Folks, there's no hiding the fact that I'm pretty full of myself. But it's hard not to be when you're this awesome. However, I can't even compare to the levels of notoriety and "Pay attention to me!" style that Mark Millar exhumes.
Quick background. Mark Millar used to write for DC Comics. He worked with Grant Morrison on the Flash, and basically built his career before jumping over to Marvel. At Marvel, he worked on the Ultimates, and Ultimate X-men which jettisoned his life into one of the top-tier comic creators.
Then Mark Millar went crazy. (In terms of production, of course, no slander or libel to see here folks!)
He created "Millarworld" a series of comics all written by him for different comic companies. This led to the creation of "Wanted" (which eventually led to a movie). From there Millar would write "Enemy of the State," a Wolverine story, the beginning of "Marvel Knights Spider-Man," and took writing duties on one of the largest events in comics history, "Civil War."
From there, Mark Millar went even more crazy. (Again in terms of productivity of movies and hype, so still no libel or slander. Attorneys put your phones down!)
Apparently Millar loves Superman, and has always wanted to either write/direct/be involved in the Superman movie. The full story can be seen here, but it's basically just on-and-off accounts of the fact that he will be involved in whatever the next Superman movie may be.
There's been no proof of it from anyone but him. He literally just went to message boards on his website and announced his involvement (on a 1-10 hype meter, that's about a 7.5).
Then came "Kick-Ass." Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s comic was already adapted into a movie well before it was completely done publishing, and hadn't even been picked up by a studio. They screened clips for it at Comic-Con two years ago, and the audience reaction created enough buzz that it got picked up for distribution. Again this is a case where Millar had nothing but the sound of his voice, and turned it into an event (hype meter: 8).
Next came "Nemesis." Nemesis is a four-issue mini-series that (of course) still hasn't finished coming out yet. Originally Millar announced that his comic had a billboard in Times Square even though only the first issue had come out. If you scroll down that article you'll see it was all a complete crock. This time Millar's hype was also mixed with fabrication, so I think it's about a 9-9.5 on the hype meter.
As I've said, Nemesis isn't even done yet. Millar has already managed to get a movie deal with it, and attracted a fairly high profile director to work on it.
Mark Millar is the epitome of hype and the success that can come with it. By just putting his voice out there and proclaiming all the things he's doing and has been doing, Millar has created an empire.
Right now he's created a "rejuvenation of the magazine market," has his next big comic "Superior" slated to begin, and is already hyping the sequel to Kick-Ass.
And the best part of it all? "Wanted," "Kick-Ass," "Nemesis" and "Superior" are all creator-owned projects. That means that nobody except Millar and the artists he works with are making money off the property. Everything that's sold to the studios goes straight to their pockets.
Millar is above and beyond hype, he is a public relations genius. (When all the Cronkite kids start taking "Hype like Millar 205," you'll know why.)
In the mean time, I'm going to be writing the next Batman movie. I have two comics David Fincher wants to direct. And Anne Hathaway and I are engaged. Spread the word!
Comic books are everywhere, and you don’t even realize it. Movies like “A History of Violence,” bands like Fall Out Boy, and television shows like “Lost” have all had some influence from comic books. Non-Required Reading is here to explain all the links between comics and pop culture that you might not even know about. Expect reviews, opinions, ideas, recommendations and more every Sunday! Any ideas for what you want to see? Contact me at djacka@asu.edu.
