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The MFS Highlights Mark Peyton
by Alex Cook
The MFS is a dark vision of the future, throwing the familiar names that drew us to comics into a nightmarish world. The people behind it are an odd and scary lot. Meet one of the more frightening members, Mark Peyton, author of Excalibur:MFS, Sand & Stage Mist:YesterYear, and the forthcoming Starman:DCFS.
HEROES: Alright, Mark, let's start with Marvel Future Shock, can you explain a bit about the premise of the whole thing?
Mark Peyton: The initial premise was to do an alternate future for Marvel not based on any of the set ideas. The initial concepts were the site's creators Michael Shirley and Jericho Vilar. I came in as the third man
H: Can you give us a few details of the timeline and describe the world for those unaware?
MP: As most of the initial staff were not big Marvel fans we decided to start a timeline where we went off at a tangent from Marvel allowing big changes and preventing us from being retconned. So we took Jan 1st 1999 as our split point and said everything after that point was not canon to us. The reason for this is because in our universe 1999 sees Doom take over a large chunk of the world and so the Future Shock begins What you have is Doom poised on one continent, a United Americas under the Avengers on another and Europe in the middle. This is a world where there have been a lot of superpowered beings, but not many heroes until we start.
H: What makes the way Marvel Future Shock run different from other fanfic groups you've worked with?
MP: Collaboration. Every single member of staff in the site has a voice on props, world direction, character use, and how the site works. There is no dictating from on high. It is our joint effort and work that makes the site work and encourages enterprise and loyalty. And high quality work. It's about making it fun for everyone and giving people the encouragement rather than expecting them to produce in a void.
H: You also write a few things for the MFS. Let's start with Excalibur:MFS. What is the premise of this book, and what are some of the characters you've used in it?
MP: The Premise for Excalibur:MFS is there is this big intelligence group called Black Air who preach freedom of information and Brotherhood. They supposedly have one secret that they seek, Excalibur. It’s all a lie and the initial arc has taken a group of Black Air agents and started to show them some truths. The characters and Marvel concepts have so far mainly come from Marvel UK and so might be a bit obscure to some American readers but I'm explaining as we go along. So you have characters like Union Jack, the Clandestine done by Alan Davis, people derived from Warren Ellis' run on Excalibur . All sorts of strange and interesting people who I hope fit into a weird fantasy story. It's ultimately a quest, but the characters don't know yet what the goal is. Its also a quest for their personalities and developing belief. It sounds a lot more worthy than it really is. Its me doing major plots and subplots and getting away with it.
H: What’s in the future for Excalibur:MFS ? Any other characters you plan on highlighting?
MP: Well I'm intending highlighting some of those characters that might not be familiar to non British audiences - people like the Clandestine and Dark Angel. The first arc is over by issue 7 or 8 and I'll do character work before I start the next stage. I intend to make the characters people that the readers can care for and be interested in. I've got a good idea where it is going. Just how long it takes to get there depends on me
H What other titles are/will you be working on for the MFS?
MP: I'm just finishing the second part to the first Doom MFS limited series. That's the set-up story for other writers to run and work with the character from. I'm also doing a limited series called Mysterio which I've done the first issue of but you won’t see for a little while. And a short piece in each MFS site magazine called Marvels
H: Can you tell us a little about what's on the horizon for the MFS?
MP: I could but I'd have to kill you. The site is preparing plans for the end of the first year and we're aiming on expanding, exploring our world and watching it evolve.
H: So I ain't getting any spoilers out of you huh? Fine. Now Mark, more of a broader question, what drew you to fanfic? Why do you still write it?
MP Spoilers will show up in time. Just not yet. It was and still is because I have stories I want to tell. My Starman series is because I have a grand story that came out of my love for Robinson's series. Excalibur:MFS because I had an idea I wanted to run with after Jericho Vilar suggested that I should try something with Warren Ellis Marvel characters. Sand & Stage Mist:YesterYear because I put two characters together and wanted to bounce them off each other
H: Okay, you mentioned two other series you work above, care to share some details about them? I know Starman had some problems at the DCF, what do you plan to do with the story now?
MP: Its intended to be restarted and released with all the elements I originally intended to put in. It will get finished. I have this story and I'll tell it if it kills me. Plus there’s a fair few people baying for me to continue it. It’ll be rereleased with a new running order and new sections and issues so the old readers get something while newer readers catch up.
H: What about Sand & Stage Mist:YesterYear ? Who are the characters of that series, and what is it about?
MP: The characters are the Golden Age Sandman, his companion, Dian Belmont and Mandrake the Magician. It’s intended to be like a Saturday adventure serial, exotic locations, evil villains, cliff-hangers and fast paced. It runs all over the Yesteryear World as the group attempt to stop a nefarious scheme of Fu Manchu’s.
H: Well, that about does it Mark. Thanks for your time.
MP: well thank you Alex and I'm sure you'll direct the nice people to the madness that is MFS
