Millar arrête 6 mois.

MILLAR TAKES SIX MONTHS OFF
by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

In a goodbye message from “your Scottish sweetheart" at MillarWorld.tv, writer Mark Millar has officially informed the world that he will “disappear” for six months on doctor’s advice - adding one more to the list of prominent comic book creators who've suffered or are sufferening from chronic health problems.

Millar wrote:

“Around 5 years ago, I was feeling really rough at a convention (San Diego 2000). They called a doc, I got checked over, everything seemed fine and I was sent on my merry way. The following February (2001) I got REALLY sick and went through months of tests before it was finally nailed and this was nuked by a massive treatment of oral chemotherapy. This wasn't cancer (which is what people always think when chemo gets mentioned), but it was serious and I spent a little bit recovering before getting back to maybe seventy or eighty percent capacity after about a year. I kept this all reasonably secret (really just telling a few close friends) because being sick more than a couple of weeks tends to get a bit embarrassing for some reason. I don't know why, but it was something I preferred to keep to myself for the period and, since I got back on my feet, the less said about it the better.

“But then something weird happened last December. I had a bit of a relapse and was really feeling rough. I told Marvel about it for the first time and they were absolutely brilliant. Ike, who owns Marvel, felt I'd get better treatment in the States and so he flew me out to see their docs who, within forty-eight hours, nailed the root of the problem as something in my left side, smack in my intestines. They gave me a heavy-duty treatment and, since then, I've gradually been getting better. The first time I took sick (February 01) I was bedridden and sick as hell, hardly able to type and comics being the last thing on my mind. But this time, last Christmas, something weird happened and as much as this was a ton of pain and the treatment was pretty horrible, I have to say that comics was a brilliant escape route. Instead of the drug-addled ravings of a madman, I'd honestly never felt more coherent and enthused as writing over the last year as I've been steadily getting better and everything from Ultimates 2 to Wolverine to Ultimate Fantastic Four has been, I feel, the best stuff I've done. I hope and pray the good shit doesn't just flow when I'm sick because the plan is to get better, but I've really, really enjoyed working this year, despite the circumstances.

“So what does all this have to do with my time off? Well, as some of you know, I've been on heavy-duty steroids and a transplant drug called Imuran all year and SLOWLY recovering. However, on a recent trip back to NY the docs weren't happy with the speed of my progress and insisted that I force myself to take a few months break and heal myself up fully. In terms of timing, this really couldn't have been better because my Marvel contract is finished, Spidey, Wolverine, Ultimate FF, Ultimates 2 and 1985 are pretty much in the can and so it's Easy Street for a little while. My internet presence will also be massively curbed so this is my last (planned) post for the next few months as I kick back, take it easy and just read a shit-load of comics as research for my next project. I'm going to do ONE company-owned project next year (NOT X-Men) and it involves quite a bit of reading on my part. The time off means I can write the screenplays and start this project at a nice leisurely pace before returning to your screens for the occasional interview (either here or in Wizard) and then back fully for late Spring/ early Summer as I start to limber up for Millarworld 2.”

Millar’s 1985 project was first mentioned at the Diamond Retailer Summit in Baltimore back in September. Reportedly, the story, which will combine photography, art, and digital art, follows a kid through the year 1985 in the Marvel Universe. Millar added that “1985 is the next stage in terms of art for superhero comics. It's costing Marvel a ____ing fortune, but if this works then it's going to look as radical as Marvels did.”

Earlier, in his final Millar Hour Q&A session for now, he spilled some beans about his MillarWorld 2 projects. “As for Millarworld 2, Rob [Liefeld] isn't on any of the books, though I'd love to do something with him again sometime,” he posted. “The artists are ALL set now and ALL huge. I honestly couldn't be happier. The books are as follows: A four issue superhero thing, a three issue crime/superhero thing, five horror one-shots, a big one-shot that isn't related to that and, of course, the sequel to Chosen: AMERICAN JESUS!”

Later, the writer added that “at least TWO of them will come from Marvel for the simple reason that Marvel have been great to me, the Icon deal is a gift to people who've made them money, the artists are Marvel exclusive AND why should the artists not get the best deal possible for their work?”

As for spilling any other secrets on his way out the door? “I'm not allowed to say. Annoying, I know, but the consultancy thing gives me lots of inside info and the Loeb stuff sounds amazing. Very much looking forward to his Ultimates too. At DC, looking forward to AS Superman. Quitely just brings out the best in Morrison. It's like a monkey-gland injection and he reads like 1989 Morrison again with Doom Patrol, Animal Man, Arkham, Zenith, Hitler, etc, etc, etc. So Superman is going to be pure gold, I suspect. Can't wait for Miller's 2 new Batman projects. I heard quite a bit about both recently and they sound amazing.”

We at Newsarama wish Millar a speedy, and full recovery.
But buzzcomics to.