‘Kingdom Come’ Documentary Takes Flight With Kickstarter Campaign; Filmmakers Tease New Insight On Alex Ross Creative Process

Watchmen

The Dark Knight Returns

The Killing Joke

What Ever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

The greatest graphic novels of all time don’t just depict beloved superheroes, they strip them down and build them back up again. They boldly dare to dissect the larger-than-life mythologies surrounding the Caped Crusader and Man of Steel — probing for answers on why they remain so beloved and ripe for endless reinterpretation. In other words, what makes these characters eternal?

One of the best to ever do it was Kingdom Come, the 4-issue miniseries from the duo of writer Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross.

Published between May and August of 1996, the seminal storyline both questions and re-affirms the cultural imprint and necessity of our favorite DC crime-fighters (Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, etc.) via a breathtakingly operatic — and, of course, apocalyptic — tale of superheroism run amok.

While bits and pieces of Kingdom Come have cropped up in various onscreen depictions over the last 28 years, the epic saga has never been adapted in its entirety. Like Watchmen, it’s one of those legendary “unfilmable” properties that would require an ungodly amount of time, effort, and money to adequately bring to life.

Nevertheless, the comic is finally getting its due via The Legend of Kingdom Come, an 80-minute documentary all about the making of the titular limited series.

Featuring all-new interviews with Waid and Ross — as well as industry luminaries like Todd McFarlane, Paul Dini, and the Benson Sisters — the project seeks to be the definitive deep dive into one of the most influential superhero stories ever created. Beyond the usual talking heads, The Legend of Kingdom Come will also feature a number of animated sequences inspired by the comic’s most dynamic panels. Ross, who always delivers a haunting realism by way of his meticulously detailed illustrations, is very much the core focus of the narrative.

With the documentary now raising money via Kickstarter, I caught up with director Remsy Atassi and producer Sal Abbinanti (Ross’s longtime friend and art dealer) to learn more…

Josh Weiss: How did the project first come about?

Remsy Atassi: Sal and I linked up about eight years ago. I wasn’t really in the comics world at all by comparison to Sal, who is a comic legend. He brought me in to work with Alex; he was trying to produce some content for him and help get Alex’s work out there. As a filmmaker, I immediately saw that that Alex would be an amazing subject for a documentary, because he’s an incredible artist and has a very unique style and perspective that is very singular. Over the years, Alex and Sal became my comics mentors and as I learned more about the history of comics and became more familiar with his work, Kingdom Come became this big project of his that I was really fascinated by [in terms of its] backstory … When I read it, I was blown away by the art, the magnitude of the work. I had wanted to do a doc about Alex and he was a little less interested in that. I think he was really interested in trying to get this story out there. And so, [Kingdom Come] became the angle. But the doc is really about Alex, his whole career, and the history of comics.

Sal Abbinanti: When Remsy and I got together, we were creating content for the social media platforms, 8-10 minute clips of Alex talking about his process. But what I discovered, after working with Alex for over 25 years, it’s that whether he loves it or not, [Kingdom Come is] his definitive work. It has a personal meaning to so many people. I was in involved with it from the ground level. [Alex and I] were just friends at the bar when he was fleshing out Kingdom Come, so I kind of knew where the bodies were buried. Whenever I would tell these stories to people at a con, because I run Alex’s whole circus at San Diego and New York, people just loved it. They love to know those little chestnuts of craziness that go on behind-the-scenes. I thought, ‘Maybe we got something here.’

Weiss: Is the documentary complete?

Abbinanti: There are a few little cleanups at the end to bring it to the fan base, to put it on the Blu-ray, but yeah, I would say we’re 99% cooked. Right, Remsy?

Atassi: It always seems like there’s little niggles at the end, but for the most part, the film is pretty much done. The goal of the Kickstarter is really about delivering the film and being able to directly connect with our audience. That’s one of the things that’s really fun about working in comics, is that there’s a tremendous cultural aspect and the fans love to be a part of it. So, we’re bringing them a lot of cool rewards through Kickstarter. This is the first avenue that folks are going to be able to participate and get the film. We’ll be delivering it in spring of ’25 through the Kickstarter and then, of course, the film’s going to have a life of its own after that, which is all still in play. But for people who want to get in early, this is the way.

Let’s talk about narrative. How is the documentary structured from a storytelling standpoint?

Abbinanti: Remsy and I went through multiple cuts. You could do a documentary just about the comic world in the ‘90s, because things were so crazy. The pivotal graphic novels, The Dark Knight Returns, Maus, and Watchmen sent the comic world in a different direction. The business had gone crazy with a lot speculative buying and foil covers and the Image guys setting off the independent comics scene. There was this explosion into the culture of what comics were becoming and Kingdom Come was right there with that. So, we felt there were multiple stories we needed to hem together to get us there. But we also felt it was important to show the book, to show the art, and to show the creative a process. We wanted to dig a little deeper [by interviewing] the models that Alex used for the book; talk to different creators and get their points of view; talk to the fan base, the man on the street, so-to-speak. What was their response? How did it affect the business? And then also, the continued legacy of Kingdom Come. What does it still inspire and what pieces of it still have this effect on the business — even today?

Atassi: I think from a storytelling standpoint, we were really trying to put this book in the context of the time in which it was made and to also show why it’s still important. We definitely made it for the fans in the sense that we’ve unearthed thousands images — sketches, thumbnails, reference photos. We’ve brought these to life in some really cool 3D illustrated animations. We’re also trying to bring new people into this world. It’s being able to tell that story to an audience that is not as intimately familiar with the nuances. If you’re a comic fan, you definitely know about Alex Ross and Kingdom Come, but the argument of the film is that his work really stands among the best there is in this art-form.

Weiss: Why do you think Kingdom Come resonated so deeply with readers?

Abbinanti: I think it boils down to Alex. Superman is his favorite character [but Superman] was on a decline in the ‘90s. He almost wasn’t cool anymore. Alex went, ‘No, you can make this guy cool. This guy is the guy. They all stand on his shoulders.’ I think that spoke to a lot of people, especially of our generation, in the comic business. Even though Superman was perceived as an older, uncool, Americancharacter, he still was the guy. He was on the Mount Rushmore of superheroes. Alex really showed you could do cool things [with him]. There’s no boring characters, there’s just boring artists or boring art directors.

Atassi: I think it’s those iconic images. It’s Superman and Captain Marvel fighting or Batman flying in with all the heroes … And then for the for the deep-track fans, of course, there are so many Easter eggs and so many characters and so much history from the DC Universe.

Abbinanti: He approached it from the fans’ point-of-view. There were so many things in there, those Easter eggs that the fans got that went right past the casual comic reader. Alex made this for the fans.

Weiss: I had a chance to interview Alex over the summer and he quite humbly shied away from my prompt to describe his own style. How would you characterize it?

Abbinanti: He’s always been compared to Norman Rockwell, because of his photo-realistic approach. But I think you’re glossing over too much of his design aesthetics. He has an incredible sense of design, posturing, and composition. What’s behind it is a tremendous love for the medium. He really is a student of the of the medium. He loves comics. You could sit with Alex and talk for hours about any given character. He’s also a student of the the greats — Jack Kirby, Neil Adams, and John Romita Sr. Those are his guys. He doesn’t shy away from the fact that he really loves comics. When you combine that with his his artistic chops, it makes him very, very dangerous.

Atassi: He elevates the art form … You could see Alex’s work on the wall and it would fit in at any museum. It’s on its own level. There are a lot of other great artists, but Alex is one of those great artists that transcends the medium.

Weiss: Without giving too much away, how will the documentary surprise fans of Alex and Kingdom Come?

Abbinanti: We made this for the fans. I’ve always said that we don’t apologize for this stuff. This is what we love to do. This is our thing. I knew that when we approached this, we had to [do] a deep dive into the book itself on a lot of different levels — from the writing, to the art, to the perspective of the fan base, to the other creators. We wanted to touch all the bases. I think what will surprise people most of all, is that it’s a great documentary for both someone who’s not into comics and someone who’s a rabid KC fan. My wife is not a big comics fan, and she loved it. She found it very entertaining all the way through, which was great because we want to appeal to the mass audience, not just the guys that are walking around with Kingdom Come shirts on.

Atassi: We put a lot of care into going through a huge archive and unearthing stuff that people have never seen before … We’ve been working on this since 2018. In earnest, we’ve been working really hard on it since 2022, but there’s content going all the way back. So, it’s really a snapshot of this artist’s work and life, and and why this book has had such an impact on so many people.

Weiss: In addition to Alex and Mark, you’ve also got all these other comic book and entertainment industry legends like Todd McFarlane and Paul Dini featured in the documentary. What was the though process behind going after talent?

Abbinanti: Having been in the business for a long time, I wanted a range of people … There were a few that that got away, but overall, I’m more grateful for who we got than who we didn’t get.

Atassi: This is an indie film in every way. We don’t have a studio backing us, so it’s Sal and I trying to wrangle people. We would post up at Comic-Con for a few years or we would be flying to a city, trying to pick up a few folks. Trying to get all the logistics of that is just part of making a documentary. You end up spending more time with spreadsheets and emails than anything else. The job of a filmmaker is is trying to coordinate that stuff. But Sal has a pretty deep roster of some essential folks in the industry who he was able to bring together. For me, it was important to get the fans and some historians who could talk about comics and contextualize it. It’s a huge range of interviews.

Weiss: Anything to add?

Abbinanti: I don’t know how it’s going to be received, but I have all the confidence in the world in [this documentary]. I think it’s a great film and being a comic fan myself, it’d be the type of thing that I would want to watch. It really checks off all the boxes, so I think the fan base is going to be excited to see it.

Atassi: If you’re a fan of Kingdom Come, if you’re a fan of Alex, if you’re a fan of comics — or just pop culture in general — we tell a really cool story that is going to be exciting for the fans and exciting for a general audience.

***This interview was edited for length and clarity***

This post was originally published on here