Forget about the golden ticket for Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory because there's a hotter prospect in town: the ability to become a superhero. Mark Millar's The Ambassadors is a brand-new series from Millarworld that asks what would happen if someone discovered the super-genome and decided to pick the people who would receive the superpowers. For such an ambitious title, Millar has assembled an all-star creative team for each issue, with the first being helmed by superstar artist Frank Quitely.
CBR caught up with Millar and Quitely as they peeled back the curtain to discuss how they created this genre-pushing book and the amount of effort that went into getting the details right. Millar explained his specific reasoning for setting the story in South Korea, while Quitely disclosed how the collaborative process between the various artists worked. In addition, Millar and Quitely revealed whether or not they would accept superpowers if offered the opportunity.
CBR: The Ambassadors is billed as "the most ambitious comic book of all time." Please could you elaborate?
Mark Millar: Oh, my God. Where do I start? The Ambassadors took over four years to put together. I wanted to work with those guys who generally didn't have time to draw a monthly book. Guys like Travis [Charest] and Frank [Quitely], in particular, are just never going to do a run on a book, or even a six-issue arc is a remote possibility. But I love them and really wanted to work with them, so giving them a massive forty-plus month deadline for a single 27-page story increased my chances of getting them on a book, and I was delighted they were up for it.
Everyone wants to work with these guys, and Travis I've been after since the '90s. So there were a lot of crossed fingers there, and every page that came in was like a cheer from the office. The actual material, too, was the most difficult thing I've written as each issue takes place in a different country, and I had a lot of fact-checking done. Not just what happens in the issue set in India, for example, but how these characters would react with one another. I wanted everything to be as legit as possible and had so many friends in different countries read so many drafts of this. It was a huge undertaking, and I was constantly rethinking it. I designed it internally as a big comic and a big Netflix franchise, so it had to really hold water. Civil War is the only thing I've written that required this much checking.
Frank, you and Mark have worked together before on a few projects, such as Jupiter's Legacy. At this point, how does Mark pitch his ideas to you to get you on board, or is it almost a no-brainer when you see his name come up?
Frank Quitely: After our previous collaborations, it always seemed likely we'd work together again at some point, so Mark didn't have to do the hard sell to get me on board.
Frank, What appealed to you the most about The Ambassadors as a project?
Quitely: The fundamental premise of the story is intriguing, so I was eager to hear more as soon as Mark started telling me about it. Also, there was a long lead-in time and a relaxed deadline, so I knew I'd be able to spend as long as I wanted to make it work to my own satisfaction.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, you spent two years on your part of the project. What was the most challenging aspect of doing the book during this period?
Quitely: I didn't spend two years on it. I worked on it over a period of two years. That's quite a different thing. I had the luxury, for the first time in my career, of being able to work on it whenever I felt like it, so it was virtually stress-free.
Most superhero stories are about the "chosen one" trope, but this flips the script by allowing superheroes to be manufactured. How long did you have this idea for The Ambassadors, and why did you decide it was the right time to tell it?
Millar: I always try to think of something we haven't seen before -- a new twist on an old idea. I'm obsessed with Willy Wonka and always liked that global competition aspect, the idea that CEOs of hedge funds and school children in the first grade would be craving that golden ticket, everyone on the planet thinking of nothing [else]. I guess, as a fanboy, I always see things through a superhero prism and had this fantasy about someone offering superpowers to six deserving people. The ethical side of the Wonka story always really interested me. That notion that he was trying to refine the group down into the person who deserved it most. I wanted to do that here, too. It's not an accidental blast of radiation or finding a magic hammer. People are writing to this woman who's cracked the superpower mystery and saying it should be them. On a global scale, that presented lots of interesting stories.
Since multiple artists are working on the book, how was this approached from an art perspective? Did you all work independently, or were there any meetings to align ideas?
Quitely: Having other artists on the book was another thing that attracted me to the project. I'm in very good company. Each of the artists brings something different to the characters and locations they're depicting. Brendan McCarthy led the team that designed the characters, which helps give the whole thing a continuity, and allows each of us to concentrate on our own chapter. All of us are included in group emails where Mark shares choice pages from each artist to keep us up to date on how things are shaping up and to inspire some friendly competition.
The story takes place in South Korea, which is a nice change since most superhero stories seem to be about blowing up or saving the world in New York City. What was the specific reason for choosing Seoul apart from it being one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world?
Millar: Most superheroes are about the same age, same build, same hair, same zip code --the tri-state area -- and maybe being a guy from another country, I always like seeing them elsewhere. I wanted to do something that starts in America, and we think it's going in a particular direction, but we never see America again or a character even from America. I love America. It's the only place I ever wanted to work. But as a writer, I liked the challenge of setting this on the other side of the world as it felt different from anything else I'd read or written.
The tech in Korea [is] obviously a factor, given the woman, Choon-He Chung, who's assembled this team, but I also love the people as they're so into Kingsman. I think Kingsman: The Secret Service is still one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies in history there. The guys all had a rock star welcome when they toured for the sequel. I also love the BTS fandom and that K-pop world. Google what happened when the BTS Army helped one of my kids find her missing teddy bear in Finland. I'll love these guys forever.
The Willy Wonka comparison does pique curiosity. Much like the Chocolate Factory, there will be some people who dream of the opportunity of powers, while there will be others who'll do anything necessary to get them. What were some of the other considerations you had while writing this story?
Millar: That's exactly right. In Willy Wonka, some guys want their hands on the secrets, and that's exactly what we have here. This global competition has nothing to do with wealth or status -- and if you're super rich and can get the teeth or breasts you want by writing a cheque. A lot of people aren't happy about the balance of power shifting and ordinary Joes being able to fly.
Seeing the preview of Frank's artwork, there are crushed heads and intestines on display. I'm genuinely curious here from a scripting perspective: How do you convey to the artist the level of gore you want on the page, or do you let them go wild and see what they come back with?
Millar: I never really think about that, but we all know Mister Quitely loves his detail, so if there's a crushed head, you're going to see every single piece of brain tissue and skull soaked in vitreous humor and plasma. It's going to be disgusting. He's the greatest!
How did Netflix react when you pitched the idea for The Ambassadors? What can you tease about a potential adaptation for this project and the future of the Millarworld on Netflix?
Millar: Oh, it actually works the other way around. This isn't a comic to be adapted. It's a franchise I created as a movie with TV spinoffs which I've also done as a comic. It's quite confusing as all other comics start on paper and possibly get adapted into film. That's the way my company worked prior to selling it to Netflix. But now Netflix owns Millarworld, and when I die in 150 years, they will still own Millarworld like Disney owns Marvel. Everything created after 2017 was created as a franchise as I took on an internal executive job, and I create this stuff as live-action franchises. But I love comics, and for free, I make a lot of them into comics, too. I love doing comics and didn't want to disappear from the industry. Writing comics and working with the best artists in the world? Too much fun. I love having these beauties up on my shelf!
Hypothetically, if you had the opportunity to become a superhero like the people in The Ambassadors, what would be your choice?
Millar: I'm quite lazy and cowardly, so I'd choose stuff that just made my life convenient, I think, as opposed to something that helps me fight monsters or supervillains. Maybe the power to click the kettle on from upstairs or boil my porridge before I come down for breakfast. The stuff they wouldn't be impressed by when I applied for the Justice League.
Quitely: Mind reading would be very useful in most areas of life, but I don't know if my skin is thick enough to cope with the unvarnished truth of what people think of me. If I had to choose a power because I was expected to do superhero stuff, I'd probably go for super strength, invulnerability, or rapid healing. If it was just for personal use, I'd pick super speed.
As two creatives who have a history with superhero comics, what more would you like to see the genre do?
Miller: In superhero terms? I'd love to see all my favorite characters have a max of two books a month. Batman has about 200. It's mental. I don't know where to start. My dream is a really slimmed-down bunch of titles and the top talent on them. I'd be all over that.
Quitely: The Ambassadors has established artists telling stories about people from different countries getting access to superpowers. It would be interesting to see what new and aspiring artists would come up with by telling stories about people from their own town getting access to superpowers. As a fan, I'd love to see the variety of locations and cultures. From a practical point of view, each of the artists would be able to use their story as an example of their drawing and storytelling skills just as they would if they did sample pages using Batman or X-Men, but they'd actually own the material.
The Ambassadors #1 is out on Wednesday, March 29.