INTERVIEW & PREVIEW: Quantum and Woody are back with new Valiant comic

Valiant Comics is set to release the relaunched Quantum and Woody! comic book series Dec. 20. The new starting-off point will begin with issue #1 and include the often comical adventures of Eric and Woody Henderson, two brothers who must “klang” their wristbands together every 24 hours otherwise they die a horrible death of nothingness.

The relaunched comic comes to audiences thanks to writer Daniel Kibblesmith (The Late Show With Stephen Colbert) and artist Kano (Daredevil). Variant has big plans for the title; in fact, issue #1 promises to be the most variant comic of all time. There are ultra-rare editions, foil editions, ultra-foil editions. In other words, the works.

Recently, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Kibblesmith about Quantum and Woody! Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.

How familiar were you with the history of Quantum and Woody before working on issue #1? Did you have to do some research on the characters and storyline?

I wanted to be as familiar as I could be. I’d already read all the newer Quantum and Woody stories — they were actually my first Valiant comics, since you didn’t need to know much continuity to get started. Weird story, though — right after I got asked to write NEW, new Quantum and Woody comics, I found a first edition paperback of Priest and Bright’s ‘90s Quantum and Woody in a used bookstore, and I was totally blown away by how modern it feels and how well it holds up by today’s standards. So I also tracked down the rest of their run to have on hand and steal as much of their genius as I could.

What can fans expect with the new series? How would you describe it to Valiant’s faithful fans?

It’s a new jumping on point that’s friendly for new readers, but it’s all the same characters and continuity that fans already know. We jump ahead to find a totally estranged Quantum and Woody only meeting up once a day to KLANG their bracelets together so that they don’t evaporate into energy. Other than that, they’re not in each other’s lives. They’re not even on speaking terms. And the goat is acting … like a regular goat? So a lot has changed, and the mystery of the first couple issues is: What was the fight that finally broke up Quantum and Woody, who was responsible (spoiler: Eric), and can they ever put the pieces back together again?

In your mind, what make Quantum and Woody interesting characters?

Like I was saying with the Priest and Bright[‘s] original Q&W, their personalities are just so fully formed. I feel like you can drop them into any situation and you’d know exactly how they’d react and behave, as with any iconic character, like Homer Simpson or Garfield — neither of whom will be in this book for legal reasons, no matter how much I begged. But like all good superhero comics, they’re operating on this amazing core metaphor: adult siblings who literally cannot get rid of each other. I think the word ‘gimmick’ has a bad reputation, but they’re really just storytelling devices or story pitches, and it’s hard to top ‘two estranged brothers — one black and one white — get permanently bonded together and become the world’s worst superheroes.’ Oh, and they basically hate each other.

What was it like to work with Kano? What was the working relationship like?

Honestly, it’s the best part of the whole project, watching his pages come in. It’s just next level comics from the future — the attention to detail, the facial acting, the color schemes, and all the innovating in the medium that Kano pulls off, almost just as a matter of course. It’s like he can’t not invent as he goes along.

When did you first get into comic books?

Not right away. When I was a kid, I loved Superman, but mostly from the cartoons and general pop culture osmosis. My dad still brought home comics occasionally and had a big Silver Age collection, but I didn’t really think about them. My pop culture obsession was more firmly ensnared by video games, so my gateway ended up being the six-player wraparound X-Men arcade game. The characters were so wild and out there compared to anything else I’d seen, since at the time there were barely any superheroes on television, even in kids’ cartoons. Then, right after that, there was suddenly this cascade of relatively sophisticated superhero media, like Batman: The Animated Series and the ‘90s X-Men show. We started making weekly trips to One Stop Comics in Oak Park, and I was off to the races. The store’s still there! People should go!

There’s a lot of buzz about Quantum and Woody! #1, and it has become the most variant cover of all time. Does that type of anticipation excite you? Make you nervous?

It makes me nervous in all of the correct places, yes.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Quantum and Woody! #1, from writer Daniel Kibblesmith and artist Kano, will be released Dec. 20 by Valiant Comics. Click here for more information.