4.12.2008
Revamping a Classic Occult Character
Longtime readers of this blog will note that I like to keep tabs on occult and Pagan themes found in comic books. Several luminaries within the occult/Pagan community have written for comics, Rachel Pollack, Alexei Kondratiev, and David Sexton to name a few, while many comic writers and artists have dipped their toes into the occult arts and Pagan religion. Alan Moore and Grant Morrison, for example. There is just something about the medium of sequential art that makes it a fertile ground for explorations of the unseen.
Madame Xanadu from her 1978 debut.
The latest upcoming comic project to explore myth, magic, and mystery is a revamp of the classic DC Comics tarot-reading occult character Madame Xanadu. The project will be released under the Vertigo imprint (which put out Neil Gaiman's The Sandman), and written by Matt Wagner, who is well known for his myth-drenched work in titles like Mage and Grendel.
"Making her debut in "Doorway to Nightmare" #1 in 1978, Madame Xanadu was originally introduced as a reincarnation of the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend. Over the years, the character settled into a role as fortune-teller and resident occult advisor to the DCU. Wagner's Madame Xanadu's story also opens centuries ago in a medieval kingdom ripe with intrigue and "foul sorcery." 'This is her origin story and it's a long one,' Wagner told CBR News. 'The narrative begins quite a ways in the past but it progresses through both time and various, fairly famous locales until we ultimately end up in Greenwich Village.'"
According to Wagner, the book will be a re-imagining of the character, and will take time to explain her past (including why an Arthurian sorceress is named "Xanadu"). Handling art on the series will be Amy Hadley, who brings a fresh manga-influenced style to the project.
Madame Xanadu by Amy Hadley
"Madame Xanadu presents a challenge for Wagner as a creator even though his own character, Mage, had mythical ties to King Arthur and Merlin as well. 'This is an entirely new and different sort of project for me,' he said ... 'Her main activity is fortune-telling and predicting the future, so she's a character who's constantly looking for better ways to do that. She searches for pattern in all things because she feels that the events of the future are written in the constructs of the present and the past.'"
You can see a two-page preview of "Madame Xanadu" on Amy Hadley's LiveJournal. The first issue is scheduled to be released on June 25th, 2008, and should be available in finer comic stores everywhere. This should be a treat for fans of occult-oriented comic books.
Labels: Amy Hadley, art, Comics, Madame Xanadu, Matt Wagner, occult, Tarot
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