The comic book landscape has undergone a major change in the past two years. Many creators have been utilizing Substack to craft creator-owned tales in addition to their other work, from Chip Zdarsky’s Public Domain to Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman’s KLC Press (which had its own panel at last year’s Emerald City Comic Con). This year, Emerald City Comic Con played host to the creatives behind 3 Worlds/3 Moons, a new sci-fi universe created by Jonathan Hickman (House of X/Powers of X), Mike Huddleston (Decorum), and Mike del Mundo (Thor). On Saturday night, the 3W3M founders held a special event to meet and greet fans and discuss the origins of their universe.
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I had previously visited the 3W3M booth at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, which marked its debut on the convention circuit. Having previously read Hickman’s work, including the Foundations graphic novel from 3W3M, I knew I had to attend this event. It kicked off with fans taking photos with the creators, who were more than happy to shake hands and talk with them. As everyone got settled in, Hickman took to the microphone while del Mundo and Huddleston started sketching. He began by discussing the genesis of 3W3M, and that subscribers would be receiving hard copies of comics soon. He also said that the second year of 3W3M would be “killer”.
Next up was Huddleston, who described working on Decorum with Hickman as the best experience he had in his art career. He also said that crafting 3 Worlds/3 Moons was very fulfilling, likening it to a series of home runs. del Mundo was up next and said that working on the universe was a refresher after his contract with Marvel ended. Surprisingly, SDCC wasn’t just the first big event for 3W3M – it was also the first time the creators had met in person. “We worked through Zoom for a year,” Huddleston said.
When it came to the material within the 3 Worlds/3 Moons universe, Hickman said that he planned for 3 ongoing comic series and 2 graphic novels, with a potential gaming element in the works. He also stressed that the subscribers help shape the universe, as the gaming experience will be interactive. “We want to be able to pivot at a moment’s notice. If we feel really good about the gamification, we’ll do more of that,” Hickman said while discussing his approach to the material. He then asked the audience what creators they’d like to see play in the 3W3M sandbox, and a plethora of names were thrown out including Zdarsky, Invincible‘s Ryan Ottley, and even Esad Ribic, who worked with Hickman on the 2015 Secret Wars story. Hickman also confirmed that Tini Howard, Al Ewing, and Ram V were still attached to 3W3M.
The floor opened for a Q&A session, where the creators talked about everything from their favorite superheroes to their favorite barbecue sauce. For the former, Hickman picked Magneto and the Legion of Superheroes’ Timber Wolf. For the latter, Huddleston said he wants a nice balance between sweet and spicy. But the most interesting part was when Hickman discussed how faith plays into his work. I’ve always been interested in stories that deal with faith due to my upbringing, and it turns out that Hickman had a similar approach since he came from the South as well. “You want to know my church? Grant Morrison, that’s it,” he said in closing.
Having read the Foundations graphic novel, and listening to the creators’ discussion, it’s clear that the passion they have for worldbuilding is a key part of this project. And the fact that subscribers can help influence the outcome is awesome. Given Hickman’s previous work, as well as Huddleston and del Mundo’s bleeding edge artwork, 3 Worlds/3 Moons has the potential to be just as big as their previous works – if not bigger.
You can subscribe to the 3 Worlds/3 Moons Substack here.
