Given the many different comics upon the market, and the relative good quality of those comics, sometimes it is easy to miss a great comic. Mike Oeming is a great artist, and a very good writer. He has teamed up with writer Bryan Glass to create an epic story, with very small participants, they are The MICE TEMPLAR!
Who are the Mice Templar?
Mike: Mythical warriors set in a fantasy period where mice ruled the world. Like Jedi with teeth. :)
Bryan: The Templar are a legendary brotherhood that protected all creatures and maintained the natural balance of order betwixt predators and prey. As they were mice, mice culture became the predominant rule for thousands of generations. At the start of our tale, the Templar as a unified order are no more. As the result of a bitter ideological dispute, the Templar destroyed themselves in a vicious and brutal civil war that left all of mouse culture in the hands of a tyrannical rat regime that props up an insane mouse king in power. The surviving Templar are scattered and few, hating one another, and rejected by the people who feel betrayed by their internal issues that left their culture in the hands of ruthless despots.
Since the Knight Templars were eradicated from Europe by special order, are you doing anything with their history, or regarding their costumes or goals?
Mike: Any commonality lies mostly in the aesthetics. Much like Shaolin monks, or the Templar, the Fenians (Celtic and Arthurian legend), possibly Samurai, the Mice Templar are virtuous warriors with a strong moral code.
Bryan: Aside from a clever derivation from the name Knights Templar, our tale has no basis in the history of the actual Templar at all. In our tale, the Mice Templar were a religious governing order that destroyed itself from within. Any reunification or restoration of their order will now require that they become something different than that which fell.
How is this work different from the well regarded MOUSE GUARD from David Peterson and ASP.
Mike: It's actually very different despite the surface aspects. How different is the Fantastic Four from Authority or Justice League? They are all super powered heroes, dressed in spandex, fighting crime, and centered in a city, each team with contrasting powers and characters that can have similar powers and motivations to the other books, yet they have very little in common.
If you read Guard or pick up Templar, I'm sure you can still enjoy the other while having a strong sense of differences in the universes.
Bryan: I feel that the biggest difference between the two works is one of tone. To me, David's Mouse Guard is an example of the very best in children's literature: the kind that can be appreciated by all ages, especially adults. Conversely, Mice Templar is a more mature themed tale that should still be accessible and enjoyed by most children.
What is your long term goal regarding the Mice Templars?
Mike: I'd like to see it ongoing with Powers. We have several large arcs and history we'd like to tell. I'd like to simplify my life with mostly Powers and Mice Templar and just try to enjoy life more. :)
Bryan: I am so proud of the many nuances we've created for this world, along with its rich and expansive history, that I would like to continue writing adventures in this universe for many years to come.
What publisher is this coming out from and when will it be out? Also for the people just coming into this, how about a blurb or promo?!
Mike: Image comics, this September, bimonthly!
Bryan: The Mice Templar is an epic tale of fall and redemption; not only for individual characters, but for an entire culture that finds itself on the edge of destruction brought about by their own petty disputes. It is the story of Karic, who matures from child to adult, to hero to legend, who discovers that he has been chosen by supernatural forces to restore the ancient balance. But dark forces are at work as well, to resurrect an ancient evil to dominance over all creation. It is a saga of mythic power, of legends come to life, and of one small mouse that holds the destiny of two worlds in his paws, if only he can find the courage and strength to become a legendary Templar himself.
Thank you Mike Oeming and Bryan Glass. Readers please look for the PREVIEWS issue with MICE TEMPLAR, and preorder it! Support great work!
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