David Maisel Talks Bringing Ekos to Life on Kickstarter, Creating a Dream Aspen Crossover, and More

Former Marvel Studios Chairman David Maisel on how they turned the Ekos story into a full world and created a long-awaited Aspen crossover

By Matthew Aguilar

Michael Turner was one of the greats in the world of comics, and now one of his creations is getting a long-anticipated spotlight in Ekos Volume 1. Originally created by Turner and writer Geoff Johns, Ekos never had the chance to become a fully-fledged series, but Marvel Studios Founding Chairman David Maisel has teamed up with Aspen Comics to bring the story of Grell to life in a new graphic novel, and this is but the first step in bringing this part of Turner's larger world to life in not just comics, but on the small and big screens down the line. Ekos Vol. 1 is now live on Kickstarter and Backerkit and has already soared past its funding goal, unlocking more bonuses along the way, and ComicBook had the chance to speak with Maisel all about the Kickstarter, as well as who Grell is, building this world from a six-page preview, and setting the foundation for a major crossover.

Turning An Idea Into A World

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(Photo: Aspen Comics)

Maisel has immense experience in bringing comic book worlds to life on the big screen as one of the major people behind launching the MCU, and he's also been a fan of Turner's for quite some time, citing how captivating Turner's artwork has always been both in and outside of the comics world.

"I fell in love with Michael's line drawings and how beautiful his pencils were and how beautiful Peter Steigerwald's colors were, and I always got people looking at it who were not interested in comics, and they all loved it," Maisel said. "And the reason that was important is when I made Iron Man the movie, we were only selling 3000 comics and people thought it was a triathlon. And there was Batman out there and Superman and X-Men and Spider-Man, but nobody wanted the rest of these Marvel characters."

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(Photo: Aspen Comics)

"In fact, Warner Brothers had the rights for Iron Man for many years and famously let them expire and I got them back," Maisel said. "So I knew I had to make Iron Man not just for the comic book fans, but for the world, because to make a movie that expensive, you need to have more than 3000 people show up, so I had to make my mom want to go see it at the time."

Ekos Steps Into the Spotlight

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(Photo: Aspen Comics)

Fans have only had a small glimpse into Ekos' world, as it was part of a Wizard Magazine poll to decide Turner's next project. It didn't end up winning though, and has been on the shelf ever since, at least until now. Ekos Vol. 1 sports an Aspen all-start team of writer J.T. Krul, artist Alex Konat, inker Mark Roslan, colorist Peter Steigerwald, and letterer Josh Reed, and the whole team is excited to bring this world to life.

 "Michael had big franchises. I think Fathom was the number one comic in the world when it came out in 1998, and Soulfire was pretty big too," Maisel said. "And then he had done one issue of Ekos with Geoff Johns, but then the Wizard Magazine fans chose Soulfire to be Michael's second franchise, which is not surprising given that Grace looks so good."

"The six-page preview issue of Ekos, all it does is show Grell and Jekku, the bird that he's always with. It shows them and a couple of other creatures, but it shows those two on some other planet in space that is very nature-based, with jungles and rivers and everything, and very idyllic in terms of the society," Maisel said. "And then that planet on page five gets invaded by ships, spaceships coming down, and then the last page shows inside the spaceship is a human. Okay, now that sounds pretty similar to Avatar, right? It's basically the story of Avatar. So there was nothing in there about the personalities of Grell and Jekku. You can tell he's strong by his build and he's got these, like, flying squirrel wings, so he looks like he can glide pretty well, but there was nothing else. This is going to be about the wonder and awe of this planet. So the story is going to be focusing on planet Earth, on this planet."

Getting To Know Grell

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(Photo: Aspen Comics)

As you can see in the artwork and covers, the main focus of Ekos is Grell, who stands out even amongst a roster of Aspen favorites thanks to his unique design. Maisel is excited for fans to get to know the character behind that design, and fans will also get to see other characters from Turner's worlds like Fathom and Soulfire get to know him too.

"Grell was a gift because if it was just all humanoid figures it makes it more difficult. And Grell is so unique looking and cool, and by bringing him here, we get to go on a journey with him and learn about our planet through his eyes, and that gives us a beginner's mind and looking at things fresh that we might take for granted," Maisel said. "Then as he meets Grace, Aspen, Malikai, Benoist, Cannon, The Black, and eventually, they're not in this book, The Core, he's meeting humans for the first time too. Like, he's meeting everybody, and so it's very relevant because there's nothing at all that's preachy in this book. It's the opposite. It's just looking and understanding this new cool character, seeing all these characters interact."

"Some of my favorite scenes are the ones a lot of people like in the Avengers, which is just the characters talking. Human to human or superhero to superhero, normal contact. What would it be like to really have Grace and Aspen together and so on? And it's not just those, you know, Michael was so ahead of his time with female heroes back in the day. We almost had to find time for Cannon," Maisel said. "And I think what's fun about this book is we see the origin of Grell. Basically, we start with him, and then we go with him out into the world, and we have a part where all the characters are meeting and getting to know each other, including them getting to know Grell. And then all of them figuring out, like, any super team, like the Avengers, you know, do we do something? And if so, what do we do?"

An Impactful Ending  

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(Photo: Aspen Comics)

"And that's in what's issue one, two, and three. And I view this as a three-volume initial set, you know, trilogy, but there's a satisfying ending to this too. That was key. I'm really focused on beginnings and endings, like having, you know, the AC DC music at the beginning of Iron Man and Iron Man revealing who he is, Tony Stark at the end. So a similar type of thing," Maisel said. "I think we have an I am Iron Man moment at the end of this book. I'm trying to see if I could say that doesn't give too much, but it's relevant because it's today's world, and Grell has seen it with a beginner's mind."

"There's a very famous book from the 1960s called Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein, which is a human that was born as a baby on Mars and comes to Earth when he's 18. And so he's human, but he's seen everything for the first time. And I thought it was just so amazing. So I was influenced a little bit by on how Grell goes on his journey. And it's a perfect way for, you know the characters, but so many people won't, and now they can learn. We're not going to go in the deep history of Soulfire and Fathom in this issue, in this volume, but people will meet the characters and get a sense with Grell of who these characters are," Maisel said.

Those who want to jump into the world of Ekos can do so on Kickstarter or on Backerkit, and you'll have the option to either purchase an oversized hardcover edition or the single issues, each sporting stunning covers. You can also pick up several amazing Marvel homage covers, including the stunning homage to Turner's iconic variant cover of Marvel's Civil War #1. The campaign has also unlocked 16 bonus pages of content, new stickers, and an upgrade to the hardcover addition, and even more bonuses are on the horizon.

Are you diving in with Ekos Vol. 1? You can talk all things comics with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

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