Phonogram is the memory of a long period in my life through a surprisingly small filter. Those characters are basically the golem who accompanied me on that decade and a half.
Kieron GillenTHE WICKED + THE DIVINE is unlike True Detective as: it features women who do things. THE WICKED + THE DIVINE is like True Detective as: we shamelessly rip off huge chunks of stuff from Alan Moore.
Kieron GillenIโve always thought that if comics are a part of pop culture [then] they should reflect pop culture, but a lot of the time comics, superhero comics especially, just feed on themselves. For me, comics should take from every bit of pop culture that they can; theyโve got the same DNA as music and film and TV and fashion and all of these things.
Kieron GillenMusic will save your life, but may leave you with a life not worth saving. The characters Phonogram tends to follow are extreme cases.
Kieron GillenSelf-publishing in comics is core to the whole artform. There is no scarlet letter in comics as there still is, to some degree, in prose. As no publisher for a long time would publish serious work in comics, the only way a lot of it came out was because of self-publishing. Many of the greatest works of the medium are self-published.
Kieron GillenPhonogram was explicitly about our world. Itโs a fantasy which is happening around us all, unnoticed except for those whoโve fallen into its world. In a real way, itโs real. Conversely, W+D is much more overt. The appearance of the gods changes the world, and has changed the world going back. Thereโs the strong implication that certain figures in our world simply didnโt exist in The Wicked And The Divineโs world, because they were replaced by a god.
Kieron GillenSelf-publishing is still my basic recommendation to anyone wanting to do comics. Do it. Do it until you get good. Do it after you get good. It's good for your spirit as a creator.
Kieron GillenDon't be ashamed of the creative urges which drive you. And certainly don't be ashamed of your ego. Hubris is only hubris when it fails. When Hubris pays off, we call these people geniuses.
Kieron GillenI've never had much attraction to writing fanfiction. I don't spend much time thinking about properties I don't own, as it's 'wasted' brain-cycles.
Kieron Gillen