Marc Silvestri , a stand-up comic guy

By STEPHEN JEWELL

After establishing himself as a fan-favourite artist in the late 1980s through stints on Marvel Comics' popular Wolverine and Uncanny X-Men titles, Marc Silvestri branched out on his own in 1992 when he formed his own comic book company, Top Cow Productions. Top Cow is a part of Image Comics, a collective of independent studios which was originally founded by seven of the comic book industry's leading artists including Silvestri, fellow X-Men artist Jim Lee and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane.

A desire for full creative and financial control over their work, including film rights, inspired the Image artists to reject Marvel's work-for-hire system and the move has paid off for Silvestri. Top Cow's flagship title, Witchblade - which he created in conjunction with writer Brian Haberlin and other Top Cow members - was made into a television series by Time Warner cable network TNT. And just in time for Silvestri's appearance at Armageddon this weekend, TV2 recently began screening the first season of Witchblade on Thursday nights.

"It's exciting to know you guys are getting the show," says Silvestri. "As with all things Hollywood it was several train wrecks that somehow made it to the station. Honestly, it amazes me how anything gets produced at all. The series was three years in development. That's a long cycle in television terms. It was a bit of a gamble for all concerned as we wanted the concept to be taken seriously and not made with a goofy wink to the audience.

"Keep in mind that we made the show before the first X-Men movie came out. Film director Oliver Stone and his partner, Dan Halsted, were our co-producers on the series, but Oliver left before we started shooting, over a creative dispute with the network."

Witchblade centres on New York cop Sarah Pezzini (played in the television series by Yancy Butler), who inherits an ancient, mystical gauntlet, previously worn down the ages by historical female figures like Joan of Arc, which somehow grants her enhanced strength and other supernatural powers.

"Brian wanted to do a female version of King Arthur and it just grew from there," says Silvestri.

Unfortunately, Witchblade was cancelled by TNT last year after two seasons. "There was an issue with a main cast member that the network felt we couldn't overcome," says Silvestri, referring to Butler's alcoholism. "I was pretty disappointed as we had a very loyal fan base. I felt we had only scratched the surface. But ultimately, I'm proud of what we did. We were one of the highest-rated cable series of all time and continued to score big all the way to the end."

Image's fortunes have also flagged over the past five years. Jim Lee sold his company Wildstorm to D.C. and other founding members departed the fold.

Silvestri, meanwhile, returned to Marvel earlier this year to illustrate a four-issue run of The New X-Men as part of an agreement which also included a Top Cow-published Wolverine/Witchblade team-up. Silvestri hopes that the X-Men crossover will raise Top Cow's profile in the current shrinking comics market, which, despite the success of independent companies like Image, is still dominated by the two main corporate publishers, Marvel and D.C.

"Let me just say I wish there were more people buying comics, period," says Silvestri. "But it was a personal thing for me to do the X-Men 15 years after the fact and see the difference. I like the new stuff a lot better, but even after being in the business for over 20 years, I feel I still have a lot in me I have yet to tap into."

However, Silvestri believes that the continuing success of superhero film franchises like Spider-man and X-Men will have a positive effect on the beleaguered comic industry.

"I thought the films were very entertaining, especially in light of the fact they had to introduce concepts that are alien to the general public," he says.

"As for making them at all, the comic industry can always use other sources of exposure and income. So, yes, we need these films to be successful. Plus, with modern CGI and good writers it's fun to see this stuff well realised for the big screen. I wouldn't worry about just pleasing Hollywood, though."

To commemorate Silvestri's trip Downunder for Armageddon in Auckland and Supernova in Sydney, Top Cow have produced a special two-issue story for their licensed Tomb Raider monthly in which Lara Croft journeys to New Zealand and Australia on a voyage of discovery to find the Spirit Walker, a 5000-year-old mystical charm.

Unfortunately, Tomb Raider writer James Bonny appears to have confused Maori legend with Aboriginal mythology.

"I believe the writer did some research and found some interesting mythology about New Zealand that would make a good story," says Silvestri, who has drawn a variant cover for a special edition of the comic which will only be available at Armageddon. "Plus, it's a beautiful country."

Appearance

* Who: Marc Silvestri

* What: Armageddon Pulp Culture Expo

* Where and when: Level four, Aotea Centre, all day Saturday. (Silvestri 1pm); also Witchblade, TV2, 11.30 tonight