The 64-page, hardcover graphic novel is the brainchild of scripter Archie Goodwin, who will soon be writing WOLVERINE every month. But while Archie's obviously interested in Wolverine, he's got a soft spot-for Nick Fury as well. I've always liked Nick Fury, especially when Jim Steranko was writing and drawing his series in the 60's," Archie says. "I had to write several fill-in issues of S.H.I.E.L.D. when Steranko left, and I always felt that I never had the chance to give it my best shot. In the back of my mind, I always wanted another chance.'
That chance finally came with THE SCORPIO CONNECTION. The graphic novel puts Nick and Wolverine against. the mysterious menace called Scorpio. Long-time Marvelites may remember that the original Scorpio turned out to be Nick's brother Jake. But Jake's been dead for some time, and now there's a new Scorpio in town!
Who is Scorpio? What does he want'? Why is he after Nick? Those are the questions Nick has to answer as he races around the world trying to track him down. Those are the questions Nick has to answer as he races around the world trying to track him down. But considering that Scorpio possesses the vast power of the Scorpio Key, Nick better find his answers fast!
Of course Nick isn't alone in his search--and that could prove to be more trouble than help! When Scorpio kills one of Wolverine's friends, the adamantium-clawed mutant leaves his fellow X-Men to join Nick's hunt. But Nick and Wolverine have very different ideas about what to do with Scorpio if they catch him, and its anyone's guess who'll reach Scorpio first!
'For the story, I needed someone who'd be a companion and a menace to drive Fury along,' Archie explains. 'He and Wolverine seemed like a pretty logical match. They've met before and they've both worked for intelligence. The book turns on which one will got to Scorpio first and what he'll do."
Whoever finds Scorpio first, though, one thing's for sure: Any graphic novel starring Nick Fury and Wolverine is sure to be filled with suspense, action, and more than a few twists along the way. And no one can draw action and suspense stories better than Howard Chaykin! For more than ten years now, Howard's been winning acclaim for just that sort of material, ranging from his early art on stories starring adventurer Dominic Fortune to his recent work for a variety of comics companies. So you can imagine how happy everyone was when Howard expressed an interest in THE SCORPIO CONNECTION. But, Archie jokes, "If he'd known It would take me three years to write the script after he drew it, he probably wouldn't have been interested!"
Why three years? "I think that anytime anyone does a graphic novel a sense of it being very special sets in. For me, it set in spades" Archie laughs, adding (with tongue firmly in cheek), "Fortunately, it reads as though it was written in three days!"
All kidding aside, though, SCORPIO CONNECTION Editor Greg Wright feels that investing this much time has certainly paid off. 'Its been a long wait, but it's really worth it,' Greg says. 'Its a neat story - well worth reading." Greg's got a high opinion of the art, too, largely because of the unusual approach Howard has taken. "From the beginning, we decided to let the color be a large part of the art," Greg recalls. Because Howard shares his studio with colorist Richard Ory, the two were able to work more closely than most artists and colorists and allowed the painted colors to tell a lot of the story. On one page, for example, a man crouches on a cliff and looks out at a village in the distance...only the man has been drawn in pen and ink while the distant village has been painted in. The result is a look and feel far different from most comics.
Between THE SCORPIO CONNECTION's innovative art style and its fast-paced story, it's no wonder why Gregs very happy with the way its turned out. But when we asked him to sum up his feelings about THE SCORPIO CONNECTION, he paused, remembering that he'd let his assistant editor, Sara Tuchinsky, sum up the new S.H.I.E.L.D. regular series back In MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE #77. (Sara called "rootin? tootin!, lickety-split spy action the way I like it" ... as though you could have forgotten.) Then, after a moment of thought, she said, "Last time, I was silly and allowed Sarah to put a stupid quote in, so this time I will: 'This is one of the most surprising stories Marvel has ever done, with some stunning artwork by Howard Chaykin."
"Jeepers, it's keen!" Sara added.