three half-naked women and a bandicoot

Note: this interview can be found in the second printing of Fathom #0 and Fathom #11

It's been almost two years since Michael Turner's Fathom first took the comic industry by storm, quickly establishing itself as one of comics best selling titles. The first story arc ended in grand fashion and fans have been wondering just what direction Fathom would take, now that some of the mystery surrounding Aspen's past has been revealed. Recently, late one night (REALLY late!), Michael Turner and Top Cow's Frank Mastromauro sat down and spoke about where the story line would be heading in the near future. During their discussion, the two battled it out while playing one of their favorite games, Crash Team Racing!

Michael Turner: Ready?

Frank Mastromauro: Ready! We're here playing Crash Team Racing, one of the best racing games ever!

MT: And the most fun!

FM: Like the fun you're having with your new three part crossover?

MT: Exactly! I'm working on a three part, three character crossover in Fathom issues #12, 13 and 14. It's going to involve Tomb Raider and Witchblade, which we've done crossovers with before. Now we'll be crossing those two characters over with Fathom. I've been wanting to do a Witchblade/Fathom crossover for a really long time. That pairing will be the first part in issue #12, which Lara will show up for at the very end. Then, Lara will be featured in issue #13, which is the Fathom/Tomb Raider crossover. Issue #14 is where all three of them will be together combining all the issues into one big story.

FM: All three of them mix it up in the end? What's the story about? Can you tell us?

MT: Well, there's a race of people very similar to the underwater ones who all look like Taras. Taras was the guy who had sea urchin hair that was killed during the finale of issue #9. They're part of the underwater race, just a different sect, which lives in the Atlantic ocean. Just like there are other races within the human race, there are other races within the underwater world. They're upset about Taras being killed and some of the other stuff that happened. They're kind of bent on revenge and that's when all hell breaks loose!

FM: What made you decide to do the crossover with both Witchblade and Tomb Raider?

MT: Well, I had a story with the Witchblade doing this underwater stuff which I thought would be neat because we've never really seen her do anything underwater before. The Witchblade adapts to it's environment so it's something that I would be able to incorporate into my story. This was even before I was going to do Fathom. I had this underwater story put together because I really wanted to draw the Witchblade in a settling like that. Now I get the opportunity to do both. I get the chance to draw Witchblade and do the underwater ideas I've been thinking about, plus have it be combined with Fathom. Now Lara, in the very first Tomb Raider game, the story had to deal with Atlantis and some of the theories behind it. A lot of the history behind some of the characters in Fathom come from the legends of Atlantis. That's how we're going to involve Lara.

FM: Wow, you've completely crossed over everything!

MT: Yeah, there's going to be some cool stuff that comes out of this. We're using a lot of the same ideas that deal with Lara. The trick is to get the three of them together in a believable way. I think we've come up with a really great way, I'm just not going to tell yet. Lara and Sara already know each other so when they get into trouble, they can just call each other. The next race is starting!

FM: I know by the time people read this, they'll already have issue #10 and see that it's a more light hearted story.

MT: Right, well I tried to do issues #10 and 11 as a more fun story that is just centralized on Aspen and the new character. This crossover will bring back some of the more traditional characters from Fathom. Cannon Hawke will be there. Notthingham is going to pop up too!

FM: The crossover starts in April right?

MT: Yes, it'll probably go April, May, July. The third part will take a little longer because it'll be a few pages more. The big finale. We'll be doing some special covers throughout the entire crossover. Each book will have two covers shipping in an equal 50/50 ratio. The two covers of each book will then fit together to form one larger image for each issue. We'll also be having a few different incentives for retailers. Depending on order amounts, they'll get some free sketches and promotional items. Some will host store signings too!

FM: There's going to be a preview book to this crossover too?

MT: We'll have a preview book, new posters, maybe some lithographs. I'm really excited about this project so I want a lot of people to see it. I'm going to take my time drawing it and really make it look good!

FM: That'll be some great stuff for the comic stores and upcoming conventions!

MT: It'll be a lot of fun! At the upcoming MegaCon in March, I'll be doing a live interview chat with Todd McFarlane and a couple of other creators. I think there are some pretty big names that'll be there. I'm not sure what I'll talk about but it'll be fun for the fans and really fun to do.

FM: There's going to be different vehicles and weapons?

MT: Lots. The weapons and vehicles will be made from the black spiny sea urchin stuff that Taras wore. Most of the armor on the new race will consist of the sea urchin material too. It will definitely be a different look than what you see now in Fathom.

FM: Any new villain to fill us in on?

MT: There is a new female villain named Vana. Her name is Hawaiian for sea urchin. Peter Steigerwaled filled me in on that one.

FM: Cool. So everyone can look forward to checking out all the new characters and designs for the crossover during most of spring and summer.

MT: We had talked about doing just a one-shot issue, but in order to really get the characters involved, I opted for a longer crossover. That's the only thing I disliked about the Tomb Raider/Witchblade books I drew is that it was over too quickly. We had to completely set up the story, introduce the bad guys, introduce the conflict, then get them all together and end it. It was way too quick.

FM: Will part three of the story be the finale? Will these characters get back together again?

MT: Well, I also have another idea where I could bring them all back together sometime down the road. Do a little revisited type thing.

FM: Oh yeah, the same creative team is on the book right?

MT: J.D. Smith will be coloring it. Jonathan Sibal, the inker on Tomb Raider, it going to be inking it and Bill O'Neil will be co-writing it with me. I'm big on continuity so I'm going to make sure that everything adds up in the end.

FM: No plans for Fathom to show up in the pages of Witchblade or Tomb Raider?

MT: The crossover will only be happening in the Fathom books. It's definitely a possibility Fathom could show up in those titles somewhere down the line but there would need to be a good reason for that to happen. Once Fathom is more established, I think it would be really cool to get her involved with other Top Cow characters.

FM: What's planned for after the crossover?

MT: The next Fathom story line begins in August. It'll be another busy year but I'm having more fun now than I've ever had in comics!

FM: We'll all be there along the way! Thanks for filing us in. I think that just about does it for me. I've been blown up just about enough tonight!

MT: Yeah, time to get some rest and finish up the promo piece for the crossover. Rematch tomorrow night?

FM: Um, we'll talk about it! See ya!