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Kieron Gillen on world building in Eternals, Wicked+Divine, Star Wars

Oct 1, 2020

Guest

Kieron Gillen

Kieron Gillen, a multi-award-winning comics writer known for works like The Wicked + The Divine and DIE, shares his insights on world-building. He discusses balancing character development with immersive settings, the importance of research in crafting believable fantasy, and strategies for engaging storytelling without overwhelming readers with detail. Gillen also reflects on working within established franchises like Star Wars and Marvel, emphasizing personal investment in projects and the evolution of his unique voice through creator-owned work.

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ADVICE

Show, Don’t Explain Everything

Edit relentlessly: include only what readers need to understand the story and world.
Drop readers into scenes and let them piece the world together like visiting a foreign country.

insights

INSIGHT

Leave Space To Discover

Gillen deliberately leaves some world rules undecided to keep exploration alive during writing.
Serialized formats force earlier commitments than novels, changing how you reveal world details.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

How Die Plays With Familiar Fantasy

In Die he uses meta-fantasy regions that echo authors like Tolkien without being direct copies.
The Tolkien-style eagle gag shows how he balances in-joke and serious world logic.

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Why world building matters across genres

06:54 • 1min

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How much world building to prepare

08:10 • 1min

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Characters vs world: which comes first?

09:15 • 3min

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World details versus reader reveal

11:57 • 53sec

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Using deception and misdirection in plotting

12:50 • 2min

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Research feeds imaginative world building

14:24 • 1min

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Dropping readers in and detective-style pacing

15:30 • 15sec

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Authorial control and the ethics of manipulation

15:45 • 2min

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Serialized storytelling forces early decisions

17:25 • 1min

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Meta-fantasy play in Die

18:48 • 2min

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Designing rules to serve story purpose

20:39 • 2min

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Matching tone to world-building style

22:19 • 2min

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Collaborating with artists on world building

24:30 • 3min

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Consistent art teams shape series identity

27:00 • 1min

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Writing in established franchises versus originals

28:20 • 30sec

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Approach to Star Wars: filling historical gaps

28:50 • 3min

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Making a Marvel book feel distinct

31:39 • 2min

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Renovating existing worlds like Eternals

33:41 • 2min

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Finding ways to care about assigned properties

35:47 • 2min

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Using creator-owned work to hone skills

38:15 • 4min

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Early career: making a recognisable voice

41:50 • 5min

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Choosing distinctive first projects

46:38 • 3min

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Portfolios and incremental career moves

50:00 • 4min

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Ludocrats origins and improvisational world building

53:40 • 4min

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Interplay between collaborators' projects

The Wicked + The Divine

Matt Wilson

Kieron Gillen

Jamie McKelvie

The Wicked + The Divine is a comic book series created by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. The narrative follows a group of twelve people who discover they are reincarnated deities, known as the Pantheon, every ninety years. These gods live as pop stars with immense fame and supernatural powers but are doomed to die within two years as part of a cycle known as the Recurrence. The series explores themes of life, death, pop music, and various mythological deities, and is noted for its diverse portrayal of ethnicity, sexuality, and gender roles.

X-Men

Chris Claremont

#21460

• Mentioned in 2 episodes

In this series, Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr. revisit the Eternals, a group of demigods created by the Celestials. The story follows the Eternals as they awaken from a collective amnesia and must confront their past and their arch-nemesis, the Deviants. The narrative explores themes of identity, mythology, and cosmic conflict, set against the backdrop of Marvel's Civil War.

#47099

Thor

Marvel Comics Character

Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Larry Lieber

Thor is a fictional character in Marvel Comics, created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Larry Lieber. He first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 in 1962. Thor is the god of thunder and wields the powerful hammer Mjolnir, which can only be lifted by those deemed worthy. He is a key member of the Avengers and has been featured in numerous comic book series and adaptations.

Once and Future

Kieron Gillen

Kieron Gillen's "Once & Future" is a fantasy comic book series that reimagines Arthurian legends in a modern-day setting. The series features a compelling cast of characters, including a retired monster hunter and her reluctant grandson. The story blends action, adventure, and horror, creating a thrilling and suspenseful narrative. Gillen's writing is known for its sharp wit and its ability to subvert expectations. The series explores themes of legacy, family, and the enduring power of myth.

• Mentioned in 14 episodes

Star Wars

Various Authors

The Star Wars books are part of an extensive media franchise created by George Lucas. They span multiple fictional eras, featuring characters such as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia, among others. The stories often involve galactic conflicts, the struggle between the Jedi and the Sith, and the adventures of various characters in a galaxy far, far away. The books can include novels, technical journals, and other types of literature that expand on the Star Wars universe.

Multi-award-winning comics writer Kieron Gillen joins us on the pod today to discuss his methods for world building. Kieron is perhaps best known for The Wicked + The Divine, the hugely ambitious collaboration with artist Jamie McKelvie which presents a pantheon of gods who happen to also be pop stars, as well as UBER, Phonogram, DIE, Once & Future and Ludocrats. Beyond his own books he's also worked extensively with Marvel on X-Men, Thor, Iron Man and with LucasFilm on Darth Vader and Star Wars books. In the interview we explore the different challenges and opportunities of writing for established franchises compared to your own work, and how he approaches research and making things feel 'real' in fantasy stories. We spoke to Kieron just as he had been revealed as the writer on The Eternals, the return of a long-running series from Marvel.

This episode is part of our Early Career Writers' Resource Pack on World Building, which also features insight and tips from Abi Daré, Farhana Shaikh and Ian Nettleton. These packs are made possible by support from Arts Council England. See the rest of the pack here: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/5-world-building/

Hosted by Stephanie McKenna and Simon Jones, who is barely able to contain his excitement.

More info on the Desmond Elliot Prize: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/desmond-elliott-prize/

Find out about what we do: http://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/

Kieron on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kierongillen

Music by Bennet Maples.

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