What’s SHOOT THE MESSENGER?
Well, AICN COMICS: SHOOT THE MESSENGER is your weekly one stop shop for comic book -EWS. What’s comic book –EWS? Well, it’s our hodge podge of everything not reviews here at AICN Comics. Sure you can find out the @$$Holes’ critical opinions of your favorite books every Wednesday at AICN Comics. But here, you’ll find special reports such as previews, interviews, special features, and occasionally news gathered here from our online brethren at Newsarama, CBR, Wizard, etc. Sure those guys are the best at reporting news as it breaks. Click on the links for the original stories. This column cuts the crap to run down all the vital information for those of you who don’t follow it as it comes in, and serves it all up with that special ingredient of @$$y goodness.
Hey all, Ambush Bug here with another edition of STM for folks to enjoy. First, check out Mr. Pasty’s interview with WWE HEROES’ Ned Hartley. Then join us for a gaggle of clickable previews further down. Enjoy!
Mr. Pasty says his prayers, eats his vitamins,
and asks Ned Hartley about WWE HEROES!
Greetings, Wrestlemaniacs. Mr. Pasty here with a special belly-to-belly promo featuring “The Editor” Ned Hartley. Part of “The Hartley Foundation,” N-Pac had the good fortune to lock-up with the boys in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to help create WWE HEROES, a 20-issue comic book series from Titan Publishing featuring all your favorite WWE Superstars and Divas, with the first issue debuting on March 23, 2010.
HEROES will be scripted by “Killer” Keith Champagne, whose resume includes hit comics such as JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA, GREEN LANTERN CORPS, WORLD WAR III and ADOLESCENT RADIOACTIVE BLACK BELT HAMSTERS. His tag-team partner, from parts unknown, will be “The Golden Pencil,” Andy Smith, the intercontinental artist with a championship run in major publishing houses such as Marvel, DC, Image, Acclaim, and CrossGen Entertainment.
In addition, an alternate cover exclusive to comic book stores of issue #1 features a specially-commissioned cover by comics artist Liam Sharp (no relation to Iron Mike), who has worked on major titles including HULK, X-MEN, SPIDER-MAN, VENOM, GEARS OF WAR, SUPERMAN, BATMAN, and SPAWN: THE DARK AGES.
HEROES #1 reveals an eternal rivalry set against the backdrop of the history of WWE. Why is the ruthless Shadow King so obsessed with WWE? What is the reason for his eternal and supernatural war with the Firstborn? And could his ancient opponent really be a member of the WWE roster?
We’re going to find out on March 23, but for now, we have a bigger issue on our hands as Ned Hartley is sprinting down the ramp in full Ultimate Warrior regalia ready to shoot on all things HEROES.
Mr. PASTY (MP): How did the idea of a WWE-inspired comic book series come to fruition?
NED HARTLEY (NH): We were looking for a property to launch our US comics line, and WWE is a perfect fit for us. I wasn’t really part of the contract negotiations, but the editorial team had a good look at how different companies had approached wrestling comics in the past, and brainstormed loads of different ideas for storylines. WWE were really good at discussing different story ideas with us, and we went on from there.MP: Describe the creative process in choosing which WWE superstars to incorporate into the books.
NH: The most important thing for us is using making sure that the right characters fit the story, but I’m always aware that wrestling fans will want to see their favorite superstars in the book. We always make sure we pay attention to how the TV show develops, but at the same time we can’t incorporate every single feud in the show, often because we would be out of date by the time the comic printed.
MP: Was there a particular wrestler (or wrestlers) that upon green-lighting this project you said “Oh, I have the perfect story for Wrestler X?”
NH: Oh yeah! Most of them! As soon as we knew we had the property our whole editorial team sat in a room and just started pitching ideas to each other like crazy! “How about if Triple H did this?” or “Wouldn’t it be cool if the Undertaker was trapped with...” and “Wouldn’t a Rey Mysterio story about that be cool?” It’s one of my favorite parts of the job, just bouncing ideas off people. Of course some of my ideas can be pretty bad, but the other editors aren’t shy in letting me know. “How about Vince McMahon visits the International Space Station and then leprechauns kidnap him?” “Hmm, no Ned. How about not?” Of course, it was up to the writer, Keith Champagne, to take our original story concepts and make them shine. These days we are much more confident to let him run riot with story plans, and he always comes up with something that is really cool.MP: How much creative input (if any) do the wrestlers have?
NH: Everything goes through the WWE approvals process, so they handle that side of things.MP: What was the initial reaction from some of the wrestlers about being portrayed in a graphic novel?
NH: I know that some superstars have posted stuff to their websites, so they must be pleased! To be honest, I haven’t had a huge amount of feedback from the preview material, but we’ll be sending round a bunch of copies of the first issue to everyone.MP: Will there be a correlation between the comic book storylines and the current WWE product? Hulk vs. Zeus in “No Holds Barred” comes to mind.
NH: It’s nice to have little nods to other products in the WWE stable, but I think it gets too confusing to readers if John Cena suddenly bursts in as his character from “12 Rounds”.
MP: Any in-ring action or do the stories take place outside of the arena?
NH: I think fans are going to feel a little cheated if we don’t have any in-ring wrestling, but at the same time then if it’s all about match-ups that fans can see on TV then what’s the point of having a comic? Comics are great because it gives us a license to tell stories that are imaginative, fantastical and just plain fun!MP: Describe the ideal reading age for HEROES. Can readers expect an edgier “RAW” style book or will it be toned down for a wider appeal?
NH: One of the things I love about WWE is that it has such a wide appeal. When you go to the shows you can see adults and children really enjoying it and just having the time of their lives! We wanted to produce something that the average WWE fan would enjoy, but also something that someone who was browsing the shelves in their local comic shop would think was cool. So we’ve tried to bring part of the “edgier” elements from the show, combine them with our favorite things about comic books, and produce something that basically anyone can enjoy!MP: Is there creative autonomy for this series or does the WWE brass give final approval prior to going to print?
NH: This is licensed publishing, so WWE has to approve everything, but they have been very, very cool about what we can and can’t do. I’ve worked in licensed comics in the UK for the last five years, on comics such as TMNT, SIMPSONS and SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, and WWE are up there with some of the nicest people I’ve worked with in the business. This comic is such a blast to work on!MP: What are some of the challenges you faced in creating such a genre-specific book?
NH: What has been really nice is to use the WWE as a prism to look at other genres. Our first issue is a sword and sorcery, “Highlander”-style story about an ancient battle between two eternal warriors, but it soon evolves into a different genre completely for the second issue. Without giving too much away, we really like the idea of switching genres and story styles, using the roster of the WWE to explore these stories.MP: Is there a learning curve for non-WWE fans or does this book have a universal appeal?
NH: Oh, absolutely anyone can pick this book up and get what is going on straight away. We were very careful to make sure that the non-WWE fans in the office read the book and could understand it straight away.
MP: What is the ultimate goal for this project?
NH: I think the goal for any comic is just to tell good stories that the fans enjoy. Of course it would be nice to create a branching WWE comic universe with spin-off titles and shared, evolving mythology, but right now we’re just concentrating on making some kick-ass comics!MP: The greatest WWE/WWF wrestler of all time is…
NH: Oh god! I think the 12-year-old Ned Hartley would never forgive me if I didn’t say Hulk Hogan, but we do have loads and loads of Undertaker posters up in the office. Plus, I did see Triple H fight Randy Orton last time they were in London and it was pretty amazing!Be sure to pick up WWE HEROES #1 on sale March 23, 2010, from your local and online retailers and specialist comic shops. For more information on the WWE HEROES comic, be sure to visit here and join the WWE Comics Facebook community here, brother.
Click on the below links for more about WWE HEROES and related topics.
Liam Sharp reveals his inspiration on #1 alternate cover here.
WWE Heroes #1 – behind the cover here.
WWE Heroes: the line-up here.
Launch Announcement here.
WWE Comics on Facebook here.
WWE Comics on Twitter here.!
WWE Comics on your desktop here.!
Web heads who can’t get enough of Mr. Pasty’s word vomit are encouraged to watch him operate as Nostradumbass over at here. MMAmania.com. Love, hate and Mafia Wars requests should be directed here.
Bug again. Click on these links and enjoy the previews in this week’s pull!
GI JOE #14 Writer: Chuck Dixon Art: Robert Atkins Publisher: IDW Publishing In stores this week!
WITCHBLADE #134 Writer: Ron Marz Aritst: Stjepan Sejic Publisher: Top Cow In stores this week!
FARSCAPE #3 Writer: Rockne S. O’Bannon, Keith DeCandido Art: Will Sliney Publisher: BOOM! Studios In stores this week!
BEYOND THE WALL #3 Writer: Matt Venne Art: Gordon Purcell Publisher: IDW Publishing In stores this week!
COWBOY NINJA VIKING #3 (of 4) Story: AJ Lieberman Art & cover: Riley Rossmo Publisher: Image Comics In stores this week!
INCORRUPTIBLE #2 Writer: Mark Waid Art: Jean Diaz Publisher: BOOM! Studios In stores this week!
JERSEY GODS #10 Story: Glen Brunswick Art: Dan McDaid Publisher: Image Comics In stores this week!
CYBER FORCE/HUNTER KILLER # 4 Writer: Mark Waid Art: Kenneth Rocafort Publisher: Top Cow In stores this week!
TRANSFORMERS: BUMBLEBEE #2 Writer: Zander Cannon Art: Chee Publisher: IDW Publishing In stores this week!
MUPPET PETER PAN #4 Writer: Grace Randolph Art: Amy Mebberson Publisher: BOOM! Studios In stores this week!
And we’ll leave you with this, an excerpt from the amazing novel SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE. It’s an extremely well written book by Austin Grossman. This is a short film reenactment of Dr. Impossible’s speech and just hearing it makes me want to check out the book again. Enjoy!
