Last week we shared with you our conversation with web comics site ComicMix.com about its upcoming "Aleister Crowley meets James Bond" project The Pilgrim. Well, this weekend at Mid-Ohio Con we had an opportunity to speak with the artist behind The Pilgrim, comics superstar Mike Grell, best known for his work on titles like Jon Sable: Freelance, Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, and The Warlord...

So what can you tell us about your upcoming web comic The Pilgrim?  We're told it's "Aleister Crowley Meets Ian Fleming."

It’s written by my old pal Mark Ryan, who does the voice of Bumblebee for Transformers, among many other things.  He’s a very accomplished and well-known British actor.  Google him: Mark Ryan, actor.  Fifteen years ago, Mark told me this story that basically reads a lot like Tom Clancy meets M. Night Shyamalan.  [Laughs.]  But I do like that -- "Aleister Crowley meets Ian Fleming."  It's based on actual events that occurred during World War II, when the British had a program basically exploring the abilities of psychic warfare.  Now this predates the United States program, Project Stargate, which involved the attempt to use psychic spies during the Cold War.  The Brits were well aware that Nazi high command mostly were into the occult.  Himmler in particular was extremely interested in the occult.  And if you are aware that your enemy believes in black magic then it becomes the perfect weapon to use against them.  It’s well known that Churchill took part in [occult] ceremonies during the war and there was a concerted effort to allow the Germans to know that this was going on.  In truth, part of what they were doing was persuading the Germans that they were reading their mind when it came to anticipating.  In fact, part of it was a cover for the enigma machine.  They had cracked the code.  They had the enigma machine and they were intercepting the German communication.  But they were letting the Germans believe, the high command, that they were actually reading their minds.  So this story begins in World War II and bolts forward in the present day with all the players that you would expect.  It’s a very complex story.  But I’ll tell you what, it gave me the willies when Mark told me about it the first time.  I’ve been after him ever since to write it so I could read it and I never thought the day would come that I would get to draw it.  So I’m very excited about it.

Can you say how much work has been completed on the project?

Oh yeah… I think Mark is probably finished with – he’s got a complete outline based on the screenplay that he wrote.  Three issues I think are in the can for scripts.  I’m an issue and a half into layouts and most of a complete issue in the can for finished artwork.

And this will run two pages at a time on ComicMix?

No, it will be run more than that.  Probably several pages at a time.  I’m not certain whether we’re going to open with five pages or nine pages for the first release.  But it will be on average between four to six pages a week depending upon what we start with.

And then the complete story would run...?

The complete story of The Pilgrim, as Mark conceived it, is a three-part story, but each part is about 132 to 146 pages.  It’s a major work.  You’ll get everything you need in the first story and still want more – which is good in trying to wrap this.

Can you say when it will debut?

It debuts, according to the information I have been given in this last week, October 20th on Comicmix.com