Interviews 

Miner and Sawyer Team Up For A “Critical Hit” [Interview]

By | September 29th, 2014
Posted in Interviews | % Comments

It’s both easier than ever to be a small press creator, but also probably more difficult than ever to get your work seen by any real audience. In order to get noticed, it takes making something special, something out of the ordinary, something that will make a comic fan stop and look. Animals rights probably isn’t what most creators would think to hit on, but Matt Miner was writing from what he knew and  Animal rights are something that most comic fans aren’t familiar with, but vigilantism is something we’ve all read about in comics, it’s just most of the people dealing out the justice have capes.

Matt Miner traded in the capes for ski masks and sledgehammers when he launched “Liberator” at Black Mask Studios. It mixed animal rights, vigilantes, and the comic format to make something that surprised a lot of readers and gained an audience. After a successful second volume of “Liberator”, Miner has now teamed with Jonathan Brandon Sawyer to take central characters from the two volumes of “Liberator” and take them in a new direction with “Critical Hit”.

Read on as we chat with Miner and Sawyer about “Critical Hit”, writing what you know, and much more. Also be sure to check out the preview of issue 1 below, which is out this Wednesday, 10/1

I guess to start with, we should probably get an idea of what we’re discussing. So, what’s “Critical Hit” all about?

Matt Miner: “Critical Hit” is the story of two women vigilantes who, instead of fighting guys in capes and tights, are taking on more real-world issues of dog fighting and animal abuse. While involved in their admittedly highly-illegal actions they’re thrust into a dark horror story when they run across a group of psychotic thrill killers.

Jonathan, you’re joining as the artist on “Critical Hit”. You previously illustrated a short in the back of the “Liberator” trade, but now you’re getting into a full mini-series with some of the same characters. How did you get involved with “Critical Hit”?

Jonathan Brandon Sawyer: I got involved with “Critical Hit” through Fabian Rangel Jr, who wrote the short story that I illustrated for “Liberator”. Fabian and I had worked together on a “FUBAR” story and we are both big fans of punk and hardcore music. Fabian had written a punk concert into his story and so he asked me to take on the art, which led to Matt and I connecting on music through the references I included in the scene. Eventually Matt asked me if I wanted to take on the new series and I gladly accepted the offer.

Admittedly, “Liberator” at first seemed to me like something that would be niche. Upon further reading it’s obvious that while it appeals to this involved with animal rights, it also can appeal to a wider group of comic fans. How does it feel not to bring just one, but three stories to life with these characters in the last 18 months or so?

MM: Well it feels pretty great, honestly, that people who couldn’t care less about animal rights are still down for reading our stories and have enjoyed them as much as they have. I see the need now, with this newest story, to take our characters in a different direction, though – and so to signify the new direction and new excellent art team of Jonathan and Doug Garbark we changed the name to “Critical Hit”. The name is a nod to my D&D days and also the common belief in the underground movements that one could theoretically take out a target in one strike – one night of illegal action – therefore accomplishing what 20 years of protests could never do.

Jeanette and Sarah both are making a return in “Critical Hit”, after their respective parts in previous “Liberator” volumes. Can we also expect a glimpse of Damon in “Critical Hit” or is he elsewhere?

MM: Damon’s off having his own adventures and hiding out from the FBI after that fur farmer ended up in a wood chipper. We may see him back one day, but I don’t have any immediate plans for him – he was a little too volatile for the girls to safely work with. His temper and lack of planning would have just put them at risk.

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Plus, there’s just SO many surly male heroes in the world – I find Jeanette and Sarah a whole lot more interesting to write.

JBS: They’re a lot more fun to draw too!

Page from Critical Hit #1

The “Liberator” stories focused on animals rights activists who took things a little further than normal. “Critical Hit”, though it starts out with that premise, quickly turns into something seemingly a little more akin to “The Most Dangerous Game”. What’s with the turn of story?

MM: Well, I wanted to put the girls in a very tough situation, explore their back stories and how they got to where they are now, and then see if they’re able to hold to their ethical principles when the stakes are raised as high as they can be. It’s definitely a different direction for them and things will never be the same for them, if they even survive.

With characters from older series being the focus of Critical Hit, how easy will it be for new readers to get into the story?

MM: There are a few minor nods and references to the first 2 series, but “Critical Hit” #1 is a perfect jumping on point for new readers – you don’t need to have read the other books to understand what’s going on.

You both mention that telling the story with Jeanette and Sarah is just a whole lot more fun. What do they bring to the table as far as storytelling possibilities that make them great characters to explore this story with?

MM: With the first Liberator series we had Damon and Jeanette working together, and while I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for him, he was kind of surly and grumpy and way too serious for his own good – granted, he had some major baggage he was working out, so I can’t blame him for his demeanor, but still. Sarah and Jeanette have fun together, they’re friends and their personalities aren’t always at odds with each other, and that makes their dynamic a lot of fun to write.

Matt, you’re obviously more familiar with the characters, having written them in a previous issues. How does that translate to the scripting of
“Critical Hit”? Are you going full script, or something a little less detailed and letting Jonathan do his thing?

MM: The first issue was more full script, and then when I saw how much Jonathan didn’t need tons of direction, I cut that back and let him have way more freedom. The result has been great either way – Jonathan is an artist you’re going to see a lot more of in the future because he’s just pure fucking awesomeness.

JBS: Haha, thanks, Matt! Yeah, the first issue was a lot more detailed and had reference material on every page, but they got a bit looser after that. Matt still gives me panel breakdowns, but he generally lets me run with things if I have a different idea.

MM: Yeah, that first issue was written without an artist attached, so I might have gone juuuust a wee bit verbose in the script. Now that I know Jonathan, I trust him and his art fully – the best pages of “Critical Hit” come from where we’re heavily collaborating. I hope it shows in the final pages how much fun we’re having.

I don’t think you’ve been particularly shy about putting real world issues into your work, Matt. What made you not only want to write comics, but also write them about real issues and problems, rather than just capes and tights or something of the sort?

MM: Everyone says to write what you know and what I know is real world issues, so that’s what I’ve started with. That’s not to say I wouldn’t want to write capes and tights because I totally would – I have a deep love for the superheroes and I’d love to write some straight-up superhero comics or even tackle someone like Poison Ivy, where I feel my understanding of the issues that she holds so dear would really let me tell some great stories.

Black Mask is a pretty unique publisher, even starting with just their mission statement and the guys behind it all. What have they brought to the table with the “Liberator” books that’s had you going back multiple times, Matt, even with your upcoming comic “Toe Tag Riot”, too? 

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MM: Black Mask took a chance on “Liberator” back when I had zero credits and a dream of a comic book starring animal liberation vigilantes, which is not a concept that I suspect many publishers would jump at. It worked out and was well received, so naturally I’m going to go back to Black Mask for the next volumes.

As far as for “Toe Tag Riot”, it was conceived and written with the idea that Black Mask, a company run by people who came up in the punk rock and hardcore scenes, were our target ideal publishers.

Page from Critical Hit #1

JBS: Agreed, Black Mask is really awesome. When I first heard about them I was really excited that they were a publisher with roots in punk-rock ideals. I was really excited to work with them initially and they haven’t disappointed. They’ve been great to work with.

MM: Besides, at this point, Black Mask is like family to me. I love working with them and they let me tell ridiculous stories about cursed sometimes-undead punk rockers who murder and eat homophobes.

Jonathan, you already mentioned that you did a backup for the “Liberator” trade. In a really cool turn of events, they took a panel from that story you did with Fabian Rangel Jr. and turned it into a shirt at Hot Topic. How does it feel knowing that something you drew is available in stores all over the country?

JBS: Yeah that was kinda unexpected, haha. It’s really cool. That image got passed around on Tumblr a lot and it seems to resonate with a lot of people, myself included. A guy came up to me and Matt at Salt Lake Comic Con actually, he’d seen the shirt and he really liked it so he did some research and found out it was from “Liberator”. I’m glad people like it and I hope it leads a few people to “Liberator” and “Critical Hit”!

If the sales are there, is it possible we may see yet another story with these characters as they further branch off from their original appearances in the “Liberator” stories?

MM: Absolutely, I love telling stories with these characters and I’d love to do a “Critical Hit” volume 2! I’m totally down and have a ton of ideas for our heroes. The end of “Critical Hit” volume 1 will see our characters change in a very major way, which will open up all kinds of story possibilities that I’m really anxious to explore.

If there’s anyone on the fence about “Critical Hit”, what would you say to get them to pick up the book?

MM: Fantastic art and what I hope people will find to be a compelling story with strong, fleshed out characters operating in a real-world vigilante underground that I know a lot about. I love this book and I’m super proud of what we’ve accomplished and honored as hell to be working with this new art team.

Take a look at the first 7 pages of “Critical Hit” #1 and be sure to pick it up on 10/1.


Leo Johnson

Leo is a biology/secondary education major and one day may just be teaching your children. In the meantime, he’s podcasting, reading comics, working retail, and rarely sleeping. He can be found tweeting about all these things as @LFLJ..

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