‘Artemis Fowl’ author at Comic-Con disses pudgy Spider-Man dressups

Eoin Colfer plans lounge-lizard musical, a time-travel series 'WARP'

Eoin Colfer and his first "Artemis Fowl" book at the Solamar Hotel in East Village before heading to Comic-Con. -- Roger Showley
Cover shot of the final Artemis Fowl book.— -- Disney Publishing

Artemis Fowl is sort of the anti-hero Harry Potter -- a 12-year-old criminal mastermind who does battle with fairies, trolls and leprechauns.

But after 11 years, his story comes to an end with this month's release of the eighth book, "The Last Guardian."

Its Irish author, Eoin (pronounced Owen) Colfer, 47, was in San Diego for his third Comic-Con and sat down to talk about Artemis, his dream book, a musical in the works and other ideas before facing adoring fans at an Oceanside book signing Saturday night and at the Con on Sunday.

Q: What did you read when you were 12?

A: I loved "Creepy and Eerie" and "The Spirit" comics, Will Eisner. We couldn't get that (in his hometown of Wexford), my brother and I, so we had to go to Dublin. There was one guy in a booth and he might be there and he might not. So in a way, it was special, because you had to go and get them.

Q: At Comic-Con what trends do you notice?

A: The reboot of Spider-Man. A lot of people are going around wearing Spider-Man. Some shouldn't be wearing them. They're too tight. I can tell their religion from the costume, which I don't want to know... I think when you're 30, you should wear loose clothing.

Q: Did you dress up in costumes in your younger years?

A: It took me 30 years to work up the confidence to wear a hat. If I were going to a Jimmy Buffett concert, I'd go as a parrot. The last time I dressed up was in my early 20s with my wife. She was dressed as Catwoman and I was a Ghost Buster.

Q: You're on an eight-city tour in the U.S. after launching the book in London.

A: We were over there on Wednesday and then went over here to San Diego to Comic-Con, which is always the high point. We get such great audiences. It's a very celebratory thing. I've been to a lot of conventions in other countries and a lot of the old guys are collecting stuff, but here it's not that vibe at all. It's much better -- it's like a party.

Q: The first Artemis Fowl book came out in 2001 in the middle of the Harry Potter craze. Did you always plan on so many books?

A: The plan was initially just to do three books. But once I got into the world, I really thought it could bear more than three books. So I plan a book at a time. I never said how many there should be. I tried to write the books so that they were almost stand-alone. My theory is if you read the first book, then you could read the others in any order and you shouldn't be confused. I'm surprised I got to eight, but when I got to eight, I realized the story was over and it was time to move on.


