TITAN LAUNCHES WALLACE & GROMIT COMIC
This feature first published September 2005
Titan
launches its new Wallace & Gromit Comic on 29 September
2005, tying in with Aardman Animations first Wallace & Gromit feature
film, Curse of the Were-rabbit, which opens in October. John
Freeman found out more about the new title from editor Steve White, who
also edits RAF Magazine and SpongeBob Squarepants for
the company, as well as other editorial duties.
Steve – also a writer and illustrator - has an
impressive track record in the world of British comics. At Marvel UK
he worked on boys action comics such as Action Force, Thundercats,
and Transformers, eventually graduating to editing adult sci-fi
and fantasy titles such as the original, highly-acclaimed The Knights
of Pendragon. At that time, he also began to develop a reputation
as what he describes as "a halfway-decent colourist, brushing up
my illustration skills in editorial meetings, and started to write storylines
for comics, including Ghostbusters and Action Force."
He has written comics for Tundra (where he worked as editor), Dark Horse
and 2000AD, among others.
Wallace & Gromit Comic is something of a milestone for Titan
-- the first to feature originated strip, rather than the usual reprint
comics material the company is better known among comics fans for, despite
its track record in fully originated feature-based sci-fi magazines.
DOWNTHETUBES.NET: How did the WALLACE & GROMIT COMIC project come about?
STEVE WHITE: It's been a long time coming. Titan pitched the idea some years ago but Aardman was not massively keen
on the idea. From what I can gather, they weren't entirely sure how it would translate as a comic and if there would be
any significant readership. However, they seemed to reconsider when we re-pitched in the light of the movie. This time,
they agreed with surprising speed.
DTB: What can we expect in the new comic?
STEVE: Well, it's the usual round of strips, puzzles and features. The only subtle difference is that we are actually
taking a more sophisticated approach aimed an older audience. We will be using more text-based features as opposed to
more or less visually-driven features we've used in other kid's comics.
I see W&G falling between The
Simpsons and SpongeBob, although
definitely hedging towards the former.
DTB: Will there be new comic strip in the comic?
STEVE: Yep. 10 pages a month.
DTB: Have you chosen art and script teams for any new strips?
STEVE: Yes. Time being critical at the launch, I chose teams who had already worked on the W&G graphic novels, just
so that they knew the ground and Aardman would be familiar with them. Simon Furman and Dan Abnett are writing and
Brian Williamson and Bambos Georgiou, and Jimmy Hansen are doing the artwork. So far so good.
DTB: What kind of stories are you planning to run in any new strips?
STEVE: I don't really have any framework other than anything that falls within the W&G universe. They're the
sort of characters that it's easy to fall into cliches with -- villain of the week, invention of the week,
that sort of thing, so we've tried to develop at least a little latitude. I guess we're still trying to find our
feet really. Just have to see what evolves.
DTB: Is there anything specific about WALLACE & GROMIT you're trying to capture with this new comic?
STEVE: I guess the sometimes sly sense of humour they have. There's also an interesting dichotomy between the
sometimes outlandish storylines balanced with a very parochial grounding. They fly to the moon and back, just
in time for cheese and crackers and a night in front of the telly. I think that's part of their appeal.
DTB: Titan Books publish original WALLACE & GROMIT graphic albums -- will material from those also feature?
STEVE: Yes, well be splitting them up as back-up material.
DTB: Given your past experience as an editor at both Marvel UK and Tundra you've
got tons of contacts with comics creators on both sides of the Atlantic -- can we expect any guest illustrations by
the likes of Gary Erskine or Bryan Hitch, for example?
STEVE: Yeah, right. I'm sure Bryan could do with a rest from The Ultimates!
But never say never, I guess.
DTB: Is it a bit weird switching between your editing work on RAF MAGAZINE and WALLACE & GROMIT?
STEVE: Not really. They're so far removed from each that there's little in the way of mental overlap.
RAF Magazine is a very different discipline, in terms of editing and approach
(as you can imagine!) and it's relatively easy going now. I just spend a lot of time looking for cool pictures. Ironically,
W&G is far more work intensive. It's more imaginative and you're obviously writing
in a specific voice and style (although I'm constantly having to avoid slipping into 'northern' catch phrases all the time).
And because it's new, we're still very much finding out feet. RAF more or
less breezes along now.
DTB: You've a long history of editing comics for various UK companies. Is there a comparable title
with this new comic?
STEVE: I very much had The Real Ghostbusters in mind. Dan is writing
features for me in W&G, and I specifically had [the Ghostbusters feature]
Spengler's Spirit Guide in my head when I was talking to him. It was very
sly and clever, but the kids loved it (as did we all).
Again, these characters don't work with just anyone writing them. You need to get into the language and nuances to actually make them work. Same with strips. Simon really had a handle on them.
I know it looks like just a Marvel UK reunion but I guess you go with what you know, besides which,
they can actually do the job.
DTB: Looking back on your own comics career, what have been the highlights for you?
STEVE: Writing Rogue Trooper and Flesh
for 2000AD, I guess. I wasn't a very popular writer
and would love to have a crack again but, what the hell, at least I got the chance. Getting to work with childhood heroes like
John Bolton and Kev O'Neill. It's also been great watching artists and writers who Marvel UK and Tundra gave their first crack
of the whip to becoming serious players in the comics industry. Some are people I gave their first work to, so that's been cool.
DTB: The British comics industry you worked in back in the days of Marvel UK seems long gone.
Any thoughts on why boys' adventure titles have vanished?
STEVE: I see and hear a lot of people bitching and complaining that the comics industry in the UK is dead because no-one
cares, and distribution is terrible and the new stuff is rubbish. Well, the sad news is that most of these people seem to
be stuck in some kind of time warp where evolution has stopped. I think it has nothing to do with that. I think if I was
12 or 13 now, I'd rather be playing computer games than reading comics.
I think you need a certain sensibility to enjoy comics. Anyone can enjoy computer games. And it's not like the industry is dead. It's just very different -- much more junior. Titan is selling a lot of comics. We must be to be able to afford its first originated comic!
I guess I'm just sick and tired of going to conventions and listening to all these miserable old gits
complaining there is no comics industry just because they can't get work. Young kids comics are huge.
DTB: If there was one comic you could publish yourself, what would it be?
STEVE: The new Battlestar Galactica!
• Wallace & Gromit launches on 29 September 2005
Web Links
• Wallace & Gromit Comic
• Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-rabbit Official Site
"Vege-mania" hits Wallace and Gromit's neighbourhood in the run up to the annual Giant
Vegetable Competition, hosted by beautiful heiress Lady Tottington. Our intrepid chums have been cashing in as elite pest-control
duo "Anti-pesto" and business is booming until an unexplained, nocturnal, veg-ravaging rabbit monster begins attacking the
town's sacred vegetable plots, putting the future of the competition in jeopardy. Will Wallace & Gromit rise to the occasion,
or will Lady Tottington's arrogant suitor Victor Quartermaine, step in to save the day?
• Wallace & Gromit Official Web Site
This site features the "Cracking Contraptions" films
CREATORS
• Steve White's Official Web Site
Check out his stunning dinosuar illustrations!