As one of the most interesting projects of the year, Forty-Five has gotten quite the buzz going for itself. After being named one of Wizard’s most anticipated things of 2009 (yes, it’s a bit behind schedule), we interviewed writer/creator Andi Ewington (read our interview with Andi Ewington) and he filled us in a bit on the project. With the idea stemming from his own dealings with becoming a first time father, Ewington came up with the premise of Forty-Five; an expectant father in a world full of superheroes interviews a wide cast of characters to prepare for the scenario that his child is born with the “Super-S” gene.
As clever as an idea as it is, we’ve of course seen plays on the superhero archetype plenty of times before, so it was in the creative twist of Com.x’s project that attracted my intrigue. Forty five pages of comic featuring forty five different artists - ranging from Jock to Sean Phillips to Liam Sharp and beyond - is certainly a first, but it was the fact that each artist only received the transcript of the main character’s interview with his subjects.
Without any “stage direction” given to the artists, what results is varying degrees of success with their one image. Some artists render a typical graphical narrative with panels and a familiar structure, but the standout pieces come when the artist creates an interpretive work of art instead. My favorite example comes earlier in the book when James, the main character, is interviewing a French Super-S named Katrin Dupuis. The artist creates an image of Katrin that is beautifully interpretive (seen below), as opposed to artists that take Ewington’s words in the literal sense and create a typical comic book page. If anything, Forty-Five is about the atypical and this page exemplifies the potential of the project by taking advantage of the collaborative nature that Ewington provides.
That said, the real meat of Forty-Five lies in the transcripts. It’s here that Ewington shows off his penchant for character and world building through only dialog. Typically, I guess that’d be an accusation of exposition, but since the entire book is told through a series of transcriptions, Ewington uses the separate interviews to construct a series of ideas that ultimately paint a picture of the world these characters live in.
The best example of Ewington’s talent in this regard is his slow-burn construction of what the reader can only assume is a shady government operation known as XoDOS, whom the interviewees play up as saviors of their lifestyles, but through the careful tone of James’ questions Ewington implies that there is more to the picture here. The building of a conspiracy is a careful one, tactfully done through the right choice of words and questions.
More exciting about this project is the opportunities it opens up for Ewington. He's already been discussing 45+1, but in general, for a comics debut this book is definitely one hell of a start. Between his immense talent for giving characters individuality and the universe he's created in Forty-Five, publisher Com.x might have a unique superhero franchise on their hands, and that's not a task easily accomplished.
