Hot Shot of the Week Companion Feature
Ten Question About Liberty Comics With Darick Robertson
Russell Burlingame reporting for Comic Related
This week's Ten Questions With… feature has been split up into a few parts to allow more of the contributors a chance to have a say, and to cut down on the load expected of people who are, by and large, just recently returning from San Diego. Earlier in the week we spoke with Liberty Comics editor Scott Dunbier. Now we check in with Darick Robertson.
Comic Related: So how did you and Garth come to be involved in the Liberty Comics project? Dunbier says he approached everyone; did he ask you guys about doing The Boys or did he just come to one of you and that's what flowed out of it?
Darick Robertson: He approached Garth first and then I was asked if I would do it in between issues.
CR: Given that The Boys is one of Dynamite's biggest properties, was it difficult at all to get them to go along with letting somebody else take it (and you guys)?
DR: We all wanted to do something good for the CBLDF. It's an important charity and they need all the attention and support they can get.
CR: Technically, you're still DC-exclusive, right?
DR: Yes, I am!
CR: Obviously, there are a lot of folks who have been uneasy with some of the content in The Boys --did that contribute to the decision to affiliate The Boys with the CBLDF?
DR: In some ways, yes. Even if our book was as safe as vanilla, we would want to support the CBLDF. But the truth is, books like The Boys can be targeted as obscenity by groups that have no idea how the comic book market has grown.
The market that 'mature readers' books cater to now are people that are 17- 40 and that audience is as passionate about comics as younger kids used to be in the 70's, when the direct market was being created. Those kids have grown up with comics and the market has done a good job of keeping them entertained. So while cable cartoon channels, DVD's, and video game systems have really gobbled up the dollar that comics used to get, an audience that likes to read and appreciates comic art has come in to replace them.
This audience is feeding the current crop of comics related films that are doing great box office numbers now, like 300 and Sin City, and the more serious and somber Dark Knight. This recent film is closer to the comics than any of the previous incarnations of Batman on screen, and now the biggest movie of all time, breaking all previous box office records. Clearly Batman has an audience that isn't just children.
But folks that go on the attack believe that comic book stores are somehow soliciting kids with a 'mature readers' title. It's not unlike attacking a show like The Sopranos on HBO as being presented for all audiences, just because it's on television. Some people can't distinguish that all comics aren't for all audiences, and there are serious legal ramifications for some independently owned comic book retailers in certain states. Most retailers are small business owners, not corporate chains. And while comic related things like film and games bring in huge dollars, the comics themselves still turn a relatively small profit. Even the big publishers can't afford to take on all of these cases.
The CBLDF steps in and fights these cases. It's saved a number of retailers from going out of business and allowed comics to grow as an art form because retailers and small publishers have a defender in their corner. So it's in our own best interest to show them as much support as possible and in the interest of all fans to be sure that what the CBLDF is defending can continue, which is in essence, the freedom to read what you want to read and look at what you want to look at.
CR: I know you had some fill-in guys working on the book a couple times last year. Is everything back on track with The Boys schedule?
DR: I'm working with the talented Matt Jacobs for a couple of issues as a penciler to get me through my busy summer and then I should be back onto a schedule that should allow me enough time to do the level of work I'd like to do.
CR: What have you got upcoming besides The Boys monthly to tease?
DR: Right now I am focusing on the The Boys, and pitching some ides. I have some discussions going on with DC about doing something cool, but until I'm actually drawing it, I prefer to keep it quiet.
Hot Shot of the Week
Liberty Comics: A CBLDF Benefit Book (One-Shot)
Hot Shot of the Week Companion Feature
Ten Question About Liberty Comics With Scott Dunbier
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Page last updated on October 12, 2008