PITZER & MORSE ON PROJECT SUPERIOR

[MattBrady]

Project: Telstar was a go for AdHouse Books, and in February, the publisher goes back to the anthology well with Project: Superior, a 288 color collection focusing on superheroes. To load it with stories, AdHouse publisher Chris Pitzer took the simple route: spin the Rolodex and challenge some of the top indy creators to dip their toe in the pool that bears the name “super hero.”

Among those who responded to Pitzer’s call: Nick Abadzis, Graham Annable, Tim Biskup, Jeffrey Brown, J. Chris Campbell, Scott Campbell, John Cassaday, Ronnie del Carmen, Victor Cayro, Martin Cendreda, Tony Consiglio, J. W. Cotter, Farel Dalrymple, Mike Dawson, Doug Fraser, Paul Hornschemeier, James Jean, R. Kikuo Johnson, Nathan Jurevicius, Dean Haspiel, Seonna Hong, John Kerschbaum , Daniel Krall, Jason Lex, John Lucas, Jim Mahfood, Brian Maruca, Tara McPherson, Scott Morse, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Onsmith, Chris Pitzer, Paul Pope, Joel Priddy, Ragnar, Paul Rivoche, Jim Rugg, Jay Ryan, Fermin Solis, Zack Soto, Jeremy Tankard, Jamie Tanner, Rob Ullman, Megan Whitmarsh, and Brian Wood.

“I wanted to try another anthology because Telstar did do well,” Pitzer told Newsarama. “I should have probably taken a bit more of a breather between the two, but I also wanted to use some of the ‘buzz-momentum’ as well. I can't really say that Superior was in the works while Telstar was happening, except for maybe in thinking about how I would have liked to work with other creators.”

Initially though, Project Superior had a slightly different focus. “Originally Superior was supposed to be about comic books,” Pitzer said. “Comics about comics. Yeah, I know... weird, huh? I wanted to do an anthology that would capture the excitement that I felt when I was a kid reading comics. So, after I decided that ‘comics about comics’ was a bit too vague, the idea of super heroes came up. Also, this was about the time that Dean Haspiel had contacted me, and he's a big believer that indy creators can really do some good super hero stories. Scott Morse also contacted me about doing something along the same lines.”

Said Morse: “Dean and I had been talking about putting together a book of ‘alternative’ guys doing our take on super heroes, something that would smack the ‘mainstream’ upside the head. Then we approached Chris about it, and he said he was planning something similar, and we all agreed to join forces, since we all had some interesting contacts to contribute. Chris runs the show, but Dean and I are the pep squad, both for Chris and any contributor who wants a sounding board to bounce ideas off of. Of course, with the caliber of who we're putting in, these guys and girls are all top notch, and rarely need a sounding board!”

Morse and Haspiel’s two cents eventually led to something a little more. “Dean and Scott eventually morphed into becoming assistant editors,” Pitzer said. “The three of us eventually created a huge list of people who we wanted to work with, and who we thought could do a bang up job. So, we all went about contacting them in various ways. And if those creators had seen Telstar, I think that might have helped.”

For Morse, coming back to AdHouse for another project was a no-brainer. “AdHouse is simply amazing, and one of the best working situations for a guy like me, who's got all kinds of projects that need an amazing designer, producer, and great buddy like Chris Pitzer to help out on,” Morse said. “It's really all because of Chris, and how generous and supportive he is. And he's a genius with the design work, and truly loves comics and books for what they can be. He believes in this medium, and doesn't necessarily care about if a book gets optioned for a movie or something. He loves comics. And he knows comics, knows aesthetically when something works and when something doesn't, and knows how to push a book in a certain way. He gets a big high five from me with everything he does, because it's excellent in every respect for what it is.

“We all complied the original list of contributors, went over it time and again, and contacted who we thought would be the best, most well-rounded, list of contributors and anthology has ever seen. And I think Superior will boast this is in spades. We've got artists famous the world over not just in comics, but in toy design, book design, you name it. It's diverse, and strong. Every story will be something to write home about, I think.”

In getting the creators to offer up their best, Pitzer, Morse, and Haspiel had a simple approach – remove the restrictions. “I'm a big believer in letting each creator have as much free reign as possible,” Pitzer said. “I wanted to be sure that we didn't have any stories that would be too close to each other in feel. I did get nervous about some of the proposals, but then the finished products have come through amazing. Most everyone we asked has a body of work that tells you what direction they are most likely to take. We've got all types of stories this time out. There are characters that are part of an ongoing saga. There are introspective biographies. There are artsy over-the-top things that I'm not ever sure what they are.”

Pitzer offered up a few samples of what’s included in Project: Superior, representing a variety of approaches and styles:

“Afrodisiac” by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca (Street Angle): “It's all about the hero, Afrodisiac. We don't get to see his ‘origin’ per se, but we do get to watch him use his…powers.”

“Thrustman” by R. Kikuo Johnson. “Thrustman is a story within a story within a story type of thing. I don't think the story is as much about Thrustman as it is about the relationship between Thrustman and his ‘Lois Lane.’”

“Sucker Punch” by Josh Cotter. “This is barely about super heroes. If you know Josh's work from Skyscrapers of the Midwest, it's like that, only our main characters do have powers. Is it about those powers? Nope. It's about growing up and liking a girl and having your friend ask that girl out. Ouch.”

And what stories surprised Pitzer?

“For ‘wow’ factor at the beginning of the project, it would have been Afrodisiac. It just set the ‘tone’ of the book,” Pitzer said. “For actual surprise, probably James Jean. He's done very little sequential work - I think there was one other piece in a Meathaus anthology, so I wasn't really sure what I was going to get. However, once I got to see the story, I really dig the vibe. It's kind of mysterious, but familiar.”

Of course, what’s the use of being an assistant editor if you can’t pimp your own work? Case in point, Morse’s “The Solutionist.”

“Frank Answer is The Solutionist!” Morse explained. “He's an idiot and a genius at the same time, full of facts and tricks to get to the heart of a problem, no matter how big or small...he just takes the long way around it, much to the annoyance of the people he's helping. In the case of the Superior short, he's trying to help his kid with a homework problem, and I pushed the design to a really surreal level to emphasize the ludicrous nature of his plan of attack. He's all over the map, but he's a fighter, man. A fighter in the head.”



With Telstar, the project kept growing and growing, but so far, Pitzer’s thinking is that the announced 288 pages (at $19.95) will stand…for now. Also, the cover will be as much an event as the interior. “Paul Hornschemeier is delivering a great series of ‘cancelled heroes’ - think Island of Misfit Toys for superheroes that will run from cover to cover to inside, sort of like Telstar did,” Pitzer said. “Right now, we'll treat the cover with a nice matte laminate so it feels all nice, but no special gloss treatments are planned. I felt ‘gloss’ said technical, robotic, etc., so I didn't think it was really needed for the heroes. I think the big thing about this book is its size. It's almost an inch thick, which I guess is relative to the industry, y'know? I mean super heroes are probably 90% of the market, so it matches.”

And at the end of the day?

“Superior is one cool book!” Pitzer enthused. “The thing with anthologies is that people are not going to like every story. That's what you always hear. But, if people come away liking 75% of the book, and discover some new creator that they never heard before, then I'm happy.”

[Ryan Twombly]

I was down with this just because my boys Rugg and Maruca are in it, but now that I've seen the rest, it's up even higher in my must-haves list. Thrustman. Sweet!

[John Gallagher]

This project looks great-- the most ambitious project from Adhouse yet! Anyone who has seen Telstar knows that Chris Pitzer brings only the highest quality to his projects, and this looks even better.

I can't wait! I just wish Jack Cole was around to contribute...

[Volunteer]

I can't wait to see this. Chris Pitzer showed me some of the art to this book at SPX and it looks great. One story does a GREAT job mimicking the grainy coloring of a 1960's/1970's book and it just looked really cool. And I didn't even see the art by guys like Cassaday whose work would normally be what I'd look forward to. I will definitely be buying this.

Volunteer

[slash]

This looks like it will be very good. I hadn't heard about "Project Telstar" but now I plan on getting it also.

[Hannibal King]

This book looks awesome! Afrodisiac. Thrustman. They look so firckin' hilarious I would buy the book just for them. This is something I would pick up even if I was tight for money. I hope my store brings in more than one copy because I would definately love to check this out.

[Michael C Lorah]

Wow. Some great creators are lined up for this book. I'll certainly be picking it up!