Nowhere Men has treated readers to an experience that is rare these days in entertainment with it's depth and reverence to an age not so long ago. The title is taken from a Beatles song and the comic book itself is as multidimensional as the Fab Four were back in the sixties.
Eric Stephenson has been working at Image Comics since it's inception back in 1993. First working closely with Rob Liefeld on titles such as Youngblood, Brigade, and many others. And more recently as part of Image Central, where he has blossomed as one of the best writers Image has to offer.
Having just wrapped up issue #6 and with the trade paperback on the way later this month, Stephenson opened up about the first six issues as well as the future of Nowhere Men.
The next story arc for Nowhere Men could lead in a different direction as Stephenson was quoted as saying "The characters haven't so much changed as how I've felt about them. I started out really focused on a few characters in particular, characters I kind of regarded as my favorites, but the further along things got, I realized I was actually more interested in some of the others and that changed the way I looked at them and the overall story."
He then added "Margaux Ten is one example. Early on, she was just one of Strange's helpers at home, but something about the way Nate drew her in issue two made me want to know more about her, so I came up with a whole back story for her, and then for Richard, who appeared later. There are actually a few characters I've kind of fallen in love with once I've seen Nate draw them, for better or worse."
Stephenson struggled to get the title up and running but that struggle has only added to the comic and it's storylines. "You know, the best thing that ever happened to this series, and really to me as a writer, is that it took me forever to get it off the ground. The idea went through a lot of different permutations over more than a decade, but in the process, it gave me layers upon layers of back story to play with, along with loads of ideas for where things can go in the future." Said Stephenson
Although it is the first time Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde have worked together, they have found a natural cohesiveness that really shows in the finished product. "These first six issues were done from plots, not full scripts..... I hate the idea of treating artist like pencil robots. Nate's my collaborator, and as such I wanted him to be as involved in the storytelling as I was." Stephenson went on to say "we work really well together.... There have been a lot of instances where Nate will ask a question or make a comment about something, and it will get me thinking about something I hadn't considered before...... I love that, because even though I have my own road map for where we're going with the series, I like that our collaboration lends itself to these little bursts of spontaneity."
Being a comic book fan these days isn't cheap and Stephenson recognizes that fact. He always puts forth an effort to give his fans the most bang for their buck. " I've said this before, but the main proponent in all that is that I feel like $2.99 is a lot to charge for a comic book. I felt the same way back in the '90s when Image titles were $1.95 -- I think readers deserve to get their money's worth out of a book, not 20 pages of story and an ad farm in the back of the book." In an attempt to provide more content for his readers, but not to overwork his artist. Stephenson came up with the idea of including free posters in Nowhere Men. These posters contain information about the character and incorporate real life news articles, book excerpts, and media coverage. "I thought it would be interesting to incorporate things like that into the overall narrative, and I feel like it’s been enriching for the book and for everyone on the creative team." said Stephenson.
While most people see the obvious references to the Beatles in Nowhere Men, other have linked the similarity to the Image founders story. "I didn't start the series with a conscious effort to draw on that, but there have been moments along the way where I've kind of thought, "Oh wow, this kind of lines up with this…" My inspiration for the characters is a lot more involved than any one analogue, though.". He then added "Yeah, there's a bit of the Image founders in here, and there are definitely nods to the Beatles, but there's also a bit of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Andrew Loog Oldham, Richey Manic, Arthur Lee, Steve Ditko, Kurt Vonnegut, Patrick McGoohan, Eero Saarinen, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Stanley Kubrick."
Nowhere Men has had some issues with meeting deadlines as it has met with delays leading up to issue #6. Stephenson was tight lipped about these problems and said "even though this is the age of airing your dirty laundry on the Internet, I actually think there's something to be said for working your problems out in private, and you know, there were definitely some problems and they carried on for a quite a while longer than anyone involved was expecting." You have to respect a man that chooses to take the high road instead of throwing his co-workers under the bus. That kind of attitude and respect for his fellow professionals is what has kept him is this business and will continue to keep him working at Image Comics for a very long time. Not to mention his talent for writing one of the labels more intricate titles.
Emi Lennox will be joining the creative team with issue #7. Image Comics previously published her work in two collections of her mini-comic Emitown. She will be helping with the non-story content of the book that adds so much depth to the title.
Stephenson went on to say that he hopes readers will be able to fully grasp the the overall story by reading it straight through in Trade Paperback form. "I know it's been a long time since issue one first hit the stands, but like I said, the trade will collect everything from the inside front cover of number one the inside back cover of issue six, and there are two different versions of the poster, one at the beginning and one at the end. Those aren't the only two links between issues one and six, but hopefully when people see it all together, it'll be apparent how they're connected and what they mean."
For those of you looking to catch up with the Nowhere Men Image Comics will be printing an 180 page Trade paperback of the first six issues toward the end of November. And Stephenson, Bellegarde, and new addition Lennox will be back with the new story arc in January.