INTERVIEW: Supervillains unite! ‘Minor Threats’ is back!
Image courtesy of Dark Horse.
The comic-book dream team of Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum and Scott Hepburn is back with more adventures in the supervillainous world of Minor Threats. Issue #2 of the latest series, Minor Threats: The Fastest Way Down, was recently released, featuring an ongoing saga with Frankie Follis, aka Playtime. Leading the underworld was supposed to be easier now that Playtime has been elevated to the top of the bottom, but the criminals and villains around her are not making things easy and preventing her from enjoying her ascent to the throne. Plus, there are lingering memories of what she did to The Insomniac in the original Minor Threats.
Oswalt and Blum are the writers on the series, which is released by Dark Horse, and Hepburn is the artist. Together they have built a world that comic fans are loving and want more of. To celebrate the release of the newest storyline, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with the creative team.
Oswalt, in addition to being a successful actor and comedian, was the showrunner of Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. on Hulu with Blum. Hepburn is perhaps best known for his work on Tom Morello’s Orchid, Marvel’s Drax and a host of other titles. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What do you like about the character of Frankie / Playtime?
OSWALT: I love how absolutely human she is. Powerful, but open to love and vulnerability, and also capable of serious betrayal and anger. Of all the “colorful” villains in Twilight City, her colors are the brightest — for good and bad reasons.
BLUM: The inner conflict. Frankie wanted out of this life of super-villainy but ultimately realized that it’s the one thing she’s good at. In volume 2, Frankie is elevating up the food chain as the new Queenpin of costumed crime, but the power doesn’t sit right with her. She’s used to getting her hands dirty, and it’s hard to give up the streets — even if it jeopardizes her new empire.
Focusing on villains rather than heroes is an interesting angle. What interested you in telling the story from their perspective?
OSWALT: I have always been fascinated by the “laws” and “rules” that seemingly chaotic, criminal worlds create, often in unspoken and unarticulated ways. As Bob Dylan sings in “Absolutely Sweet Marie” (paraphrasing the 1958 film The Lineup) “… to live outside the law, you must be honest.”
BLUM: It’s rarely told. We wanted to understand the psyche of the low-level supervillain, not the one trying to take over the world, but the one just trying to get by. What inspires someone to put on a snake costume to rob banks? Well, it’s usually trauma and a sense of hopelessness. Also we’re big crime fiction fans, so it felt really fun to mix that and superhero stories together.
Is there such a thing as true villainy in comic books (or true heroism)? Is “complicated” more real?
OSWALT: I think at the beginning of comics there was absolutely heroism and villainy, but that was a reflection of how desperately American society wanted to hide [the] fact that its inception and continuation were, on the best of days, muddled at best. The more we’ve been able to face the flaws in our history and our ongoing reality, the better we’re able to emphasize with the so-called “bad guy,” and maybe think a little deeper about what made them that way.
BLUM: Everyone starts with true intentions. Whether that’s heroism or a hunger for power. But we’re all flawed humans who screw up or get distracted along the way. The villains with the most staying power, like Lex Luthor or Magneto, tend to live in the gray. Their histories and motivations are so clearly drawn, you understand every decision they make, good or bad.
Has it always been the plan to present these stories in volume formats rather than one continuous series?
OSWALT: We had zero plans when we started. We wanted to make the best four issues of a comic book, tell the best story we could. Everything that’s followed has been because of the hard work and thought we put into it, and how it inspired ourselves and others. I know that sounds like bragging, but that was truly our mindset.
BLUM: We never really had a larger plan. We always write as if these four issues are the last time we’ll ever get to make comics. We approached volume 2 in the same way. I think it helps the stories stand on their own, like you’re getting a new movie or TV season of Minor Threats. It also helped us give each volume its own identity or crime fiction subgenre.
Do you have more ideas for more volumes?
OSWALT: Soooooooo many.
BLUM: We know where the story goes next, especially for Frankie, Scalpel and the other major players. We usually hammer out the big beats but leave ourselves room to be open to inspiration when digging into the next volume. So much is informed by the art we get back from Scott.
How did you develop the “look” of these villains?
HEPBURN: I took a deep dive into the Silver Age comics that wallpapered pop culture when I was a kid. Looking at the oddball-villain-of-the-month type characters especially. I want the character’s personality to be coming through a filter of [more] of the month design energy and then make them feel lived in for 20 years.
What’s it like working with Patton and Jordan?
HEPBURN: Patton and Jordan have been amazing creative partners. Smart, compelling writers that inspire me to flesh out and push the world of Minor Threats with every script, and have always made me feel valued and elevated as an artist. But never look them in the eyes, our contract is very clear on that point.
What were some of your artistic goals for the Frankie / Playtime character?
HEPBURN: Frankie’s designs are reflections of her character history and who she’s trying to be. In volume one, she had retrofitted her mom’s bodysuit and turned her old childhood era backpack into a sort of saddle bag and slapped on her teenage era shoes out of necessity. With volume 2, we have her updating her look to her own taste now as an adult.
Because there’s more villainy in the series than most other comic books, do you have to change your artistic style?
HEPBURN: I don’t think I’ve changed my style exactly. I will say that this book, more than any other comic I’ve drawn, has required sincere acting moments. So hopefully I’ve grown to meet that challenge.
Would you be up for even more Minor Threats stories?
HEPBURN: Patton and Jordan have made it very clear that I will not be allowed to stop drawing Minor Threats for a very long time. Don’t tell them I said that. And for God sake, don’t look them in the eyes.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Click here for more information on Minor Threats: The Fastest Way Down from Dark Horse.
