOME. MARROW FOREVER. i'd read the shit out of this book.

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  7. *scrolls through 5 pages*

    Yup, this is the only one I'd read.

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