Wednesday, October 29, 2003

Be careful what you ask for: I complain about the lack of comic news today, and just look what happens: Mark Millar gets another title.

This time, it's a yet-unnamed Spider-Man title, because three monthly Spider-books and a bimonthly anthology apparently aren't nearly enough.

Oh, that's right. The second Spider-Man movie comes out next year ...

Millar will work with T&A afficionado Terry Dodson (his partner in crime on the -- ahem -- ground-breaking "Trouble" miniseries.)

"My take on Spider-Man needs a certain level of realism," Millar tells a surprised Newsarama.

And lest anyone accuse Millar of wringing the last drops of life out of the "real-world superheroes" trend established years ago by the likes of "The Watchmen" and "The Authority," he cites such contemporary influences as ... um ... Alan Moore's work on "Swamp Thing"?

"In terms of tone, I think Alan Moore's DC work has been a big inspiration for me on this project," Millar said. "He really used 'Swamp Thing,' for example, as a way to redefine a genre, but also explore an established universe from a slightly skewed, very British point of view."