interviews – SMASH PAGES

Introducing Picture + Panel | Tina Lugo + Marjorie Liu reveal why their favorite things are monsters

We kick off a new interview series in advance of a question-and-answer session between the two creators in Boston next week.

Today we introduce a new feature here at Smash Pages featuring two comic creators talking about specific topics –like, in today’s feature, monsters.

Picture + Panel is a monthly conversation series that brings fantastic graphic novel creators to the Greater Boston area. Each conversation explores a specific topic, ranging from the fun and exciting to the strange or serious. Produced in partnership by the Boston Comic Arts Foundation, Porter Square Books and the Boston Figurative Arts Center, Picture + Panel provides thought-provoking discussions for the unique form of expression that is the comics medium.

We’re happy to bring some of that discussion online in advance of each session. Next Monday Tina Lugo and Marjorie Liu will visit the Boston Figurative Arts Center in a Q&A moderated by author Sara Farizan. You can find more details on the event here.

Tina Lugo is an international tattooer and illustrator living in Providence, Rhode Island with her dog, Lou. She is the creator of The Changeling graphic novel series, published by Silver Sprocket. Tina’s work is heavily influenced by 90s manga and anime with a focus on queerness and Taíno representation.

Marjorie Liu is an attorney and New York Times bestselling novelist and comic book writer. Her work at Marvel includes the series X-23, Black Widow, Han Solo, Dark Wolverine and Astonishing X-Men. She is also the co-creator of Monstress from Image Comics, which has won multiple Hugo Awards, British Fantasy Awards, Harvey Award and five Eisner Awards, making Liu the first-ever woman—and woman of color—to win an Eisner in the Best Writer category.

Big thanks to Gina Gagliano and Jason Viola, who organize the monthly series in Boston and brought this Q&A series to Smash Pages!

Smash Pages Q&A | MK Reed + Jonathan Hill on ‘Budding Crisis’

The creators of ‘Americus’ reunite for a new fantasy series from Comixology Originals.

MK Reed and Jonathan Hill are no strangers to collaboration. Having previously joined forces on graphic novels like Americus and Science Comics: Wild Weather, they’ve established themselves as a formidable creative duo. Now, they’re venturing into new territory with their latest digital comic series, Budding Crisis, for Comixology Originals.

This fantasy epic plunges readers into a world where the Onamanthe plant—whose seeds possess the extraordinary power to grant wishes—has become extinct. When the remaining seeds aboard a ship called The Eclipse are stolen in the Bay of Cygnus, the Dureni people must race against time to recover this irreplaceable treasure. As they hunt for both the magical seeds and the thieves who took them, they stumble upon a conspiracy far greater than they could have imagined.

I spoke with Reed and Hill about the origins of this new series, their creative process and the unique challenges of crafting a fantasy world where the most precious resource is rapidly disappearing. The second issue arrived on Amazon today.

Smash Pages Q&A | Matt Bors + Ben Clarkson on ‘Justice Warriors: Vote Harder’

The creators of the dystopian satire sequel graphic novel talk about their secret origins, being ‘plagiarized’ by real-world events, meatball riots, buddy-cop bro-mances and more.

I’m not sure if Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson could have asked for better timing for their new graphic novel, Justice Warriors: Vote Harder, which arrives in stores today.

Now, obviously, it is election season here in the U.S., and their sequel to the first Justice Warriors miniseries is focused on an election in the fictional city of Bubble City — so that tracks. But when the project was announced by Ahoy Comics, they had no idea that it would arrive the day after the second presidential debate or that said debate would feature different candidates than the first debate.

If you read the first Justice Warriors miniseries, you know that the story drew heavily from the headlines, twisting our reality into a dystopian satire series that poked fun at capitalism and law enforcement in a future of severe inequality — and one populated by mutants. This time around our two protagonists, Swamp Cop and Schitt, get pulled into the chaos of the first Bubble City elections that have happened in, like, forever.

I spoke with Bors and Clarkson about the new graphic novel, their work process, why they went with an OGN instead of another miniseries and more. I thank them both for their time — or at least the concept of their time.

Smash Pages Q&A | Iron Circus invites you to the ‘Perfect Crime Party’

Hear confessions from 13 contributors to the publisher’s latest crime-themed anthology, which is currently being crowdfunded through BackerKit.

Since 2007, C. Spike Trotman’s Iron Circus Comics has been crowdfunding and publishing themed anthologies, many under the guidance of editor Kel McDonald. McDonald’s latest project, Perfect Crime Party, featured a fun prompt for creators — What’s the perfect crime, and what do you think you could get away with?

The result is an anthology packed with talent, containing 25 stories and more than 300 pages. The stories run the gauntlet of genre and settings, from more traditional crime stories to tales of the supernatural to one set in Ancient Greece to one involving Santa Claus. Several of the creators involved agreed to answer a few questions about their stories, and maybe even incriminate themselves in the process.

I’ve included the complete list of contributors at the end, but for today’s rapid-fire round-robin, we have answers/confessions from Amy Chase, Bevan Thomas, Chuck Harp, David Brothers, Illuminated, John Konrad, Kit Mills, Mariah McCourt, Nick Mamatas, Reetta Linjama, Rodrigo Vargas, Tayson Martindale and Van Jensen. You can check out a few sample pages, as well as Jeff Smith’s cover.

So without further ado, let’s plan a crime.

Smash Pages Q&A | Samuel Sattin on ‘Unico: Awakening’

The writer of the new manga based on the work of Osamu Tezuka talks about the project, what Tezuka means to him and more.

Osamu Tezuka, who is sometimes referred to as the “God of Manga” or the “Father of Manga,” left a legacy that endures well beyond his death in 1989. The prolific creator gave us such beloved manga as Astro Boy, Princess Knight, Kimba the White Lion, Black Jack, Phoenix and Unico, among many others.

Two years ago Samuel Sattin, writer of recent Eisner nominee Buzzing, and the artist team known as Gurihiru had the opportunity to reimagine one of Tezuka’s creations for modern audiences — Unico, the story of a tiny unicorn who enraged the jealous goddess Venus, so the gods erase his memory and banish him across space and time. Unico is constantly jumping from era to era, where he must escape the gods and have his memory erased over and over again. His only ally is the West Wind, who feels sorry for him and tries to help him along his journey.

Sattin and Gurihiru teamed up for Unico: Awakening, which reintroduces the magical unicorn and draws from the original manga, while creating something new and inviting. After a successful Kickstarter, the first volume is getting a wide release courtesy of Scholastic this week.

I spoke with Sattin about the manga, the legacy of Tezuka and more. My thanks for his time.

Smash Pages Q&A | Fred Van Lente + Tom Fowler on ‘Gamemasters: The Comic Book History of Roleplaying Games’

The graphic novel that explores the history of all your favorite tabletop RPGs is currently funding on Kickstarter from Clover Press.

Fred Van Lente and Tom Fowler are no strangers to creating engaging comics that not only entertain, but also inform. Together they worked on the Re: Ignition, a tie-in of Nick Dragotta’s Howtoons series that encouraged kids to take part in do-it-yourself science projects. And Van Lente has been working for many years with artist Ryan Dunlavey on Action Philosophers and other non-fiction comics that use the medium in a fun, educational way.

Combine that with Fowler’s background in drawing for tabletop roleplaying games, and you’ve got the perfect team to create Gamemasters: The Comic Book History of Roleplaying Games. Clover Press launched a crowdfunding project for the graphic novel earlier this week, which you can find on Kickstarter.

“Fred and Tom are both hardcore gamers, and it shows in this meticulously researched history of the tabletop RPG,” said Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz. “Their passion for gaming comes through in their dramatic and often humorous take on how and why these games work, and why we love them so.”

The project has already blown past its goal like a fireball flying down a dungeon corridor, looking to roast a host of kobolds. But you can still get in on the fun; the crowdfunding project will run through Aug. 22.

I spoke with the two creators about the project, what attracted them to it and their own histories with RPGs.

Smash Pages Q&A | Jordan Morris on ‘Youth Group’

The writer of the new graphic novel from First Second talks about his comic book origins, character playlists, collaborating with Bowen McCurdy and more.

If you ever participated in church youth groups as a teenager, you owe it to yourself to check out Youth Group by Jordan Morris and Bowen “Bones” McCurdy.

The genuinely funny story features Kay, whose mom coerces her into attending the youth group at their church in Orange County, where Kay gets to participate in singalongs featuring pop songs where the words have been changed to celebrate Jesus and encourage abstinence, and meet overenthusiastic leaders like Meg. She also discovers that she’s a “Blight,” a person who can’t be possessed by demons, which is both helpful and a hindrance because the Stone Mission Church youth group is really a front for a group of demon hunters fighting a war, and her Blight blood makes her a target.

First Second will publish the graphic novel this week, and Morris was kind enough to answer some of my questions about it

Smash Pages Q&A | Will Tempest on ‘Harsh Prospect’

The creator of the webcomic-turned-crowdfunded graphic novel discusses the science fiction/horror story, his approach to design and his work in the tabletop game space.

Will Tempest is an artist based out of Edinburgh in the UK, where he creates comics, tabletop RPGs and more in the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. Last year he crowdfunded a print collection of his webcomic, Harsh Prospect, which is available to read on the web, on Webtoon or to purchase for download.

Harsh Prospect is a science fiction story in the vein of The Thing or Alien, as a struggling colony on an alien world discovers “a blob of goo” that proves to be more than they bargained for. The eerie setting is made even more so by Tempest’s designs; readers of Tempest’s work on Cities of Magick or Materials know that he has an eye for creative yet practical character and creature designs.

I spoke with Tempest about the project, as well as a tabletop game he’s developed with his brother. We discuss the comic, its influences, his approach to design, what I learned from crowdfunding and more. My thanks for his time.

Smash Pages Q&A | Josh Hicks on ‘Hotelitor’

The creator of ‘Glorious Wrestling Alliance’ discusses his latest graphic novel about a hotel shaped like a giant robot.

Josh Hicks has worked many odd jobs in his life, which is relevant to the topic of this interview, but right now he is a Welsh animator, cartoonist and director. His work spans comics, animation and music videos. As a filmmaker, he directed Spectre of the Bear, and he helped create animated music videos for the Foo Fighters and Tyler Childers.

On the comics side, Hicks created Glorious Wrestling Alliance, a comic about the surreal world of professional wrestlers, and he’s followed that with a new graphic novel, Hotelitor: Luxury-Class Defense and Hospitality Unit, which comes out next Wednesday from Graphic Universe. It’s the story of a mobile hotel, shaped like a giant Shogun Warrior or other manga-inspired robot, and the denizens that work and stay in it. When a giant alien monster attacks the hotel, the surviving guests and staff find themselves stranded in deep space, leading to all sorts of chaos, and it’s up to 18-year-old intern Anna Greene and her fellow workers to find a way home.

It’s a fun story about giant robots and aliens, but also has deeper themes around the struggle between classes, how we think of thr service industry and late-stage capitalism. I spoke with Hicks about the project and the themes it touches on, as well as the UK wrestling scene and what he’s working on next. My thanks for his time.

Smash Pages Q&A | Luke Arnold + Chris ‘Doc’ Wyatt on ‘Essentials’

The writing duo discusses their crowdfunding project for the new graphic novel from The Lab Press.

Luke Arnold is an actor and writer best known for his roles as Long John Silver in Black Sails and INXS frontman Michael Hutchence in Never Tear Us Apart. His first novel The Last Smile in Sunder City came out in 2020 as part of the ongoing series The Fetch Phillips Archives.

Chris “Doc” Wyatt is a writer and producer whose work includes independent films like Napoleon Dynamite and Coyote, as well as animated series like Rocket and Groot, Lego Ninjago: Dragons Rising, Ultimate Spider-Man, Marvel’s Avengers Assemble, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and many more. He’s also written comics for Marvel, Dark Horse, 1First Comics and more.

Together, they are the writing team for Essentials, a new graphic novel coming from the newly formed The Lab Press. The story centers on a mathematician who predicted the end of the world but failed to prevent it. He discovers there are other survivors, but they’re trapped in alternate realities full of zombies, robots, mythical creatures and more.

Each of these alternate realities will be illustrated by a different artist, including Vince Locke, Andrea Mutti, MK Perker,Brendan McCarthy, DaNi and Jason Howard, with colors by Jordie Bellaire, Brad Simpson and Wesley Wong, and lettering by DC Hopkins. Bill Sienkiewicz provides a chilling main cover.

The graphic novel is currently up on Kickstarter, and has already reached its goal. (Please note that the interview was conducted prior to the project’s launch). I spoke with Arnold and Wyatt about the project, working with seven different artists and what’s “Essential” in this story. My thanks to them both for their time.

Smash Pages Q&A | S.E. Case on ‘Rigsby WI’

The creator of the slice-of-life webcomic discusses its first print collection, her approach to creating the small-town setting and drawing on her teenage experiences to bring her characters to life.

S.E. Case is four chapters in on Rigsby, WI, a webcomic she’s been posting since 2019. The comic is about four average Wisconsin teenagers and the trials and tribulations they encounter with their friends, their families and their futures. While the teenagers may be average, the strip is anything but, as Case has brought to life four characters who will make you laugh, cry, yell and ultimately remember what life was like when you knew everything and nothing at the same time.

Case has teamed up with Iron Circus Comics to publish the first print collection of the webcomic, which is up now on the crowdfunding site BackerKit.

Here’s the description from the publisher: Sometimes as a teen in a small town, you can feel trapped — trapped enough to want to gnaw off your own leg to escape. Bethany has gotten some much needed stability in Rigsby, WI — she’s away from her oppressively disapproving mother, and the other local teens Jeordie, Erik and Anna have welcomed her in — and together the four of them know how to escape from the world that is closing in on them. While Case’s vibrant art and naturalistic writing doesn’t shy away from the rougher experiences and feelings of teens, it also covers the truly important topics like, “is Phish a good band?”, “is the neck the dong of the torso?” and “Ernest Hemingway: Was he a piece of shit?” Nostalgic, sweet, bitter and funny all at once, Rigsby WI feels like a teenage afternoon spent with friends, with all the pathos, boredom and absurdity inherent therein.

I spoke with Case about the campaign, as well as the webcomics’ small-town setting, why now was the right time for a print collection and, yes, is Phish a good band?

Smash Pages Q&A | Lara Pickle on ‘I Feel Awful, Thanks’

With Pickle’s debut graphic novel arriving this week, we spoke about her inspiration, drawing from her own mental health experiences when creating the story and more.

I Feel Awful, Thanks is the debut graphic novel by Lara Pickle, a Spanish-Romanian artist and storyteller whose work thus far has been more in the video game and animation arenas, for places like Netflix and Nickelodeon. The graphic novel arrives in stores this week and is published by Oni Press.

From the outside, I Feel Awful, Thanks looks like what you might expect from a YA fantasy graphic novel, featuring witches, magic and dragons and. But the story addresses some serious issues around mental health, something Pickle experienced herself. It’s about a witch named Joana who has secured her dream job with a coven in London, so she relocates and discovers the reality of city life is not so idyllic.

I spoke with Pickle about the graphic novel, pulling in her own experiences into the story and some of the fun design choices she made while creating it.

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