Barber and Ossio Assemble the “Revolutionaries”

One of the most adventurous crossovers of recent memory was “Revolution” at IDW. Bringing together all the disparate Hasbro properties – G.I. Joe, Transformers, Rom, Micronauts, Action Man, and M.A.S.K. – John Barber, Cullen Bunn, and Fico Ossio took the task by the horns and made an expansive, exciting series. Well, Barber and Ossio are back with a smaller cast, but an even larger story, with “Revolutionaries,” which launched yesterday. We sat down with Barber and Ossio to discuss the book and what to expect from it.

Thanks for taking the time to talk about “Revolutionaries”! You guys are back. How was the experience completing the large undertaking of “Revolution” and what made you want to team up and do it all over again for “Revolutionaries”?

John Barber: Thanks for talking to us! I didn’t really know Fico before “Revolution” — we’d met at SDCC in 2015, and we talked to each other a little at a bar or a party or something, but Fico was working on “Skylanders” in a really specific style native to those characters, so I wasn’t super-familiar with Fico unleashed. Other than knowing now-IDW editor-in-chief David Hedgecock spoke very highly of him. Later on, I saw a glimpse of what Fico could do when he did finishes on some pages on “Micronauts,” and Fico knocked it out of the park.

So when Cullen Bunn and I were getting started writing “Revolution,” David Hedgecock brought up Fico. The idea of getting a “big name” had come up, but the schedule was really tight—the series was bi-weekly, needed to go through approvals, and just generally had a lot moving parts — so whoever was going to draw it was definitely not going to be able to draw all of it. But David kept bringing up Fico, and won over then-editor-in-chief Chris Ryall with some sample pin-ups (which also won over Hasbro instantly), and Cullen and I were good with him from “Micronauts.”

Then Fico did the promo-poster, which had every Hasbro character in battle, and it was the most unbelievable thing I’d ever seen. The detail, the composition, the sense of scale. Incredible. I would just look at that over and over finding new details.

So I wrote this 8-page prologue, and it was SUPER-dense, full of characters and facts and obscure stuff. And Fico NAILED it. Just did an impossibly-good job drawing it.

Then David mentioned how Fico was drawing “Skylanders” plot-first [commonly known as ‘Marvel style’ – ed.]: the writers were just giving a description of what happened on the page, and Fico was doing the heavy lifting in terms of storytelling. I’d worked that way with Andrew Griffith and Livio Ramondelli on “Transformers,” but that was after a few years of working together. I was a little nervous, I think Cullen was a little nervous, but maybe we didn’t want to admit it, so we agreed to try plot-first.

Fico got a real bare-bones breakdown of “Revolution” #1 and, again, Fico killed it. So amazingly good. He could take the massive density of the story and make it feel big and expansive; his characters could act really expressively—plus they looked cool. He could balance the various sizes of the heroes and make everything feel dynamic, like they belonged on a page together.

At SDCC that year, we hung out a bunch—doing signings, and just talking about comics and about what we’d do next. We got along great.

And then he drew every single page of “Revolution.” Didn’t miss a one.

So when David suggested we could keep working together — and that Sebastian Cheng, who colored every page of Revolution, would be on board — there wasn’t anything that would make me say no.

Fico Ossio: Thank YOU guys for having us!

Well…wow, after that I don´t think there´s anything more to explain. How could I not work with John again?? I´m not sure I deserve that much…

My experience completing…let me rephrase that: surviving Revolution was an intense one! Like John said I was working with David on “Skylanders” the first time we met, so everyone associated me with that style of art. Except David. We worked together for a year and a half on “Skylanders” and then he also set me up for “Orphan Black” with Denton Tipton. In retrospect that was a really good training for what came next!

So when we finished “Orphan Black” and the “Skylanders” run he mentioned to me about this ¨project¨. I didn´t really know what it was at the time, it was quite ¨hush hush¨ but David mentioned to me “M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand.” I was eagerly awaiting an opportunity to work on a comic where I could really cut loose on my craft, so I quickly did a pin up of “M.A.S.K.” to show what I could do if given the chance. Then David and John mentioned to me “G.I. Joe,” so again I quickly worked on a pin up of that. And I even did an Optimus Prime pin-up cover. All this in a couple of days or so. I knew I wasn´t known on these titles and like John said, I was quite the opposite of a ¨big name¨ so I really tried my best effort to get the gig and I´m absolutely grateful that David gave me every shot possible to show my take on it and put out a good word. After that came a waiting period…on which, as expected, I totally freaked out. I didn´t know really what this project was, but I knew it was big. I even went to the gym regularly to handle my anxiety!

A month later David and John finally gave me the big news and told me the whole story with “Revolution” so imagine my surprise on the realization that I was frontrunner for THAT job. Truly surreal.

Quickly after that came the finishes on “Micronauts” which was my first work with John, but I still wasn´t working from script. On that David Baldeón had the layouts drafted first. But it was my first working experience with John and it was awesome. We got along instantly.

And after that it was official. I was finally handed the script and what a script it was! The whole story was fantastic, I just loved how it all came together and it was so fast paced and so much fun with so many epic pages and double pages!

The experience working with this team and on this project was amazing. You couldn´t ask for a better event and team to be part of. I had all my favorite Hasbro characters to draw as well as redesign some of the M.A.S.K. vehicles. It was a lot of hard work, crazy deadlines and double pages but the work experience was a true pleasure. I felt great working with John and Cullen right from the start. We also got the chance to meet again right at the beginning of issue 1 at SDCC and we had a great time and talked some more ideas and even what to do next. I got a lot of support from the whole IDW family as well, so the idea to keep working together was always there.

With David, we knew each other for more than a year so it all clicked instantly. I first got together with Seba on “Orphan Black,” so it was fantastic to have him back for this. He´s an amazing artist.

They put a LOT of trust in me for this and also gave me a lot of ¨room¨ to take creative chances, so it was truly a combined effort and that is the best and more gratifying way to work.

In the end it really paid up and I think we are all very happy with how things turn out.

So there was nothing to think about going forward. I was actually looking forward to keeping the team together after “Revolution” and exited to work on new titles! John is an amazing writer and I´ll sign up for anything he´s involved in any time.

Much like with “Revolution” you guys are again juggling a large cast of characters. How do you approach such a large team both in the service of the story, characters and also presentation on the page?

JB: In terms of story, it’s a balancing act for sure. I think it’s working out. You have to serve the plot at hand—each issue is a standalone story that leads into the next one—plus the larger storyline — they all add up into something bigger. You’ve got the four lead characters of Mayday, Kup, Action Man, and Blackrock — plus a bunch of antagonists. PLUS the guest stars each issue, some of which are teams.

It’s still like 1/10 of the cast of “Revolution,” so that’s easier… but I sort of try to focus a little bit on one of the Revolutionaries in every issue (usually) and try to give the other characters some good moments. And serve the guest stars well. Issue 3 is almost all Joe Colton and the G.I. Joe Adventure Team, with Soundwave as the “bad guy,” so it’s got a little different flavor, and we’re trying some weird stuff later on in the series, so that’s not always the case.

But in terms of making it work on the page, I am soooooo lucky to have Fico because I can write something ridiculous and impossible and he’ll draw it.

FO: Actually I feel as if it were a smaller cast. Sure there´s a lot of characters on the book, but a lot of them are rotating cast. The story mainly is told through Blackrock, Mayday, Action Man, and Kup. Then again, after Revolution I´m pretty sure everything´s gonna feel smaller. And I like it that way too. You get a closer feel to these characters and you get more involved with their stories. And it also gave me a chance to pay attention to each of the main characters’ designs and how to portray them. They all went tough a big update or complete redesign which I always enjoy much and each new character that enters the story on the different issues keeps it all fresh and exiting.

A page from Revolutionaries #1 by Fico Ossio

While this is an extension of “Revolution” because of the properties this could always be a first issue for someone looking to read about them. With this first issue you are tasked with introducing new readers and fans a like. How do you tackle a first issue in a series like this?

JB: I think about that a lot. There are so many first issues these days, it’s sort of fortunate because you have a lot of test subjects to pull apart and see how they work. I mean, I’ve worked on a lot of #1s, but when DC did the New 52, I was excited because here was a crazy Darwinian environment where you could see what happens when an unprecedented number of #1s are released into the wild at once; what works, what doesn’t, what stands apart, what falls apart. And since then, there’ve been a ton more #1 issues from all the big publishers, between reboots and new characters and creator-owned books… I feel like there’s more scientific data available on how #1s work.

The one thing I think works the best is introduce the characters by having them do what they do. Mayday’s a military team leader? The first thing we see is her leading a G.I. Joe team into a mission. Rom fights Dire Wraiths? That’s the first thing we see him do. With a big cast, the reader will immediately lock on (I hope!) to “here’s who this person is” in a fundamental, basic way. And then later, you can have them doing other things, fill out their personality and show nuances and contradictions. But if you immediately treat the intros as important bits of character establishing, well, that works for new readers and old.

Even if it’s a character everybody knows—like, everybody knows who Batman is, right? But Batman is different in “Dark Knight Returns” vs. the Tom King book vs. the Dick Sprang-era. Sometimes he’s a brooding figure of the night; sometimes he’s a brilliant detective; sometimes he’s an out-of-control vigilante. You have to set that up, what is your take on him—or your take on him for this particular story—right away.

So, whether you know Mayday because you’ve been reading “Transformers,” or you know Action Man because you saw the 1990s cartoon series or you played with the 1960s toys or you read the new comic — or if you’re new to the characters — it’s still our job to make the introductions as efficiently and unobtrusively as possible.

So issue one is sort of set-up the characters, introduce the world and bring them in little by little, and knock them down and give us the hook for what happens next. With issue 1, with so many characters, this isn’t going to work with an overly-complicated plot. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg, the beginning of the mystery. Once we know who everybody is and what they want—at least for the main cast—the stories can get a more complex.

FO: The best part of the first issue is you kind of get a free pass on design updates. Depending on the characters you can more or less change them. But with this cast we got the chance to do some major changes to Blackrock and Mayday.

Also on issue 1, I can take a new artistic direction as style and such. After issue 1, you kind of have to keep drawing in the same style, sure you can do some changes, but overall the style is the same as in issue 1.

So for “Revolutionaries” I worked a slightly different style. Especially on the brushes, textures and such.

How has your relationship and process evolved as a team starting the first series and into this new story?

JB: We’ve definitely gotten to know each other better. I mean, it’s hard to believe we’ve been working together for less than a year. I have a lot of faith in what Fico does — and what Sebastian does, too, for that matter. I wouldn’t say I “know” what Fico will do, because he’s always surprising me, coming up with a more dynamic layout or a better design for somebody. But I know whenever I write something, Fico will draw an amazing version of it.

We’re still doing it plot-first, so I write out the action, and/or the gist of the dialog, and Fico draws layouts. Then David, Sebastian, and I say the layouts look great (maybe once in a while I’ll suggest something, but usually Fico’s totally on the right wavelength and does better stuff than I imagined). He’ll ink it, and I’ll write the dialogue. It’s fun for me, and I think the results are great.

FO: Like John said, we all got to know each other a lot better. Plus I always found it very easy to work with John, David and Seba. So more than anything I´m very happy to keep working together as a team and just having a lot of fun with it. John gives me these great pages to draw from, some are definitely a challenge, but I very much like that. It almost feels like a game in which John throws me these epic scenarios and I have to find a way to live up to the words. And every time I finish a page I eagerly wait to see how Seba works the colors. He´s doing a fantastic job on that part. Truly.

Both as a writer/artist how is it taking the looks and tone of each character/property and blending it into one cohesive presentation?

JB: All the Hasbro properties we’re using in this universe all have a technological bent to them—that’s by design, from internally at Hasbro and from what Chris Ryall and I originally pitched for this shared universe idea. So, that helps link everything together. That said — if you look at what Aubrey Sitterson and Giannis Milogiannis are doing in “G.I. Joe,” versus what Brandon Easton and Tony Vargas are doing in “M.A.S.K.,” versus what Kei Zama and I are doing in “Optimus Prime,” etc, etc, there are some really distinct takes on these characters.

It’s a balancing act to not lose the individuality of the series but still make them coherent. Writing-wise, some of the characters are more familiar with this universe of big metal aliens and tiny other-dimensional people and cars that turn into jets. It’s an ongoing theme, the idea that the world is changing for our Earth, so we can sort of confront it directly.

Visually, I was impressed from day one how Fico will tweak the look of the characters to fit in to this coherent worldview. Like, in Revolution, Fico was using the same Optimus Prime design Andrew Griffith had made for Transformers, but where Andrew was drawing it from the POV of the Transformers, and it looked almost naturalistic, Fico’s version had to co-exist with humans being scared of Optimus, of seeing him as an alien, so he emphasized the details and made Optimus feel a little… odder. Or, anyway, that was my take.

FO: Most of the artistic decisions on the cohesive look came with Revolution. The main focus there was to use the different sizes to my advantage. It´s easier or at least it has a lot of more impact to portray the size of a Transformer character next to a human or even to a Micronaut character than just among his equals.

So for this one I pretty much kept the same approach and look, BUT worked a different style especially on how I inked the pages. A rougher look with dry inks, watercolor and more textures. To give it a sort of more personal feel since this was a smaller cast of four. For lead characters at least. So I felt that would in a way reinforce that.

What is the most important idea or concept to creating a story big enough to warrant all these heavy hitters in one series?

JB: Conceptually, it’s “other life forms have been altering the fate of the Earth for a long time.” The questions are: Can it be stopped? Should it? And to what end are they changing the world?

In issue one, this ancient device called the Talisman suddenly mutates a bunch of people into Dire Wraith – like monsters. Mayday, plus Blackrock and Kup (two Transformers characters) and Action Man all wind up in the same place for different reasons. The pursuit of this Talisman—and, more importantly, its secrets—drives the team on all their different adventures. And the Talisman’s secrets will reveal the extent of alien incursions into Earth matters.

You guys are essential playing with key properties from people’s childhood. What has been the most enjoyable part of working with IDW for you as creators?

JB: I couldn’t be more happy, or grateful, for being a part of what James Roberts, Mairghread Scott, Andrew Griffith, Kei Zama, and everybody else have been building for the past six years.

And then — as if that weren’t enough—to get to be there at the ground floor of a unified comic book universe of all these different characters with Revolution and then Revolutionaries… well, that’s my favorite part.

FO: To have been given the chance to reshape the designs and look of many of these properties on a ¨ground zero¨ event such as “Revolution” was amazing. And then to yet again keep moving forward on that with Revolutionaries it´s fantastic. I´m having a lot of fun with all of it. And working for IDW is always great, it´s an amazing group and I enjoy every minute of it.

At any point there could be a human, a converting robot or a space knight in a panel interacting with each out. As creators how is working writing/drawing these characters interacting with each other and making it feel genuine?

JB: I just look at all of them as people. A G.I. Joe agent and a Cybertronian are people from different backgrounds, but so are human beings in the real world. They approach things from different ways, but usually they’re just scared and hopeful and cautious and hurting like everybody else. I mean sometimes you get a monster driven by selfish impulses, but I figure that happens if you’re human, Cybertronian, Micronaut, or a member of the Solstar Order.

And then I leave it to Fico to figure out how to show a 4 inch tall Micronaut jumping over a skeletal dinosaur to shoot at a 25-foot-tall Transformer.

FO: That´s the easy part for me. John´s got that pretty much covered on script! I try to focus on their expressions and show the personality that John builds on this characters on the script. I put an extra effort on details in design and the small things always add up much.

For those who were fans of “Revolution” and your guys work what can they expect that may differ from “Revolution”? What do you want readers to get out of this first issue?

JB: “Revolution” was about bringing everybody together — the Transformers, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K., the Micronauts, Rom, and Action Man. “Revolutionaries” is about building out and exploring that world, and what it means to be a part of it.

The first issue hits hard and fast with lots of fast-paced action and big world-building. The Revolutionaries team is made up of a G.I. Joe agent, two Transformers, and a British spy. So they’re already kinda all over the place to start with, but right off the bat they have to team up with Rom and the Micronauts to fight the Oktober Guard and the new Storm Shadow. Anything can happen! And it will—the mind-blowing twists won’t let up.

FO: “Revolution” set the new universe, and was the story on how it all came to be. Now that´s been set and we can really show all the great things that come from this shared universe! John came up with a story in this new universe that is nothing short of awesome.

Some old characters come back with new takes on them and a lead cast that is absolutely terrific. Just wait and see all that we have in store for Blackrock, Mayday, Action Man and good ol’ Kup. You can´t miss it!