Today brings the arrival of “Subatomic Party Girls” from writers Chad Bowers and Chris Sims and artist Erica Henderson, and this Monkeybrain Comics release is a 12-page whirlwind of a good time, with stellar art and engaging characters driving the action. Not only that, but it’s led by an all-female power pop trio, and for those looking for quality girl characters in comics, here’s a good option for you.
Oh, and Bowers is a Multiversity writer, and I couldn’t be happier for him to have his book getting a noted release from one of the coolest publishers around.
To get people pumped about “SPG,” I talk to Bowers about the creative team, where idea came from, why Monkeybrain is such a great publisher, his plans for Destro and much more. Check it out, and people, read this book! It’s 99 cents and it is straight up fun.
Chad: Chris and I started working on an entirely different Monkeybrain project about a year ago (with Awesome Hospital’s Matt Digges, which we’ve yet to announce), and Subatomic Party Girls grew out of those plotting sessions and kind of just came to life. We’ve wanted to do something kind of big and space-y with an ensemble cast since we wrote Awesome Hospital: Forever, and I’d written the title Subatomic Party Girls down years ago with a sort of ersatz Josie and the Pussycats thing in mind, so it was only a matter of time, I guess. Because that’s how I roll, David… notebooks, and notebooks of stupid puns just laying around the house.
So what exactly is this gig all about? What is Subatomic Party Girls?
Chad: Subatomic Party Girls is the story of the tragic, career-ending space accident that tosses the three members of Beryllium Steel — the most popular band on Earth — across the cosmos and into a galaxy that knows almost nothing about rock n’ roll, and even less about Earth. And yes, you heard that right — they’ve heard of rock n’ roll, but not Earth. How’s that possible, you ask? Well, David, let’s just say that all things are possible through Bob and leave it at that for now.
But our story’s more or less about the girls trying to get back to Earth, the trouble they get into along the way, and what they find out about each other during the weirdest road tour in the history of rock ‘n roll.
Chad: The keytar’s all me, bro. Everything else is Chris.
No, but we’ve talked about this a lot lately, and the way we work varies depending on the project. Although usually, I’ll bring an idea to the table I think we can do something with, and from there, we start looking at plot and format and all that stuff, and just generally start shaping it into something we’re happy with and that somebody else might want to read. Then comes the scripting, and typically I’ll start by writing two or three pages before I pass it off to Chris, who’s much faster than I am and sends back the next six or seven pages. But we edit each other and argue so much throughout the scripting stage, the book’s been rewritten at least three times before we send it off to an artist.
Speaking of artists, lets talk Erica Henderson. For most, she’s a newcomer, but she’s done some work around the industry and she’s a pitch perfect fit for the story. How’d the two of you lock her in to be your partner in crime on this adventure, and why do you think she’s the ideal artistic partner for you guys?
Continued belowChad: We’d been talking about doing something with Erica for a while, and when everything opened up for us to do Subatomic Party Girls, we thought “now’s our chance!” So Chris talked to her about it and thankfully, she really dug the story and things clicked into place for her schedule wise, and here we are. And yeah, she’s amazing — better than we could have ever imagined. And with every week and every new set of pages, she just reminds us that she’s the star of this book. Chris and Chad who? Oh my god, wait until you see the second issue.
One of the things we talked about early on were the complexities of doing a comic about a band and not being able to convey sound, and maybe doubly so with a band in outer space where there’s LITERALLY no sound. But it’s like Erica didn’t have time for that, and just fell right in and solved the problem by just doing what she does best. From those first pages forward, I dare you to look at those three girls and not hear some kind of music.
On top of that, we throw all this insane space stuff at her, and she throws it right back in our faces like “what else you got?” There’s all these little things we put in there as throwaway details and sight gags that we’re now keeping and expanding on because she went and made everything look so damn cool.
Oh and those boots, and all the colors, and…no kidding, it’s like I said before, she’s the star of Subatomic Party Girls.
Chad: I think what Chris and I do fits really well with Monkeybrain’s sensibilities and goals for comics. Everything we’ve done so far has been digital, and that’s kind of where our home is and where I genuinely think people expect to see us. And frankly, nobody’s doing digital comics like Monkeybrain. They’re the first truly viable digital-only comics company, and with such talented people and titles coming out of there, hell, it was exciting enough to watch it expand, but now, to be a part of it in some modest way, it’s just kind of astonishing.
Honestly, it’s still hard for me to ask people to spend money on my comics. Not because I don’t think I’m worth it or anything, but most times, I’m just so thrilled to be doing comics, so for them to actually buy a book I’ve worked on, it’s a big deal for me. So that was really attractive for me, personally, I think… being able to set our own price and develop our own format, and not have that dictated to us by some arbitrary, 50 year old technical spec or print requirement. Having the freedom to make a comic that’s 10 pages for .10¢ or to do something larger or odd format just opens the door for a lot more creative freedom and ingenuity without having to worry about 20th Century collector problems, like “is it going to fit in my longbox?” Don’t get me wrong, I love print comics, and we’re by no means reinventing the digital wheel with Subatomic Party Girls, but you can’t help but kind of feel that pioneering spirit when you’re doing something at Monkeybrain, and it’s inspiring as a creator to be right in the middle of it all.
I know you’re a guy with a long history of reading comics, with diverse taste ranging from things like Transformers and G.I. Joe to more adult fare like Judge Dredd. That said, what do you find to be the types of comics you most want to write yourself, rather than just read?
Chad: That’s a good question. I’d say that the more unusual the premise, the more I’m interested. Giant, transforming alien robots who’re millions of years old, some of whom are space dinosaurs and dump trucks? Sold!
Continued belowAt the moment, I don’t have an interest in doing slice of life comics, or for that matter, anything that’s set in a cold, hard, real world setting. It’s some of my favorite stuff to read, but it just doesn’t hold much interest for me as a writer, I guess. I’ve tried to write crime stuff before, but… well, for instance – and people will eventually get to read it (I hope) — but Down Set Fight’s kind of deceptive, because on the surface, it’s definitely the most real world thing Chris and I have written. But even there, it still has guys in dumb clothes kicking each other through walls and dealing with things in ways nobody that can die ever would. The absurd has a way of finding its way into everything we do, so I just embrace and celebrate it these days, and hopefully folks find it at least half as fun as we do.
Let’s say you finally get the chance to work on any character or book with any artistic partner. NAME IT. What is it Chad Bowers? Tell me what it would be, and get as in-depth or weird as possible.
Chad: Man, like everybody, I’ve got tons of ideas and pitches, and little bits of this and that all over the place, and it’d be a dream to get to do all of it someday, and this question opens the door to me rambling, so I’ll limit myself to two or three of my favorites. More than anything, I would love to work on Superman because he’s the best. Nothing too serious, or topical, or creepy. Just good, solid fun comics with Superman doing stuff that we all want to see Superman do, like judging cosmic pie eating contests, and wrestling future versions of himself for charity. Superman had almost two decades of publication history where he rarely threw a punch, and I think it’s time to get back to some of that. And yeah, let’s have Clayton Henry draw that.
G.I. Joe would be a lot of fun, obviously. #2 on the dream job list. IDW, if you’re reading this, I’ve got an amazing Destro: Year One pitch whenever you’re ready! I bet it wouldn’t be too hard to get Scott Kowalchuk to draw up some plans on that one.
I’d love to do something with Death’s Head, but the real Death’s Head… none of that Minion bull****. I’ve got this Death’s Head / Deadpool mini-series that would just be insane. It’s got the Time Variance Authority hiring Deadpool to erase all traces of licensed characters published by Marvel over the years. So Deadpool’s taking out Doctor Who, Crystar, Godzilla, with it all leading up to him going after the Transformers, forcing Death’s Head to step in because of his connection to the Transformers, and would be wiped out too. Who wouldn’t read Deadpool: Licensed to Kill, David Harper?! But that’s a comic I could never do because of all the licensors involved. That’s how I do it. Chad’s rule to success: come up with a killer story that nobody will ever let you do!
What else is coming down the path for you? I know there’s Down Set Fight with Chris and artist Scott Kowalchuk, but anything else on the horizon for you?
Chad: We’ve got several things in the works. There’s the book with Matt Digges that I mentioned, and I’m really excited for that and can’t wait to start talking about it. It’s the most superhero-like thing we’ve ever done, and at the same time, the most personal. We’re looking to announce it sometime later this year.
I’m in the very early stages of putting something together with JoJo Seames, who worked on Monster Plus with me. It’s called “Man Down” and if I can get the story where I want it, it should be awesome, and terrifying, and one of the most visually stunning projects I’ve worked on.
And there’s more stuff behind that, but Subatomic Party Girls is front and center at the moment.
Here’s your soapbox Chad. Why should people check out this book today? What makes Subatomic Party Girls something that people should pay attention to?
Chad: It’s our goal to be the first digital comic to sellout at Comixology. The first issue’s only .99¢, so there’s your reason to buy it right there. If you don’t like it, then you’re out a buck. But if you love it (and you will), then you get one super deal AND your new favorite ongoing series! Heck, Erica’s pages alone are worth twice the cover price, so think of it as getting me and Chris for free!
More than anything, though, it’s just a good comic, and hopefully right at home with other Monkeybrain books, like Wander, Knuckleheads, Bandette, and Amelia Cole. If you enjoy those comics, we’re pretty confident you’ll like ours too. I’m just really proud of this first issue and the issues to come, but to continue a dumb music metaphor I’ve been using all day, this is a strong track one and you’ll be sorry if you skip it.
