We are so delighted to be joined by Tom Peyer today. Tom is not only the editor-in-chief at AHOY Comics but has also written many comics, including Hourman, Legion of Super-Heroes, High Heaven, Captain Ginger, Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror, Dragonfly & Dragonflyman and The Wrong Earth.
Hi Tom, it’s so great to have you here with us.
Glad to be here, Shabbir.
The Wrong Earth returns this month with The Wrong Earth: Dead Ringers; what can you tell us about The Wrong Earth: Dead Ringers?
This is the latest in the Wrong Earth series, which is drawn by Jamal Igle & Juan Castro and written by me. It plays with different versions of the same hero who come from different Earths in the megaverse.
In the first series, Dragonflyman—an upstanding, flag-saluting role model who resembles every masked crimefighter from the Comics Code era—unwillingly swapped worlds with Dragonfly, a post-’80s ultraviolent costumed vigilante who fought corruption in a nightmarish world.
Since then, they and their associated crimefighters have bounced back and forth among a few different Earths. Right now, everyone’s back on Earth-Alpha, the campy, clean-cut, authority-trusting world, and they’re not all getting along too well. Is any Earth big enough for Dragonfly and Dragonflyman? Looks doubtful.
How did the idea for the tribute covers for The Wrong Earth: Dead Ringers come about?
Those are artist Jamal Igle’s idea. I think placing our heroes in group compositions that are already iconic is a masterstroke of attention-getting. And they look wonderful, naturally, because Jamal is drawing and coloring them.
How did you select what classic band photos to tribute?
I select them by saying, “Jamal, which classic band photo do you want to use?” and he’ll tell me. This is known as “good editing.” (To clarify, I’m poking fun at lazy old me, not your question, which is a fair enough one.)
In July, AHOY Comics will launch Babs #1 from Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows; could you tell us how Babs landed at AHOY Comics?
Garth brought it to us with Jacen in mind. The only thing easier than putting this book together was “selecting” Jamal’s cover shots!
How would you describe Babs?
Babs is a very funny and action-packed sword-and-sorcery epic loaded with social satire. The main character, Babs herself, is brave and greedy and very deadly with a talking sword in her hands. I like her a lot.
Toxic Avenger #1 launches from AHOY Comics in October; could you tell us about the origins of the comic?
Toxic Avenger has really crystallized my editorial philosophy of sitting like a lump and letting other people run around and do things.
Matt Bors grew up on Toxic Crusaders cartoons and has always wanted to write the character. When he met Troma Entertainment top dog Uncle Lloyd Kaufman at a convention, it gave him this surge of ambition to make his dream come true. So he started the ball rolling, our publisher Hart Seely and legal genius Lillian Laserson ran with it, and before long Toxie was ours to play with.
What made Matt Bors and Fred Harper the right team for the Toxic Avenger comic?
Matt’s an experienced and very funny satirist; he brings a great mix of humor and social commentary. Plus, like almost everyone else in this business, he’s a major comics fan, so the chance to write mutations and fight scenes while mocking corporate executives is something he brings a lot of energy to. Fred’s art is a mix of surrealism, grotesquerie, and real beauty. I can’t think of anyone better suited to draw this.
What can you tell us about the Toxic Avenger comic?
This time it’s a chemical spill at a train derailment—an increasingly common occurrence in the real world, alas—that causes Melvin Junko to mutate into Toxie, and the corporation responsible to parachute into Tromaville and manage the messaging. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll see what happens to civil liberties when big shots grow desperate to control what you know!
How much is Lloyd Kaufman involved with the Toxic Avenger comic?
Uncle Lloyd sees everything and gives us feedback. He’s been very encouraging, which means a lot.
What comic from AHOY Comics are you most excited about?
The next one, always.
Are there any future AHOY Comics announcements that you would like to tease us about?
There are a couple of things I wish I could tell you about. Between Babs and Toxie and these secret projects, the next few years of AHOY are looking pretty solid.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
To those who read AHOY: Thanks for reading AHOY! To those who don’t: Read AHOY!
We want to say thank you to Tom for chatting with us and wish him and the team for The Wrong Earth: Dead Ringers the best of luck with the series.
