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GRANT MORRISON TALKS SEAGUY
by Matt Brady (Newsarama)
Later this month, Grant Morrison invites readers to his
newest world, that of Seaguy. Illustrated by Cameron Stewart,
the three issue miniseries is at the same time, new-school
Morrison in terms of its wild ideas, but at the same time,
it’s old school as well thanks to its inherent…sweetness
and gentleness. And it’s got a talking tuna fish.
The really quick skinny – Seaguy is an un…er,
underemployed superhero in a world where the bad guys have
been defeated, and there’s no real battle left to fight.
The world is peaceful, if not slipping into a state of lethargy
and torpor. With no real ‘bad guy’ to keep heroes
on their toes, no one’s really noticed how Mickey Eye
is everywhere, and there’s this new food product called…Xoo
everywhere.
We spoke with Morrison about the miniseries.
Newsarama: Starting at the ground level – how do you
describe this book? A simple ‘superhero with nothing
to do’ tale, or the examination of man’s inhumanity
to man told through iconography we’re all familiar
with…or something like that?
Grant Morrison: A bit of both, as usual. the story started
out as a kind of palate-cleansing exercise - after the heavy,
'realistic' approach of the Marvel stuff, I wanted to do
something surreal and whimsical, in the vein of my Doom
Patrol stories again - an ocean-going picaresque adventure, you
might say.
Then I had the idea to develop Seaguy into a weapon I could
use to fight back against the trendy and unconvincing 'bad-ass'
cyncism of current comics, most of which are produced by
the most un-'bad-ass' men you can possibly imagine. In the
current climate, it seemed like an act of rebellion to deliberately
create 'the new sentimentality' and produce work that was
almost embarrassingly dripping with tender and awkward feelings.
There's a strange kind of Edwardian vibe hitting the world
right now - a kind of slowing down, a promenading feel as
people rebel against manufactured 'cool'. Seaguy can be seen
as art at the vanguard of this new attitude.
As the story progressed and took on a life of its own, it
soon became clear that it was really about the 'big brothering'
of society, omnipresent surveillance and global disinformation.
It’s about the dumbing down of culture, the creation
of capitalist 'comfort zones' in the midst of social decay,
about a world tranquillized and satisfied and quite unaware
of the dark glue that holds it all together.
…and talking tuna fish.
NRAMA: With all that said, where did Seaguy come from? Where
there any particular seeds that grew into the original version – the ‘new
sentimentality’ version?
GM: Kristan came up with the name ‘Seaguy’ as
some throwaway remark on bad superhero names and within seconds,
this character was clamoring to be heard in my head. He just
writes himself.
I've also wanted to do a modern Sinbad or Jason and the
Argonauts type story, of a magical sea voyage for some time.
My last attempt was the rejected Authority graphic novel
pitch, “Hard,” featuring an all-gay Authority ten years in the future and a mad journey into the Bleed
reefs to return the Carrier's 'baby universe' engine - now
an unruly teenage universe - to the cosmic spawning grounds
where it can get laid without destroying the world...
I've been looking back at stuff like Don Quixote and Candide
for the atmosphere of Seaguy. The poetry of Wilfrid Owen.
Medieval symbolism - Chubby da Choona stands in for the ‘questing
beast' of the Grail romances, Seaguy is Sir Perceval.
Otherwise, it's pure comics in a 'silver age gone wrong'
kind of way.
There are a lot of ways to look at this stuff once you've
gone past the surface but it's more important to me that
an eight-year old kid can still enjoy Seaguy as a darkly
ridiculous Seventh Voyage-type story, with Ray Harryhausen
monsters walking on tiptoe.
NRAMA: Along that line of being many things to many people,
the story starts out with Seaguy literally cheating death,
has a bearded woman who won’t return Seaguy’s
attention, a conspiracy with walking eyeballs, and a protoplasmic
Xoo creature.
Given that it’s coming from you, things can be seen
in a couple of ways… So – is this just book just
a lark for you – your own personal Spongebob/Squarepants,
or are you exploring mortality, gender stereotypes, the illuminati
with legs, and sperm from space?
GM: It started out as a lark and it still has plenty of
larkish elements, like octopus shepherds and moon mummies
but, you know...everything you write is a way of expressing
your feelings and I was dealing with a lot of death and misery
last year, which turned into bittersweet surrealist comedy
when filtered through Seaguy. I break down in tears every
time I read issue #2 and I hope everyone else will too, in
spite of themselves...
NRAMA: But is that ever a concern for you, that you’re
seen most often as Grant (The Invisibles) Morrison, the guy
with mad crazy ideas dripping off of every page so much that
you can’t be Grant Morrison, the guy writing about
a goofy guy with a scuba mask and talking pet fish?
GM: I can no longer care how people ‘see’ me
or I'd go mad - the public image comics readers have twisted
into place around me is so bizarre and so severely distorted
that it no longer matters what I actually say or do to affect
it - so now I just do the stories I want and hope that my
dedicated readers are willing to follow me on the next jaunt
into the unknown.
NRAMA: Well then, metaphysical and self-analysis aside,
explain the world that Seaguy lives in. There were superheroes
at one time, but they won, and now the world is at peace,
with no major villains or battles. What is a costumed hero
to do?
GM: The idea is that ten years before the events in Seaguy,
there was a final 'Crisis' type battle against the massed
forces of evil. Evil was vanquished and the world was made
'perfect'. There are no wars, no fights, no want, no poverty...and
nothing much to do. The super-heroes now sit around aimlessly,
or ride on fairground attractions as a substitute for the
thrill of flying...
NRAMA: That battle was against the…as you named him,
the ‘Anti-dad?’
GM: Right. It was the final battle against evil. Anti-dad
was the prime focus and embodiment of all 'evil' energy in
the universe. Then he was defeated and killed by the super-heroes.
…or was he?
NRAMA: Okay, so tease things out a little – international
corporations are symbolized by ‘Mickey Eye’ who’s
also behind the Xoo conspiracy; the moon is made out of bricks,
and the world’s only hope is Seaguy? Where should we
send flowers?
GM: To an organization known as the new International Center
for Economics, which will ensure that your flowers are properly
disposed of.
It's not so much that there are conspiracies in Seaguy's
world; it's more like our own world in the sense that the
'conspiracies' are out in the open but everyone's so content
no-one cares enough about anything to make a difference.
NRAMA: So with what you’ve said about wanting Seaguy to be enjoyable both by adults and eight year olds; and DC
calling We3 a “heartbreaking tale,” is this the
return of the sweet and gentle Grant Morrison?
GM: My work’s always been sweet and gentle – it’s
about animals and losers and hapless dreamers. I dedicated
twenty years of my life to the welfare of six abandoned cats
and I give my money to numerous charities and causes. I’m
from Glasgow; land of the sentimental hardman. I can nurture
to Olympic standard.
NRAMA: Fair enough. Wrapping up then, with this mini, a
little moreso than your other more recent works, Seaguy seems
easily, if not instantly adaptable to other media. Was that
something you had in mind for it, or if other media comes
knocking, it comes knocking, but you’re not waiting?
GM: It wasn't intentional - I just wanted to do a good,
mad comic story to counter the prevailing trend of 'realistic'
street-level books. I'm already working as a Hollywood screenwriter
so I’m really not into making my comic books any more
like movies or tv cop shows.
Seaguy would make a great cartoon series or cgi movie but,
to be honest, it makes a much better comic because you get
Cameron Stewart’s incredible artwork to look at and
you can roll it up in your pocket and read it anywhere.
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