14 Jul 2012 07:55:32
Coldplay will finally explain the meaning of Mylo Xyloto, elaborating their album's fictional story in a series of comic books. Over six issues, debuting at this week's San Diego Comic-Con, co-writer Mark Osborne traces the tale of young Mylo, a hapless "Silencer" fighting a "war against sound and colour".
Osborne, who co-directed the movie Kung-Fu Panda, said he had originally hoped to make a "music-driven animated film" with Coldplay – "a new kind of Yellow Submarine". Instead, Mylo Xyloto and the world of Silencia became a backdrop for the band's 2011 album, their world tour, and now this comic, due on Matt Groening's Bongo imprint. "There will hopefully be many, many connections for people who have heard the album," Osborne said.
"There were always key words and phrases from Chris [Martin] that drove the story process, things like 'glowing in the dark' and 'dreaming of paradise'," Osborne said. He worked with Martin to develop the project's visual look, "with both of us writing and sketching ideas out". Later, Coldplay manager Phil Harvey got involved "weighing in on all story ideas, character designs, scripts, inked pages".
Though Osborne still hopes to turn Mylo Xyloto into a film, he said he is "beyond thrilled" with the comics. The first issue will be released this week, with artwork by Alejandro Fuentes. The rest of the series will be published monthly, beginning in February 2013. Those volumes will be co-written by Dylan Haggerty.
Earlier this year, Martin expressed some regret that Coldplay had chosen an album title with "two words that you couldn't even Google". He eventually backed away from those comments, saying they "love" the title, and probably with good reason: after topping the charts in 34 different countries, Mylo Xyloto has sold more than 6m copies worldwide.
