The One with Hexpionage

A "What If" Adventure

Aug 19, 2021

Here’s what you get in every issue of Into the Storymaze: writing insights or a work-in-progress; something creative I’m digging; a highlight from my comics-writing credits; plus a quote that’s got me thinking — both about right now and what’s next.

Twisty Little Passages

Disney+ has teed up a new Marvel Universe good time, an animated version of the old comic book standard, “What If…?” Of course, all stories are essentially “What If…?” But the original print comic was a fun way to toss continuity and take a chance on some alternate universe. The running joke among us comic creator types was that all “What Ifs” always ended in one of two ways: 1) Characters and situations arrive at basically the same place they always would in established continuity; or, 2) The entire Marvel Universe explodes. You have to admit, it got you off the hook for having to worry about where your story was going to land!

My one published venture in those pages was, “What If… the Kingpin Adopted Daredevil?” — although weirdly published as “What If…the Kingpin OWNED Daredevil?” In either case, the events didn’t quite land in the same place, nor did the cosmos go bang! This was a fun little reversal with characters I was well associated with, and one of those “Hey, here’s an idea…” sparks that just jumped to the fore.

A much more INVOLVED “What If…” was cooked up with the incredibly talented Mark Nelson. “Hexpionage” is something I’ve name-checked in this newsletter before, and was designed to turn heads with its upside-down world where magic reined supreme, and the sorcerer supreme himself — Dr. Strange — ran that world’s supernatural themed SHIELD. The one holdout to abracadabra was the expected SHIELD main-man, a pre-Samuel L. Jackson Nick Fury. We were well into it before the comics implosion of the mid-nineties knocked the title off the schedule, never to recover. Here’s a taste of the plot, and a tease at where Mark was going with his art.

Page 26 & 27 — SPREAD

This spread is divided into a major image that dominates both pages, along with four panels that go along the bottom of the two pages (2 panels each page).

MAJOR IMAGE: The SHIELD helicarrier extends across the two pages, the relatively tiny Humvee arcing down to make a landing over the massive, mighty station. It's like the cast of Fantasia's "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence staged their act on an aircraft carrier.

Military metal towers have been replaced by Gothic castle spires; silent hovering has been replaced by fiery red jets of furnaces churning up the atmosphere below. Large dragons outfitted with armor wheel in the sky around the carrier, snorting fire and on patrol, a magical defense network. All told, it's an alchemist's erector set in the clouds.

PANEL 1: INT. LANDING BAY. The Humvee settles in for a landing, bats wheeling high up in the steel and stone rafters of the bay.

PANEL 2: A stony STRANGE stands waiting, cape swirling about him as FURY glides out for the Humvee. He just can't wait to give some grief to the mage. "What do you say, Steve? Still got a magic wand up your butt, I can see!"

PANEL 3: Face to face with STRANGE, FURY leans to one side to lift STRANGE's cape up enough to show the wizards' feet. "What are you doing?" hisses STRANGE. "Oh, just checking to see if your feet touch the ground!" jibes FURY with cold glee.

PANEL 4: With a dismissive gesture, STRANGE has levitated and rotated FURY so the solider now floats upside down in front of STRANGE. FURY is high up, though, so the two remain at eye level.

Treasure Seekers

In Upgrade Soul, a senior age couple buy into a bit of mad science that promises a miracle: young, energized clone bodies that their conscious selves will be transferred into for a renewed lease on life, and a vibrant extended future together.

Yeah, you mighta guessed by now: it don’t go so well.

The project is called Upgrade Cell, and the clever play on “cell” and “soul” is just one of creator Ezra Clayton Daniel’s many touches and triumphs in this science-fiction comic book. Or at a substantial 240 pages, it definitely qualifies for the “graphic novel” moniker.

The experiment that kicks things things off is a misbegotten disaster, but the construct of Upgrade Soul is a precision-cut gem, an absorbing page turner that mixes personalities and themes with admirable balance and uncanny ease. It’s not every tale that can mix up amoral scientists, condescending movie producers, rival siblings, elder and animal abuse, emotional disintegration, behavioral manipulation and body horror. (For a start.)

The resulting ride moves at a steady clip, pulling you along as it explores psychology, love, self-image, self-doubt, identity and rebirth. Are we our bodies? There’s more than a bit of the philosophy of Theseus Ship in the events and metaphors that make up this story: if every piece of a ship is replaced over time, is it still the same ship?

Even with all that, everyone and everything feels like it has its moment — and you’ll want to spend time in those moments, appreciating the beats and payoffs. There are times I found Upgrade Soul deeply disturbing…but also, always, deeply human. Turn the last satisfying page and you’ll still wish there was more.

The Comics Labyrinth

When First Comics announced a new line of Classics Illustrated headlined by top tier talent, I thought, "That sounds pretty cool!" I never imagined any circumstance that would put me in those pages. But when Bill Sienkiewicz invited me to co-write his version of Moby Dick, I jumped at the chance faster than you can say, "Call me Ishmael."

Which is the only way it could have happened. Giving it a moment's rational thought would have kept any sane writer on shore. There was a hyper-accelerated schedule. And, oh yeah, the matter of compressing 380 pages of a true classic into just 48.

But on the other side of the deck…the chance to work with Bill, who I greatly admired as the groundbreaking creative force he was/is/will be, and whom I'd become great friends with across long hours editing Stray Toasters. Not to mention time served during a 24/7 weekend hanging with The Cult in Los Angeles. (A story that put me off Spinal Tap for many years…) Bring it on, you white whale, you! (Melville's language was predictably the higher quality stuff here…)

This was a mad sea voyage of the very highest order: a true ball, a total blast, an intense, energetic willing this book into being. There were endless and endlessly enjoyable all-hours on the phone as we cut apart our mutual and multiple copies of the book's Cliff Notes to figure out what would go and what would stay and "What the **** did Herman mean with this metaphor?!?"

The only one catching any harpoons during this may have been our poor editor. Under pressure from the project's enormous scope, and the ticking clock on a high profile launch title, he no doubt needed more than our confident assurances of, "Trust us, we're on it!" I'm ashamed to say his understandable hyperventilating may have had Bill and I cackling a bit like delinquents pulling a prank on teacher. But only because we knew we had it. Or thought we did! And I guess we did. 😋🐳

I'll always be grateful to Bill for many things, but this collaboration is up there — as is his always gracious nod to include me in the credits whenever the title comes up. It remains a personal fave and a def high water mark. Before the Pequod sinks beneath the waves, natch.

If I have one regret it's this: considering how our neurons were so hyper-packed and hijacked by Melville's world, the fact that we didn’t immediately host a “Whaling in Comics” panel at the next comic con was a lost opportunity. (Insert blubber jokes here.)

Web of Intrigue

“The mind is puzzle waiting to be unraveled. A maze set to be traveled.”
— Vance Roeb

Amazing Times

How’d we end up here together? Maybe a detour off the dark web! But I’m hoping it’s because you subscribed to this share-out of projects I’m working on plus things that have me jazzed. I’m D.G. Chichester. Which sounds very pretentious, and tweed jacket and pipe — so feel free to just call me “Dan”, and have a go at the last name as Chai (like the tea) Chester (just like it looks).

I earned my word-cred writing comic book titles like Daredevil, Terror Inc., Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD and Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, along with all manner of digital widgets and websites in the world wide web of advertising. I keep my storytelling cred by trying new things — this is one of ‘em, with more on the way. I like weird and sometimes creepy tales, so if things here bend that way — now you know why!

Folks seem to like the comic book adventures I’ve written, so if you haven’t checked one out — please do. Many are now available in fab collected editions.

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Storymaze with D.G. Chichester

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