It's been a while since I've been this happy.

For many years, the word webcomic has meant a variety of things, but mostly it's defined as amateur works by artists and writers cutting their teeth. I've read a few notable exceptions, each in their own way turning the pages on a new chapter of storytelling. But very rarely does anyone who has achieved any amount of success in the comics industry return to the land of 'beginners' and continue work on perfecting a 'free' art.

Warren Ellis has returned from the land of MARVEL to work on a webcomic named Freakangels. It's not about the money it seems, although Ellis and Paul Duffield are trying many alternative forms of turning a buck with this medium.

It's some of the best stuff I've read in a long time. At first, the premise of telepaths in a post-apocalyptic world stinks of a trite sci-fi mini-series, but in true Ellis fashion he's able to take a simple idea and twist it into something worthwhile. Characters feel rough, breath air and have the wet noise of humanity rattling about their flawed frames. To spend a day in Whitechapel, London is to invite strangers into your head, where they complain about food, sex and 'pick-up stix' morality.

The brush is as mighty as the sword and a big nod goes to the various artists who have come and gone to make this webcomic look professional and powerful.

Earlier today I was musing at what it would take to start a new 'universe' of super heroes. Something other than MARVEL and DC, but still addressing super beings as a focal point on humanities struggle with itself. I think the world of Whitechapel has possibilities in regards to being a wide open canvas, at least for now. Starting three or four more stories within this same setting would anchor a fresh world for writers and artists to play in. Freakangels would take point, for now, but the other title, if written well and colored with a delicate hand, would soon fill out a larger idea.

The trouble with this, of course, is that no one knows where Ellis is going with Freakangels. He's admitted to the public that he could easily be writing this story for years and years on end, and never be finished. Warren is hording all the toys and nothing can really start until he finishes up a few mysteries. How did the apocalypse come to be, are the Freakangles all powerful and will the world be destroyed yet again?

Honestly I'd like to jump in on this story in America, start writing up a Philadelphia based story line, being a local would help me add lots of flavor. Steering clear of telepathic powers, I'd concentrate on a group of heroes in a more traditional sense. Non-powered, exceptional people who use their wits, vicious natures or just plain 'try' to make their corner of the world better. Eventually I would bring in powerful 'supers', but not until Ellis gives up a bit more of the goods on the origins of the Freakangels.

A good idea should be shared and improved upon by like minded artists. I'd invite any one who reads this article to start jotting down notes and sketching up character designs, because today is the best day to start a new project.