I sat down at one of the Baltimore Comic Con panels to see what my friends at Top Cow had to say about what we can expect and hear them dish on a little insight into their comic making madness.

On the panel was über writer Ron Marz, artist Nelson Blake II and Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik.  Here’s some of what they had to say.

• Artifacts brings together the fantasy and science fiction aspects of the Top Cow universe together.
• At the stories heart is Sara Pezzini and Jackie Estacado’s search for their daughter Hope and challenges them both to see how far they’ll go, what lines they’ll cross and what they’ll do to get their child back.
• Marz described the event as a Michael Bay movie but with characters on top of the action.
• Marz then went to talk about the overall writing philosophy of Top Cow and that you shouldn’t need a degree in continuity to enjoy a comic.  It’s basic writing 101 in that a comic should be accessible for new and old readers alike.  Artifacts is especially written to make sure that’s the case.
• Artifacts #1 is going back for a third printing, the first Top Cow comic to do so.
• The panel went on to talk about the Velocity mini-series and how the original project was scrapped due to creator disagreement.  A pitch by Marz when he stepped in to write the series was to have it be a relay race where each issue is handed off to a new writer and artist.
• Nelson Blake II described Magdalena as “a symptom of what’s going on in the Top Cow universe.  It’s all part of the same vision.”
• There was lots of discussion in how creating comics needs to be a collaborative project between the writers and the artists and Top Cow makes sure that’s the case.  Other companies take an assembly line approach to production.  The writer creates the script and artist draws what they write.
• When it comes to the overall universe Filip stated that you should be able to buy just one comic book series if you like and enjoy it on it’s own, but if you purchase everything, you should be rewarded with a richer story.
• They’ve launched some graphic novels for $5 to get you, the readers, to take a chance on the series (they’re worth it).  They’ve even launched one that has six first issues for $5 understanding the economy is tough and it’s more difficult for individuals to try out and take a chance on a new series.
• When it comes to a Witchblade movie, the funding is in place but they haven’t gotten a script they like and have gone through 3 or 4 scripts.  They’d rather have no movie than put out crap.