David Schwartz stopped by ComicBuzz to tell us about his new comic IDOLIZED from Aspen Comics
CB: HI David, thanks for joining us
DBS: It’s my pleasure! I’m always thrilled to talk about IDOLIZED, and I’m grateful that you’re taking the time to chat with me about it.
CB: Before we chat about your new project at Aspen Comics, for any of our readers who are not familiar with your work could you tell us about your pervious work?
DBS: Sure!
I wrote an Image Comics series called MELTDOWN, about a super-hero who discovers that his own powers are killing him, basically melting him down from within. He’s only got a week left to go back and make up for all of his regrets in life, including reconciling some very difficult relationships, trying to finally take down the arch-nemesis that always eluded him, and trying to find some type of inner peace before he goes.
Since then I’ve been writing for Aspen Comics, and I’m honoured that they’ve trusted me to flesh out the back-story for some of their most important franchises. First, I got to tell the origin of Ember, the villain from “Shrugged”, and then the secret history of Aspen Matthews and her family from “Michael Turner’s Fathom”. It’s been a great ride.
CB: IDOLIZED is your new comic at Aspen Comics, can you tell us about it?
DBS: IDOLIZED tells the story of girl with super-powers and a tortured past, who seeks revenge, and ultimately finds redemption, over the course of competing in a televised super-hero competition show. Essentially, it’s “True Grit” meets “American Idol” with capes. And, while this massive TV show gives us a very broad and overwhelming backdrop, at heart this series is a really personal and focused story about what this young woman is going through.
The series has explosive art by Micah Gunnell (“Shrugged”, “Executive Assistant: Orchid”, “Dellec”) and colors by David Curiel (“Executive Assistant: Orchid”, “Dead Man’s Run”).
CB: Could you tell us about the origin of IDOLIZED?
Well, ever since the end of MELTDOWN, people have been asking me if and when I’d be writing another superhero book. I’ve definitely wanted to, as I love the genre, but I really wanted to wait until the right concept struck me. I knew it had to be something unique, compelling, emotional and exciting, and rife with opportunities for social commentary. A tall order.
So, one day several years ago, I was reading an article about the astounding success of the “American Idol” zeitgeist, and the tremendous amount of drama that the kids on that show go through; the fear, the desperation, the crushing blow of a bad performance, the elation of a great performance, the feeling that their entire future could be riding on every choice they make about their clothing and hair, every word they say, every note they sing.
Love it or hate it, it’s hard to deny that It’s a tremendously pressure-filled, high-stakes situation. And I was thinking, if there was truly a superhero world like the Marvel or DC universes, would there be a show like that, with that level of human drama and intensity, but for superheroes? If so, what would it look like?
Out of that grew the idea of a comic book series about a TV show where super-powered teens and 20-somethings are competing for the ultimate dream-prize: a guaranteed spot in that world’s top super-group, The Powered Protectors.
Guaranteed entry to the Protectors is huge. After all, it wouldn’t be easy to become a legal, sanctioned, paid superhero (as opposed to a mere illegal vigilante). But, if you get to start off by winning “SuperHero Idol”? Well, it’s like you’ve instantly arrived, and can write your own ticket from there on out. The chance of winning offers fame, fortune, massive endorsement deals and, of course, a chance to actually save the world. Kids who dream of being worshipped as the next Superman or Wonder Woman would be falling all over themselves to get on — and perhaps even win — the show.
And, from there, I fleshed out the idea for IDOLIZED as the story of this specific girl who starts out seeking revenge, and ultimately finds redemption, over the course of competing in this televised superhero competition show.
CB: Does IDOLIZED being Aspen’s first superhero comic add any more pressure on creating a successful comic?
DBS: Oh, definitely. Considering that I’m joining a family of titles that includes classics like “Fathom”, “Soulfire”, “Shrugged” and “Lady Mechanika”, I know I’ve got a very high standard of quality and accomplishment to live up to.
Honestly, though, I think the main reason I feel pressure on this series is because of all the tremendous accolades that MELTDOWN received. I feel like I’ve got a really high bar I need to hit because of it. This is a much different series, though, told in a very different style and with very differing pacing. I’ve just got to stay focused on trying to deliver the best, most gripping story I possibly can; on providing an interesting, compelling journey for our protagonist over the course of the series. At the end of the day, if I can succeed in that, then I’ll be thoroughly happy.
CB: When you were developing the comic, what type of art style did you have in mind?
DBS: Initially, I was thinking that the story probably lent itself to a dark, gritty, sketchy style. Perhaps along the lines of Alex Maleev’s work.
But then when Aspen asked if I’d be interested in working with Micah, I pretty much leapt out of my seat and said “yes” immediately. Micah is really a brilliant, brilliant artist.
Obviously, the first thing you notice about any artist is their style, and Micah’s work is truly gorgeous stylistically.
But for me, what’s most important isn’t style so much as having someone with great visual storytelling ability and innovative, exciting layout and design choices. If you’ve seen his work on books like “Executive Assistant: Orchid” or “Shrugged”, you know that Micah’s incredibly innovative in terms of his layouts and design work. He brings an insane amount of energy to every page, and helps to tell the story in clear and inventive ways.
I first met Micah back in 2004 when he was a competitor in the first “Comic Book Idol” artist competition. Given the storyline in IDOLIZED, that now seems pretty ironic. I saw his work there, really thought it was uniquely smart and original, and contacted him about potentially working on MELTDOWN. Even though we didn’t end up getting to work together on MELTDOWN (other than an amazing pin-up he generously contributed to the trade paperback), we’ve always talked about finding a project to collaborate on, and I’m thrilled that we’re finally getting that chance.
I truly believe that once folks see the mind-blowing work he’s doing on IDOLIZED, he’s going to be thought of as being right up there among the biggest and most valued names currently working in the industry. In fact, even if folks absolutely detest my writing on IDOLIZED, they should still pick up the book just for Micah’s art alone.
Given Micah’s style, I’ve moved to a lighter, more action-driven manner of telling the story on this series, trying to give him more room to let the art breathe and explode off the page, and I think the fans will really like the results.
CB: Did Micah suggest David Curiel as the colourist for IDOLIZED?
DBS: I think it was either Frank Mastromauro, Aspen’s President, or Vince Hernandez, Aspen’s Editor-in-Chief, who suggested David. He and Micah had just finished working together on last summer’s “Executive Assassin: Orchid” series, and their styles meshed perfectly together. That series looked incredible. So, adding David to the IDOLIZED team was pretty much a no-brainer.
CB: What has it been like working with Micah and David?
DBS: Micah is doing truly drop-dead gorgeous work on this series. Easily the best work of his career, IMHO, which is saying a lot. Each page he turns in is more jaw-dropping than the last. And he offers up lots of great ideas and suggestions, which I really appreciate. David’s just starting on the first issue now, but I expect that it’s going to be great working with him as well.
CB: Can you tell us about the main characters in IDOLIZED?
DBS: Our main character is Joule, and she’s a pretty dark, angry person.
She went through something fairly horrific as a little kid, which she blames herself for. She’s spent the last decade since then working madly to become a superhero. She’s determined to atone for her failure; to save other lives in order to make up for the lives she let slip away, and to exact revenge for what befell her. When she hears about this new “Superhero Idol” show, she thinks that, by winning, she may be able to get close enough to the man who caused her all that anguish that she’d actually be able to exact her ultimate revenge upon him. So, despite how ridiculous she finds the show to be, she sucks up her pride, gets on line, and stands before the judges to audition.
What I love about her is that she’s really a study in contrasts, a person who’s internally at war with herself. She desperately wants to do good things, to help atone for what she sees as the sins of her past, and help change the world. But, at the same time, she’s filled with anger and loathing and wants to kill the man who wronged her. The interplay of those two sides of her – one half wishing to be a do-gooder, the other half ruthlessly seeking to draw blood – gives me a lot to play with, and makes for a great, dramatic character arc over the course of the series.
Our main villain is named Stasis. I can’t tell you too much about Stasis just yet, except that he’s a villain whose ends are noble, but whose means are horrid. Readers ultimately may not know whether to root for or against him.
We’ve also got the various members of the Top 10 contestants, who play a large part in the latter half of the series. They’re a pretty disparate and wild bunch, so I’m excited to dig in and start writing them. They appear primarily in the 4th through 6th issues, and I’m currently writing the third issue, so I haven’t quite gotten to them yet.
CB: Aspen have asked comic fans to vote on the look/design of the main characters of IDOLIZED, how did the idea in getting comic fans involved come about?
DBS: Well, from the start we knew that we really wanted to find a way to allow the fans to interact with the series and to have a part in shaping it.
In terms of how we locked in on this specific voting concept, it started when Micah sent us 3 or 4 different “looks” to choose from for each character. I was looking at them, and trying to decide which ones to choose (which was tough, since they were all great), when it hit me that, instead of having just our own opinions decide this, we should really open it up and let the fans decide. Not only did we think it’d be a really fun and cool thing to offer up, but it just seemed to fit in perfectly with a series about a reality competition show where viewers vote for their favorite heroes.
CB: What has the response of comic fans to the voting been like?
DBS: People really seemed to love it, and to be excited about helping to create the series. We got thousands of votes, lots of commentary, and we ended up with a cast of great looking characters.
CB: Have you noticed any pattern in the voting or have you been surprised by any of the results so far?
DBS: You know, it’s funny, but I think the biggest surprise was that in almost every case the fans picked the design that was my favorite. I think that Mindfull is the only character that I had a different preference on, but that’s ok. I like that the fans were able to have their say, and I’m totally cool with running with their design choice.
CB: I understand that you have some exciting announcements coming very soon for IDOLIZED; can you give us any hints of what they might be?
DBS: Well, in a few weeks we’ll be announcing something really special and unique for our covers. It’ll be completely unlike anything else on the stands.
In the meantime, though, we’re excited to announce a new contest where fans can actually win the chance to be a character in IDOLIZED. The winner gets to be one of the superheroes auditioning to win the coveted title of “Superhero Idol”, and to appear in a sequence in the third issue fighting alongside Joule and Mindfull.
We’re inviting fans to simply tell us what super-powers they would have if they were a superhero, and why. The entries can be purely text, or can include drawings and/or photos of the entrant as the super-hero they’d dream of being. Entries just need to be posted on Facebook.com/IdolizedComic and/or tweeted with the hash-tag “#Idolized”.
Aspen will choose their five favorite entries, and the public will then have the chance to vote among those five finalists to choose the ultimate winner. That winner will be drawn into IDOLIZED.
And, as if actually being a superhero in a comic book wasn’t enough, the winner will also receive a page of original art that they appear in, and all five of the finalists will receive copies of each issue of IDOLIZED, signed by me and Micah.
I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of truly creative entries folks come up with!
CB: What can we expect from Issue one of IDOLIZED?
DBS: The first issue is a little taste of all the insanity you’ll be seeing over the course of the series. It introduces us to the show, to our hero, and gives our villain’s backstory. This series is gonna be a roller-coaster ride of action and emotion, and the first issue really sets that up nicely.
CB: When will the first issue of IDOLIZED ship?
DBS: The first issue should be hitting the stands in June.
CB: Are you working on any other comic projects?
DBS: Yes, I’ve currently got a whopping 7 more series lined up as creator-owned projects through Aspen after IDOLIZED finishes, and I’m working on putting those projects together and getting them in motion. But, really, my main focus right now is on making IDOLIZED as strong a book as possible.
CB: Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
DBS: I just want to thank them for all of their support, and to invite them to get involved with IDOLIZED. Participate in the contest, check out the series, and let us know what you think!
We want to thank David for stopping by ComicBuzz and telling us all about IDOLIZED
