Most people know Giancarlo Esposito from his roles as magnetic, yet sinister figures in shows like Breaking Bad and The Boys. Yesterday, however, Esposito added a new layer to his career, announcing he’d co-write the graphic novel The Venetian. Featuring contributions from co-writer Matt Wheeler (Hawaii Five-O) and storyboard artist Jay Martin, who’s drawn storyboards for movies including Ad Astra, The Venetian centers on retired assassin Matteo Moro returning to his bloody ways after his estranged son is kidnapped. It sounds like the pitch for a killer movie, but Esposito’s been clear that working in comics is truly a passion project.
When speaking to People about The Venetian, Esposito described it as “a noir graphic novel that is incredibly close to my heart” and that it was a chance to “make a lifelong dream a reality.” This approach is a far cry from the old days when an A-list star would simply slap their name on a comic and collect a paycheck. In a day and age where comic books are the foundation for some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, it only makes sense for some stars who are truly passionate about the medium to work within it.
What makes this new age of actor-created comics stand out is that it involves some of the medium’s biggest names. Take BRZRKR, for example. This is a comic that could have simply sailed on the fact that it was co-created by Keanu Reeves, yet Reeves sought out a talented pair of co-creators in the form of Matt Kindt and Ron Garney. Reeves and Kindt wound up penning a compelling tale about the weight of immortality, and Garney’s art is bold, bloody, and uncompromising. It also didn’t hurt that Reeves is a genuine comic book fan, telling Entertainment Weeklywhen the series was first released: “I have loved comics since I was a young kid and they have been a significant influence on me artistically.”
Another actor who followed in similar footsteps is Iman Vellani. Best known for playing Kamala Khan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Vellani recently got to write Kamala’s adventures in Marvel Comics proper with Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant and Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace, which features the size-changing teenage superhero dealing with the reveal that she’s now a mutant.
But it’s her recent project, Chachu, that’s even more intriguing. Set in the thick of the 1970s, Chachu deals with a Pakistani-Canadian teenager named Leila tracking down her uncle, or chachu, who happens to be a private eye. In the process, she gets swept up in a web of murder and mystery while bonding with the family she never knew. Vellani’s scripting feels in line with noir hits like Chinatown, and Marianna Ignazzi’s artwork depicts Leila as bearing more than a passing resemblance to her co-creator. It’s also proof that Vellani has a bright future ahead of her in the medium if she wants to continue writing comics.
One of the biggest success stories in the acting-to-comics pipeline is Hannah Rose May, who’s becoming a major icon in the horror comics space. The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, which she co-created with Vanessa Del Rey, centers on the brilliant pitch of “What if the White House was haunted?” It’s been so successful that May and artist Kelsey Ramsay delivered a sequel this year titled The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace.
May’s crowning achievement, though, remains her debut series Rogues’ Gallery, which she co-created with Declan Shalvey (Moon Knight, Time After Time) and Justin Mason (Spider-Punk). Rogues’ Gallery takes an unflinching look at what happens when fandom goes off the rails, as a group of fans dissatisfied with the TV adaptation of one of their favorite comics plans to rob the lead of said show. Things quickly turn gruesome, as May writes a story that shows the lowest lows of Hollywood and feels extremely pointed given how much abuse female actors tend to weather online.
The days of actors writing comics doesn’t seem to be dying down any time soon, but comic book fans can rest assured that there are people in Hollywood who see comics as a passion, rather than part of a spreadsheet.
