Drain #1 (Comics) CB Cebulski: A Marvel Exclusive, TV Work And More
September 8, 2008 / 1080
Plot
Chinatsu, an immortal vampire from Japan, looks for her family’s killer, and also her vampire sire. She mercilessly searches throughout many time periods and centuries in order to achieve her revenge.
The first story-arc of six issues has been published with the latest issue released in 2008 and a tradepaperback due in 2008.
There are more story-arcs planned, but that still has to be determined pending a new artist.
While C.B. Cebulski was once better known as a Marvel editor than a comics writer, that’s not the case anymore. Cebulski’s recent writing experience has not only earned him some loyal fans, but Newsarama has confirmed the writer’s just gotten an exclusive contract from Marvel and some writing work in television (this interview was conducted just prior to the WGA announcing that it was going on strike).
After leaving his editorial job at Marvel in early 2006 to concentrate more on his writing, he returned to Marvel later that same year as an “editor-who-also-writes.” Between the writing projects he’s done for Marvel like his Fairy Tales series and The Loners miniseries, he’s also written a couple video games and released a few creator-owned titles like Drain, Compass, and Wonderlost.
And recently, as Cebulski announced in San Diego, he’s also been traversing the world, searching for new comic book talent through his cleverly titled ChesterQuest (the “C” in C.B. stands for Chester). Publicized both here on Newsarama and through Cebulski’s ChesterQuest blog, the search promises to land 12 brand new artists a pencilling job at Marvel after it finishes up in January.
Newsarama caught up with Cebulski between his travels to talk about the new Marvel exclusive, the latest on ChesterQuest, and the announcement of some consulting work he’s doing for Spike TV.
Newsarama: So much to talk about, C.B. - first, what’s this news of you getting a Marvel exclusive?
C.B. Cebulski: Yeah. I’ve been associated with Marvel on and off over the past many years. And when I quit being an editor, I traveled the world for a little bit, but they lured me back in, just like the mob always tends to do. [laughs] And I was a freelance consultant for awhile, and that always allowed me time to do my creator-owned stuff on the side as a writer so I could do whatever I wanted. But Marvel has asked me to come back in a more concrete capacity, so they offered me an exclusive as a consultant and as a writer.
NRAMA: Will this affect your creator-owned series like Wonderlost and Drain?
CBC: I can still do my Image work and my creator-owned stuff on the side. I have certain carved out exceptions for that. But for the most part, I’ll be spending all my time consulting for Marvel in various capacities – editorial capacities and managerial capacities. And then, I have an exclusive now for two titles a month. I’m looking forward to it.
NRAMA: Two titles a month? Does that mean we’re going to have some new Cebulski-penned projects announced soon?
CBC: Hopefully very soon. I’m in the process of working with the editors and putting together some projects now. There is some good stuff on the horizon. And David Finch has recently said that he and I are taking over a short run of Wolverine coming up. That’s still on track, although the plan has changed a little bit, but there will be an announcement about that soon. There is some other news from the Marvel front that we’ll be announcing soon.
NRAMA: Dave was really excited about the Wolverine story you two were doing when he told Newsarama about it in September.
CBC: We get along great. He and I have been friends for ages, going back to when I was an editor when he came to Marvel on X-Men Unlimited and The Call. We moved him on X-Men Unlimited, and we had a relationship that way. And when I left, we stayed in touch. He and I got along and have the same sensibility about so much. We’ve worked together on Spider-Man Unlimited, and we’ve worked together on Tomb of Dracula, and I always wanted to keep our creative relationship going. And it led to this Wolverine story, which I couldn’t be happier with.
NRAMA: Will your Wolverine story follow the four-issue arc by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney that is starting in February?
CBC: I can’t speak to that exactly because it’s gone through some changes since the original plan. But it’s going to be a really broad, expansive Wolverine story. That’s what it’s turned into.
NRAMA: Is it going to have anything to do with the changes that are going on with the X-Men titles that we [url=http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/xmen/disassembled/X-Who.html]heard about in Baltimore[/rul]?
CBC: Some of that. And again, we’ve been talking to Bendis, so it’s going to kind of play into Secret Invasion a little. As everybody knows, Elektra was revealed to be a Skrull. And at that point, she was the leader of The Hand. And The Hand has always classically been, aside from a Daredevil villain, also a Wolverine villain going back to the first Chris Claremont/Frank Miller miniseries. And so, with Bendis’ blessing now, what our story has turned into is that there’s been a power vacuum in The Hand because Elektra was a Skrull. And we’re going to start dealing with a new leadership, a new Hand, and a new mandate which involves Wolverine in the biggest of ways.
NRAMA: Switching gears to your creator-owned projects. You said you were able, in your contract with Marvel, to carve out exceptions for those. What do you have coming out?
CBC: The Image stuff is going to continue rolling. Drain #5 just hit, and Drain #6 will be out in a couple weeks, hopefully. Compass is going to continue. There have been a few delays on Compass, unfortunately. The artist, Ryusuke Hamamoto, was tapped to do some stuff in Japan, which was a huge opportunity for him. And it’s kind of delayed the series a little, so we’re rethinking the schedule on that, but #2 should be out shortly.
Wonderlost is going to continue, so Issue #2 should hit soon too. We’re just wrapping up a couple last minute pages on that. So those are the three that will be continuing on.
Next year, I’ve got a couple new things launching. The long-awaited Shiki series, which people keep asking about, has been in the hopper for two years now, but we want to make sure we’re all caught up on that before we release it.
NRAMA: You’re getting a few in the can so it will come out regularly?
CBC: Yeah. A lot of my books have had delays — let’s put it that way. [laughs] Some of it can be attributed to me and some of it can be attributed to various artistic and creative aspects. I’ve realized I’ve been spreading myself a little too thin, so what I want to do is pull everything back in and focus on a couple Marvel projects and a couple Image projects. I want to make sure everything is back on track. So once all the Shiki issues are done, we’re going to solicit it. So there are going to be no breaks going forward, hopefully, on most of my titles.
NRAMA: But with Drain, your story of a female vampire over the ages, you had planned a break for the artist pretty soon anyway, right?
CBC: Yeah. After #6, there was supposed to be a break. And that’s still on track. And we’re not sure exactly when we’re going to come back. [Series artist] Sana [Takeda] has become a rather hot commodity, which is great for her and bad for me and Drain, but I wish her all the best of success. She’s going to be moving on and doing something with Aspen, and then hopefully something coming with Marvel soon. And I can’t begrudge her paying her bills. Image is a back-end deal and we make money on it, but for her, the guarantee and safety net of a page rate on a steadier and bigger-name book is going to increase her bank account as well her mainstream exposure. Once that’s built a little, we’re hoping to go back to Drain sometime later in 2008.
NRAMA: Let’s talk about Wonderlost, since the second issue is coming out now. The series is a collection of humorous yet touching autobiographical stories from your time in high school and college. The first issue concentrated on relationships with girls, so what is this one going to focus upon?
CBC: This one continues some of that, but it’s not as female-centric. The subtitle I’m putting on it is “Firsts and Goals,” and it’s about how, when you’re growing up, you always want to be more adult than you actually are. And you’re always hoping for your first time on different things. You know, your first beer, your first kiss, your first whatever. And this is going to concentrate on my experience with those things. And there’s a little bit more of a party aspect to it. It’s a little more of a drunken adventure at times than we saw last time. Part of high school is getting the alcohol you’re not supposed to have, getting caught by your parents, trying to sneak it out and being cool with your friends. It’s along the lines of what you saw in Superbad and movies like that.
NRAMA: Superbad!
CBC: Yep! I love that movie. And it’s kind of along those lines. It’s about me getting in trouble and doing stupid stuff. Going out and trying to experience life and do things that people expect you to do when you’re teenagers.
NRAMA: Before the first issue of Wonderlost came out, you were a little concerned about what you might hear back from your old friends from high school about what you’d written, particularly the ones who appear in the stories. Did you get any flack from first issue?
CBC: [laughs] No, it’s actually funny, because back when it first came out about a year ago, I didn’t really stay in touch with too many high school people. And the five people I sent it to, that I was still in touch with, loved it and they were blown away by it. And then, it’s just funny that recently we’ve started a high school mailing list and a high school blog. So about 85 other people are back in touch now. And I was really hesitant to post, because I’m just kind of embarrassed. I put myself out there like that, and I don’t mind doing it to strangers, but when it was people I know, people who lived through it with me, I got nervous. But I finally posted the cover and talked to the whole group about Wonderlost, and I’ve gotten a great response. I said I’d send it to anybody who wanted it. And out of all the girls in the issue now, I’ve talked to all of them except two. All the rest of them are pretty ecstatic about it. There wasn’t much flack at all.
NRAMA: OK, let’s talk about ChesterQuest. You went to a few conventions already?
CBC: I went to Toronto, San Diego, New York, Chicago. I think that’s been about it.
NRAMA: And how many artists have you seen in the search now?
CBC: With the people I reviewed there and the people who sent in submissions, I think we’ve had a little over 400 total, and we still have three months to go. And I’ve got 18 people who I think are ready at this point. Marvel’s going to be hiring 12, and I’ve still got three months to go, so I’m going to have to narrow down the field a bit. And I leave this week for the European leg of the tour. I’m going to be doing Europe and ending up in Dublin on the 15th, 16th and 17th for the Dublin Comic Con. I know the Italian contingent and English contingent seem to be eagerly awaiting my arrival. [laughs] I’ve been getting emails: “Where are you going to be? What time should I be there?” It isn’t all worked out yet, but I’m making all the stops.
NRAMA: For anyone who is reading about ChesterQuest for the first time, the information on how to submit artwork for consideration is on your ChesterQuest blog, right?
CBC: Yeah. It’s on the blog and they’re free to submit as many times or as much as they want, via mail or via email. And I guess a lot of people think the personal review and appearance in person will tip the scales in their favor, which is not necessarily true. That’s something I’ve been trying to reinforce with people. But you know, if they want to come out and meet me and see me, that’s fine with me.
NRAMA: You said you have 18 people who are kind of looking like finalists for the 12 spots. Does there have to be a cap on how many people will be chosen?
CBC: We started out saying 12. So there are definitely 12 guaranteed spots for pencillers. So once the talent search is over, we’re going to have to try to whittle it down to 12. But if there are more than 12 people that we feel are talented enough, then we’ll be more than happy to expand the parameters of the projects we were planning to put people on. The more talent we get the better.
NRAMA: We’ve gone over all the rules pretty extensively here on Newsarama, and everything people need to know is on your blog. But is there anything in particular you don’t think got communicated well enough that you want to reiterate?
CBC: No, I think we’ve done pretty good. People are reading the blog and sticking to it. They’re sending a good mix of sequential samples, including action shots as well as the talking head character moments. They’re sending in some great pin-ups. The cover artists have been fantastic as well. We’re getting a lot of really nice digitally submitted work — people who are really going above and beyond the expectations of what any of us thought we’d be getting.
NRAMA: So you’ve been surprised by quality you’ve seen, even among the pencillers?
CBC: Oh, very surprised. Everyone always says you go to conventions, and your odds aren’t very good of finding someone. You know, every now and then you’re going to get a gem that stands out and is going to be able to come and pencil a book. And I’ve been pretty lucky at shows in the past finding one or two people a year. But with ChesterQuest, we wanted to cast a wide net. I think it’s worked because we’ve found so much talent. People are coming out of the woodwork. We keep thinking, why haven’t we met these people before? [laughs] They obviously have been working independently or on their own or in different industries like video games or graphic design. And now we have this opportunity to open up some doors or turn over some rocks we hadn’t looked under previously.
One of the things that was even more surprising about ChesterQuest – we have these 12 spots that are open for pencillers to start in February, since the contest is open until January. But we found two people already who are just so good that when I submitted it to the editors, they said, “We need to hire these people now.” So there are already pencillers now that we found through ChesterQuest who are already working at Marvel.
NRAMA: Can you tell us their names?
CBC: I can’t. It’s an announcement that Marvel has to make. It coincides with one new project that will be announced, and another person is taking over a current title. So Marvel wants to announce it.
NRAMA: I guess that’s why you got the exclusive from Marvel, because you’re so good at finding new people? It sounds like they’ve learned to trust you because of the years you served as Marvel’s talent liaison.
CBC: Marvel was really great about supporting me on this crazy endeavor, backing me and saying they would give these people a home at Marvel if I think they’re good enough. And so far, it’s paid off in spades because there are two projects that are spinning out of it now where these guys are going to get work. And in the long run, it will benefit Marvel because hopefully we’re going to have these guys for long-term pencilling projects over the years.
NRAMA: You’ve really opened some doors for new talent. Speaking of opening up some doors, you mentioned before we started the interview that you had something to announce about some TV stuff you have going on?
CBC: Yeah. I like to keep my irons in every fire, but comics have always been my main love. It’s something I’m never going to leave. That’s just where my passion is. But a couple years ago I got the opportunity to move into video games a little bit. I was the co-writer and story consultant on Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, and I was the writer on Spider-Man: Battle for New York.
NRAMA: So when we get hung up on a certain scene on Ultimate Alliance, we can blame you?
CBC: Yep. You can blame me.
NRAMA: And you made some television contacts through video games?
CBC: Yeah, I made some contacts. In comics, we’re a bit secluded, in a way. We have our own little community of creators and fans. And getting out into video games opened me up to a different sector of the entertainment industry. And just going to panels or parties at different conventions and running into people, I was getting introduced to a different crowd of people. I met people in animation and TV and got my name out there.
It was earlier this year, probably at the beginning of this summer, that I got a call from some people at Spike TV. They’re working on a new project, and having just met one of the producers before, he thought my sensibility and my experience with comics and with Japan played in perfectly with a new show they were building from the ground up that they needed some outside input on. They flew me out to L.A. to meet with some of the other people from Spike TV and some of the producers, and it was just one of those great meetings of the minds where everything clicked between people. And the ideas kept coming and kept snowballing. And they were like, “Well, great! We want you to get on a plane and go to Tokyo because we have some producers and people over there that we want you to meet.” After that, everything just sped up a little and I got caught up in this whirlwind. Next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Tokyo. And was hired on board as a story consultant for this new Spike TV series that’s going to be debuting, I believe, next fall.
NRAMA: You can’t tell us what it’s called?
CBC: Not yet. It’s something that people have seen before that’s being animated for television.
NRAMA: And then, you had one of your comic book properties get some interest too, right?
CBC: Yeah. Getting into that medium was a different set of challenges for me. So based on the recommendations of friends, like Bendis and Brubaker and guys who have been there before, I got a manager and agent to walk me this, because I didn’t know anything about the financials and the contracts. And I was set up with David Engle at Circle of Confusion, who reps a lot of comic book guys to other entertainment media. And through him now, he’s been looking for other writing work and has been taking my properties and shopping them out there. And there has been some interest for Drain and some other animated stuff, but the one that seems to be going forward the most, which I can’t talk too much about, but there’s definite TV interest in serializing Wonderlost.
NRAMA: Wonderlost on TV: So now, wait a second. Do your high school friends know they might wind up as characters on TV?
CBC: [laughs] Well, after this interview, maybe they will!
But at first, it was tough, because Hollywood always wants a theme. And even though there’s an overall theme to each issue of Wonderlost, they’re kind of disparate adventures. So we came up with a through-line, and it’s almost along the lines of Curb Your Enthusiasm because it’s a guy who, if anything can go wrong, it does go wrong. So it’s that kind of story plus Dawson’s Creek/Superbad. The thing I want to keep in it is more of the graphic kind of sexual edge, and the network that is most interested seems to be the one that is more willing to do that.
NRAMA: Between you traveling for ChesterQuest and traveling for this TV work and writing your comics and working as an editor, do you just live on airplanes and at Marvel?
CBC: [laughs] It seems like it sometimes! But don’t tell my wife that.
NRAMA: But it must be exciting to get all this experience in various media.
CBC: Yeah, it’s pretty crazy but definitely exciting. It’s more than I ever expected, but I can’t complain.
By Vaneta Rogers
Comments
Got something to say?