I was especially interested in modernist architecture and industrial design so that really opened up the 1939 Worlds Fair vision of the coming century. PWCW: Give us a 'Director’s Cut' behind-the-scenes take on how the original concept and visual designs for Mister X initially came about.ĭM: Initially I was trying to create a combination of the films Metropolis, The Third Man, Alphaville and The Maltese Falcon. They remain my model of comics for non-comics readers. I look to Will Eisner's The Spirit tales as the zenith of the medium. Having said all that I try to do it somewhat tongue-in-cheek so we don't get too grim. And I try to work with archetypes that readers instinctively understand. It's about obsession, desperation, deception, damnation, redemption. PWCW: Why might Mister X appeal to people who don’t typically read comic books?ĭM: I could say because it is a mystery book and not heroic fantasy/adventure, but I'm not sure that's accurate. All the while his ex-girlfriend struggles with her feelings for him. He is cursed with an addiction to a drug which keeps him awake 24 hours a day. Mister X is one of the creators of the city, who has returned from exile to repair the city and in doing so goes up against a corrupt government, the mob and other antagonists. It concerns a city, designed to be a utopia, but its subliminal design flaws are driving its citizenry insane. PWCW: How might you describe Mister X to someone who may have yet to read the original series?ĭM: It is a noir tale set in the futuristic present as envisioned in 1939. And I appreciate the way they treated auteur-driven books like The Goon and Hellboy. I have worked with Dark Horse over the years- some Star Wars stories, Grendel, the 9/11 book. We feel that this book would provide enough visibility for the character to have a chance to relaunch. Dark Horse's production staff did a beautiful job. This edition has much larger reproductions, painstakingly restored. It meant there was a place for a proper collection. The 'bricks' (hardbound archives) were doing well in the book chains at the time, and the previous collections by the now defunct ibooks were flawed by inferior scans of the original comics and mistakes in the pagination. I wanted to launch a new series, but Diana and I both thought an archive edition would be a good way to re-establish the franchise. How did the collection come about, and what led you to publish this material with Dark Horse?ĭean Motter: It was actually the result of a conversation with Diana Schutz at Dark Horse. PWCW: The Archives edition looks gorgeous.

Mister x