The elements of Warren Ellis' script for Desolation Jones #1 that are most apparent are trust and respect. Ellis trusts J.H. Williams III enough to move quickly through his descriptions, leaving much of the interpretation open to Williams III. I have read Ellis' scripts for other artists and I can attest that he writes to suit the level of artistic experience he is working with. Williams III has worked with Howard Chaykin, Greg Rucka, Grant Morrison, and even Alan Moore -- he hardly needs to be coddled.
Ellis obviously has a very distinct version of our world in mind throughout this story, yet he leaves so many visual cues up to Williams III to decide. A more controlling writer would spend pages agonizing over the details of the world he has imagined in his head, but Ellis acknowledges that this comic is a collaboration. He takes time to lay out plot-specific details, such as the titular character's key visual traits, settings that impact the story, and background props that come into play, but he trusts Williams III to figure out how to bend perspective, have a road melt into a map, and design tools for the hunt of living steak. If Ellis envisions a panel where a character's profile mirrors that of an x-ray, he includes the description; if he needs a character to seem a bit paranoid and troubled, he knows that Williams III can depict that without much guidance. I'm sure, however, that Ellis' scripts were not always like this. His writing style now speaks with a confident voice, that of a scripter who knows his artist's capabilities and focuses instead on dialogue and plotting. When he first began working for 2000 AD with a host of talented but unseasoned artists, I am sure he overwrote a bit to make sure that his ideas were carried across. Did he ever hit Mooresque heights of script detail and control? I'm not sure, but I am glad that he has been able to hone his craft down to its most essential parts. Not only is he going to increase his own effeciency, he is going to constantly challenge and improve the quality of his artists. Especially when he is writing about Hitler porn.
You bring up a good point about the realism in Batman's story, from his origins to the city that he inhabits. I think Batman was always one of my favorite super heroes because he isn't necessarily "super" the way, say, Superman is. The ordinariness (well... "ordinary" meaning it is possible for someone to inherit a huge company and be fabulously rich) of his origin and the circumstances that allowed Bruce Wayne to become Batman certainly grounds his story in a way that the Green Lantern's is not.
ReplyDeleteI think you meant to post on my most recent entry, but thanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteStephen,
ReplyDeleteGood points concerning Ellis trust with his artists. I am interested to know when or with which comic Ellis had creative control so that "he" could choose the artists he wanted?
Thanks for highlight J.H. Williams III work. I have spent some time today looking up his visual style with other comics.
Cynthia