I recently had the pleasure of Interviewing Army of Darkness writer, Mike Raicht. Mike’s became a pretty good mate of mine over the last couple of months and has given me valuable advice on my aspirations to becoming a writer.

Not too long ago Mike gave me a sneak read at his upcoming book “The Stuff of Legend” to review. I looked at the cover and fell in love with the artwork; I read it and fell in love with the story and characters. Now that The Stuff of Legend is almost ready to be released, I thought now would be a good a time as any to get a sly interview with the awesome Mike Raicht. Here’s what he had to say...


Liam Bradley: Before we start the official interview, Mike, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Mike Raicht: I’m a husband to Nancy and father to Austin. I don’t envy either of them. I enjoy Halo 3 and zombies way too much. I am a big fan of Syracuse University sports due to going to all their basketball and football games with my dad as a kid. And I have an undergrad degree from LeMoyne College in English/Creative Writing and a Masters in Creative Writing/Fiction from Long Island University. I worked for a time in journalism covering local government and sports.

LB: Were you a big comics fan as a kid? If so, then what was your favourite comic?

MR: I was a really big fan. My mom and dad tended to pick comics up for me all the time. From Star Wars to the Hulk. I became completely hooked on X-Men at about the age of 8 at the local news stand. The lady there allowed kids to get a pull list before they were really fashionable. Mine got a little large and I eventually had to trim it a bit. Sixty cents to Seventy-five cents was steep for a kid with no job. I did however get very thin from saving my lunch money.

LB: What made you decide to write comics?

MR: I think I always knew it was something I wanted to be involved in but I didn’t believe it was a realistic possibility. I loved the stories as a kid. I played GI Joe, Dungeon and Dragons, and X-Men with my friends on my street. In high school I did the jock thing for a bit and had a girlfriend so I was kind of a closet comic reader. But I always kept up with the books. I graduated high school in ’93 so I was hip deep in all of the X-Men and Image craziness.

I originally went to college to become some kind of doctor, which is frightening. When I realized I was horrible in science and math, or at least really didn’t care about them, I found a new path and really got into writing. Mostly fiction but also some journalism stuff. I was good at it. I won some awards for fiction and received a scholarship to attend grad school. From there it made sense to write in the industry I loved the most. Simple, right?

LB: You mentioned to me before that you had an internship at Marvel. How did that come about?

MR: After getting accepted to LIU for my Masters I decided I would kick myself if I didn’t try to get into comics. I researched getting an internship at Marvel. As luck would have it, an alumni of LIU was an assistant editor at Marvel and hooked me up with an interview. I interviewed with Bobbie Chase and Brian Smith and scored the internship.
I interned for a semester with Bobbie Chase and Brian Smith who were in charge of a lot of the Marvel Heroes including Iron Man, the Hulk and Fantastic Four. (Most importantly, Brian and I are great friends and collaborators to this day. I am currently working on multiple projects with him including THE STUFF OF LEGEND). Then the second semester, I was in the office of Jason Liebig and Lysa Hawkins. They were the secondary X-office.

LB: What was it like playing with the big boys for the first time?

MR: At first, it was mostly it was just making copies and hanging out in the office trying to learn stuff. The interesting thing about my time there was that Bobbie Chase was on maternity leave. So I ended up getting a chance to do a lot of stuff to help out that most interns did not.

LB: If you could work on any comic of your choosing, what would it be?

MR: Exiles. Or an ongoing Zombie book. But that might be something only Kirkman can pull off.

LB: Who are some of your major influences in the industry?

MR: Chris Claremont wrote pretty much all of the books I loved as a kid and that got me into comics in general. Watchmen was a book I read over and over. I was more mainstream though with my reading tastes. I was an X-Men junkie.

LB: What is it about X-Men that appealed to you most?

MR: As a kid it was everything. I was just completely drawn into the world. The characters, their history and powers, the art by John Romita Jr and then when they did the Kulan Gath story I was blown away. They just killed Rogue! Colossus was blown up! My head almost exploded.
Then they would mention other adventures, characters, and deaths and I wanted to know what they were talking about. I think I just hit the exact right stretch of intense stories that made me feel like I was reading something adult. Claremont was on a great run.

LB: You’re involved in a lot of comic books that are in the horror genre. Are you a big horror fan?

MR: I’m a huge horror fan. Good or bad, I enjoy it. Zombies are my favourite. Return of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead are particularly high on my re-watch chart. I’m hoping for some more zombie goodness in the years to come.

LB: Could you tell us a little about Creature Features and how it was born?

MR: I was doing some work for Th3rd World Studios and they had just wrapped SPACE DOUBLES which was an Outer Limits type anthology. (I did a story in that one called Red Rain) Mike DeVito and Jon Conkling, the publishers, approached me about possibly putting something together for them. We settled on bad 70s and 80s horror stuff and we were off.

LB: You’re currently the writer on Dynamite’s Army of Darkness. How did you land that job, and what are your experiences like with that comic?

MR: After writing the first MAX Zombie series, I pitched to Dynamite’s Nick Barruchi and he hooked me up with Editor Joe Rybandt. They were launching SAVAGE TALES at the time and I was approached to do a story for that. This turned into two stories.
James Kuhoric, the ongoing writer, had a lot on his plate so they asked if I’d like to work with him on the series. James would do the outlines and I would write the stories. It worked pretty well, and after three very fun arcs of doing that, with James’ blessing I took over the series solo with issue #19. I’ve written up through issue #25 so I’ve been a part of the book for twenty issues which is a pretty long run. I hope to be on it longer.
Working on the book has been a lot of fun. It seems like we’re allowed to push the envelope and have fun with the characters and the world which is great on a licensed property like that.

LB: You created a comic named “The Stuff of Legend”; you are the writer of this comic along with Brian Smith. Tell us a little about what first sparked Stuff of Legend and how you and Brian eventually got this off the ground.

MR: Stuff was something I thought of around the time of my son, Austin’s, birth. I decided to do something focused on a kid’s toys and approached Brian Smith with the idea. Brian and I had been working on a few different ideas at the time and had found some success. Brian had brought a few things to the table to work on together and this was my contribution. We had optioned a few things and we tend to compliment each other’s ideas well so Stuff seemed to come together pretty quickly.
Originally, I was focused on doing a cool fantasy story for kids. Something I could read to Austin, but I also didn’t want to talk down at anyone. I loved things like The Dark Crystal and Star Wars as a kid. Stuff that was not your typical kid fare. So, we allowed ourselves to tell a kids story that skewed a bit dark. We want it to be something kids read with their parents that they both can enjoy. Like most things I do it started out nice and ended up a little bit twisted.
Brian and I pitched it to one of the big publishers and after some back and forth, we ended up not doing it there. I speak to Th3rd World Publisher Mike DeVito on almost a daily basis so he knew we were shopping it. When it was available again I asked if he would be interested and he said of course and that he was hoping I’d eventually bring it there.

LB: In The Stuff of Legend you have Charles Paul Wilson III on board, rocking the pencils. This is Charles’ debut comic, so he’s obviously new to the game. How did he come to be a part of this project?

MR: Th3rd World Studios publisher Mike DeVito approached Charles to do some sketches on the project. I believe Mike’s brother knew him from the Kubert School.
The sketches were amazing and spot on. Charles being on board has really inspired every other choice we’ve made creatively, from format to colouring, on the project. He has really just taken our story and made it into something that people will be forced to check out. His art is that good on it. I know if I saw it on the stands I’d be like, “Whoa, what is this?” As writers and a publishing company you can’t ask for more than that.

LB: What’s next for you?

MR: I have a few things moving right now. First off, Stuff of Legend #1 hits stores in July. We are all really excited for that. We’re working on issue #2 right now. That hits in September. We’re already discussing the next arc and that will hit sometime in early 2010.
In Army of Darkness I have a series of one shots leading up to issue #25. Starting in issue #22 Ash and his new werewolf sidekick, Brad, are searching out other members of a mythical team of supernatural heroes called The League of Light. Ash is hoping they can help him out of his current predicament. He’s been possessed by an entity called The Hell’s Prophet who is not very nice. Like all things Ash though, I would not count on this being a very simple or successful process.
I am wrapping a What if? for Marvel. And I also have two short stories coming out from DC which I can’t talk about quite yet. I wish I could but I can’t.

LB: Charles Paul Wilson III said I should ask you what you would do in the wake of a zombie apocalypse?

MR: Because I have written multiple Zombie stories (MAX ZOMBIE and the still to be completed DEADWORLD: FROZEN OVER) or because I am a complete idiot, I do have a plan. Or at the very least a place to hole up. The stairway in my home has a very narrow and steep set of stairs in it. Blocking those would make it close to impossible for any zombie to get up there. From there I would just have to climb out my back window, get a ladder I could pull up and down, and scavenge for food. Easy.

LB:Charles also said I should ask you what Halo weapon you use to blow the zombies away?

MR: I prefer the flame thrower but that might lead to my house catching on fire. But I am also deadly with grenades. Just ask my teammates.

LB: You and the rest of the th3rd world team recently attended Wizard World Philly Con. How was the show? Did it prove positive in terms of getting the word out on The Stuff Of Legend?

MR: The show was a lot of fun. I got to meet a lot of fans and also some creators I never had the chance to speak to before. I was on a Dynamite panel with Garth Ennis and I told him how much I enjoyed Crossed #5. Spoke with my former AOD co-writer James Kuhoric and current artist Scott Cohn. Had a great conversation with Joe Kelly about creator owned work, pestered Sean McKeever. and I caught up with Mike McKone who I worked with when I was an editor on Exiles. I love his art.

Stuff of Legend was getting a decent bit of attention at the booth. How can it not with Charles' artwork? We had a lot of people come up and say they tried to get the FCBD version of the book and that it was gone from their stores. Luckily we had copies at the booth. We also got a chance to spread the word about the book to readers and some retailers, so it was a good experience. We're hoping people will give it a chance out there. We love it and we hope other people will as well.

LB: Well it's a great book and I'm sure you would have generated even more interest if that pesky Heroes con wasn't on at the exact same time. Do you think Heroes con had a negative impact on Wizard World's population?

MR: I think it's just tough to have two cons at once, especially on the same coast within a reasonable drive of one another. I know a lot of other factors come into play when cons are on, like space availability, but it can definitely split the audience and the talent at each show. But the important thing is that the fans enjoy it and from what I saw of the Philly show, the fans were into it.

LB: Finally, Mike, do you have any words of wisdom for any aspiring writers out there?

MR: Writing, in general, is not easy. Writing for comics is even tougher. There are a lot of really talented people out there not getting work who are grinding every day for a 10 pager here or there. So, as cliché as it sounds, you have to just keep at it. Try to get your own stuff off the ground so you can have stuff to show editors that they can read in comic form. Having some creator owned work out there is important, but it doesn‘t guarantee you work. If it’s good, people will respond. And all a writer can ask for in this industry is to show what they can do.

Links
My review of The Stuff of Legend
http://forums.projectfanboy.com/showthread.php?t=3314

Th3rd world Studios
http://www.th3rdworld.com/index.php

Check out some sample pages of Mikes Latest book "The Stuff of Legend"

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It took a few weeks. I had to pay a guide, travel the Australian outback, and engage in a few fist fights with Mad Max-esque outback thugs, but I was finally able to track down rising superstar artist Nicola Scott for an interview! Well....not really. I don't have the time or willpower to travel to Australia, so I basically interviewed her over the internet. But it was no less harrowing, I assure you!

James Freeman: So first off, how did you come across the gig for Secret Six? Was the opportunity to team up with Gail again just too good to pass up?

Nicola Scott: A Secret Six on-going had been talked about for a while and was finally green-lit, at the beginning of last year, and Gail put my name forward as the artist she'd like to work with. Then I was given the go-ahead a month later!

JF: You’ve been getting a lot of praise from fans and reviewers for drawing women of realistic proportions in a medium known for it’s……uhm….let’s say….well endowed depictions of females. Do you ever use any models or photo-referencing in your work?

NS: Not really. I come from a family that's almost exclusively female and we have all body types within it so I'm pretty familiar with how the body should look. That said, I still think I stylize my figures a little. It's comics!

JF: Some people compare your art style to that of (beloved JLI penciller) Kevin Maguire. Was he an influence on your work? If not, who were some influences on your work?

NS: I didn't read a lot of comics in the 80's but I was very aware of Maguire's work and loved it. So clean and expressive. It's definitely had an impact on what I prefer and strive for. Other influences would be Adam Hughes, for very similar reasons, and, of course, George Perez.

JF: Now the Secret Six, is a total 180 from your previous series, Birds of Prey. While Birds was by no means a run of the mill superhero book, the characters were for the most part traditionally heroic. In the Secret Six, it seems like any “traditional” heroes would be bound and gagged in the trunk of the Catmobile! Do you find the difference between the two books jarring?

NS: Not jarring at all. Any time you change titles you have an opportunity to flex your style and get creative again. And that's exactly what I did, by trying to step it up a notch. The ladies of BoP are human but still pretty heroic. I'd try to give them human but heroic body language. The Six, however, are a total mix bag of body types, human and inhuman, and attitudes towards what they do. That allows for a much wider spectrum of body language. Generally with the Six I draw them looking defeated, with their shoulders slouched, because they usually are!

JF: In addition to the dark tone of the book, the color palette is also noticeably darker than Birds of Prey. What is it like to see your pencil work in a whole new light like that?

NS: That was absolutely on purpose. I didn't think it should look like a superhero book, all bright and glossy, because it isn't. I had seen (colourist) Jason Wright's work on a few Batman titles and though he would be perfect. And he is! I can't tell you how much mood and atmosphere he brings to the book. I've found myself wanting the leave the line work pretty open, to allow him to really have fun. I love how the finished book looks.

JF: So far within the book, we’ve been introduced to several new characters, notably Junior, the psychotic sister of Ragdoll. How exactly do you go about creating a disturbing character like that?

NS: I had the low-down on Junior since before we started on #1 so I had a number of months to let the ideas marinate. By the time Junior is revealed I had a pretty good idea of how I thought she should look. It all had to be in the eyes so I sewed them open! Once the image was done I wasn't sure if she was disgusting enough. One look from Gail confirmed that it was.

JF: There is some pretty disturbing imagery in the Secret Six. Do you ever draw anything and think to yourself “I’ve probably just scarred some kid for life”?

NS: Occasionally. But Secret Six isn't really a kids book. Scarring adults for life I take no responsibility for.

JF: Near the end of the last issue, we got to see a glimpse of former Wonder Woman Artemis, with a promise of another Amazonian powerhouse showing up in the coming issues. As someone who has…a bit of a history with Wonder Woman, how does it feel to finally get to draw her in a major story arc like this?

NS: Words cannot describe!

JF: So without giving too much away, can you shed any light on what we can expect in the next few issues of the book?

NS: This arc isn't so light and fluffy. It has a very dark theme at it's core and the Six all seem to have very conflicting attitudes towards it. So far it's playing out very interestingly. I just drew a sequence that was so awesome it was freaking me out!

JF: Out of all the members of the Six, who is your favorite, and why?

NS: Too hard. I LOVE them all for the sheer variety they provide for me as an artist.

JF: In an interview a few months back, Gail Simone had this to say about you, “But the superstar of all stars is Nicola Scott, who has become so insanely good that I have just plain run out of things to say about her work. On top of that, she’s a big contributor of ideas and little details that really help make the book sing. I think she’s going to be writing her own comics someday, after I let her out of the basement, which I won’t be doing any time soon.” Would you ever consider striking out on your own and writing and drawing your own book? Should we even be talking about this, or will Gail and your editor be taping your mouth shut to prevent anymore treasonous interview?

NS: I have ideas but I'm NOT a writer. When I'm in a collaborative work relationship I work at my best and Gail has been really open to my suggestions. Meanwhile, all of my suggestions are tiny details that not but me notices not big story elements. The Secret Six is all Gail Simone!

JF: One more slightly treasonous question, but would you ever consider working for any of the other companies after your contract runs out? Any characters over at Marvel that catch your fancy?

NS: I'm still learning a lot about comics and the hundreds of characters that populate all the different universes. I find that many of the characters I have little history with are the ones that I love working on the most. That said, I have a huge soft spot for Spider-Woman.

JF: Lastly, any upcoming projects on the horizon?

NS: A whole lot more Secret Six. I did the cover for a book of short prose stories, for Moonstone Books, called "Chicks in Capes", coming out later this year. Also, I did an 8 page prologue for an OGN called "Torn", published by Frozen Beach Comics, written by my husband, Bram Court.

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