Every month, Dark Horse Comics gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a comic or book in the Horsepower column which appears in each of our printed comics issues for the month. These articles can include the inspiration behind a specific title, what it’s like to work in the comics industry, or some other special feature on the highlighted title of the month. In this month’s Horsepower, Jordie Bellaire recounts getting the Vision creative team back together for their new creator-owned murder mystery series, Six of Us:
The first time I met Tom King, he queued up to say hello and thank me for taking on a short story he wrote for Vertigo’s Time Warp, titled “It’s Full of Demons.”
It was then I knew Tom King was definitely a nerd.
Tom was bubbly, personable, and excited about sharing his stories. I remember feeling excited about the future. Tom was a guy who was daring to swing big and I loved that, but there was no way I could prepare for what would come next!
It was important to Tom to keep a team together, and he made it very clear to me he wanted me on Vision and Batman. I never thought I would work on such classic material with fresh, compelling narratives that definitely reshaped the way a lot of folks write comics today.
When Gabriel Walta and I first worked together, it felt magical, almost effortless. His work is poetry on the page; everything has meaning and place. If Tom is great at telling a story, Gabriel is the best at showing it.
I can’t leave out my bestie, letterer and Eisner-winning Marvel Hunk of the Month Clayton Cowles. He understands Tom’s rhythm, the syntax. He also knows a lot about everything.
It really felt like we all made something great, maybe even long lasting, together with Vision—lightning in a bottle, cosmic.
Over the last few years, we kept creating and we’ve all been fortunate to see continued creative success. With so many exciting new opportunities for each of us, I wondered if we would ever get the gang back together again . . .
And then there was Six of Us.
We’ve developed this new story very carefully and slowly thanks to our patient editor, Daniel Chabon. It’s a true labor of love with great concern for storytelling and mystery. Creatively, I’m aiming for nuance and intrigue on every page, and I feel certain we’re hitting that mark!
Many comics are not a true collaboration; ego or deadlines can get in the way of making something meaningful and authentic. A comic created with such understanding and love for the medium, the material and the creators themselves is bound to be a success—if not in the hands of the reader, in the hearts of those who created it. Or at the very least, the one who colored it.
That would be me.
—Jordie Bellaire
Six of Us #1, written by Tom King, illustrated by Gabriel Hernández Walta, colored by Jordie Bellaire, and lettered by Clayton Cowles, is now available wherever comics are sold!
