MARK ANDREW SMITH ON KILL ALL PARENTS

[MattBrady]

by Zack Smith

From the world-wide rocking of The Amazing Joy Buzzards to the deep blue journeys of Aqua Leung, Mark Andrew Smith isn’t afraid to deal with extreme ideas. His latest work is a one-shot from Image that deals with the perfect way to create a new generation of superheroes…Kill All Parents. What does this mean, exactly? Read on to find out.

Newsarama: So, Mark, could you explain the story behind Kill All Parents in your own words?

Mark Andrew Smith: Kill All Parents! It's kind of a scary title for a book, isn't it? (laughs)

Kill All Parents is a story about a machine that predicts the future. The machine sees disaster on the horizon for all of mankind. There's a secret government organization that is working around the clock, and they're plugging in scenarios into this machine to see if there is any way of altering the course of the future.

The solution that they come across is less than ideal, but something that must be done for the greater good. Essentially, the book is about a government organization that runs around and bumps off Superhero parents so that they can be like puppeteers for these heroes.

NRAMA: Gah! How did you come up with the premise of this story, and what are some of the themes you're touching on?

MAS: I was doing research at university, and I stumbled upon a book about comic book characters and psychology, and it spoke of the death of parents in superhero's lives being such a common theme.

This interested me greatly, and something clicked (in my head), where I kept thinking about it over and over again. I began to ask myself why that was. Kill All Parents, in many ways, was me connecting the dots for all of this into a very large overall picture. The answer is another question: What if there was a government organization running around that bumped off Superhero Parents?

NRAMA: So who are some of the main characters?

MAS: The main characters are a Justice League-style group made up of various superheroes. I'm not going to go too much into any one character, because this is more of an ensemble book, so it's more fun for readers to discover that on their own.

NRAMA: And could you tell us a little about the world this series is set in – and the scientist's method of creating heroes beyond this machine?

MAS: I can't go too into it without spoiling the book for people, but the loss of a loved one at a young age is very important for how a superhero carries himself/herself in adulthood.

NRAMA: Fair enough. Now, are you doing this as a series of stories, or as a one-shot?

Kill All Parents is a 36-page oversized one-shot with a full story from cover to cover. We could do more in the future but I like the idea that people can pick up the book, read it in one sitting, and walk away satisfied without having to get into too much of a commitment to a monthly. There's something that's very rewarding about the one shot format and being able to read a self-contained story.

NRAMA: Now, about Marcelo Dichiara – what has he done before, and how did he come on board?

MAS: Marcelo worked on Iron Man/Power Pack for Marvel Comics. He's from Brazil and he's a great talent. I saw his work on The Drawing Board, and I had to work on a book with him after seeing how he drew superheroes.

You get the sense of his love for superheroes just by looking at his work. There's something jaw-dropping about it that speaks to you. I e-mailed him, and he liked the concept a lot, and we got started in creating Kill All Parents.

NRAMA: And what does he bring to your story?

MAS: He brings his all. He's such a great co creator to be working with. Everything he's done on the book is incredible.

NRAMA: What are some of the themes you're dealing with in Kill All Parents, and what, in your opinion, makes this a unique look at superheroes or superpowers?

MAS: Loss is the main theme and never knowing loved ones. Kill All Parents speaks volumes about the human condition. Also totalitarianism is a huge theme in the book.

I think this book is really a book for people who know the Big Two comics very well and who are fans of those books. Kill All Parents is something they'll definitely want to check out, and if you know the origins of Big Two superheroes, then this book will be very rewarding for you.

This book is much more meta than micro, so it takes a single common element from most superhero stories, and fits it together in a way that works perfectly.

NRAMA: And finally, you just had Aqua Leung come out – what are some other projects you're working on?

MAS: I hate the whole “finish the article about one book and then pitch your other projects and look important.” It's a pet peeve of mine when I see other creators doing it. Yeah we get it, "you're creative and prolific, watch out for you buddy!" People's attention spans are too short to go firing off names and descriptions of other books right now. It is tempting to fire off the names of five or so projects I'm working on right now, but I'm going to avoid it and when those books are out, you will know about them when they're here. I'm here first and foremost to tell readers about one book so they remember the name of it and go out and read it.

That book is Kill All Parents!

Kill All Parents hits stores June 18.

[TheToileteer]

Lovely title. (But then, I have been corrupted by Black Metal rock music.)

I recognize Dr. Strange, and could that be Blue Beetle Beyond...?

[edcurb]

i'll be buying this.

i love the art & have always been a fan of done in one.

[Sluggo]

I already pre-ordered this because the premise, though brutal, sounded interesting and I've enjoyed Smith's Amazing Joy Buzzards work. I'm very glad to see it done as a one-shot and the artwork looks very nice.

Anyone else get the feeling the heroes are going to find out what's been going on and be mighty pissed?

[Jay Figgs]

I preordered this mainly because of Marcelo's art (he has a great blog where he showcases his work), which I think is amazing, but the premise of the book sounds really interesting as well. Looking forward to it!

[ryancody]

Looking good guys!

[-Armando523-]

niiiiiiiiice art