These interviews are a real treat. From some of the interviews I've read so far...
"First hand cultural experience will undoubtedly be utilised in Forever England, a four-part story for Fleetway's new Revolver comic to be launched in May. The as yet little-known Paul Grist, whom Morrison considers to be Britain's equivalent of the Hernandez Brothers, will be drawing this tale of an indie band on tour."
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IN THE BACK OF ARKHAM ASYLUM IT SAYS THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON TWO NEW GRAPHIC NOVELS, ONE ABOUT ANDY WARHOL AND ANOTHER CALLED 'SICK BUILDINGS'.
GM: The Warhol book is, I hope, going to be in the nature of his work, in that it's intended to be pretty much the way I think Warhol would have done it. I had this idea of holding a party, getting people 'to talk about Warhol, and taping it, then just transcribing everything that's said and using that as the dialogue for the book. I like the idea of that kind of utter charlatanry, and obviously it would remove most of the work. As for 'Sick Buildings,' that's just something I made up. I liked the idea of this prestigious book that everyone's buying with this piece of total fabrication in the back of it.
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Grant: Well the first thing is going to be FOREVER ENGLAND, which I'll be doing with Paul Grist. The first episode for this was written some time ago and, as everyone probably knows, the story is all about an indie band on a tour of Britain. It's going to incorporate a great many of the things that delight me about British culture: St Trinian's films and fabulous 1970's sitcoms like ON THE BUSES, LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR and the criminally neglected CASANOVA '73 with Leslie Phillips - that whole CARRY ON world of platform boots, hotpants and sex maniacs, which seems so optimistic and charmingly naive in these dark days. This piece of tomfoolery will be my big project for 1990 and it'll probably be serialised in REVOLVER. Hopefully it'll introduce Paul Grist's work to a wider audience. Paul is one of the best and most sensitive artists in the country and it's a disgrace that he isn't mobbed wherever he goes.
I'm also planning a graphic novel called W, which will be drawn by Bill Koeb, a fabulous young American artist. Apart from that, I plan to read poetry and hang around the cemetries of Europe.
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Paul: Will you be drawing anymore?
Grant: Well, it's funny you should say that...right now I'm working on something called DOCTOR MIRABILIS, which I'm writing, drawing AND self-publishing. Now that I'm filthy rich, I've decided to start slumming it by going back to fanzine-scale productions. DOCTOR MIRABILIS will be cheaply-printed on harsh toilet paper and will have a very small print run. The actual content is a little difficult to describe so I don't know if I should bother.
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I don't plan to write any superhero comics in the future other than DOOM PATROL so that's where all my ideas about superheroes will be finding expression. I'm very fond of DOOM PATROL and the more peculiar it becomes the fonder I get. The only problem is that no-one buys it. The sales figures read like Artic temperatures and DC only keeps the book going because they feel sorry for me. I feel like a voice complaining in the wilderness but I suppose that's the way it has to be. In ten years time, DOOM PATROL will be hailed as a masterpiece. That's the only thing that keeps me going.
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