They shouldn’t be -- not only was the writer and the creator of the
Eisner-award-winning series “The Umbrella Academy,” but he’s been doing
comics since he first got published at 15. The 36-year-old went on to
major in cartoon illustration at the School of Visual Arts and even
interned at DC Comics for a bit. Until, that is, his side project with
the band took off.
“People were just surprised by it,” Way says. “They say: ‘You used to do this stuff?’ Yeah, I have a diploma.”
Now that the band split this past spring, Way is back to focusing on
writing with the release of his new title, “The True Loves of the
Fabulous Killjoys.” The first issue, published by Dark Horse, comes out
Wednesday.
The book is in some ways a follow-up to the band’s 2010 album “Danger
Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.” The band made a few
videos exploring the world of the comic book, but the story predates the
album even.
“It started as a comic, pretty different [than it is now] but shared
the same sentiments and themes,” he says. “Those crept into the album,
and visually took it over.”
The story, as Way describes it, is about a two warring factions, two differing points of view; in the middle of all that is a girl who’s been told her whole life that she’s very important, so much so that a suicide squad goes in to rescue her, dying in the process.
Eight years have passed since that escape and now she’s still
trying to figure herself out.
“The reason she’s confused is everyone else seems to have this purpose for her that she necessarily didn’t want to be a part of or understand at all,” he says. “What happens when everybody has groomed or made you into this thing and you just don’t want to do it?”
He worked with artist Becky Cloonan, who he praised for sticking with the book for the five years it’s been in development.
“The thing I’m most blown away with by her is she’s able to put in so much enthusiasm and dedication,” he says, adding that he thought this was the best work of her career.
Way says the art direction pulls on a composite of things he’s mentally collected since he was 5 years old: interpretations of Logan’s Run, exploitation films, ‘80s punk (coining the phrase “punksplotation” for its use of similar aesthetics).
“It has this almost Rocky Horror-ness to it, if it were hyper violent,” he says.
source
“People were just surprised by it,” Way says. “They say: ‘You used to do this stuff?’ Yeah, I have a diploma.”
The book is in some ways a follow-up to the band’s 2010 album “Danger
Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.” The band made a few
videos exploring the world of the comic book, but the story predates the
album even.The story, as Way describes it, is about a two warring factions, two differing points of view; in the middle of all that is a girl who’s been told her whole life that she’s very important, so much so that a suicide squad goes in to rescue her, dying in the process.
Eight years have passed since that escape and now she’s still
trying to figure herself out.
“The reason she’s confused is everyone else seems to have this purpose for her that she necessarily didn’t want to be a part of or understand at all,” he says. “What happens when everybody has groomed or made you into this thing and you just don’t want to do it?”
He worked with artist Becky Cloonan, who he praised for sticking with the book for the five years it’s been in development.
“The thing I’m most blown away with by her is she’s able to put in so much enthusiasm and dedication,” he says, adding that he thought this was the best work of her career.
Way says the art direction pulls on a composite of things he’s mentally collected since he was 5 years old: interpretations of Logan’s Run, exploitation films, ‘80s punk (coining the phrase “punksplotation” for its use of similar aesthetics).
“It has this almost Rocky Horror-ness to it, if it were hyper violent,” he says.
source
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