With the release of the Project: Cryptid #1 from Ahoy Comics this week, we are delighted to be joined today by writer Michael Russell. Mark is the author of books including Bible: God Is Disappointed in You and Apocrypha Now. He has written many comics, including Prez, The Flintstones, and Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles.
On September 6th, Ahoy Comics’ anthology Project: Cryptid #1 hits stores; can you tell us how you got involved with this anthology?
As a writer who works from home and emerges only in search of food, I have unique insights into what it is to be a cryptid.
What can you tell us about Ballroom of Death?
It’s about a yeti who lives on Mount Everest who has to deal with tourists constantly climbing the mountain for no good reason.
How did Jordi Pérez, Madeline Seely and Rob Steen join you on Ballroom of Death?
I have no idea. I had no say in the hiring process as I am basically Clark Kent to Tom Peyer’s Perry White.
Did you read Mongolian Death Worm by Paul Cornell, PJ Holden, Mike Spicer and Ron Steen?
Yes.
Cereal: Sweet Darkness Vol.1 releases on October 12th from Ahoy Comics. How would you describe it?
I would describe it as an attempt to give the monsters of cereal ads an origin story. An examination, not only of how they came to be monsters, but what it means to be a monster. I realize that might sound pretentious, but I don’t see much point in writing something that doesn’t sound like it might end up being a horrible idea.
What made Peter Snejbjerg the right artist for Cereal?
For me, the key to any artist is not so much how well they get the script, but how well they get the story. And the way Peter handled the quieter moments, the characters thinking about the decisions they’ve just made, or the looks on their faces and what they tell you about what they think about each other, that’s what tells you how much an artist really understands what you’re saying as a writer. And Peter just really got it. He’s equally excellent, whether it’s a glorious splash page, or just a few small panels of a character left alone with their own thoughts. And that’s the kind of artist I love to work with.
Can you tell us about the origins of Cereal?
Cereal actually began as a series of dialogues I posted on Facebook for fun. Little dialogues I wrote between Captain Crunch and Frankenberry as if they were characters on Game of Thrones. From there, it grew into a whole story involving an ensemble cast of cereal mascots though, for legal reasons, I had to change them into generic facsimiles of the characters they were when I originally started writing them as fan-fiction.
Who are the main cast of characters in Cereal?
The major characters in this book are the Marquis de Cocoa and his wife, the Marchioness de Cocoa, the Leprechaun King, Frankencherry, Captain Crackle, and the arch-villain of the series, General Post.
What has it been like working with Ahoy Comics?
I always love working with AHOY Comics. They’re one of the few companies willing to risk financial suicide by publishing funny comics and they let me get away with things less fun companies would not. Like writing an entire book about breakfast cereal monsters.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
Cereal isn’t as stupid as it sounds, I promise.
We would like to say thank you to Mark for chatting with us. We would like to wish him the best of luck with Project: Cryptid #1 and Cereal.
