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AICN COMICS: Q&@ is our new semi-weekly interview column where some of your favorite @$$Holes interview comic bookdom’s biggest, brightest, newest, and oldest stars. Enjoy this latest in-depth interview filled with @$$y goodness and be sure to look for more AICN COMICS as we gaze into the future of comics every week with AICN COMICS: SPINNER RACK PREVIEWS every Monday and then join the rest of your favorite @$$Holes for their opinions on the weekly pull every Wednesday with AICN COMICS REVIEWS!

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Q’s by Matt Adler!

@’s by THE REGULATORS’ Jeff Loew!

Hi folks, Matt Adler here. Recently, I got the chance to speak with Jeff Loew, writer of the new one-shot THE REGULATORS, for Visionary Comics. We talked about the origins of the comic, his creative influences, his working relationship with Visionary, and what else he has coming up. And check out an eight page preview of THE REGULATORS throughout the interview. Enjoy!

MATT ADLER (MA): How did you become associated with Visionary Comics?

JEFF LOEW (JL): Visionary announced a contest a couple of years ago in association with the print publisher AAM/Markosia. I submitted a story featuring my fantasy detective characters Grynn & Barrett, Dark Arts Detectives. The story was named as a finalist. Unfortunately, it wasn’t completed in time to appear in a Markosia comic, since the original artist dropped out. But it eventually appeared as a back-up in my original graphic novel, THE FROG PRINCESS, published by eigoMANGA and Visionary Comics. The story was also reprinted in Visionary’s online anthology, Digital Visions.

MA: How did you come up with the idea for THE REGULATORS?

JL: I was working with a group of comic creators who were putting together a science fiction anthology. One of the editors suggested I do a straightforward story – he suggested a bounty hunter. But I wanted to do something a little more unconventional. So the original goal was to have the lead character be literally a “regulator” – someone whose job is to make sure that the Earth’s off-world colonies are complying with regulations issued by the home planet.

MA: Has the idea of doing a big sci-fi action-thriller always appealed to you?

JL: Absolutely. Seeing STAR WARS was a formative event in my childhood, as it was for most science fiction fans of our generation. And some of my other favorite movies are darker stories like BLADE RUNNER, ALIENS, and TERMINATOR 2. So it’s definitely a dream come true in that regard.

MA: What are some of your other influences when it comes to this story?

JL: I wanted to tell a noir story that happened to be set on Mars. So there’s some influence from noir films of the 40s and 50s – THE BIG SLEEP and DOUBLE INDEMNITYare particular favorites -- as well as updates like CHINATOWN. I also wanted the terrain of Mars to evoke the Western landscape, so the story’s climax also references classic Westerns like John Ford’s THE SEARCHERS.

MA: Tell us a little about the lead character here, Pax.

JL: When we first meet Pax Manfreddy, his world view is about as complex as that of Homer Simpson. He’s vacationing on a leisure planet with lovely alien ladies on either side of him. He sees himself as a blue-collar guy. He doesn’t question the purpose of his job, which is to keep the off-world colonies in line and under the thumb of his bosses back on Earth. The call to rescue another Regulator is just routine for him, even though he knows it might be dangerous. But as he hunts down the missing Regulator on Mars, his views of the colonists, the Martians, and his role as a Regulator all evolve.

MA: There seems to be a significant political aspect to this story; was that part of your goal here? Do the politics of this sci-fi setting have some relevance to our own world?

JL: I’ve been interested for a long time in the relationships between developed and developing countries. In creating the Regulators universe, I tried to imagine how these neo-colonial relationships might translate into the far future. Essentially, the colonies of the Regulators universe are used by Earth’s governments as a way to obtain raw materials. But to keep those raw materials cheap and plentiful, the colonies have to be kept dependent on Earth. This reflects the history of the relationship between the United States and Latin America, and more recently the relationship between China and Africa. To me this seemed a natural conflict that would continue to exist even in the future. And it’s also one of the things I like best about futuristic science fiction – the ability to think about and comment on issues that face us today.

MA: How did George Todorovski come on-board this project?

JL: When I was looking for artists to work with on the story, the group I was working with tracked him down and sent me his portfolio. It immediately blew me away, and I knew I wanted to work with him on REGULATORS, or on anything else he might want to do.

MA: Did you guys closely collaborate, in terms of discussing how to handle scenes and so forth?

JL: Some of the most important collaboration came in determining the characters’ appearances, and the look of the Martian cities and landscapes. To provide just one example, the ocular implants that the character Lyle Westin has are based on a suggestion George made for Pax. With regard to scenes, though, I probably scripted the panels and transitions with more detail than was necessary. George and I would then communicate to be sure we understood each other. If I was redoing it now, I’d probably give George even more latitude tell the story in a way that best optimizes his own strengths as an artist and storyteller.

MA: Are there plans for more Regulator stories? If so, will they focus on the same lead character?

JL: We still have more Pax stories we’d like to tell. George did some sketches featuring a younger Pax that we’d definitely like to follow up on. Right now George is focused on a book called THE BEAR STORIES, about a profane, violent teddy bear, so we’ll see how our schedules shape up in the coming year.

MA: Are you working on anything else these days?

JL: I’ve got a supernatural procedural book that I’ve been finishing up with Visionary’s assistance, that I hope will be published soon. I’ve also got a new Grynn & Barrett story that’s just about ready to go to print – most likely in an online format. I’m just giving the pages a few final tweaks. Visionary’s got some other exciting developments that I’m hoping to be a part of, but it’s too early to say much about those.

Finally, a colleague and I are working on a full-length graphic memoir of his great-uncle, who occupies an interesting place in history during the years prior to World War I. We’ll be finishing up some excerpts soon that we can use to pitch the book to publishers. I think it’s going to be one of the more interesting projects I’ve yet been involved with.

MA: Thanks for answering these questions. THE REGULATORS is available now. Check out Visionary Comics’ website for more details.

In most places, Matt Adler goes by the name his mother gave him, but occasionally uses the handle "CylverSaber", based on a character he created for the old DARK FORCES II: JEDI KNIGHT game (one hint of his overweening nerddom). He currently does IT and networking support for the government of Nassau County, NY, but his dream is to write for a living, and is in the process of figuring out how to get publishers to give his stuff a look. In the meantime, he passes the time by writing for AICN, CBR, and a few other places. He has also written for MARVEL SPOTLIGHT magazine.

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Editing, compiling, imaging, coding, logos & cat-wrangling by Ambush Bug
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G

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