Very cool. I read the first book and loved it. But owing to the collapse of DC's Humanoid line I'm still waiting for the second volume.

Simon | July 17, 14:04 CET

Noooooo ! He doesn't have time for this. What about AXM ?

Ahem. OK, now that i've adhered to the habit of a lifetime and thought about myself first, good for him. It'll be very cool to see what Cassaday does with the opportunity (plus he'll have set designers to worry about the backgrounds ;).

Course, now I need to add the book to my list. Ho hum.

Saje | July 17, 14:35 CET

No worries, Saje. I had the exact same reaction as you. "Wait, what about me? Oh, er -- yay Mr. Cassaday." ;-)

billz | July 17, 14:44 CET

I think it's cool for mr. Cassaday (but I do want to keep getting my AXM-fix, agreed). Does this happen more often, artists turning director? First I've heard of it, but I guess it kinda makes sense.

Have not read I am legion, though. Probably should. Probably will.

GVH | July 17, 15:04 CET

Good for John, but I have to admit I'm doubtful. 'I Am Legion' looked beautiful, but the story did little for me (though I've only read the first volume, too).

Yeah, I'd rather just have more pretty drawings. :-P

GVH, like the article says, Frank Miller and Enki Bilal did it (and Jamie Hewlett probably directs the Gorillaz animation as well as drawing it) but I believe it's pretty rare. I think writers turning director is more common.

Niels | July 17, 15:39 CET

Well, Joss was writing AXM while writing/directing Serenity...

newcj | July 17, 15:39 CET

I AM LEGION is a great story! And, I believe the second book is coming out soon. He and Joss are only doing AXM to issue 25. He'll be plenty done with that ahead of time, so he can concentrate on the movie, I'm sure! :)

More info on his other projects, go to his website. It was recently updated.

jimmy x | July 17, 16:02 CET

Dave McKean is another artist turned director. He directed Mirrormask which to my shame I've still not seen.

Paul_Rocks | July 17, 16:05 CET

Well, it depends how far ahead he works on AXM. They're on #15 now, it goes monthly in September so by my reckoning #24 (the last Whedon/Cassaday one by current plans) won't be out until about next April with the Giant Sized Annual to follow.

If he works 5 months ahead, we're golden. Otherwise he'll simply have to postpone his film until my needs are met ;-).

(there's Planetary to consider too but Warren Ellis is apparently working on the final issue now so that should be done in plenty of time and I guess "due to shoot early next year" could mean April/May)

Saje | July 17, 16:16 CET

It is pretty rare, but I was shocked for a moment until I realized this would be an animated feature, right? Because handing a live-action feature to a guy who has zero experience handling the technical challenges of making a movie, which can be considerable, is kinda risky for movie-businessmen.

But bravo John.

dottikin | July 17, 17:35 CET

nope. it's live action. and john actually has a lot of experience in movie making. studied film in college and all that stuff. plus, he's pals w/ joss. who better to call for advice? :)

he's a pretty fast artist. (as compared to MANY slow ones in the biz). so i wouldnt worry about him getting books done or pushed back. late books he worked on were almost always because of the writer's schedule or tardiness.

all good! keep rockin!

jimmy x | July 17, 18:03 CET

So unless the article's wrong it's live-action (i.e. with actors, props, lenses, cameras and all that other complicated-for-first-time-directors stuff).

Good to hear he's speedier than some (i'm looking at you Hitch ;). Hope (for no delays) springs eternal.

Saje | July 17, 18:08 CET

I Am Legion is an intriguing story as well as a showcase for his art - and I'd be very interested to see how his style translates to film.

Craig Oxbrow | July 17, 18:31 CET

Agh! Of course, how could I forget!

(Perhaps because I am faced with the same shame. Still, it's out on DVD here now, so probably soon.)

And I just remembered that in Japan, I believe it's quite common for the creators of the manga to handle the often inevitable anime as well.

Niels | July 17, 19:41 CET

When I saw I Am Legion, it made me think of I Am Legend for a second... totally different, however :) Shame on you, Paul_Rocks, go see it! Congrats to Cassaday as well.

zeitgeist | July 17, 19:51 CET