Back when AHOY Comics was launching its initial lineup, we sat down with editor and headlining writer Tom Peyer. AHOY’s second wave of comics are already underway, with Stuart Moore and Alberto Ponticelli’s Bronze Age Boogie in stores now and Peyer’s own Hashtag: Danger due May 1.
It’s that book that served as the crux of our second conversation with Peyer, with forays into AHOY’s phase two, plans for the future, and much more. If you’re a fan or just a newbie, Peyer sheds some interesting light on an exciting time for the indie outlet.
AiPT: Hashtag: Danger has been great as a backup in previous AHOY comics, what can readers expect from the jump to its own limited series?
TP: More charming art, more un-charming characters, more swearing, a little more adventure, more of the fantastic new breed of heroes who only care about themselves!
AiPT: What led to Hashtag: Danger getting promoted from backup to series?
TP: Chris Giarrusso became available to do more, so the decision was easy. He is so great with these adorable, foul-mouthed characters, and he and I are on the same page when it comes to trashy old pulp science fiction concepts. Dinosaurs, undersea civilizations, Yeti, eggs from outer space that threaten to hatch–everything you’re tired of, and more!
AiPT: Speaking of Danger getting promoted to limited series, what else can you tell us about the upcoming books of phase two at AHOY?
TP: Bronze Age Boogie by Stuart Moore and Alberto Ponticelli is this insane, hilarious trip into classic comics genre tropes like barbarians, tripod Martians, streetwise detectives, kung fu masters, and talking apes. Planet of the Nerds by Paul Constant and Alan Robinson transplants three ’80s high school jocks into the nerd-dominated world of today. Steel Cage (“3 comics enter… 1 comic leaves!”) pits three new series against each other, and readers will elect the winner. That one’s by Mark Waid and Lanna Souvanny, Stuart Moore and Peter Gross, and Alan Robinson and me. Naturally, Alan and I will win!
AiPT: The Wrong Earth received rave reviews here at AiPT!, and it looks like readers may see some returning characters in AHOY’s Free Comic Book Day publication this year. Can you tell us anything about that?
TP: Dragonfly & Dragonflyman checks in on The Wrong Earth‘s heroes–campy Dragonflyman and gritty Dragonfly–when they were still operating at full strength on their own worlds. The FCBD story, drawn by Russ Braun, looks at their very different relationships with the police. There’s a lot more in the comic, too: a Captain Ginger short by Stuart Moore, June Brigman, and Roy Richardson; a short Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror comedy by Hunt Emerson; and a humor piece by Hart Seely, illustrated by Frank Cammuso.
AiPT: Mark Russell and Richard Pace’s book Second Coming garnered a lot of hype if not some controversy when DC Comics announced they would no longer be publishing it. What is the story behind AHOY Comics acquiring the book?
TP: When we heard it was available, we contracted Mark, who already had done some really great work for us in Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror. The idea of it, the approach they’re taking — we felt it was a perfect fit with AHOY, and I’m happy to say Mark and Richard agree.
AiPT: It must be said that each AHOY story feels like it was created by people who love what they do. You’ve had a storied career writing and editing comics, how does it feel to be both writing and editing for a company like AHOY?
TP: It feels wonderful. And tiring. And wonderful. I’m using editing muscles I haven’t used in a long time. And I’m grateful to be able to write stories I think are good, without having to worry about crossovers and continuity and all the disruptive things we love in different contexts.
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