Comics
Mads Mikkelsen on the Grotesqueness, Humor and Nudity of Netflix’s ‘Polar’ [Interview]
Spoiler warning.
Polar is not Mads Mikkelsen’s first comic book movie. He played the villain in Marvel’s Doctor Strange, of course, but Polar is decidedly more violent than Marvel’s output. Mikkelsen plays Duncan Vizla in this comic book adaptation, a hitman who murders people in graphic ways, in a world full of hitmen who seem to try to one-up each other’s kills.
“The comic books of Doctor Strange and Marvel films, in general, are obviously superheroes with superpowers,” Mikkelsen told Bloody-Disgusting. “What they lift from the realistic thing is the super thing. What we lift from Polar is the style, the grotesqueness of the whole thing. So that’s also a lifted film but it doesn’t have the superpowers.”
The movie adaptation of Polar brings some of the surreal aspects of the comic down to earth, but trades them for blood and guts.
“I think we were all very impressed with the comic book,” Mikkelsen said. “We call it a graphic novel because that’s what we call it in Europe. It was the simplicity of the black and white and red colors and then very, very comic book characters. Some of the characters were 10 times bigger physically than some of the other characters. We were wondering a lot about how we can bring that on screen without actually having somebody who’s 10 times bigger, but try to make it grotesque in that world.”
Polar has a sense of humor too. At one point, Duncan speaks to a grade school class and demonstrates his knife technique on a child.
“We thought it would be a great idea that we started a scene like that,” Mikkelsen said. “Instead of just sitting there chit-chatting with the kids, it would be fun to make the kid piss his pants. And this character Duncan doesn’t really notice. He’s not really good with kids. He’s not really good with people. He has a hard time reading them unless they’re killers. Those he can read. Normal people he has a hard time with.”
In more intense moments, Mikkelsen has to take out armies of attackers barehanded, and bare-assed. A long action sequence occurs with Duncan in a state of undress, making it far more brutal on the actor than his big studio blockbusters.
“Doctor Strange was also going on for days,” Mikkelsen said. “I had a fight with Benedict Cumberbatch that was also quite a big thing. The difference was that I could be padded on my elbows and my knees on that film. I could not on this one. I was literally not wearing any clothes meaning that I would have to fall on my elbow on a concrete wall. That’s a different ball game.”
Polar premieres on Netflix on Friday, January 25.
Comics
‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics
Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.
Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.
In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”
The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”
Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”
“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.
Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”
Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.
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Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
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Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
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Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover
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Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)
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Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)
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Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)
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Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)
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Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)
Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
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