Interviews 

Multiversity Comics Presents: Blair Butler

By | March 19th, 2012
Posted in Interviews | % Comments

As is a common occurrence this year, Image Comics is having another big week of releases. Perhaps the biggest of the lot is the final issue to “Heart,” an MMA centric 4-issue mini-series from writer/noted comic figure Blair Butler and artist Kevin Mellon. It’s been a very good mini-series and, spoiler alert, the final issue wraps up the series very well.

To celebrate the completion of this mini, we talk with Butler about how her first experience writing her own comics has been, how she paired up with Mellon and Image, her take on the representation of women in comics, and a whole lot more. Thanks to Blair for her time, and click through the jump to read the interview.

You’re obviously not just a creator but also a huge proponent of comics. How long have you been reading, and what are some of your favorites?

I’ve been into comics since I was a kid. My dad let me grab whatever I could from the 25cent bin at our LCS, so I grew up reading a ton of old, ragged copies of Werewolf by Night and She-Hulk. But my current obsessions are Locke & Key, The Walking Dead, Batwoman, Mark Waid’s run on Daredevil, and the recently wrapped Daytripper. Good comics just make the world a better place.

Was Heart your first attempt at getting a comic of your own published?

Yes. And honestly it was a little daunting, since I’ve been covering comics for years. The move from critic to creator is an intimidating one. It’s scary to open yourself up like that. What if what you put out there sucks, right? What if it’s terrible? There’s so much self-doubt. But eventually, you just have to step up and do it.

I also knew that this was going to be a very small, quiet, character study in black & white. Something that on a surface level is ostensibly about – let’s face it — sports. So I knew it would be a very, very tough sell…especially in the current comics market. But it’s a story I was dying to tell. And I got so unbelievably lucky to be able to collaborate with talent like artist Kevin Mellon and letters wizard Crank! Those guys are amazing.

How did you decide that Image was the place for Heart? It’s a perfect fit, I must say.

Image was the first and only place I brought the book. Their commitment to creator-owned comics is astonishing — and the Image support team is just top-notch. I knew this was risky, unproven subject matter, helmed by a total noob writer — but Image took a gamble on me, and I’m incredibly grateful. Plus, there’s a little bit of a D-I-Y approach over there — and that appealed to me. I wanted to learn how the sausage gets made. And Oh, I have learned so very much about making sausage.

“Heart” is something you hear a lot in your average MMA fight, and it’s a great name for a story about an overconfident (and cocky, no pun intended for the Rooster) young fighter. Are there other meanings to the title?

In MMA, the concept of having “heart” is a double-edged sword. Sometimes, it means you just won’t quit in a fight — that you just have an indomitable drive to win. And sometimes it means that you’re a dude who gets punched in the face a lot — and is too stubborn to quit — even when you should. But I think people who read the final issue of the comic will understand that the concept of “heart” changes throughout the course of the story. It’s about one man’s evolution as a fighter — and as a person.

MMA is something that you’re also a really big fan of, and it comes out really strongly in your writing. The language and atmosphere of Heart really brings the reader into this world. Was the idea of pairing MMA with comics something you always wanted to do?

I really hadn’t thought about doing an MMA book until…maybe a year or two ago? Honestly, I just wrote the comic I always wanted to read. I love the sport. I love comics. And no one was doing an MMA comic that spoke to me. So I just took a deep breath and did it.

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As a fan, did you already know the depth of lingo and training a fighter goes through, or is that something you had to research for the project?

I actually co-host an MMA segment on “Attack of the Show,” so Mixed Martial Arts is something that I was already borderline obsessed with. But even though I’m pretty conversant in the sport, I also did a fair amount of research — including spending a ton of time with a friend as he trained, cut-weight, and eventually fought a few times at the amateur level in these little gyms. You know, folding chairs pulled up to a makeshift cage. It was the most fun I’ve ever had doing research.

I also had the luxury of asking a few acquaintances who fight in the UFC about one sequence in particular — so that was amazing. It was a really specific question about a slick Judo throw to arm-bar transition — if someone could pull that off at the professional level where guys know to defend against it. You see Ronda Rousey do it all the time in the women’s division — but I was curious about it — since I’d never seen it done as one seamless transition in a UFC fight. And one guy said he’d actually done that in a pro fight prior to his UFC days — while the other said he’d actually got caught once by that move. So that was a pretty fun way to fact-check.

One of my favorite things about the book is, while it very much is a book about Oren, it also gives time for subtle depth to characters – like the little moment with Big Head in issue #2 when they are watching the PPV fight. For you as a writer, how difficult is it to balance driving the main story while still developing the world around this character?

Well, there were stories about the other fighters — specifically Oren’s brother Jimmy — that I had to jettison because we only had four issues. But even though he’s a minor character, “Big Head” is a huge part of the narrative. If Oren is the Alpha Dog, the winner, Big Head is the flip side of the coin. The guy who’ll never make it big — but just won’t let go. But yes, that balance was tough — I wanted to do justice to Oren’s story and evolution — so that meant paring down every other character. You only have so many pages, you know?

One issue to go and we were left with Oren on his back, which is worst place to be as a fighter. Could you eventually see revisiting the character and his world, or is this a one-time deal?

Well, picking up where I left off with the previous question — I absolutely want to revisit this world. I think Kevin and I introduce 8 fighters in Heart — and there are stories I’d love to tell about each of them. But I think the marketplace will dictate if we can afford to do that or not. We’ll see what happens after the trade comes out. But yes, I’d love to revisit all of these characters, and this fictional little Kansas City MMA scene we created.

Kevin Mellon, for all intents and purposes, seems to genuinely be the nicest guy in comics. He’s also a killer talent. How did you pair up with him, and how has the experience been?

He IS the nicest guy in comics. And I got so astoundingly lucky to collaborate with him. Jonathan Hickman had worked with Kevin on SHIELD over at Marvel, and recommended us to each other. I joke that it was like the comic book version of match.com or something. But we instantly hit it off — and he’s been the best collaborator I could possibly have hoped for. Kevin Mellon is fantastic. And his work — the way he uses his finger prints to create shadow…it’s awesome. All I can say, over-and-over, is that I feel like I won the artist lotto.

I have to throw out some props to Crank! as well. The title pages are superb, and they totally get me pumped to read the issue. How did you choose Crank! as the person you wanted to work with on this project?

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Kevin recommended Crank! — and he knocked it out of the park with the logo design and interior letters. Obviously the “fight stats” in the book were pretty complicated and challenging, too. How do you get all this information in without compromising Kevin’s art? And Crank! just made it look easy. I hope to keep working with him for years to come — if he’ll have me.

You’re one of the most public faces of women in comics, with Fresh Ink being watched by many on Attack of the Show and Heart obviously being a big success. In your mind, do you feel that women are represented fairly both in comics and as creators?

There are so many great creators working in comics right now, from Gail Simone and Kelly Sue DeConnick to Kate Beaton and Alison Bechdel. I feel like there’s a wealth of “lady voices” in comics — and that number is just going to continue to grow thanks to projects like Womanthology. I think the larger issue for everybody is that the marketplace is shrinking, even as all these great new creators are emerging. We have to find ways to open comics up to new audiences…male and female.

Let’s say you took off as an MMA fighter yourself — what would your entrance music be?

My own funeral dirge, sadly. I would suck as a fighter.

Another theoretical: two years ago, Dana White decides to say, “screw weight classes, Anderson Silva and GSP are fighting.” Who wins, and how close would it be? My money is on Anderson, big time.

Anderson Silva by TKO. GSP is a fantastic wrestler, but Silva also fights at 205 — and I just think that weight and reach difference would be insurmountable for GSP, who fights at 170 lbs. Everyone says that wrestling is Silva’s Kryptonite — but he’s so elusive that a smaller opponent like GSP would have a tough time getting close enough for a takedown. Now the fight I REALLY want to see? Anderson Silva VS Jon Jones for the Light Heavyweight belt. That’s a far more interesting scrap.

For you as a comic creator who is almost finished with her first mini, how successful do you feel you’ve been with it? What have you learned about making a comic that you didn’t know before?

I feel pretty good. The reviews were really positive, and the feedback from fighters and other comic book creators has been fantastic. Plus, we’ve gotten 3 out of 4 issues out on time — which was hugely important to me. As I fan, I hate it when there’s a 6 month lapse between issues — so as much as possible we’ve hopefully avoided that.

Although issue 4 isn’t out yet — and I don’t want to jinx it.

I’m sure I just jinxed it. Dammit.

What’s next for Blair Butler — comic creator?

Hopefully, making more comics. I still have so much to learn — and I know I have plenty of shortcomings to work on. But if folks will let me, I’d love to keep doing it.


David Harper

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