From WIRED · Angela Watercutter · · 3m
Brian K. Vaughan breaks new ground with Roam
The Dune: Part Three cowriter announces a superhero comic with artist Cliff Chiang, his first true superhero book after three decades in comics.
In brief
The Dune: Part Three cowriter announces a superhero comic with artist Cliff Chiang, his first true superhero book after three decades in comics. Brian K. Vaughan, who cowrote Dune: Part Three with Denis Villeneuve, announced a new ongoing superhero comic called Roam with artist Cliff Chiang, launching in February…
Vaughan stays silent on Dune
Brian K. Vaughan cowrote Dune: Part Three with director Denis Villeneuve but cannot discuss it until the film releases on December eighteen.
“Sorry to be coy. I hope the day will come where I'm able to say much, much more.”
Vaughan at Comic Con for Paper Girls
Vaughan attended New York Comic Con ostensibly to discuss Paper Girls, the comic he created with Cliff Chiang that became a two thousand twenty-two Amazon Prime Video series.
Roam announced at the panel
During the Paper Girls panel, Vaughan and Chiang announced Roam, a new superhero sci-fi comic series set to launch in February of next year.
Why Roam happened
Roam came from Vaughan's desire to work with Chiang again. They considered a short eight-page story or one-shot but decided to do an ongoing series instead.
“Fuck it. Let's do an ongoing series.”
Vaughan's career in comics
Vaughan started working on comics in the nineteen nineties and created favorites like Saga, Y: The Last Man, and Marvel's Runaways. Two of those became TV series.
Comics remain his heart
Vaughan has also worked on Lost and created CBS's adaptation of Stephen King's Under the Dome, but says his heart remains in comics.
“I'm only able to do work in Hollywood because I have comics.”
What Roam is about
Roam is set in the distant future where everyone gets to be a superhero, but only while they're young. Vaughan is keeping most details secret.
Vaughan's first true superhero book
After thirty-one years in comics, Roam is Vaughan's first true superhero book. He has done Spider-Man and Batman stories and Ex Machina, a sci-fi political comic.
Vaughan fears AI's impact
Vaughan is terrified by AI's effect on creative industries. Jobs in previsualization, storyboarding, and editing are disappearing as the technology advances rapidly.
“The future is terrifying and unknowable, and coming at us very, very quickly.”
AI as a story element
Vaughan worries someone could demand AI-generated versions of existing comics like Saga. AI is a component in Roam's story, something he needed to write about.
Dune: Part Three is beautiful
Vaughan says Dune: Part Three is a tremendous honor to work on. His contributions are modest. Denis Villeneuve's true cowriter is Frank Herbert's novel.
“It's a fucking beautiful movie. It's my favorite of the three.”
Breaking new ground with Roam
After a decade of adapting and being adapted, Vaughan chose Roam to break new ground. He wanted to create something original rather than adapt existing work.
“It's time to break some new ground.”
The takeaway
Brian K. Vaughan, who cowrote Dune: Part Three with Denis Villeneuve, announced a new ongoing superhero comic called Roam with artist Cliff Chiang, launching in February.
