Portland author Matt Fraction (Fear Itself, Invincible Iron Man) appeared at Floating World Comics' new location on Wednesday to sign for the first issue of Casanova's third arc, Avaritia.
Avaritia is the first new volume in the tale of reality-hopping master thief/super spy Casanova Quinn. The previous two, Luxuria and Gula, began in 2006 as 16-page issues from Image Comics, and republished in 2010 under Marvel's creator-owned imprint Icon, in full color.
"It's been a year in the making," Fraction said of the new arc.
The last Image issue of Casanova appeared in 2008, but it wasn't until 2010's move to Icon that the writer resumed work on the story, which is illustrated by Gabriel Ba (Daytrippers).
Besides the move to a new publisher, Casanova is undergoing other changes.
"[Each arc] is going to be four issues instead of seven," Fraction explained, "so although the scope is the same, it has to have a different structure."
The Icon reprint of the first two arcs combined two 16-page issues into one, and Fraction is continuing that pattern going forward.
"It's also 32 pages instead of [industry standard] 20, so I'm packing in a lot more."
He warned that issue three could arrive late, impacted by his work on Marvel's event Fear Itself and the changing needs of his young children, but did not foresee further delays.
Fear Itself has been "big," Fraction noted, adding that each issue of the miniseries has been selling out its print runs.
"It outsold every issue of [DC's event] Flashpoint except the last one," he reported.
Though Fraction considered the series "fun to write," he did admit that there was "crazy pressure" involved in an undertaking of such scope.
"I went to a Marvel retreat that was just me and Marvel Editorial," he recalled.
Is Fraction up for another big event like Fear Itself?
"Not... today," he said carefully, with a smile. "Give me some time."
Working on both a major mainstream book and a boutique personal project, Fraction has been able to sample both sides of the creative world, and has no clear favorite.
"[I'm sure] lots of writers hold their nose at writing superhero comics," he said, "but I genuinely love my job. I get to work with Stuart Immonen and Olivier Coipel at the same time!"
Working on a mainstream book for a "big two" publisher is a demanding job, though.
"It's a machine that eats as much as you can feed it," he said.
On the other hand, Fraction enjoys the pride of ownership that comes from working on a self-created project. For a second opinion, he asked fellow Portlander Steve Lieber, artist of the creator-owned Underground.
Lieber admitted that pride of ownership was a good thing, but also added that "working for a corporation is like a warm bath."
Fraction agreed, noting that the checks that "have Spider-Man on them" show up on a consistent schedule.
Last of the Independents, an original graphic novel with artist Kieron Dwyer from nearly a decade ago, will also be reprinted by Icon, the author reported in Avaritia #1.
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