If you've ever watched an episode of The Amazing World of Gumball, you know things can get pretty crazy. There's no shortage on the hilarity or wacky situations. The TV show is making it's way to the world of comics, thanks to Boom! Studios, and fans will dig it. Those that have never seen the show can also dive right in and have a fun time.
With the new issue due this week, we talked to writer Frank Gibson to find out how he's approaching adapting the characters and what you can expect in the series.
COMIC VINE: How would you describe THE AMAZING WORLD OF GUMBALL for those that have never watched the show?
FRANK GIBSON: First of all, y'all should watch the show, because it's really wonderful. Gumball is a show about a cat and a fish who are best friends and also brothers (sort of). But the show isn't really about that, it's about their family, their friends, their weird little town, told through awesome contrasting art styles. It's the most fun cartoon on television right now.
CV: How did you become the the writer for the comic?
FG: I've been in webcomics for years. The comic most people know me for is Tiny Kitten Teeth, a hand-painted comic I write and my partner Becky paints. That's how we got in touch with BOOM! originally and since then I've written the Adventure Time 2014 Annual, back-up stories and Bee and PuppyCat (both the comics and the show), too. When the opportunity came up to audition for the writing role on the new Gumball book, I jumped at the chance and put together a sample script. Strangely enough, people liked it! I'm a huge fan of the show so I was overjoyed! Hooray! So now I get to work with my buddy Tyson [Hesse] as well, which is the best.
CV: You’ve written some other cartoon adaptations such as Adventure Time, Bee and PuppyCat and The Simpsons. Is it challenging to capture the essence of the characters and bring them to the printed medium without having the voice actors to spice things up?
FG: It's really tricky. A lot of people try to go over the top to capture the accents in the form of text, re-using actual lines from the show etc... I think the first thing when working on a book like this is that you want to capture the essence of the show and not the minutae. We can have fun exploring details from the show that they may not have explored yet, but it's not a cartoon, it's a comic, it will always be different. It has to be.Richard is a perfect character, he's so happy and charming and a goof. It also makes him difficult to write for as well, because he's so good. I really dig writing for Anais as well.Explosions, cars, a dinosaur, broken bones, cute animals, everything you could ever want.
CV: Who’s been your favorite character to write in THE AMAZING WORLD OF GUMBALL?
FG: Richard is a perfect character, he's so happy and charming and a goof. It also makes him difficult to write for as well, because he's so good. I really dig writing for Anais as well.
CV: What can we expect in the first issue?
FG: Explosions, cars, a dinosaur, broken bones, cute animals, everything you could ever want.
CV: Is it a full length story in the issue?
FG: It totally is! I'm looking forward to cutting loose on some gag comics soon, but these first few issues we've been rolling with are longer stories.
CV: How crazy are things going to get in this series?
FG: The craziest! You have no idea! Tyson keeps on pushing the art in the book, which makes me want to come up with bigger and nuttier things. Maybe that makes his life difficult. Poor Tyson.
Be sure to check out THE AMAZING WORLD OF GUMBALL #1, on sale Wednesday, June 25, from Boom! Studios. Here's the full preview for the first issue to get more of a taste of what you'll get.
