Recently the always busy and always incredibly nice Grace Randolph was nice enough to answer some questions for me. I talked with Grace earlier in the year about Supurbia but that doesn’t mean we ran out of things to talk about. The first issue of the Supurbia ongoing from Boom Studios just came out. Plus Grace puts up new videos almost every weekday. She discusses movies on the Beyond the Trailer page and comic books over at Think About the Ink. Grace is all over the internet, and I’ve provided a couple of links to help you get your daily fix of her insight.
http://www.youtube.com/BeyondTheTrailer/
http://www.youtube.com/THINKAboutTheINK
https://twitter.com/GraceRandolph
https://www.facebook.com/GraceRandolphsSupurbia
Now lets get into the interview! Grace and I discuss Supurbia, the writing process, and … My Little Pony?!
Kevin Hellions: Supurbia #1 comes out this week. Was there any temptation to throw a Supurbia NOW or New 52 joke on there?
Grace Randolph: Hehe – what a great time for comics, right? I think that whatever one’s opinion might be on the quality of Marvel Now or DC’s New 52, there’s no denying that both have elevated interest in comics and gotten more people reading. And hopefully with those initiatives getting readers back into the store or there for the first time, they’ll see Supurbia and add it to their stack!
But seriously, the title started as a mini series and is now an ongoing, so a new number 1 makes sense. Has your writing changed because of this switch? Does an ongoing create more space and freedom, or is there a whole different set of “problems” in this longer format?
Definitely more space and freedom. Whereas with a mini-series I had to be mindful of bringing most threads to an end in four issues, with an ongoing I can throw a lot more things out there and let them breathe – which makes for a better payoff! An ongoing has also allowed me to greatly expand the Supurbia universe beyond the Meta Legion’s neighborhood. In the first arc we go to Mongolia, and in the second arc outer space!
Supurbia has seen so much attention this year. It seemed like every week someone else had a great review of the book and/or an interview with you. Which one still seems the biggest? The one that young Grace just starting off in comics couldn’t imagine would ever talk to her.
I am grateful for every single review and interview. The truth is that while Marvel Now and DC’s New 52 are increasing reader interest, we’ve still got a long way to go in getting most readers to look beyond The Big Two. Image’s success has helped with that, and Boom has also made huge inroads into the comic book consciousness. So any chance to let a reader know about Supurbia is a welcome one. I suppose the thing I’m most excited about is to be part of this wave of creator owned books such as Saga, Chew, The Manhattan Projects and more!
Many writers say that the characters tell them the story. Which Supurbia character is now the furthest away from your initial idea of him/her?
Gio for sure! I’d originally seen him as simply “the other man” in Alexis and Paul’s story – Gio is Paul’s crime-fighting partner, and they’re having an affair that Paul’s wife Alexis learns about in the mini. But my artist Russell Dauterman really liked the character and his interest piqued mine, and now Gio has become as important a character in the book as the other spouses. Which makes sense, because while he’s a superhero he’s also just as much Paul’s significant other as Alexis. I’m very proud of the fact that while most gay characters in comics are mere tokens, Gio is a fully-fledged out character. Also, you won’t see it until the second story arc, but Tia will go through a big change which – hopefully – readers will be really excited about.
How far ahead have you plotted Supurbia? Do you know where the story will “end”?
I really just plot it out an arc at a time. I have ideas beyond that, but I like to keep it fluid so that I can be inspired while writing. What I also like about keeping the plotting loose is that I can react to what readers are saying about the book. Just like with Gio, if I see that a certain character is very popular with fans, I can focus more on that character. And likewise, if a character isn’t getting a lot of love, like Tia, I can take steps to try and rectify that.
Every character in the book is amazing, but who is the one to watch? Who do you see becoming the break out character of this first arc?
I’m glad you feel that way! A book like Supurbia with such a large cast wouldn’t work if all the characters weren’t fun to read about! I’d say in the first arc, I’m really excited about what happens to Helen and I think readers will be surprised, because it’s something you wouldn’t see in a mainstream comic. I also think that what happens with Batu and Eli will also be…unexpected.
Speaking of arcs, do you plan on giving each family their own arc within the series? Is there a pressure to give balance and equal time to every one of them?
It’ll be a mix – in some arcs, one relationship will take center stage such as it does with the first arc, which is all about Helen and Sovereign. But in the second arc, the story will move forward significantly as big things happen to every character in the comic – both individually and as a group. My guess is that I will choose whatever focus works for the story at that time.
I still can’t believe you told the Bronies you don’t like My Little Pony.
But I did it with love and respect, and isn’t that all any of us can really ask for? 🙂 I do feel that fandom is at its best when it’s accepting of those who don’t “get it”. An angry fan just puts off any potential new fans, so I always try and be very evenhanded when reporting on both comics and movies on my YouTube channels Think About The Ink and Beyond The Trailer.
Finally what’s next for Grace? How will you surprise and delight your fans in 2013?
Hopefully with quality! I’ll be continuing with my YouTube work as well as with Supurbia and – as someone who watches YouTube videos and reads comics myself – I know how important it is to have trust in the quality of the material. Nobody wants to watch or read crap! So that’s what I’m always thinking about day in and day out, as well as my audience. I value everyone who takes the time to watch and read my work, and I want to make sure I reward that time with even more quality content.
We at Team Hellions thank Grace for taking the time out of her day for this interview. Pick up the first issue of the Supurbia ongoing, and the graphic novel of the mini series. Then come back for each and every issue!
HELLIONS TEAM 