Monkeys Fighting Robots had the chance to speak with artist Mitch Gerads at MegaCon this past weekend, and discussed the state of the comics industry, as well as his and Tom King’s upcoming Mister Miracle comic.
Watch the full interview here:
On “nerd rage” and whether it affects his work, Gerads said, “I think it’s just amplified because of the internet. I think there’s always been nerd rage. I think it’s healthy. It’s healthy until it gets to those personal attacks on creators, cause we’re all just making comic books. Like, there’s so much more important things in the world than comic books, and we’re all just trying to have a good time. Even the people who maybe aren’t doing the thing you want them to do, they’re just making their mark. The old stuff is always there. There will be new stuff. Everyone’s just trying to put their mark on the product.”
Gerads also has Mister Miracle coming out in August, which he’s very excited about. “There’s a lot of pressure in that… I mean it’s Kirby, and what I think is Kirby at his best, Fourth World,” the artist started. “I think [Mister Miracle’s] always been a character that’s resonated with fans, even if they weren’t incredibly sure who he was or what he was a part of. But this book especially, Tom [King] and I are taking everything Kirby did with the New Gods. The origin of it is very just the Kirby section. So really going back to the start, and at the same time we’re putting that King/Gerads spin on it. It’s a lot closer to [Sheriff of Babylon] than it is Batman.”
On what cameos fans can expect, Gerads teased, “if for some reason we couldn’t use the Mister Miracle title, we could call it New Gods. They’re all in there. It’s the whole mythos.”
Finally, when asked about his influences for the series, Gerads concluded, “All of my designs are either straight from Kirby, or maybe modernized a little, or straight from the [Justice League Unlimited] animated series. Just because I think they were such pure, classic examples. One of the themes running through the book too is, in issue one – I’ll give you a little exclusive – in issue one there’s a little scene with Scott talking to Highfather. And they’re walking in a public place and everyone is just kind of like ‘what the hell?’ Because there’s this giant dude in a robe with a staff, and he looks like God, and it’s just that kind of absurd Kirby design in the real world. Which I think is what Tom and I do best, is we tell comic book stories that take place in something you think you could touch.”
Mister Miracle hits stores in August. Keep it tuned to Monkeys Fighting Robots for more MegaCon coverage from this past weekend!
