Posted in: Comics, Vault | Tagged: a dark interlude, fearless, fearscape, vault comics, warren ellis

Fearscape Sequel, A Dark Interlude, Takes Shot At Warren Ellis

A Dark Interlude is the meta-sequel to the meta-comic book Fearscape about an author, Henry Henry, dealing with the literal consequences of his creations by Ryan O'Sullivan and Andrea Mutti, published back in 2018 by Vault Comics. How meta is it? The solicitation for the first issue reads;

After the stunning success of Fearscape, comes A Dark Interlude, the story of-No! The only offence to literature greater than the loathsome synopsis is the sequel. I will not stand idle while some poor excuse for an editor mangles and confuses my story, which is intact, perfect, and concluded, with this derivative drivel. Mark my words, this nonsense has nothing to do with my tale. I am not in it. I do not condone it. And you, dear reader, should not buy it. -HH

And the second continues.

What happens in Issue #2? The plot continues. What else should I say? Why has my "publisher" asked me to pen the marketing copy for my own brilliance when there are perfectly good copywriters who… [Message truncated at the request of Vault Comics]

A Dark Interlude is a stand-alone sequel to 2018's Fearscape. The only problem is…the narrator is in denial about it being a sequel, and the entire plot of the book is that endless sequels are keeping humanity stagnant and unable to grow. In A Dark Interlude, we follow Henry Henry, The Muse, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, and a bevy of supernatural beings as they try to help humanity escape this "sequel crisis" before it destroys not only our world, but the supernatural world beyond it, too

Well, Henry Henry may not be able to give you a reason to read it, but this might. Because when Fearscape was first published, it was done with the blessings and support of Warren Ellis. "Wow. F*ck you guys. Ryan O'Sullivan and Andrea Mutti, I know you see me, and yet I will stand over your graves. FEARSCAPE is an evil and really very good comic. It is so comedically archly self-aware, its tongue is so far in its cheek it's practically licking its own eyeball from the inside. I really enjoyed it."

Warren Ellis' star has been tarnished somewhat of late. And the new series seems to create a meta-reference. The formatting of the opening letter, written from the POV of the series lead, Henry Henry, looks a lot like Warren Ellis's public apology. Compare and contrast…

https://twitter.com/warrenellis/status/1273785757338083328

Do they want this book be the next Giga? In that case then maybe, just maybe, they should stop all this self-referential bollocks and have a giant monster or three.

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