THE PERHAPANAUTS MOVE TO IMAGE

**MattBrady** · 10-31-2007, 04:56 PM

They’re a team made up of Arisa (a psychic), Big (a bigfoot), Choopie (a chupacabra), Hammerskold (a soldier/telepsychometrist), MG (a dimensional hopper), Nix (an amnesiac young boy), Joann Defile (psychic advisor) and Molly (a ghost). Together, they’re known as the Perhapanauts, the creation of writer Todd Dezago and artist Craig Rousseau.

Newsarama was the very first to tell you about the property back in 2002 when the two creators were just shopping it around. Shortly after it appeared, Dark Horse picked it up, and two miniseries followed.

Since then? Well, it’s been kind of quiet around the ranch.

That’s going to change early next year when, starting in February, The Perhapanauts will be moving to Image Comics, where it will start with an Annual, and then, ideally, come back to life as a new ongoing series.

We spoke with the two creators about the move.

Newsarama: Todd, Craig - you've had two miniseries at Dark Horse with the Perhapanauts to date - why the move to Image away from Dark Horse?

Todd Dezago: Craig and I have had so many people come up to us at conventions and shows, enthralled when looking through The Perhapanauts and telling us that they'd never even heard of the book before! We were disappointed by the lack of publicity and support we were getting from Dark Horse. While talking to Eric Stephenson and Joe Keatinge at Image, they told us they'd be happy to show us how it's done!

Craig Rosseau: Wow, ever the charmer, Todd. We're certainly hoping that we'll be able to get new readers on board with the switch.... and Image feels like the right place for our book.

NRAMA: Will this move include everything - new editions of the trades, etc, or will those stay with Dark Horse?

TD: Due to our original agreement with Dark Horse, all previous material is still locked up with them for another few years. But in the meantime, we're gonna crank out enough Perhapanauts so that when we finally can collect it all into one of those big, beautiful, giant-sized Colossals that are so pretty, it'll be, like, this big!

NRAMA: With the move to Image, there will undoubtedly be a cynic or two who says that Image already has "a” Perhapanauts in the form of Proof, which seems to overlap in many of the same areas that you guys are exploring. Was/is there any concern about that project and possible confusion between the two?

TD: Honestly, when Newsarama first did its interview with Alex and Riley (Grecian and Rossmo, respectively, writer/artist/co-creators of Proof), Craig and I read it and went, "Hmmm." On the surface, the premise might seem slightly similar. But it ain't. After quick e-mail introductions by Eric Stephenson, Alex and Riley were kind enough to send us the first three issues of Proof to show us how very different their book is. Craig and I loved it! (Issue #1 came out last week--if ya didn't pick it up, try to get you one!) The subjects might be similar in that they both deal with the paranormal, cryptozoological, and the unexplained. But, while we play with a lot of the same toys, we are definitely not telling the same stories. Proof is straight horror; a chilling tale staged under a proscenium of evil and darkness. Perhapanauts, while offering moments of terror and suspense, is more of an action/adventure, a team book featuring bizarre and strange characters investigating some bizarre and strange things. If Proof is Se7en, then The Perhapanauts is The Incredibles. Totally different ends of the spectrum.

Maybe that should be the new Image challenge--pick up both books and see for yourself!

CR: Going back to Todd's answer for number one, there could very well be readers who've never heard of our book and thinking we're copying Proof. But we all think it's pretty clear from the get-go that these are two very different (cryptozoological) books... and hope folks check 'em both out. We dig ‘em both.

NRAMA: But while we're talking about possible brand confusion, one could argue that The Perhapanauts perhaps were a little too close to Mike Mignola's BPRD at Dark Horse. Was that ever an issue while you were there?

TD: Not that I know of. Craig and I love Hellboy and BPRD! Love 'em! And Mike Mignola! I'm a huge fan and would never want to step on his toes. (Or anybodys!) I guess any confusion might come from the fact that they are both teams of strange characters investigating strange things, but Mike is a master of gothic horror, his tales fit perfectly into the pantheon created by Lovecraft and Poe. The Perhapanauts is more an homage
to the modern horror of Hanna and Barbera. Again, pick up both books and see for yourself.

CR: If it was an issue, Dark Horse never told us (and we haven't gotten any angry calls from Mike Mignola, so that's a good sign). They published our first two series and never expressed any concern. Like Proof and The Perhapanauts, there were similar elements on the surface, but our book is as close to Hellboy and B.P.R.D. as X-Men is to Fantastic Four (teams of super-heroes).

NRAMA: Got it. So, with the movie, what are your plans for the property once over at Image? Are we going to see more regular miniseries from you guys?

TD: We have a lot more in store for the ‘Haps and have the next five or six miniseries already plotted. A lot of things will happen in this next story arc and a lot of things will change! We're hoping that, with more promotion, more readers, we'll be able to make The Perhapanauts a monthly book, an on-going title. Craig and I have both felt stifled by the stop-and-start that comes from producing one miniseries a year and look forward to the momentum that comes with a regular monthly.

CR: Right - we'd love nothing more than to be working with the Perhapanauts 24/7. Besides working on getting the book out monthly, we're hoping to get some swell Perhapanauts merchandise out there as well!

NRAMA: Story-wise, where will you be picking things up with the new miniseries? Directly from the end of the second Dark Horse mini? Some time down the road?

TD: To celebrate the awesome jump to Image, we start out with an all-new, done-in-one, Perhapanauts Annual to introduce new readers to the concept and the characters and make it easy for them to join in. It's a fast-paced adventure featuring our bigfoot, our chupacabra, ghosts, fairies, and a battle to hell and back with the Jersey Devil.

The regular series follows picking up where we left off--bringing new Readers up to speed when necessary--as the Perhapanauts deal with being overrun by Gremlins, brought to the brink of war with a tribe of Mothmen from an adjacent dimension, and faced with the return of their most deadly and dangerous foe—The Chimaera. And the character dynamics are going to change a lot too--something happens that really shakes things up!

Our plan with the move is to step things up a bit, making The Perhapanauts more unpredictable, more suspenseful, and more frightening.

NRAMA: What's the grand plan for Perhapanauts for you two? Ideally, how would you like to see the property develop over the coming years?

TD: We would love the book to be popular enough to support The Perhapanauts as a monthly comic. As I said, we love these characters and have so much planned for them! It would be great to be able to tell those stories. So many times creators don't get a chance for their entire vision come to fruition. In working on Tellos, Mike (Wieringo) and I were frustrated that it wasn't popular enough to let us keep going. I guess that's our dream; to have the chance to take this all the way...

CR: And like I said before, we'd love to be able to tell our stories of
the Perhapanauts for the long haul. Ideally, we'd love that to happen, and we'd love to be able to branch out and expand into other media and merchandise (because, seriously, how could you not love this as a Saturday morning cartoon?! Or a Choopie plush doll!)

NRAMA: Let's take a realistic look at things as well - it's a color book, pretty pricey to produce, and you're in a market that's notoriously harsh to new concepts. What's your strategy for getting noticed and surviving?

TD: As I said earlier, Eric and Joe have all kinds of things planned and in place for readers to finally see the Perhapanauts. Several of our short stories will be appearing at various places on-line, Image has set up a Perhapanauts message board at their forums (where Craig and I will be spending most of our waking hours). We plan on hitting a lot more conventions this year, and we are currently upgrading our website, which is at www.perhapanauts.com where we will be sponsoring contests and give-aways. We're also going to be sporting some alternate covers on the first few issues from some of our absolute favorite artists, like Mike Allred, Art Adams, Frank Cho...

For the longest time we were joking that The Perhapanauts was "the most popular book you've never heard of...!" Hopefully, this'll make up for those years in obscurity.

CR: Yeah, what Todd said! (and man, those alternate covers... wow! I'm in love with the Allreds’ piece, I tell ya...)

NRAMA: Alright - let's wrap with a tease of the upcoming story – how does it kick off and what's at stake?

TD: Well, like I said, The Perhapanauts Annual is an excellent jumping on point for any reader! The team is scrambled when a string of brutal murders closely resembles the work of the legendary Jersey Devil! It's an adventure where the abilities of all of the Perhapanauts --and then some!--are needed, but the story focuses mostly on MG and secrets about this enigmatic team member are revealed! Secrets that might put the entire team in jeopardy...

Our first story arc is called "Triangle" and deals, for the most part, with the ‘Haps recent foray into the Bermuda Triangle, where they found, within the heart of that storm, the confluence of all time and space. Unfortunately, this conduit is allegedly under the protection of the harbingers of destruction, the Mothmen, and they seek retribution from the ‘Haps for their contamination of the time stream!

Also in this series; we learn more about team leader Arisa’s psychic past, more on her growing relationship with MG, Hammerskold's secret crush...and Choopie is crowned king of the Gremlins!

And it’s all true! You can't make this stuff up.

LIEFELDISGOD · 10-31-2007, 05:18 PM

First post. Ugh, I can't believe I just typed that.

Really look forward to reading this. Saw the team at Heroes a few years back, but was too tapped out to buy any of the book. Looks really cool. If you see Dezago at a Con, ask him if he has any Choopie butt cards. You won't be sorry you did.

Green Llama · 10-31-2007, 05:19 PM

I really dug the Perhapanauts right from the start...I was wondering if Proof would be similar, but not too much...and Proof knocked me out as well...both are good stuff...dare I say it, FUN!

Digital Webbing's got a series called The Enigmas going which sounds mined from the same vein...haven't checked it out...anybody read it?

Blackbeard · 10-31-2007, 05:26 PM

Excellent news! Can't wait to pick up some new Perhapanauts!

Congrats on the move, Todd and Craig.

badmarru · 10-31-2007, 05:27 PM

I really hope the sales will be good enough to get it promoted to monthly.It's been a great book, intelligently written and beautifuly drawn.Both creators being great storytellers, I will be here for the long haul. Now advertising is good, alternate covers by big names too but how about a 0.99$ jump-on issue and/or a link to the Kirkman verse or the Faerber verse since the sensibilities don't seem that far away? Just throwing ideas here

Alex Grecian · 10-31-2007, 05:39 PM

Aw, I don't care what they say, this is obviously a rip-off of Proof!

Kidding! Welcome to Image, guys! With everybody playing in the same sandbox maybe we can get a pin-up out of Craig?

-Alex

roblewmac · 10-31-2007, 05:42 PM

love this comic! not deep but that's my thought

nwspencer · 10-31-2007, 05:59 PM

A really great book! I hope this helps get the word out.

Bill_Nolan · 10-31-2007, 06:12 PM

w00t! Good luck, guys!

EMeadow · 10-31-2007, 06:39 PM

A Proof/Perhapanauts crossover is now being demanded.

Perfect definition of Alternate Universe if ever I've heard one.

librarykat · 10-31-2007, 06:44 PM

Man, I have tried to get the word out to librarians! There's a brand-new online database for libraries, the Graphic Novels Core Collection, from H.W. Wilson (sorry, folks, it's a subscription database for libraries, not for fans) for which I do all the title selections. I added both volumes of Perhapanauts to the initial core collection (2,000 titles - and I had to read 'em all!). The database "debuted" this past weekend at the American Association of School Libraries annual conference; I hope that it will help encourage more librarians to take a chance on Perhapanauts - and on a whole lot of other excellent graphic novels.

I wish all the best for the move to Image Comics and look forward to reading more Perhapanauts (I'm one of the crazies who got the comics AND the trades).

jjbar · 10-31-2007, 07:25 PM

I gave this book a shot from day one it wasn't quite good enough. Not terribly exciting or fresh. Best of luck but the move won't encourage me to bring it back on to my store's racks when there's so many other books out there that look and read better.

bls-79 · 10-31-2007, 07:39 PM

This is great news and couldn't happen to a nicer pair of guys.

As for a .99 cent jumping on issue, Todd and Craig have got that beat by, well, .99 cents. You can go to www.perhapanauts.com and read the first issue of the first mini-series done at Darkhorse for free. I suggest you kick back and read it on line while enjoying that free taco that Jacoby Elsbury got for you.

bls-79 · 10-31-2007, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjbar

I gave this book a shot from day one it wasn't quite good enough. Not terribly exciting or fresh. Best of luck but the move won't encourage me to bring it back on to my store's racks when there's so many other books out there that look and read better.

Not everyone likes the same things and that's why god made blondes, brunettes and red heads. That said, sorry you didn't dig the 'Haps and I hope you'll give it another shot as the second mini at Dark Horse was better than the first and I'm betting the trend will continue with the move to image.

Greg O · 10-31-2007, 08:23 PM

Great news. It's a book that's been on my 'meaning to check out' radar for a while, I'll be adding it to my standing order tomorrow!

Best of luck at Image gents.

Greg

Jason Copland · 10-31-2007, 09:20 PM

Congratulations, Todd and Craig! I'm stoked to read that there'll be more Perhapanauts stories coming down the pike!

Excellent pick up, Image!

BornToRun · 10-31-2007, 09:54 PM

I was very skeptical at first, becuase of the nature of this book--after League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, it's been tough to view books that take "public domain" characters as seriously. It's just like how much harder it is to fall in love with a zombie comic these days. But the book was really enjoyable. Never blew me away, but it was just...nice. Fun. A really stress-free, enjoyable read.

RockSP · 10-31-2007, 10:39 PM

I have both of the Dark Horse minis except issue 2 of the first one. So I haven't read them yet. Damn my shop for somehow forgetting to put that in my box!!!

Eventually I'll order it online, I guess...

jjbar · 10-31-2007, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bls-79

Not everyone likes the same things and that's why god made blondes, brunettes and red heads. That said, sorry you didn't dig the 'Haps and I hope you'll give it another shot as the second mini at Dark Horse was better than the first and I'm betting the trend will continue with the move to image.

True but having to read about 50 titles a week to be able to talk to my customers about what clicks and what doesn't, every book needs to have something special that sets it apart. 'Haps just didn't have it - first impressions and all that. The story and storytelling were very pedestrian and the art wasn't strong enough, especially for the price tag. My customers didn't take to it either.

Something very special would need to happen to elevate this book to a status that I would be inclinded to bring it back into my shop. As a frame of reference, we do stock over 300 floppies on our shelves so we do chance on a lot of titles.

Tad · 11-01-2007, 01:11 AM

Great that the 'haps have a new home. The adventures were just heating up and I've always loved the clean line of Craig's artwork. There's room in the weird universe for everyone!

waterdragon · 11-01-2007, 01:43 AM

Kick ass that this series will get some well deserved exposure now.

deadjacket · 11-01-2007, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjbar

True but having to read about 50 titles a week to be able to talk to my customers about what clicks and what doesn't, every book needs to have something special that sets it apart. 'Haps just didn't have it - first impressions and all that. The story and storytelling were very pedestrian and the art wasn't strong enough, especially for the price tag. My customers didn't take to it either.

I find it absolutely crazy to think that you only stock books that you like! different strokes for different folks.

If my comics shop did that there wouldn't be any non Brubaker or Gage Marvel comics on the shelf, and he'd be bust by now.

Just because you don't like it doesn't mean one of your customers won't

Lwnasidh · 11-01-2007, 10:31 AM

Absolutely awesome news! I make it a point to get more 'haps stuff any time I see it, and I'm not just talking comics. I've got "vintage" cover packs, a poster... pretty much anything Todd and Craig put on their con tables. This title is pure fun.

I know my LCS owner will be stocking it and pushing it.

Davy · 11-01-2007, 12:37 PM

Super news! I just finished the second trade not long ago, and I'd been looking around trying to find out if there would be more. So this is very welcome news indeed.

I found the first trade used and was hooked. When I finished that one I bought the second one immediately from Amazon. I'm psyched to read more.

Davy

Kilowog · 11-01-2007, 03:43 PM

Haven't ever really gotten into this book, but as "the big two" are starting to lose their hold on my budget, this might just sneak in. I'm definitely in for the Annual in February!