Marvel's Welcome To Maybury

Paul Maybury Interview - Artist, Writer, Contributor: Strange Tales II

Nowhere else will you find Jamie and Gilbert Hernandez, Harvey Pekar, Jhonen Vasquez, Shannon Wheeler, Terry Moore, and Tony Millionaire in one collection, except in Marvel's Strange Tales II. And when that collection involves Spider-Man, Silver Surfer, and all your Marvel favorites written by the best indie talent around, it’s a geek-gasm waiting to happen. Time will tell if this ish hits as big as its predecessor.

But if you don’t like letting time tell you what to think, read on for a GCD special interview. Strange Tales II contributor Paul Maybury hit the scene hard with his amazing art in the indie-smash Aqua Leung. You've seen his work in Image, DC, and DarkHorse books, but he has yet to collaborate with Marvel. Until now.

GeekChicDaily: You’ve done a lot of work with Image, and you’ve also worked online with DC’s Zuda and the webcomics collective ACT-I-VATE. Is this your first time working with Marvel?

Paul Maybury: It is, and it's kind of weird. If you told me last year I would get to write whatever I wanted and draw my own Marvel story, I wouldn't have believed you. I was always a fan of Marvel as a kid. And despite moving in a different direction than trying to work for them in a traditional sense, I've always enjoyed their characters.

GCD: What can you tell us about your contribution to Strange Tales II?

PM: I was torn between doing a Silver Surfer story, a Ghost Rider story, and a Spider-Man story. I ended up doing Spider-Man for a very specific reason. Whenever I'm around people in my everyday life who don't really read comics and I'm explaining what I do, I just say, "I draw Spider-Man." Because of the movies, and just general awesomeness, most people know who Spider-Man is.

GCD: So you’re working with Spider-Man. What aspect of Spidey do you highlight? What kind of Spider-Man story did you want to tell?

PM: I wanted to do something humorous, obviously, but I still wanted to tell a story that was somewhat grounded. I don't like the idea of these kinds of books being "Look at these wacky indie guys!" I did a story about Peter Parker trying to explain to everyone he knows why he's always bruised and beat up. His excuses start out elaborate, but eventually go downhill as he runs out of ideas. But don't worry, there's still plenty of Spider-Man fighting bad guys in there, too.

GCD: Whose version of Spider-Man is your favorite?

PM: There are many, but I still really like the Ditko Spider-Man the best. This is quickly followed by John Romita, Jr. When I was younger, it was definitely Erik Larsen's run. I'm currently really loving what Paulo Rivera is doing with him.

GCD: Strange Tales II involves a number of indie comics all-stars like Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, Harvey Pekar, Jhonen Vasquez, Shannon Wheeler, Terry Moore, and Tony Millionaire. How does it feel to be in such good company?

PM: I'm pretty honored to be in the same issue as the Hernandez brothers. I was secretly crossing my fingers that my story would be in this one. I bumped into Jaime in San Diego a few months ago and finally had a reason to talk to him about something, so that was fun. I also like to see Jhonen Vasquez draw anything.

GCD: You’re also involved with the new book Creating Comics!: 47 Master Artists Reveal the Techniques and Inspiration Behind Their Comic Genius with Jim Steranko and Paul Pope. How is this book different than all the other books on making comics?

PM: This was a book I contributed to almost two years ago that I thought was never coming out. So it was sort of a weird surprise seeing it on Amazon. The concept of the book is this: each artist has about four sequential pages in the book, and you get a breakdown of the ideas behind each page. It should be interesting to see how a bunch of very different creators attack a comic.

GCD: What comics do you follow? What’s being published right now that you find exciting?

PM: I feel like I've been in a time machine lately. I've been reading everything they've been releasing by Yoshihiro Tatsumi, and I've been reading Red Snow by Susumu Katsumata. The last comic I picked up was Death Day by Sam Hiti, which I couldn't recommend more. I also picked up the Daredevil: Black and White one-shot with awesome creators like Jason Latour and Rick Spears. Despite comics being in a sort of uneasy place, there's really incredible stuff being published by the biggest and smallest publishers everywhere you look.

GCD: What else are you working on? What’s coming up for you?

PM: People probably don't believe me, but I finished writing the Maxy J. Millionaire graphic novel, and I just drew the 17th page of it. It's been a pet project of mine for a while. There's also a seven-page story I did for Crack Comics coming out from Image in December, as well as an upcoming Savage Dragon short that I wrote. I believe my next full book that will be out is getting announced at NYCC, and I have a couple really amazing projects ready to go right after that. It's been a great year, and I feel really fortunate to have the opportunities that I have.

GCD: Thanks for chatting with us, Paul. One last question: since Halloween is fast approaching, what’s your favorite horror movie?

PM: I'm not sure if it's a horror movie in a traditional sense, but Jacob's Ladder is my favorite and I watch it every year. After that, it's the remake of The Thing.

Look for Strange Tales II at your local comic store on October 13, 2010.

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