Acclaimed comic book writer Christopher Priest is teaming up with Heavy Metal Executive Editor Joseph Illidge for the new comic book series Entropy. Linked to the wider Heavy Metal multiverse, Entropy introduces Henry Hanks, an unassuming family man who is horrifically transformed into the new herald for Kako, the cosmic nemesis of Heavy Metal's iconic hero Taarna. Drawn by Montos, the debut issue of Entropy is on sale now, with a prelude short story set to be published in Heavy Metal Magazine #318 this August.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Priest and Illidge shared the origins of Entropy, explained what the cosmic badass brings to the Heavy Metal multiverse, and teased the unrestrained unpredictability that powers the story forward. Also included is a sneak peek at the Entropy prelude in Heavy Metal Magazine #318, written by Priest, drawn by Montos, colored by Chris Sotomayor, lettered by Willie Schubert, and edited by Illidge.
What are the creative origins of Entropy and its characters?
Christopher Priest: Heavy Metal had already developed a concept for expanding and redefining a shared creative space populated by characters from their magazines and films. What they needed was a bad guy. I'm not sure I gave them a bad guy per se. I think [that] Joseph and I designed more of an asshole who ends up doing bad things. Not sure that makes him a "villain" per se.
It was Joseph who latched onto the notion of power making you more of what you already are. Our science fiction-fantasy story is not a new concept but a unique expression of the idea of looking macroscopically into the life of an ordinary person and finding a metastasis of moral imperfection. Henry Hanks is tried and convicted of failure to be a god, his mortal flaws becoming amplified to a frightening degree; we explore the consequences of that experience.
Joseph Illidge: Based on a discussion I had with Heavy Metal's CEO Matthew Medney and our CCO David Erwin, it was time to do a deep dive into the idea of a being who serves as the herald for chaos. Notice I didn't say "evil" because chaos is a natural force in our lives and at the underpinning of everything.
Once Priest came on board, he and I talked a great deal about answering the question of what really happens when you give a normal person extraordinary power. As a society with a heavy diet of superhero fiction in various media. We're hardwired to believe that a core morality will win out over the temptation to expand one's own power selfishly. Entropy is a more naturalistic answer to the question, both as a series and as a phenomenon, as you'll learn the further you dive into the story.
Right from the prelude, it's clear that Entropy takes place in Taarna's world. What did you want to add to this shared universe with these characters and their experiences?
Priest: Rather than just Taarna's world, Entropy is set in Heavy Metal's multiverse, called "Universes-Speculum": nine realms linked together and one rogue universe that doesn't play well with others. Entropy is a mortal chosen by this universe to be its latest avatar -- what we are calling "Crusaders." Entropy has no idea who or what Taarna is, but someday he is likely to find out!
Illidge: Exactly! The story of Entropy is the starting point for taking the P.O.V. of Taarna's universe and pulling back the distance of light years to see the view of a group of universes. Readers will begin to learn how cosmic ecosystems relate to one another, for better or worse.
We meet Henry on the first day of the rest of his life. How important is it for readers to get a taste of who he was before the story began?
Priest: Well, we need to get to understand who Entropy is. The shape and form of our bodies represent us to the world, but it really is just the container we ride around in from cradle to grave. People tend to judge us by these containers, which is really stupid because who we are in reality is the ethereal being represented by our consciousness.
Endowed with unthinkable power, Entropy is, nonetheless, still Henry -- this everyman mail carrier with a mortgage and a dog and a precocious little girl who adores him. So it is important for the reader to begin with the familiar before this ordinary man suffers a transformative experience.
Illidge: One of the funny things about Entropy, and I mean this in a twisted way, is that we dispense with the idea that people are able to process sudden, profound change. Henry's life goes from being normal to disturbing to mind-breaking really quickly, in about as much time as it takes to eat lunch. It's scary and painful and confusing, and we want you to experience that when you read the first issue.
You've both worked together before Entropy. What is your collaborative process like, and how has that informed Entropy?
Priest: Oh, I think we have each other's dance moves down pretty good by now. Joseph knows the math on my plusses and minuses, rather than having to initiate a learning curve. I've gotten to know Joseph pretty well, and it helps take some of the sting out of the hill climb of universe-building.
Illidge: Priest and I have a shorthand which we've developed through years of trust. We have the same high standards of story and the common goal of creating compelling character journeys that fly in the face of what is usually seen. We push each other outside of our comfort zones, which is how you get to the most interesting stories and memorable characters.
The great thing about doing this for Heavy Metal is that we're free of the conditions that come with legacy characters. We're building the mystery of Entropy from the ground up, and the readers who go all the way to the end of Entropy will be compelled to revisit the first page of Issue #1.
How has it been working with Montos, Bryan Valenza, and Willie Schubert on this story?
Priest: Willie is my voice. He letters everything I do. He has a unique style that I love a lot and, much like Joseph, Willie and I have our dance moves down cold. You just get used to your crew. Bryan is our music, our score. In comics, a colorist will put the work over the finish line or torpedo it. While I am persuaded that letterers are truly the unsung heroes of comics, colorists are just as much so. They are almost always our clutch players.
Montos will be the only person anyone will be talking about once this series is done. An amazingly gifted young artist, I'm confident Entropy will be his breakout work -- a guy we won't be able to afford next year. I could go on, but I'm confident [that] his work will speak for itself. This is a jaw-dropping, epic debut of an incredibly gifted talent.
My writing is only as good as my artist. After all, I am not telling you a story, I am telling my artist a story, and my artist is telling you the story. It's a game of telephone, and my work is ultimately judged by what Joseph does with it, by the resources he marshals, and how he pulls the team together. This has been a blast to work on -- great fun with a wonderful team.
Illidge: One of the best rules of editing comics, and doing good business in general, is to pick the best people and get out of their way. Everyone on Team Entropy has gone back and done revisions of their work in order to aspire for higher. You'll see the collaboration on every page and it just meshes better issue after issue.
I have to give a shout-out to our main cover artist Björn Barends who is a real thinker and has done things with his textures and use of color that surprised us all in good ways. The man is telling a story with these covers. Antonio Fuso is going to gain new fans with his retailer incentive covers, as well! I think even Vince Gilligan would be pleased, as they pay homage to Breaking Bad's marketing.
What else can you tease for readers about Entropy?
Priest: There will be no guard rails. There will be no lunch boxes. I was trained to be protective of the characters I write because of all those lunch boxes and pencil cases and all that at stake. It's difficult to do any real damage with most characters because of the value of the IP and corporate oversight.
Entropy has no such rules. Heavy Metal, as a franchise, is adult fare for an adult audience, and readers have become a lot more sophisticated over the past decade or so, post Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, and Kingdom Come, Mark Waid's dark parable for our industry. I think the audience for Heavy Metal is ready for something wildly experimental with no guard rails or "instant reset" buttons.
As a narrative, Entropy is completely unpredictable. There is vulgar language, sexuality, and an utter disregard for the noisy and utterly stupid culture wars of our age. It is not careful -- there is absolutely no effort made to appease anyone at all. And that's kind of the point: a look at the human condition from several billion light-years away. Where Entropy is offended by an alien uttering the N-Word, only to be berated by the alien for his stupidity in assuming those syllables have the same meaning to a highly advanced species incapable of even grasping the concept of racism.
If there is a theme running through our series, it is [that] we are such idiots here, on this wonderful planet, to be constantly at each other's throats over petty things. To not revel in the beauty of creation and develop real tolerance for each others' way of life marks us as an incredibly immature species. Now imagine giving one of us the power of a god. I'm confident Entropy is the wildest ride I've been on as a writer to date, as unsafe and as volatile an adventure as one might imagine. As cliché as it sounds, expect the unexpected.
Illidge: I think that just about says it! We're going to blow things up, make people uncomfortable, and tell the best, tight story about humanity and absolute power that we can in 110-plus pages!
Entropy #1 is on sale now, and the Entropy prelude short story in Heavy Metal Magazine #318 will go on sale on Aug. 24.