Mark Guggenheim, the author behind beloved television series such as Arrow and ongoing comic series Star Wars: The Jedi Knights, made his Comic Originals debut on April 29, 2025. This series follows the lord of Ulysses, a future adventurer and archaeologist, in searching for rare artifacts of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Born on September 24, 1970 in Long Island, New York, Guggenheim initially pursued a career in law before moving on to writing. Today he has been recognized in a wide range of television works (The Practice, Tales of Arcadia, CSI: Miami, Legends of Tomorrow & Order), Film (Green Lantern, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters), Comics (The Flash, X-Men, Spider-Man, Resurrection), and literature (Overwatch of any living organism).
Beat caught up with Guggenheim to discuss his first Comixology Originals Project, The Adventures of Ulysses Monarch, collaboration with Tolibao, how AI can influence the media, and what can be done about it.
Can you give a brief explanation to our readers about the adventures of the Ollie Kaplan: Ulysses monarch?
Marc Guggenheim: The premise is very simple. The monarch of Ulysses is an adventurer on Earth 1000 years from now. He nurtured a reputation as a “unusual ancient obtainer,” like a certain fedora archaeologist, but that happens as if the artefacts are from our time.
Kaplan: What inspired you to this new comic concept? You are exploring new themes in this story, have you been exploring them so far?
Guggenheim: The Raiders in Lost Ark have a line. There, Belloc showed Indiana Jones a simple pocket watch and said, “Look at this. $3 from a vendor on the street. And it made me think about our current time and what it’s like to be an archaeologist of civilization.
For me, the pleasure is that it presents an opportunity to hold a mirror in our world and explore it from a new and different perspective. In this case, it’s a time perspective.
Kaplan: How did you approach World Building in the Adventures of Ulysses?
Guggenheim: To be honest, many early candidates. For me, the World Building effort starts with asking myself questions. What about 3026? Has humanity conquered the stars? Have you met the aliens? What language do people speak? Who will be in charge? Who would you like to take charge?
Kaplan: Can you share more with readers about their collaboration with artist Harvey Tolibao? Have you ever had a moment when Toribao’s art changed?
Guggenheim: Whenever I work with artists, I always provide them with the idea of changing what I described if I imagine a scene where they perform in a different way. Harvey didn’t take it to me as I remember, but the reason I thought he would perfectly match this idea is because he and I had done the SF X-Men story together and knew how great he was for design and World Building. It seemed like the perfect fit between the artist and the concept.
Kaplan: As your first Comixology Originals project, what attracted you to this particular story platform? Or how did the collaboration come together?
Guggenheim: I held a general meeting with Honcho Jeff Dibartolomeo of Comixology. Jeff and I share many of the same sensibilities when it comes to the comics and comic book industry. I was really hooked on Comixology’s business model and the amount of creative control they offer. The images are great, and I enjoy working with them, but they can only publish so many books. You need more publishers to provide the amount of creative freedom that images do.
Kaplan: Besides being a “recovering lawyer,” you worked in many media outlets. Any lessons from your laws and TV or film writing background will affect your most direct impact. How to approach manga in 2025
Guggenheim: That’s a great question. The truth feels like I learn something new with every script I write, regardless of the medium. That being said, I think my TV and film backgrounds really help me with my comic book writing. These days, there are fewer and fewer examples of omniscient or first-person narration (a trend that started with Y: The Last Man without narration), and my television and film productions have been trained to be able to tell stories without that device. That’s just an example. I’m sure we’ll find more minor examples too.
Kaplan: What do you think comics can do better than anything else?
Guggenheim: The idea that the limits of what can be done visually are the states of artist talent, not budgets, but rather the state of artists’ talent, remains very powerful and unique to the comics medium. I would like to say that writing is important, but comics are visual medium at the end of the day, and there is virtually no ceiling in terms of what is visually achievable.
Kaplan: I participated in the WGA Strike. How do you view AI tools and digital workflows that influence writing and production?
Guggenheim: I think AI will be the first to come to post-production. What AI can do is very suitable for work done in post, whether you create the first assembly of cuts, VFX or ADR. However, not all developments are positive. That means eliminating a lot of work when those jobs are already short. It’s quite scary.
Kaplan: Do you know what people can do about it?
Guggenheim: That’s a great question. Unfortunately, this is a problem if there is no realistic solution. This means that unions can build contractual protections, as if they were, and require certain tasks to be done by humans rather than AI. But it pours water into a leaky bucket. It’s something – it’s better than anything – but history teaches us that it won’t stop people from evolving the technology that costs their work.
The only real “solution” (and I hesitate to use that word) is to evolve with technology. Politicians are not here to save us. Considering the new ways of working AI has presented you should evolve into your current job (or more likely, perhaps new jobs). In other words, if you are a buggy whip maker, start learning how to repair your engine.
Kaplan: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Guggenheim: Thank you for asking about AI. Monarch is about using the future to understand the present a little more. And future contemplation requires AI considerations to be included in all positive and destructive forms.
Please see the preview page that was released previously.
You can get a copy of Comixology Today from Marc Guggenheim and Harvey Tolibao’s The Adventures of Ulysses Monarch #1!
Like this:
Like loading…
