Mayday - An Interview with Writer Alex de Campi
Interview Conducted by Paul Fiander
|
It's the very early 70's that means Drugs, Hippies, Camper Vans and of course Russian Spies. In this intense opening to the first of three mini series, creators Alex de Campi, Tony Parker and Blond take us on the opening salvo of a road trip that promises intrigue violence and a whole lot more.
We had a chance to talk to both Tony and Alex as you would expect they both make for great answerers (I know its not a real word but it sounds right). |
Story By: Alex de Campi
Art By: Tony Parker Art By: Blond Cover By: Tony Parker Published: November 2, 2016 Diamond ID: SEP160631 |
Alex's's responses are in Bold
Hi Alex
Many thanks for taking some time out to answer our array of questions.
Many thanks for taking some time out to answer our array of questions.
|
1. How did the Mayday creators get together?
I saw Tony's work on This Damned Band with Paul Cornell and then met Tony in person at Phoenix Comicon and was like YOU WILL BE MINE, YOU WILL DRAW THIS BOOK FOR ME and Tony's regretted saying yes every damn minute since. But yeah, Tony is amazing. He draws great quiet moments, he can establish a scene like nobody else, and his action scenes have this incredibly visceral, Sam Peckinpah / Michael Mann edge which I adore. 2. This miniseries is set in 1971 (with other series planned for later in the Cold War) what attracted you to this era? it was a time of tremendous cultural upheaval in America, the fulcrum between the "everyone" of the 1960s and the "me" of the 1970s. (Apropos of nothing, it's probably also the year that you can pinpoint as the birth of the blaxploitation genre.) The great early metal and punk bands (Stooges, Cooper, Sabbath) had a couple albums out, all the rockstars were dying (Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, bang bang bang, how do you like your blue-eyed boy?), protests were turning brutal (Kent State was a yeah previous, four dead in Ohio). 3. The central premise of the series appears spies on foreign territory (sorry it’s a bit reductive), where did the idea come from? I had too much sugar one day and started wondering what would happen if you took the late 60s / early-70s auteur film trope about "tragic young couple on the run from The Man" (see: Easy Rider, Zabriskie Point, Badlands) and made the young couple Soviet operatives. Because the more you read about spying, the more you realise how many utterly stupid mistakes were made, and how everybody was terrified and winging it 24/7. |
A Preview Pages 4 to 7 of Issue #1 Warning a small spoiler
|
4. What was your inspiration for Rose and Felix?
Rose is my strong female character. She never fires a gun or throws a punch, though. Doesn't smoke or swear, either. How can she be strong? I know, right? But that girl would survive nuclear war. Her strength is a specifically female cunning and passivity, her currency is her looks. Felix is my little thug, culturally narrow and isolated, poor at languages, but reliable to pull the trigger. Putting them together is fun, because they're so opposite, but they need each other so badly to survive. Up until the moment they don't. 5. Already in this issue we have encountered a few rather odd situations for our duo, how much more are you planning to put them through? So much. SO MUCH. Bruh, have you read NO MERCY? (Reviewer humbly looks at his mountain of shame and says "I promise I will add it to the very top") 6. Why did you decide to use a Russian script for certain parts of conversations? Because the characters are Russian and every so often they'll slip into their native language. 7. You have created a Spotify playlist to go along with this issue, Do you often listen to music while reading comics yourself? and in the same vein are you open to others suggesting their own playlists for the issues? Oh, I'd be totally open to reader-generated playlist. Do I listen to music while reading comics? Um, sometimes? But I put a lot of thought into soundtracking scenes in the book, so it's a bit different to, "oh, Meghan Trainor is on in the background while I read SAGA". But yeah, half the great music I've found is through friends. (My thing right now is Perturbator: wandering around NYC listening to "Humans Are Such Easy Prey" on repeat, because everything should always feel like your own personal Blade Runner. It has improved my Resting Subway Bitchface game by like 400%.) |
|
8. The opening pages have a quote from the legendary Jane Fonda, can we expect to see more 70’s icons throughout the series?
Oh yes. Lieutenant Calley; H Rap Brown, that dear misunderstood Mr Manson...
9. I have to ask while I can, of the Grindhouse Doors Open at Midnight series which was your favourite story?
That's like asking which is my favourite baby. I can't. I just can't. All of them? For different reasons?
10. Is there anything else on the horizon or are you just concentrating on Mayday at the moment?
Mayday's almost wrapped! Gotta start writing the next mini in the series. And I'm working on about 10 other things at once right now, including two novels and a feature. I have a ton of stuff coming out, but none of it's been announced yet. (I'm having a popular moment! whee!). If you like Mayday, you should check out my other Image series, though, NO MERCY. And you should go buy Tony's THIS DAMNED BAND because it's aces.
Thank you very much for your time and luck with the series and beyond.
