A few weeks ago I ran the announcement that producer/writer Jesse Negron’s Mechanical Cake had entered into an interesting partnership. On top of the top comics talent putting together the publisher’s slate of books, the legendary Ridley Scott had a hand in things. That’s been public knowledge since the beginning of the year. But at Comic-Con, Mechanical Cake announced their second book HYDE would also involve Johnny Depp in some sort of creative capacity.
The press release says,
Created by Jesse Negron, HYDE picks up Mr. Hyde’s story, from the Robert Louis Stevenson novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and imagines a world where Mr. Hyde has defeated Jekyll. Now unencumbered by interruptions from his alter ego, Hyde can finally freely explore his dark tendencies with uninhibited abandon. The 2- volume graphic novel series finds Mr. Hyde in his new domain, the sewers beneath London, where he experiments on others, using the corrupting serum to create even more “Hydes.” Each volume in the series will contain two chapters with over two hundred pages. Johnny Depp will have input on all aspects of the property and create the character of Hyde.
Let’s assume that’s characterization, some viewpoint, and from the video you can see here, the possibility that these gorgeous books will translate to film. Not having actually talked to Negron myself, that’s an assumed goal on my part. I’m also just crazy enough to want to see a film that mixes media, part animation, part live-action Depp doing his Depp thing. I long for the days of Hanna-Barbera’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Here’s the kicker that upsets me, though. Even on Mechanical Cake’s website, the focus lies on Scott and Depp. That gets attention outside of comics, so I get making them prominent. But this is Negron’s baby — I’ll assume as CEO of the company, he okayed that part. Yet he has a cowriter, Joe Matsumoto. A book like this could raise his profile. They’ve put together a legitimate powerhouse of a comics creative team with Gary Erskine and Chris Weston on art and Dave Elliott editing.
Every one of them could be fine with this, so take my grousing with a huge grain of salt. I do believe Depp will focus on this; I’m sure Scott will offer his thoughts. Fans of the art will know, and marketing knows we’re already on board with that creative team. It’s a choice.
You can currently pre-order HYDE directly from Mechanical Cake, and with the current state of comics distribution, that’s the safest bet to make sure you actually get a copy. I am not affiliated with Mechanical Cake, though enjoy the creatives’ work.
