@@@@ What the #$%! is AICN COMICS: Q&@? @@@@
AICN COMICS: Q&@ is our new semi-weekly interview column where some of your favorite @$$Holes interview comic bookdom’s biggest, brightest, newest, and oldest stars. Enjoy this latest in-depth interview filled with @$$y goodness and be sure to look for more AICN COMICS as we gaze into the future of comics every week with AICN COMICS: SPINNER RACK PREVIEWS every Monday and then join the rest of your favorite @$$Holes for their opinions on the weekly pull every Wednesday with AICN COMICS REVIEWS!
Q’s by Optimous Douche
@’s by Archie Comics’
SUPER SEVEN’s Jon Goldwater!
Hello true believers. Optimous Douche here. When I first read that Archie Comics was teaming up with Stan Lee for the new superhero genre title SUPER SEVEN, well I thought April Fools had come early. As I frantically tried to Google the follow-up story, “Rob Liefeld Teams with Alan Moore for Graphic Novel: The Bible,” I was contacted by Archie Comics PR to have a sit-down with Archie Head Honcho and CEO Jon Goldwater. It’s real, and it’s on….
OPTIMOUS DOUCHE (OD): Hi Jon, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Before we get into Archie Comics’ current happenings with Stan Lee and SUPER SEVEN, could you tell the readers your story with Archie? A quick trip to Wikipedia tells me that Archie Comics is almost in your blood.
JON GOLDWATER (JG): My father, John L. Goldwater, founded Archie Comics Publications. I grew up with Archie, Betty, Veronica and the gang.
OD: So…The Archie brand is synonymous with…well Archie and the rest of the gang from Riverdale. Why the push into this new frontier of traditional superheroes?
JG: That's what people think of now when they think of Archie Comics. But we also publish many other franchises; including SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH, JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS and hundreds more. We are a full service publishing company.
OD: You’ve done super heroes before? Well that’s a big “/research fail” for me.
JG: The Original MLJ heroes (editor’s note: Before there was Archie, there was MLJ) are seeing new life right now as part of the Red Circle line of characters that DC has just launched. Although we are best known for our romantic comedy comics, we have a history with not only super heroes but horror stories, police stories, war stories and fantasy as well.
OD: So then how did you end up teaming up with Stan Lee? It’s almost like being away from church your whole life, then accidently stumbling into the vestibule drunk one day and having a direct conversation with God.
JG: I agree! I met Stan through Andy Heyward of A-Squared Entertainment. Stan and I hit it off immediately and he is one of a very few people who knew my father and still works in the industry. I couldn't be happier to work with the with the Living Legend of Super Hero comics himself, Stan Lee.
OD: And Stan is actually in the comic. The press release says he’s leading a team of aliens that crash landed on earth. Is this 87 year old Stan Lee or a younger iteration in a different time?
JG: It's Stan Lee at his best!
OD: Will Stan be doing any writing on the book?
JG: Stan Lee will plot the comics, and Tom DeFalco will script.
OD: Any artists lined up yet?
JG: Patrick "Spaz!" Paziante will be doing the art. He has been doing Sonic for us, and has worked at Marvel, Image and Devil Due. He is producing some truly spectacular art for this series.
OD: Will SUPER SEVEN be written in the morose tonality of modern comics or more along the lines of the optimistic silver age — Stan’s heyday.
JG: It will be in the tone of modern comics. It will not be a retro-style.
OD: So is Stan the Professor X of this group, honing and training the Aliens’ abilities, or more like Charlie from Charlie’s Angels, handing out assignments to save the world?
JG: Neither example really applies to what Stan is doing.
OD: Sorry, I only know X-Men and bad 70s television analogies. Some say it limits me as a writer. I don’t like those people. Please explain…
JG: It’s OK. Stan will be mentoring the group, more active then Charlie with the Angels, but unlike Professor X he is not preparing them for a world that will hate and fear them. Stan Lee in the comic will be true to who Stan is, if he were in that situation.
OD: What sort of powers will the aliens possess?
JG: Each alien/hero will have different abilities. The names are reflective of their powers so that fans will be able to understand who the hero is and what they are about quickly. The team is Stan Lee, High Rise, Hip Hop, Lady Lightning, Laser Lord, Silver Sparrow, Strong Arm and Vanisher.
OD: Can you tell us anything about the Aliens’ initial missions or some of the villains they will face?
JG: They crash land on earth and have incredible abilities by our standards. They arrive without a mission, but when Stan Lee discovers them he helps them present themselves as super heroes in order to fit in with their new world.
OD: Is this going to be a finite series in the style of Brian K. Vaughan or more open-ended and ongoing?
JG: This will be an open-ended ongoing series. It will be our version of the Justice League or the Avengers.
OD: From the press release it looks as though Archie Comics will develop the comic books, but A-Squared Entertainment is also part of this mix for some good ole fashioned cross channel synergy. Can you tell us some of the plans to get this idea into the hands of those that are pulp adverse?
JG: If you are pulp adverse the comics will be available digitally on iTunes and all available platforms. Additionally our partner Andy Heyward, Chairman of A-Squared Entertainment, will be looking at licensing opportunities in animation, television, live action film and toys. However, most importantly we want to create a great comic book; because from a great comic book, everything else springs. We want to create a great comic for Stan's fans and all comic fans.
OD: Thanks again for your time Jon. Well, that’s it from Ole’ Uncle Optimous kiddies. Get ready for SUPER SEVEN in fall 2010.
Optimous is lonely and needs friends. Even virtual ones will fill the gaping hole, join him on Facebook or he will cry like a newborn kitten.
Editing, compiling, imaging, coding, logos & cat-wrangling by Ambush Bug
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G
Ad by Prof. Challenger
