A shocking new drama unfolds on the stage of GREEK STREET. Disturbed wayward Eddie and visionary Sandy are on the run…and they’re headed for London where Dedalus is investigating a suicide. Issue #6 “The Cassandra Complex” is part 1/4 of an intense new storyline.

Check out the cover by Davide Furno:

And a few character sketches by Davide Gianfelice:

Author, Peter Milligan takes you backstage of GREEK STREET:

GREEK STREET is a rich and complex performance with many strange and sometimes frightening characters. So I thought I’d invite you backstage, so you can get of pants-down look at the actors in what is a very personal project for me.

CURSING AND NUDITY

I’m trying to keep this post free of cursing and nudity. This is ironic because there’s a good deal of cursing and nudity in GREEK STREET. For all its frenzied classical referencing this book tries to be a modern and realistic (sometimes magically realistic) take on life.

And I don’t know about you, but there’s a lot of nudity and cursing in my life.

CHANTEL

A lot of the nudity comes from the ‘strippers” or chorus girls. And especially from Chantel, the “exotic dancer” who gives an often ironic prologue at the beginning of each issue. I really like Chantel. Behind that tough exterior is something more nuanced, more complex.

One of the things that intrigues me about Chantel – and about choruses in Greek Tragedy - is the issue of whether or not they should get involved in the action. If something awful is about to happen, should they try to stop it? Famously, the chorus in Medea is torn on this question when Medea is about to unleash her murderous revenge on Jason.

Chantel confronts this very problem, later in the series, when Eddie and Sandy’s young lives are at risk.

We’ve probably all been in the position of a Greek Chorus at one time. Wondering whether we should remain on-lookers…or get involved in the action.

EDDIE

As we’re back stage I must introduce you to our hero, Eddie. Obviously Eddie’s main role is as a kind of modern-day ragged Oedipus. But whereas Oedipus was of royal blood, our snotty-nosed anti-hero isn’t even sure where his blood comes from. Though primarily Oedipus there are times in the story when Eddie morphs into Orestes, another parent-killer. Eddie is an amalgam of a number of kids I knew when I was growing up. Two guys in particular. I lost track of them both…perhaps GREEK STREET is a way of me imagining a kind of life for them…

Never is Eddie more like transgressive Orestes than when pursued by our awful, modern-day re-incarnations of the those dreadful creatures of retribution…the furies…

THE HOUSE OF FUREY

The Fureys take centre stage – for some of the time – in ISSUE THREE of GREEK STREET, and we hint at their dark past–when an ancestor fought the (real life) London gangster, Bill Hill.

The Fureys are based loosely on a family I know. I’m pretty sure this family doesn’t read comics, which is good. Because believe me, they’re not the kind of people you mess with.

One of the characteristics of this book is that characters and events represent more than one character or aspect of Greek theatre. Therefore The Furey brothers represent the eumenides (or Furies), those terrible vehicles of justice and persecution. But I also see them as a kind of modern House of Atreus, that cursed line doomed by hubris, murder, and wickedness.

Believe me, there is a lot more hubris, wickedness and murder coming up.

PHEDRE

Greek Tragedy is taking over my life. With this thought, I saw Phedre the other week. Jean Racine’s version of Hippolytus, translated by Ted Hughes. I’ve always thought that Euripedes’ Hippolytus is an incredibly interesting play. And seeing Phedre just confirmed to me how bloody modern it is. Its themes of forbidden love and falsely-declared rape, its utter darkness, still shock, after hundreds of years. Phaedra will appear in GREEK STREET episode six, in an unexpected and hopefully shocking way…

THE OLD STORIES

I suppose that’s the idea of GREEK STREET summed up. An effort at making my own versions of some of those old stories fresh and shocking. As Chantel might say,

“The old stories haven’t finished with us yet.”

The legends of Sven of Orkney, ‘Sven the Returned’ hark through the ages. Until one day, after years of peace and exhile, a group of young Vikings appear on his shore. Sven is back in NORTHLANDERS #20!

In an in-depth conversation with CBR News, Karen Berger discusses Vertigo’s success in 2009, the imprint’s plans for 2010, and why she believes Vertigo is delivering the best work in the industry.

METRO NY features THE NOBODY

SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE talks about Vikings and NORTHLANDERS “The Cross and the Hammer.”

UNKNOWN SOLDIER is featured on the BBC along with a gallery of images and if you subscribe to SIRIUS XM, listen to Dysart discuss the book with Judith Regan.

And if you haven’t read it yet, download the first issue of UNKNOWN SOLDIER now!

Lot’s happened this week. Here’s a roundup of those not to be missed.

LARGEHEARTED BOY posts Jeff Lemire’s fantastic music playlist for THE NOBODY. In his introduction Jeff writes, “I’ve always preferred sad songs. They don’t make me sad, they just make me “feel more.” Now, that’s something I can totally relate to. Check it out!

CBR and NEWSARAMA review THE NOBODY.

BLOG@NEWSARAMA and AINT IT COOL NEWS review GREEK STREET #1.

IGN reviews THE UNWRITTEN #3 giving it a rating of 9/10.

MTV/Splashpage talks with Brian Azzarello about the end of 100 BULLETS.

And as a special treat, here are a few of Jeff Lemire’s early cover sketches for THE NOBODY.

Have a great weekend!

Just days away from publication and GREEK STREET has people (well, not just any people, some of the most renowned names in comic history) yelling its praises from the US and across the pond from London. Ah, London, the setting of GREEK STREET and all its glorious inhabitants.

“Sex, death, ambition, revenge and a reminder that some stories are too true and too dangerous to ever die. GREEK STREET crackles with Promethean fire.” —Grant Morrison

“A mind-bending mashup of ancient myth and modern mayhem!” —Dave Gibbons, artist of WATCHMEN

“A new monthly from the man who brought us Skin, Skreemer and Bad Company? Count me in!” —Garth Ennis, writer of PREACHER

“A spellbinding blend of modern crime and classical tragedy, GREEK STREET sparkles with wit, style and energy, yet is as brutal and unrelenting as the mythical Furies themselves. I can’t get enough of it.” —Cliff Chiang

And for those of us looking forward to shouting TGIF! we have this toast to GREEK STREET by Lee Bermejo, artist of the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller, JOKER:

“Milligan & Gianfelice mix delicious elixir with GREEK STREET. With a combination of totally unique characters, challenging themes, and a complex, multi-layered narrative, you’ve got one hell of a stiff drink. It’s aged well, with the smooth taste of Greek tragedy mixed with the tart bite of urban noir. But don’t just down it…SIP it. Let the flavors sink in and then go back for some more.”

Check out the character bios at MYSPACE

Millison and Morrigan. Morrison and Milligan. However you say it, those bizarre boys are at it again, and all is right with my world. Whenever these guys write for Vertigo, everyone stops and listens because these two most insanely talented, too smart for our own good know what gutsy, passionate stories are all about. They hold the big V record for writing the most creator-owned series for Vertigo, and certainly the most diverse and out-there.

Besides the return of SEAGUY (my personal favorite superhero), and the upcoming final storyline in the trilogy, Grant has been locked away writing JOE THE BARBARIAN, a new series that will forever change your view of childhood with Sean Murphy doing phenomenal art. We’ll be announcing its release date in the next couple of months. As for Peter, when he’s not writing HELLBLAZER, he’s been crafting GREEK STREET, an intense saga of epic proportion that has everyone up at the office perched on the edge of the seat waiting for the next script to arrive. The unforgettable cast of characters are now just appearing in a special preview in many of our monthly titles. GREEK STREET is more than a funky street in London; it’s where tales of forbidden love, murder, deadly prophecies and urban magic play out. It’s got a real HBO feel, where you know that what you’re experiencing is storytelling and drama at the top of its game, and sometimes gets a bit too hot to handle. Like in the below art with Sandy, a rich girl plagued with visions that portend the unspeakable. Davide Gianfelice’s art gets us going in that visceral way, like all those Italian artists know how to do so well…Gotta love it…and I know you will.