Warren Ellis “Bored” by the Comic Business

Author Warren Ellis has said he is “bored” by the comic industry and that he finds the restrictions around writing for big, franchise characters frustrating. “You can’t mess around with franchise characters because there’s always a lot more money involved than you think,” he said, during a rare question and answer session at Kapow Comic-con in London.

When asked about whether he thought the comic business was in a good state, he replied, “I’ll give you a clue; I’m not really writing any comics at the moment.  I’m bored by the field in general.” He elaborated by saying he felt comic book stores didn’t want to stock independent comics, preferring Marvel and DC titles because they can offer them better rates.

On the topic of future projects, Ellis talked about his novel Gun Machine due out later this year.  The book follows a New York detective who investigates an apartment only to find a stash of guns, every one of which is linked to a different unsolved murder in Manhattan.  In accidentally reopening the biggest cold case in history, detective John Tallow’s life gets very difficult very fast.

Ellis also shared the story he plans to pursue further down the line, musing, “I’ve been wanting to do something about the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, but it’s finding the time… maybe next year.” The legendary author expressed a desire to cut back on work too, though.  He explained his aspiration was, “to work less and get paid more, or work on bigger projects but fewer of them.  I’ve been talking to people about TV but the challenge is always finding someone to fund your next crazy item.  It’s an art form, but these are also businesses; commerce will always rear its head.”

Ellis was quick to clarify that he doesn’t think TV is a better place to be than comics, stating, “British TV is in a very bad state and the worst that I can remember.  When American TV looks like it is in a better condition than British TV, you know something is wrong.”

He rounded up the session by confirming fan fears that no Spider Jerusalem film is in the works, but said that his project with Joss Whedon, Wastelanders, is due to start up again imminently now The Avengers is out the way.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/20/warren-ellis-bored-by-the-comic-business