
"On the fringes of the imagination, there is the realm of Zilk. Ruled over by the Zultan, figurehead of the Zilk dynasty, it’s a world where science and magic meet – and none is more powerful, or more famous, than the Zaucer himself. Vain, arrogant and accustomed to his celebrity status, he’s the wizard of the royal court – and many would like to see him removed permanently..."
The Zaucer of Zilk is a comic strip by Al Ewing and Brendan McCarthy which first appeared in 2000 AD progs 1775 to 1784. It has also been published as a trade paperback (pictured).
On the series' genesis, Al Ewing has this to say: "Brendan brought the seed of the idea, along with a couple of pages of dream-like designs, visual ideas and snatches of dialogue. I took most of my ideas from those pages, along with a couple of meditations of my own about age, death, and the slow decaying of my own abilities. At the time I was finding myself unable to sustain my old working pace and I was going through some bad slumps, having some very bad days. So in that went. It was like making soup — you can say ‘This ingredient came from my cupboard,’ but you can't point to the soup and say, ‘Well, that spoonful is me, that spoonful is him.’ We played tennis with it, knocking it back and forth, both of us making changes until we knew it was right. I have no idea what it's about now; celebrity, creativity, depression, inevitability, some kind of hope at the end of it all. Take your pick." (Source: Thrill-Power Overload, extended edition.)