Phonogramis definitely one of the more interesting comics of the moment.

The success of the series has led to the two of them working on many other comic projects.

McKelvie has released one series of his own book,Suburban Glamour, about teenagers in small-town Worcestershire.

He is also working on an only-announced-on-Saturday story for Avatar Press,The Heat.

Gillen also fills us in onThe Heat, a project that has been teased as involving cops on Mercury.

All four issues of The Singles Club, the currentPhonogramseries.

ThePhonogramprint, which is a limited edition print I did last month.

Original artwork, t-shirts, I think thats it…KG:That is it, actually.

That is the complete what-is-for-sale list.

JM:The complete list.KG:OfPhonogrammerchandise available at that fine comic stall.

JM:Its about seven issues long.

KG:Its about due to be done in July next year.

Its about music, its about magic, its about the idea that music is magic.

The example I always use is from the second issue ofPhonogram, in the second series.

Hes effectively been cursed by the record.

And you end up being upset at The Hokey Cokey!

Thats what I mean.

JM:Im doing the second series ofSuburban Glamour, which Im looking forward to doing.

Im going back home to do some more research quite soon.

For someone who hasnt come acrossSuburban Glamourbefore, could you explain it a little?

JM:I could give it a go.

Its basically a modern, urban fantasy.

Kind of a cross betweenLabyrinthandSkins, basically.

Thats a great description!

KG:It took a while to end up with!

JM:Yeah, it took a while, because of the teenagers bit.

Its modern, real teenagers, its not necessarily candy-coated or anything.

And I find a lot of teenage fiction doesnt deal with teenagers as they actually are.

KG:Teenagers arent rated PG.

So its that kind of approach to it, to the modern fantasy genre.

And then there are more series, which will delve into different things.

A slightly shorter description thanPhonogram, but thats the way.KG:Yeah… Obviously, its different because youre working with an editor, for one thing.

And youre playing in somebody elses sandbox, as people like to call it, I guess.

And whatever you do have to resonate with that.

And thats part of the game.

In my case, all my Marvel projects have pulled me in different directions.

KG:I think its a shame.

I got a couple of lucky breaks.

The editor did it, it wasnt me.

What other projects have you done for Marvel?

And its very epic-scale, Marvel, cosmic.

Metaphors involving punching is the best way to describe what superheroes do.

Thats collected in a trade.

So its a kind ofFull Metal Jacket, with Ares as the drill instructor.

Then theresThor, which is the biggest book Im doing.

James Michael Straczynski…

JM:[Incredulously] Whos he?

KG:A very important man!

He left his book at a very short notice, and Im taking over for 6 issues.

And Im taking over this engagement between Thor and Doctor Doom is Latveria.

Its kind of a Mary Shelley sort of dark, Eastern European, fantasy-gothic vibe.

And its about the mortal and the divine again, but its about a very different sort of relationship.

And finally Im launching a new comic calledS.W.O.R.D., which is basically spinning off Joss Whedon.

Im literally just spinning off all the big-name writers, its like ahhh!

is a spaced-based defense organisation.

If youre aware of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Marvel super-spy organisation its basically S.H.I.E.L.D.

Im launching that from scratch.

These are very smart characters, theyre wise-cracking, theyre being very human.

Theres a romance, and I mean that with all the capital letters.

And its fun, and it moves at a million miles an hour.

I think its pop in a way that Thor isnt Thor has a sense of grandeur.

This deals with pretty hard-hitting emotions, but its still flighty.

And thats an ongoing comic and Im very excited about that.

And Jamie is actually doing a back-up story in the first issue!JM:Yes.

Eight pages dealing with a giant bullet shooting through space, and Kitty Pryde inside it.

But basically Im just drawing Lockheed and Agent Brandhaving a tense conversation.

And its good fun, its great!

Drawing Lockheed is awesome.

So its great to get to draw him!

And as aX-Menfan, what was it like working onCable?

It was, a lot of fun.

I did two issues ofCable.

Its, again, a completely different book.

But that was really good fun as well.

One of the inspirations for it was…Whiteout!

And the environment becomes a character.

I basically wanted to do the idea of what would it be like to fight crime on Mercury?.

But Mercurys incredible, one side melts lead, the other side freezes oxygen.

These are incredible differences, how would you police it?

In fact, how would the power plant work?

How would the people live?

How would the energy get back to earth?

Mercury is very small, and it rotates very slowly.

A Mercury day is about 88 Earth days long.

It actually only rotates at around 10km/hr, in other words it rotates less than running speed.

On Mercury, you’re able to out-trigger the dawn.

And thats pretty much the opening scene, of somebody trying to out-trigger the dawn.

And of course, you could out-fire off the dawn just not for long.

And thats my noir-esque start of it.

And the environment characterises and changes everything.

And that is out…?KG:I dont know yet!

Probably early next year.

Just to finish up with.

How was your MCM Expo today?

JM:Yeah, good fun!

Its a complete spectacle, obviously, but its great talking to people.

Have there been any notable cosplayers for you?

JM:There was a fantastic Lion-O.

KG:Lion-O rules!

JM:Lion-Os brilliant, and it was his own hair, which was good!

KG:Its like a Buffalo Bill, fucked-up Marge Simpson.

And it scares me.

Thanks for your time, guys!

Read the first issue ofPhonogram: Rue Britannia online, for free.www.phonogramcomic.comwww.kierongillen.comwww.jamiemckelvie.com