Ekos is a new concept that is also an old concept, from a new player in comics who is actually a veteran player, teaming with a long term player.
If it sounds confusing, that’s Comics 2024. Everyone is teaming up to make new universes.
But let’s break it down: Ekos is a new universe inspired by the art and creations of Michael Turner and Geoff Johns, produced by the founder of Marvel Studios, David Maisel.
Turner is the much loved artist who tragically passed away in 2008, leaving behind a rich body of work….and some ideas that never reached their full development. And now Maisel is working with Aspen Comics, the company Turner founded, to bring one of those ideas, Ekos, to life. Since Turner’s death, Aspen has continued on, with co-owners Frank Mastromauro and Peter Steigerwald keeping characters like Fathom alive. But now they’re getting a whole new setting.
The star of the first Ekos series is Grell – who appeared in comics written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Turner all the way back in 2003 – who sets out to explore the world of Ekos. Along the way he meets many of the beloved characters from Michael Turner’s work, including Aspen (Fathom) and Grace (Soulfire), as they join forces with Grell on a shared mission.
The story will debut in Ekos Volume 1, which will have a Kickstarter campaign launching Tuesday, September 17th. You can sign up to be notified of its launch here.
The creative team for Ekos includes colorist Peter Steigerwald, artist Alex Konat, writer J.T. Krul, inker Mark Roslan, and letterist Josh Reed. Superstar cover artists for various Kickstarter editions include Alex Ross, Joe Quesada, J Scott Campbell, Francis Manapul, David Mack, Joe Benitez, Siya Oum, Jerome Opeña, Khary Randolph, and Kendrick Lim.
Today the Beat is exclusively revealing three of those covers that use Michael Turner’s remastered artwork, all recolored by Steigerwald. These three covers will be available for anyone who wants Ekos Vol. 1 as three standalone issues and not part of the hardcover.
I actually had the chance to talk briefly with David Maisel at San Diego Comic-Con, where Ekos was literally inescapable as the artwork was on the portals where everyone needed to check in to get into the show, and looming over the show floor at the Aspen booth. Maisel is a legend in his own right as the man who came up with the idea for Marvel Studios – and put together the risky deal that financed the first Marvel movies with the characters themselves as collateral. Since executive producing Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and other movies that launched the MCU, Maisel has worked on The Angry Birds film and won a Tony for the Broadway show Fosse. He clearly has nothing to prove….but he’s getting back into the thick of it with Ekos any way. As a self-professed lifelong comics fan, he had no choice.
“I brought Iron Man here [to SDCC] in 2007 so this is sort of similar to what I did back then,” he told me of the huge presence for Ekos at 2024’s con. “I’ve been a collector of Michael’s art for 16 years. When James Cameron let the rights expire to all of these properties, Frank [Mastromauro] called me and I jumped in!”
As told in the THR reveal of the project, Maisel founded Mythos Studios a few years ago as a new production shingle, and has taken a 50% stake in Aspen to develop Ekos and Grell. “Over Covid, we came up with the idea for a universe with all of these characters, including Grell, that I got excited about, and that was differentiated from my babies at Marvel and everything else that’s going on,” Maisel told me.
Maisel is very interested in exploring animation for the hoped-for eventual Ekos film. “The visual look of the universe, the DNA will be very close to what Michael and Peter Steigerwald did back 20 odd years ago. When you see the movie or the graphic novel or theme park ride, it visually will look like you’re part of this world. And that excites me, because I wasn’t able to do that with Marvel’s live action. But now, because of what I’ve done, there’s more options. We could have launched directly with a movie first, or whatever it might be, but I love comics. Frank loves comics, Peter loves comics, and the origin of this comes from where we’re standing right now, and from the love of comics that Michael had.”
Launching the book as a Kickstarter gives them a connection to consumers. “I love that we can talk to [readers] directly,” said Maisel. “When Kevin [Feige] and I were doing Marvel, the only time we talked to fans was at Comic-Con, Hall H. And now with Kickstarter, we can talk to people all year, and they can be part of this with us.”
With that in mind, here are the three covers by Turner and Steigerwald. Look for a lot more news about Ekos in the coming days.
