Attachment 6094On Saturday, November 7th, FAMOUS FACES AND FUNNIES in Melbourne, Florida, hosted their first MINI-FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. Along for the fun was writer TONY BEDARD. He was gracious enough to talk to me about his current projects for DC COMICS, the ongoing R.E.B.E.L.S. series and the 10 issue miniseries for China’s super team, THE GREAT TEN. Here’s what he had to say.

Attachment 6093SEBASTIAN: How did you get the GREAT TEN gig? Was this something they came to you with, or was this something you sought out?

TONY BEDARD: They offered, but I was already interested; so I was really happy.

SEB: What about the GREAT TEN had you so interested?

TONY: When I heard that Grant Morrison was handing off some concepts I knew it would be a lot of fun. I’m also very into Eastern thought and I find China interesting from both a news and politics stand point.

SEB: Do you have a favorite of the Ten?

TONY: Ya know…I don’t. I don’t really have a favorite. Each issue focuses on one of the Ten, so that’s fun. I get to give each of them their turn at the center. I figure, if you can surprise yourself with what you’re doing than that’s great. Things like, by his name you would think that RED SOCIALIST GUARDIAN would be the most ‘with the program’, but it turns out he’s the most bitter about what they’re doing of them all.

SEB: How much wiggle room were you given for character development?

TONY: I’ve got a lot of wiggle room. Each character came with a one or two paragraph bio, kind of them in a nutshell, but I was told don’t be constrained by Grant’s stuff. I’m using his concepts and his origins, but I have a lot of room to play with from there.

SEB: Is this one of those, If the sales are there we’ll do another mini, or even an ongoing, deals?

TONY: I suppose it could. For me though, it’s about doing these ten issues and if it’s something people enjoy and it gives these characters further validity, than great!

Attachment 6092SEB: Let’s talk R.E.B.E.L.S. You’ve just reinvented STARRO THE CONQUEROR. Was that something you had planned coming into the series, or did that come from higher up?

TONY: I’m not sure who originally decided on Starro. We were looking for a villain, and I was told I couldn’t use Brainiac. Once we decided on Starro we went with a barbarian Conan type, but not something like Thanos or anyone that regal…more like a force of nature.

SEB: We just had ADAM STRANGE and CAPTAIN COMET show up. Now, they were part of the original L.E.G.I.O.N. series, are they going to be sticking around?

TONY: Yeah, yeah, they’ll be part of the ongoing cast.

SEB: Now, Mon-El, sometimes known as Valor, is all over the Superman titles and heading to the JLA. As another former L.E.G.I.O.N. member, will we ever see him in there?

TONY: He’s another one I couldn’t have, and I REALLY wanted to use him. I love Mon-El for some reason.

SEB: While we’re on the subject of former team members, I’m gonna have to ask…any chance of seeing the Main Man, himself?

TONY: I’d LOVE to get LOBO, but they have plans. I ask like every three months. I even thought of using a kind of Lobo stand-in, but thought, no.

SEB: Whatever happened to Peter David’s Slobo from YOUNG JUSTICE?

TONY: [Laughs] Oh, man…

SEB: I guess not. [Laughs]

Ok, so the book is called R.E.B.E.L.S., does that mean Dox and crew are doomed to stay on the run, or will we see them regain control of the L.E.G.I.O.N.?

TONY: What I’d like to do is once they deal with Starro is to have them reestablish L.E.G.I.ON., but I haven’t gotten to that yet. I’ve still got to work that out.

SEB: And for the long term, what are you thinking beyond that?

TONY: I’d like for Dox to meet Brainiac. I’m also hoping we’ll address the Braniac 5 connection. At one point, Dox was contacted by the Brainiac from Mark Waid’s Legion, which turned out to be the Earth Prime Legion, so it’s sorta weird.

SEB: I guess we’ll go out with the traditional, do you have anything coming up outside of R.E.B.E.L.S. and post GREAT TEN?

TONY: I do have another project that I can’t discuss yet. I’m not even sure of the timing on that one.

SEB: Thanks Tony.

TONY: Sure, no problem.

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In between their various projects, (it's staggering how much these two are working on) fan favorites, Phil Hester and Brian Churilla found some time to chat with us about their BOOM! STUDIOS project, THE ANCHOR.

SEB: So, how did the two of you come together to create The Anchor?

Phil Hester: I'm a fan of Brian's earlier effort, The Engineer. So much so that I sought to buy a few originals from it for my collection. That started a conversation in which we learned of our mutual admiration. The rest is history!

Brian Churilla: Truth be told, I bribed him with said originals. And hookers. And cupcakes too, don’t forget the cupcakes. Hooker cupcakes.


SEB: Hooker cupcakes? Lil' Debbie what has become of you!!??
Who is the Anchor?

P.H.: Problem is, he doesn't know for sure. We can surmise that he's a monk, more specifically an anchorite monk. Anchorites were monks so devoted to monasticism that they literally walled themselves off from humanity in the foundations of churches and monasteries.

Well, our guy seems to have done that, but during his centuries long meditation while an anchorite he seems to have gained certain powers, including a nearly indestructible body and the ability to project his soul into hell where it spends every second fighting the armies of the nether realm. The Anchor himself is steadfast and strong, but his personality is gentle and caring. That contrast is the real joy of the character. All that said, there's a huge backstory that we haven't even touched that will come to the fore ground in around issue 5.

B.C.: He’s also a colossal slab of scar tissue that beats down on no good otherworldy ne'er-do-wells.



SEB: I love the idea of his soul on a separate/same mission in Hell as his physical form is on on Earth. What’s the story there?

P.H.: As I said earlier, he seems to have become a monk around eight hundred years ago and gone into his isolation with relatively little formal monastic training. We'll learn that The Anchor made his living through violence for most of his life and that the only thing he believes he has of any value to offer God is his fists. We're never going to quite nail all this down, but it seems as though the big guy accepts this gift and uses The Anchor to make hell an even more awful place for the demons who rule it, while at the same time letting his earthly body patrol our world for any stray evil beasts.

SEB: How in sync are Clem and his soul?

PH: He can always feel it (since he suffers the wounds it acquires in hell), but it is autonomous for the most part. They can communicate as they did in #1, and as we'll see them do so again, but they can function separately.

SEB: It’s already been compared – and rather favorably – to comic legends old and new, such as Mignola’s HELLBOY, Powell’s THE GOON, and Kirby’s…everything. Were these kind of things creative influences of yours?

P.H.: That wasn't necessarily our goal, although I admire all the works and artists mentioned a great deal. I think a lot of that comes from the look of the book, especially since the preview most folks saw was colored by Dave Stewart of Hellboy fame. I believe we've staked out some territory of our own. It's more rooted in the real world around us than Hellboy, and played less for laughs than The Goon. We've got big monsters, and a messed up looking hero, but in the end I think readers will find a more human story behind it all, plus more romance than expected.

B.C.: I think Mignola is the best living/working cartoonist, and he was a huge influence to me starting out. Kirby is a god. I think I get compared to Powell a lot because we both have organic, brush-heavy styles. He’s an amazing artist, but I can’t really count him as an influence artistically.


SEB: All comparison’s aside, you’ve created a book with a very unique feel to it. It has some heavy concepts and an overhanging darkness, but its fun too. How hard is it to keep that balance?

P.H.: That's sort of the theme of being alive, isn't it? Some heavy stuff, but still pretty fun. A lot of the fun factor comes from Brian's ability to make things look lively, no matter how macabre they are. I mean, in #3 The Anchor fights a giant centipede that is composed of the rotting corpses and bones buried in the catacombs beneath Rome, but he somehow makes that rollicking and not disgusting.

The Anchor's mission is deadly serious, but throwing an 8th century monk into a 21st century world is going to lead to some funny.

B.C.: Graphically marrying cartoonyness with the right amount of darkness helps.

SEB: I have to ask…the first issue takes place in Iceland. While Bjork, Lazy Town, and giant monsters from Hell make perfect sense to me, what was it that made Iceland the perfect starting locale?

P.H.: I wanted to do monsters that had some tie to the locale they were in and Iceland seemed like it would give birth to a cool glacier/geyser creature. Next up is Scotland, then Italy, then back to Iceland for a shocking conclusion. So... I have no valid reason. Enough comics happen in America already, right?

SEB: True that! The Anchor is filled with all sorts of nasty beasties, how do you come up with their appearances?

P.H.: The overarching villain in this story is a demon called the Breeder who plants his seed in the spirit of a specific location, giving birth to monsters. The flavor of the locales is the source of their look and power, but I'll leave the rest of this answer up to Brian.

B.C: It’s an intuitive, stream-of-consciousness process of combining aesthetically pleasing shapes.


SEB: What can readers look forward to seeing in the future?

P.H.: More monsters, some from unexpected sources, a horrific personal sacrifice by more than one character, the loss of another, and the origin of The Anchor.

B.C: Giant, exploding faces, serpentine amorphous soul-sucking pig pythons, and a special appearance by the lederhosen-wearing robot gazpacho Gestapo. And by all that, I mean what Phil said. Only with more monsters. And a skosh more horror. And a dash of paprika. And a table lamp. And some twine. Some magazines. A pair of stirrup sweatpants. An ashtray, and some personal, long-term goals.


SEB: I WILL be looking for that table lamp! [laughs]
When Mark Waid interviewed Phil for NEWSARAMA, there was a storyline mentioned that would bring The Anchor into Hell. Did that mean his Soul-Self, or will Clem be making the physical Journey into the Abyss? And, if so, will there be a “team-up” between Clem’s Soul and Clem’s Self?

P.H.: Hey, you're spoiling my comic! But yes, look for a Marvel Team-Up issue soon.


SEB: While I've got you, are there any other projects either of you would like to do a quick shout-out for?

P.H.: Oh, boy. Still working on Firebreather and Golly at Image when they come out. I write The Darkness regularly, and will soon take on Black Terror, too. Also starting Gen 13 shortly.

B.C: The Engineer collected hardcover comes out this month from Archaia. It’s a fun, pulpy sci-fi book for fans of Dr. Who, Douglas Adams, or anyone who is a fan of immense, steam-powered pipe organs, horrifying crab monsters, pan-dimensional travel, giant bat creatures, undead hordes, witches, willful reality manipulation, archaic esoteric devices, sentient beings devouring the space time continuum and gigantic stone ticks should pick it up. It’s a 140 + page hardcover for less than ten bucks. Also, We Kill Monsters is still out there, so go buy it! It’s a fun story with art by myself, published by Red5. The title says it all, really. Okay, I’m done with the shameless shilling.



SEB: That's a lot to look for! It’s been an honor and a pleasure to talk with you both. Thanks for making time for us.

P.H.: It's been a blast. Any time!

B.C: Thanks, duder.


PFB reviewed THE ANCHOR # 1 HERE.
The issue sold out within days of its release and is already set for a second print. Read more HERE.

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