In the post-“Secret Wars” landscape many new, old, and different parts of the Marvel Universe have come together. One of the strangest and most unique to find their way into the new line up of books is “Weirdworld.” Born from the Jason Aaron and Mike Del Mundo “Secret Wars” tie in series, the new volume keeps the bright and absurd enjoyment going. New series writer Sam Humphries and returning artist Mike Del Mundo drop 16 year old Becca right into the madness. The series follows Becca who is joined by wizard killer and all around bad ass Goleta on her adventure to find her way home back to the real world and out of the weird.
I was able to talk to Sam and Mike about what I think is the best current Marvel series going. Sam and Mike talk transitioning Weirdworld into an ongoing series, world and character building, and what to expect from the series following the release of issue 3 today. They also shared with us three exclusive images from March’s issue #4. A big thanks to Sam and Mike for taking the time to talk “Weirdworld.” Be sure to pick up Weirdworld #3 in stores and online today and check out the interview below. Enjoy!
Thanks so much for the time first off. “Weirdworld” was probably my favorite title to come out of “Secret Wars.” It was different, beautiful and the obviously, weird. Three issues in it feels just as fresh and original as the Secret Wars tie in but also uniquely your own. Going into the ongoing as a creative team what is the approach and mindset building off that series but also making it the team’s own version?
Sam Humphries: Really, I just wanted to see if I could go toe-to-toe with Jason Aaron. (laughs) Same title, same concept, same artist, but different writers. Like fighting a cage match with a real heavy hitter. Not that he’s paying attention, he’s busy writing seventeen amazing comics a month. (laughs)
Mike Del Mundo: The awesome thing about “Weirdworld” is that it’s constantly changing and there is no set boundaries on what exist there so you can go off on so many tangents. I think the fact that we’re bringing in brand new characters and that the main character is a teenage girl gives a different perspective.
I enjoyed the switch of focus to a new character and bringing Becca in as an outsider to the world. Does having Becca view the world through new eyes help you as the creative team introduce readers to your “Weirdworld?”
SH: Weirdworld is a place where anything can happen, and we wanted to extend that to the nature of the book itself. Why not introduce two new main characters? Let’s shake it up and look at Weirdworld through two brand new points of view. Let them show us what they find there. We’ve seen Arkon’s Weirdworld, and it was glorious. What else is out there?
MDM: I think seeing Weirdworld through a teenage earth girl automatically changes the dynamics of Weird World. Like how Becca would react to being attacked by a giant flying multiple eyed bug as opposed to how Arkon would react to it. Well in issue 1, Becca simply stabbed it in the eye with her smart phone. I don’t think Arkon has a smart phone.
Becca and Goleta both have really strong and fun personalities. I really enjoy the dueling reactions of Becca’s inner narrative and her conversation with characters. I also enjoyed the look of Becca but especially Goleta a lot. What went into find their respective voices and looks for these characters?
SH: Becca has elements of two of my younger sisters — Becca’s story after her mother’s suicide is based partially on what happened to me and my siblings after our step-mother’s suicide. Becca’s journey in Weirdworld is fun, but Becca’s emotional journey has been really important to me. Goleta is more fun, even though she has her own tragic backstory — she’s like a cross between Tank Girl and a lost puppy.
MDM: Sam had a bunch of examples to feed off and from there we thought it would be cool to give them costumes that reflected the Weird Creatures of the World so imagine Becca’s blue furry get up as it if it came from a Giant Pink Horned Smurf monster that Goleta slayed, to be sewed up to be her warrior suit. Same as Goleta, she sports a pink kilt with black spots as if she slayed a Pink Leopard.
Continued belowI wanted to treat their costumes like a mixtape since Weird World is pretty much that. You’ve got Goleta sporting some cool pink antlers juxtaposed by this crazy Gundam type Gauntlet on her arm and sprinkled with G-Blade you would see in a Wu video.
With sand sharks, demon cats and grand mechanics your Weirdworld still seems to find an ability to ground itself with characters like Becca and even Morgan La Fey. Is that an important balance to have in a world filled with such absurdity?
SH: Yeah, otherwise you lose the emotional core of the book. Comics are a human experience, not a sand shark experience. Or, they should be! Mike and I could play word mash with the reader for a hundred pages — Grand Mechanics! Wood Giants! Salsa Cowboys! — but if we can’t deliver an emotional, human element, who cares? You’d be sick of it before page ten. And so would we!
MDM: Agreed, I aside from all the coolness of Weirdworld their needs to be something the reader can connect with and Sam’s doing an amazing job building that connection with the complexity of Becca and Goleta’s characters.
How is the process of an issue work between you two? Obviously Mike coming from the last series, is he given a lot of freedom when it comes to the world? Sam has always had really unique ideas in his work, is that something you are able to bounce off Mike a lot as a team?
SH: One of the reasons people love this book so much is Mike and I love working on it together. We’ve got a great collaborative relationship. In the scripts, when it comes to describing environments or creatures, mostly I stay out of his way. During development, I’ll bounce ideas off Mike, he’ll bounce ideas back to me, and a lot of the time they’ll make it into the script. We get deep into talking about Becca and Goleta, and why their stories mean so much to us. I mean, Mike is a powerhouse, why wouldn’t I lean on him for crazy ideas??
MDM: Awe, Thanks Sam. We have a great chemistry when it comes to creating the world. Like Sam would describe how he’s envisioning a Giant Lava Monster and I would say “Hey let’s put a bunch of Volcano’s on that Lava Monster’s back”. That’s usually how our idea process goes, we just keep bouncing ideas off one another until Sam sends me a Happy Emoticon.
How much fun is it to make this book? Is there any restrictions on how crazy you guys can get with it taking place kind of outside the main U?
SH: Working on “Weirdworld” with Mike is a blast. I’m so proud of this book. I really think we’ve delivered a Marvel Comic that can stand up with anything they’ve published in the last ten years. I wouldn’t change a thing.
MDM: INSANE amounts of FUN! There are absolutely no restrictions! Working with Sam has been amazing and I feel the same way about this book. I get more and more connected to these Becca, Goleta and Catbeast every issue I draw.
Mike’s art work just seems unbelievable at times and hard for me to wrap my head around. Sam, how does he do it? Mike, how do you do it?
SH: I think Mike actually lives in Weirdworld. That’s the only explanation. Either that, or lots of hard work and talent!
MDM: Thanks, dude! You are too kind! I mean my basement kind of like Weird World, heh.
Lots of coffee, various snacks, some Jell-O, and some sort of documentary or podcasts in the background will do the trick. Oh and lots of Drake.
In the “Secret Wars” series there was an actual map to the world readers got to see. So far readers have seen a few different environments and issue three fills in a bit of lore about the world itself. How has the team approached the world building of Weirdworld? Do you guys have most of this world mapped and history thought out?
SH: Jason established a world that can never be fully explored, and surprises will always lurk around the next corner. Such a fantastic idea, so many possibilities. So mapping out most of the world would be antithetical to what makes it so unique and so precious. We’ve mapped out the places we’re gonna go, we’ve built the backstory we need, but beyond that, I hope there is always piece of Weirdworld that remain a mystery.
Continued belowMDM: Sam’s got some surprises coming in a few issues so I can’t spill the beans on Weirdworld’s history.
At the end of issue three it seems apparent this story could go anywhere at any time. What can readers expect from the series going forward both in terms of story and art?
SH: Readers can expect a giant robot, the Mammoth Inferno, dog fighters, Skull the Slayer, the Man Thing army, a dance-off, and the hole in the center of Weirdworld.
MDM: To add to Sam’s list, you can expect donuts and a monster with a sweet tooth.
