Hivemind (the tag team of comics writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly) haven’t released a creator-owned title in some eight years. (As you’ll likely have already guessed, they’ve clearly been busy.) But now the duo — alongside artist Eamon Winkle — are set to release The Principles of Necromancy, one of two launch titles for the brand-new Magma Comix.
In The Principles of Necromancy, we bare witness to the “glorious and gut-wrenching work of Doctor Jakob Eyes, the world’s first necromancer.” So, while the City King has delivered “an age of reason and medicine” by banishing the barbarian hordes, Doctor Eyes spends his time in the forest trying to defeat death itself. If you know Hivemind’s work, then you’ll know this is going to be a doubly inventive, wholly unflinching story about that the thing that unites all of humanity (and it ain’t taxes).
The Principles of Necromancy #1 doesn’t arrive until April 3. (The final order cutoff should be March 11.) In the meantime, both Lanzing and Kelly were kind enough to answer a few of our questions via email. That includes coming back to creator-owned work, their interest in death and necromancy, and drawing on fantasy titles a la Conan.
Jackson Lanzing (L) and Collin Kelly (R).
AIPT: I feel like the Hivemind has had some big hits as of late with the excellent Outsiders and Guardians of the Galaxy titles. Does that provide a kind of “momentum” going into a project like this? Or is every new book a little terrifying/nerve-racking?
Jackson Lanzing: Yeah, it’s been a hell of a year. A lot of dream projects in the mix for us all at once… but this one’s special.
Collin Kelly: “Momentum” is a really interesting way of thinking about it; while it may be only in the last few years that readers might have heard of us – thanks to those titles, but also Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, Batman Beyond: Neo-Year, and Star Trek over at IDW — Jackson and I have been working together for over 15 years. Our career has been nothing but momentum, in that we’re always pushing each other to tell the best possible stories, no matter the medium, license or publisher. Now, is a new book nerve-racking — yes! Always. But that’s effectively a requirement of the job – being nervous about your work is a hallmark of caring about your work; if you don’t care enough to be nervous, why should anyone care enough to give it a chance?
JL: The Principles of Necromancy is something very new from us. The kind of thing we’ve been working up to for a long damn time – and every book we’ve done in the spotlight of the Marvel, DC, and Star Trek universes has provided us an opportunity to turn eyes towards the strange, the dark, and the unexpected. Not to mention the incredible art of Eamon Winkle, who is going to absolutely blow people away with his dark imaginings.
Main cover by Eamon Winkle. Courtesy of Magma Comix.
AIPT: Similarly, this is a return to creator-owned books after some 7-8 years. Why do those remain important or interesting despite your successes at the Big Two?
JL: Creator-owned comics are the medium’s greatest gift — a place to spread your creative wings well beyond the scope normally demanded by Big Two comics and find an audience who can enjoy it directly. I liken it to opening a pop-up restaurant, even if you have a successful commercial spot — or doing a cool side project once you have a hit album. It’s how you keep your mind fresh and your voice vital. It’s how you make sure there’s more weird creativity left to bring back to those shared universes… and how you assure there are more stories to tell beyond those places. Stories that aren’t owned by giant corporations, but by those who do the labor.
AIPT: What’s the elevator pitch for The Principles of Necromancy?
CK: It’s the strange and terrible story of the world’s first necromancer. Set in a fantasy universe bereft of magic – where medical doctors are the closest thing that exists to wizards – The Principles of Necromancy follows Doctor Jakob Eyes, the youngest doctor of the august City Hospital. The ambitious Dr. Eyes isn’t satisfied simply to cure the sick – no, he has set his sights much higher: he is going to cure death itself. Beginning at the edges of civilization, and slowly heading towards the court of the City King, each issue will follow Dr. Eyes’ evolving practice as he pioneers the macabre techniques that will change his world forever…and rewrite the rules of life itself.
JL: We liken the storytelling to the master, Mike Mignola. Every issue is modular — telling a single story from a new perspective that finds itself forever changed by the intervention of Dr. Eyes. It allows us to really experiment with form and tone – in a similar way, I suppose, to Outsiders – but with our protagonist always operating at a remove from the audience. We are seeing Eyes through the world, not the other way around… and as a result, each issue gives us a deeper look into his strange, terrible mind.
Variant cover by Jana Heidersdorf. Courtesy of Magma Comix.
AIPT: In some press materials, you described this book as coming from a “mutual hunger to tell a fantasy narrative.” What about this genre/approach is interesting? And is it still essential given that I think there’s been a kind of renaissance in the last few years surrounding just a slew of fantasy titles?
JL: So, as a partnership, Collin and I really like to make sure we’re always listening to the other guy and always opening new territory for our mutual style to evolve and advance. We’ve done a ton of science fiction lately — Guardians, Trek, Outsiders, heck even our original creator-owned (Joyride) was — so there’s been a bit of an itch to move out of the tropes of that genre and start poking around new territory. With WIFWULF, which also releases in April from Vault, we learned how much we loved writing at the intersection of fantasy and horror – so this felt like a really exciting place to explore exactly how far we could push that feeling.
Plus, anyone who knows Collin knows my bro loves a sword. Gotta let this guy write a damn sword sometime.
AIPT: You also referenced inspiration from titles like Conan and Berserk. What about those titles spoke to the two of you (the last one, especially, never gets enough love IMHO)?
CK: In terms of the Conan of it all, fantasy narrative has an overwhelming preponderance of hyper-masculine, sword slinging heroes; growing up, that’s pretty much all I read (who am I kidding, it’s most of my reading list now). But in reality, the massive swing of a sword rarely solves a problem; much better to use a scalpel. In Necromancy, we have the opportunity to tell a story that celebrates intelligence over violence… while also highlighting how isolating that intelligence can be. And how, in isolation, human empathy is one of the easiest things to cut away…
JL: The worldbuilding and inherent tragedy of Berserk is beyond inspiring. Especially as we essay a fantasy world built on post-medieval concepts like cities and hospitals, that strange mash-up that was Kentaro Miura’s imagination has been a constant reminder that we can push further than we think. Sitting on the tropes isn’t enough. We need to feel uncomfortable. We need to be creeping ourselves out.
Incentive cover by Darick Robertson. Courtesy of Magma Comix.
AIPT: Why the interest in necromancy? I’ve always thought of it as this representation for the foolish bravado of man and how we have to learn certain lessons (like death’s inevitability) the very hard way.
CK: I think your thoughts and ours are in very close alignment, with one critical difference: it’s not foolish if it works. To us, the journey of Dr. Eyes is one of bravado, yes, but it is the bravado of attempting something new – he is an innovator in his field, the Vivaldi of viscera, the Gaudi of guts. Is he twisted? Oh, absolutely. But that doesn’t mean he’s wrong.
AIPT: You also make mention of the “strange figure that a doctor cuts in our own lives — that help you hope you never need.” Can you touch on that little more? And are medically-related fears something extra relevant for Americans and our bummy healthcare system?
JL: Who doesn’t fear going to the doctor? It’s a place where so many of our anxieties live — the person in your life who spells doom, even as they attempt to save you from it. Those anxieties mask a deep horror… but also a deep trust. What happens when the doctor isn’t as interested in healing you as finishing their great work? What happens when the doctor isn’t healing the illness… but the human condition itself?
CK: This isn’t a story about the absolutely broken American healthcare industry; this is the story of one man, daring to do something impossible. However, if in daring that dream, his actions threaten to topple a cruel medical system that treats wellness as a privilege and not a right… well, those are just the doctor’s orders.
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