By News Editor
March 5, 2013 - 10:37
Friday night, Image Comics hosted a Emerald City Comicon panel entitled Putting
the 'Graphic' in Graphic Novels. Image publisher Eric Stephenson moderated
the discussion among creators Fiona Staples (Saga), Matt Fraction (Sex
Criminals), Howard Chaykin (Black Kiss 2), Joe Casey (Sex)
and Brandon Graham (Multiple Warheads).
Chaykin kicked things off, discussing his controversial smut-classic Black
Kiss, and the 2012 sequel that has already been banned in Canada and the
UK. He explained his work is intended to entertain no one other than himself.
He said his only obligation is to the material, and he doesn’t care what anyone
else thinks of his work.
Fraction commented that trying to appeal to the expectations or demands of the
audience invalidates the writing. Fraction and Chaykin are slated to
collaborate on Satellite Sam, a noir story featuring alcoholics and
trangressive sex set in the golden age of television.
Fraction also discussed Sex Criminals, his upcoming sex comedy with Chip
Zdarsky. It is the story of two lovers who have the power to freeze in time
when they get intimate.
The creators reflected on the weirdness of their jobs. Brandon Graham, known
for spearheading the Prophet revival, as well as King City and Multiple
Warheads, talked about his early career working on porn comics.
Casey was up next, whose appearance at Emerald City was tied to his new Image
release, Sex, which he described as described as "50 Shades of
Gray meets Batman." It follows a super-hero whose mentor dies,
leading him to hang up his costume
Joe Casey equated super-hero comics and pornography, saying that they share the
same formula, which he described as a rise of action into a climactic moment.
He went on to compare the difference to porn and comics, saying in porn movies
there’s not much of a plot, and it’s just an excuse for sex.