The 90s gave us some interesting comics. Say what you will about them, you can't deny the passion and love both readers and creators had for the extreme books that hit the shelves. Later this month, on May 20, BOOM! Studios will release OH, KILLSTRIKE #1 by Max Bemis and Logan Faerber.
Here's the solicit information:
What’s to Love: Say Anything frontman Max Bemis writes a love letter to 1990s superhero comics in this tongue-in-cheek homage to the era, featuring the art stylings of Logan Faerber—reminiscent of works by Chip Zdarsky and Jeff Lemire. Much like Polarity, Oh, Killstrike is very personal to Bemis: It’s about a new dad who loves comics from his youth. Part twisted buddy comedy, part profound coming-of-age story, we could not stop smiling when reading Oh, Killstrike.
What It Is: Jared, a new father, fears parenthood. An old comics fan, he turns to them for comfort. But when he unwittingly lets loose his favorite character, Killstrike—a single-minded, vengeance-loving anti-hero—onto the world, Jared must find a way to send him back before he harms all the people he loves the most. But before that happens, Killstrike leads Jared on a quest of self-discovery to make him realize the kid who loved this character is not the man he has become.
We had the chance to talk to Faerber about the four-issue series, channeling the time period, and the design process for the characters.
COMIC VINE: How did you hook up with Max Bemis on this project?
LOGAN FAERBER: I met Max when I had done a Say Anything piece for a gallery show that was happening a few years ago while I was in Boston. After the show Max bought the piece I had made for the gallery and I ended up speaking with him about potentially doing a collaborate piece in the future. Months later he contacted me about doing a story with him, which would turn out to be Oh, Killstrike.
CV: How would you describe the story?
FAERBER: The story is a dramedy (drama, comedy) with a side of action sequences. The main character Jared is becoming a father for the first time. His father was absent a majority of the time so he doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes and in order to do this, Jared must revisit elements from his past, including the character Killstrike, who was created by his father. They then go on a It’s a Wonderful Life-like journey to find Jared’s father and finally get the answers he deserves. It also includes a great deal of '90s nostalgia, as you would guess from the title.
CV: Did you keep your usual style with the book or did you tweak it at all for this book?
FAERBER: I kept my style for the book. We had discussed the potential for having a '90s "style” incorporated at points, or with certain elements, but ultimately it’s a very personal and humorous story and one that feels more at home with my art style as it is. There are a few panels in there that deviate a bit from the norm since they are a flashback, but it doesn’t change too much.
CV: What can you tell us about the design process for Killstrike? How much was described in the scripts/pitch and how much adapted as the story moved on?
FAERBER: The general starting point for the design of Killstrike was to look back on all of the early Image Comics characters and the early '90s Marvel characters, such as Cable, and build a list of particular characteristics that really stood out. Once this list was finalized we started going through it one by one. Bandolier of knives? Check. Tribal tattoo-like makeup? Check. Claw-blade fingers? Not so much since he had to still interact with the world around him without accidentally killing people in every panel. From this list I then did several sketches and we narrowed down body shape, placement of objects, etc. until we felt like it fit the name and did the character justice.
CV: Are you doing the colors? If so, how did you decide on the color palette?
FAERBER: So, I had originally wanted to do the colors, but due to timing constraints on my part I wasn’t able to. Thankfully we found a great colorist named Tumbu who was able capture the textures and color. I’ve always enjoyed muted and minimal palettes with punches of color rather than oversaturated ones. Granted, it depends on the series and everything because there are beautiful examples of those as well, but this book felt better with the grittiness and minimal palette. Again, while the book loves the '90s, it was created now, so why try to replicate it directly when the story will do that for you?
CV: With the book being described as Bemis’ “love letter to 1990s superhero comics,” were there any that came to mind as you approached the characters?
FAERBER: Yeah, definitely. We brought up X-Force, X-Factor, Warchild, Badrock, Bloodstrike, and Youngblood. They’re terrible in so many ways, but our mutual love of them is the same love we share for '80s and '90s action movies such as Rambo.
CV: What’s the tone of this series and what sets it apart from other superhero books?
FAERBER: The book is written more like how an indie family drama would be written, but it happens to also include a massive super hero character. It’s a very fun and playful read, and I think the art matches the writing style well. However, under all of the fun is a serious story that we can all relate to on many levels.
OH, KILLSTRIKE #1 is on sale May 20. Don't miss it! Check out these preview pages.
