Leave Your Spandex At the Door: G-MAN interview

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Welcome to the 43rd installment of Leave Your Spandex @t the Door, the WEEKLY (I can finally say it and mean it) column that educates, entertains, and has a cool logo!

This week saw the release of Chris Giarusso’s G-MAN one-shot from IMAGE COMICS. G-Man premiered in COMIC BITS, a one-page feature on the back of SAVAGE DRAGON comics. This 64-page one-shot finally reveals G-MAN’s origin in a new 34-page story, and also collects the entire run of the COMIC BITS strips. It came out to comics stores this Wednesday, and it’s the funniest comic I’ve read all year! I sat down (virtually, at least) with G-MAN and BULLPEN BITS creator Chris Giarusso to talk about his career and his new comic:

Manolis: Before we talk about G-Man, I’d like to ask some questions about yourself. Were you a comics fan growing up? Do you remember what your first comic was?

Chris Giarusso: I was a comics fan growing up. I loved those old Marvel cartoons and the Superfriends cartoons. But the first comics I actually bought were a three pack of THE TRANSFORMERS comics from a Kay-Bee Toy Store — issues one through three in a FOUR (wha–?) issue limited series. Why couldn’t they just give me that fourth one so I could get the whole story? That fourth one was tough to track down, but by the time I found it, I was already buying Spider-Man and X-Men and Superman and all the rest.

Manolis: In the past you’ve talked about how you first got your leg into the comics industry, actually starting from a ‘lowly’ internship at Marvel. How did that work out exactly? When you first applied for that internship, did you see it as a chance to eventually get professional work in the House of Ideas?

Chris: I was really excited when I landed that Marvel internship. I did see it as a foot in the door, a step closer to actually getting a job in comics. A lot of people who worked at Marvel were interns.

Manolis: You’ve mentioned elsewhere that you used to pitch story ideas to the Marvel Editors during your internship. What were some of the wilder ones?

Chris: Most of them were just off-the-cuff goof ideas that I don’t remember. But the one that ended up getting me my first strip published revealed the true history of Wolverine and Sabretooth. When Professor X does an in depth mind probe to both Wolverine and Sabretooth simultaneously, he discovers that the two were actually best friends and that they used to hustle people for money in two-on-two street basketball — much like Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson did in the movie White Men Can’t Jump. Then Silverfox won a bunch of money on Wheel of Fortune. These days, an action drama like that would fill a trade, but I had to pare it down to the three panel strip that appeared in the WHAT IF #100 letters page.

Manolis: You’re most famous among comics fans for your weekly Bullpen Bits strips which run across all of Marvel’s titles for several months. This later lead to the two Mini-Marvels one-shots. Which of the Mini-Marvels characters were your favourites? Which redesign did you have the most fun with? Would you like to return to the mini-Marvels in the future?

Chris: I got a kick out of using Hawkeye a lot. I liked drawing Thanos, and I had fun drawing a bunch of different Wolverine costumes.

Manolis: You have a fresh cartoony style that is popular with many fans. How did you first come to develop this particular style? Did you always aspire to doing comics strip work, so you developed your art style appropriately?

Chris: When I started drawing, it was for comic strips at my school paper. I couldn’t draw “realistically”, so I tried to keep it as simple and easy as possible, and it just kind of developed. So, yeah, I was aspiring to be a comic strip guy, but I also really enjoy drawing the longer stories when I have the opportunity.

Manolis: What are your current favourite titles?

Chris: SAVAGE DRAGON has been my favorite comic for years and years. Right now I’m also really loving THE GOON, INVINCIBLE, WALKING DEAD and PVP. Kyle Bake’s PLASTIC MAN is awesome, as is Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s current run on WOLVERINE. And of course, I’m digging the IDENTITY CRISIS story as well –can’t wait to get the last chapter.

Manolis: Enough about you though! Let’s talk about the G-Man! First thing’s first, who IS G-Man?

Chris: G-Man is a kid who fulfills his dream to get super powers when he gets a magic cape that imbues him with the power to fly.

Manolis: What was your inspiration for the character and his friends? What’s G-Man’s real ‘secret origin’?

Chris: Well, G-Man is loosely based on my own childhood with superpowers thrown into the mix.

Manolis: Since this isn’t G-Man’s first appearance, what do new readers need to know about him before they pick up this book?

Chris: Nothing. The lead story is G-Man’s origin story, his very first adventure. The strips that G-Man has previously appeared in will also be collected in this book. Everything is there. New readers won’t be missing out on anything.

Manolis: Which other characters appear in the book?

Chris: G-Man’s father, mother, big brother, and his friends, Billy Demon, Sparky, Tanman, and Sunny, plus a host of others. We also get to meet the city’s greatest champion, Captain Thunderman.


G-Man’s friends, clockwise from the top left: Sunny, Billy Demon, Sparky and Tanman.


Captain Thunderman and his son, Kid Thunderman

Manolis: The preview pages show G-Man’s parents and his brother. How do they react to his new secret identity?

Chris: There’s nothing secret about his identity, but his parents aren’t the least bit fazed by the new powers – it’s like, “last week they were into basketball, this week they’re into flying around.” His brother is taken aback at first, but of course has to then show him up.


Mr and Mrs G, and G-Man’s brother, Great-Man!

Manolis: Does G-Man take part in the greater Image superhero universe? Should we be on the watch for kid-versions of the Image superheroes?

Chris: In my mind, G-Man exists in a universe where the other Image heroes can be found. Which means there actually wouldn’t be kid versions of the other Image superheroes. G-Man and his pals are not derivative of adult heroes, like the Mini Marvels are. I want G-Man to exist with the “real” Image heroes. G-Man has actually run into the “real” Savage Dragon a couple of times. On the other hand, there’s always room to mini-size somebody else’s characters if they want me too.

Manolis: In the comic, G-Man’s superhero ability is super-flight. Was this the super-power you dreamed of having when you were growing up?

Chris: Pretty much. But now, if you could only pick one power, I think I’d rather just be invulnerable and then jump off cliffs.

Manolis: Is G-Man a ‘kid-friendly’ comic? When you’re creating a comic, are you aiming it at a specific age group of readers?

Chris: G-Man is ‘kid-friendly’, but to me that just means it’s not inappropriate for kids. I’m not aiming at kids any more than I’m aiming at adults. I’m not writing down to anybody, and I don’t think kids want to be written down to. That being said, I’d still love it if I were able to capture a large audience of the ever-elusive kids demographic.

Manolis: Do you think labeling a comic as ‘kids friendly’ in today’s market may put off potential adult fans?

Chris: I definitely think so. I also think it may put off potential kid fans as well. I think kids want stuff that’s cool, and putting a ‘kids friendly’ label on something is like putting a ‘not cool’ label on it.

Manolis: What do you have in the works after G-Man? Do you have more oneshots with him in the works?

Chris: I’ve got more G-Man stories cooking in my brain, but I’ll have to wait and see if people want to see more.

Manolis: I’m really looking forward to reading more G-MAN stories! Thank you for answering my questions, Chris! And before we close, here is a 5-page preview of the G-MAN oneshot:

PREVIEWSCOPE ERRATA: NEIL KLEID’S NINETY CANDLES: I didn’t spot the reoffer of NINETY CANDLES in this mont’s PreviewScope, so I’m making up for it in style. Ninety candles is a comic with a novel experimental storytelling technique, and the ‘living’ proof of what’s so great about indy comics. If you want to preorder the book, the Diamond Code is JUL04 3096, and the cover price is $5.95.

(press release)

LIFE. ONE PANEL PER YEAR.

New York, NY – The Xeric Foundation, established by Peter Laird announced Neil Kleid as a recipient of one of seven grants. The Foundation will award Kleid with funds to publish and distribute NINETY CANDLES, a 48 page improvisational “mini graphic novel” that documents the life span of a truggling cartoonist each panel acting as a snapshot of a consecutive year.

NINETY CANDLES is a completely improvisational comic book – no script, no net. Each day is created THAT day. The original plan was to do a page per day and set three months as the cut off date for the story. Whatever I ended up with on Day Ninety would be the finale. Time and method become major factors in the narrative itself.

Each panel of NINETY CANDLES represents a consecutive year in the life of its protagonist, Kevin Hall. The “spaces” between panels morph into “spaces” between years and as such we get to see the shape and breadth of our intrepid cartoonist’s life, the decisions that shape that existence, and his eventual final days. Each page presents two panels/illustrations, or two years, and with a total of ninety illustrations the book comes to a 48 page count (including title, introduction and assorted odds and ends).

NINETY CANDLES began as an exercise in style, method and patience, but has resulted in far more. It has grown to present not only the unfolding of a life through sequential illustration, but also the reiteration of the importance of time and pacing in the medium of comic books.

Visit the NINETY CANDLES website for more information

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Coming up in the next weeks: A special interview with Joe Casey about everything and a fond farewell to X-STATIX”¦.
As always, I’m waiting for your comments through email or in the new official LYS@D discussion thread.

Manolis Vamvounis
a.k.a. Doc Dooplove

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ah, the good old Dr Manolis, the original comics Greek. He's been at this for sometime. he was there when the Comics Nexus was founded, he even gave it its name, he even used to run it for a couple of years. he's been writing about comics, geeking out incessantly and interviewing busier people than himself for over ten years now and has no intention of stopping anytime soon.