By Todd Matthy
With Voltron # 3 (see above) on sale at comic stores everywhere, I thought I’d share with you my interview with Nick Barrucci, the President of Dynamite Entertainment, the publisher of the “Voltron” comic book. We discuss the book’s direction and the prospects of the giant robot crossover we ALL want to see.
When Devils Due did the Voltron comics, I didn’t like the style of art they went with. They took away the “anime” feel and went with an American style that I think some of the heart out of the story. Is your series going to attempt the look and feel of the cartoon?
Yes. It absolutely is. We got Ariel Padilla on art (He did “Green Hornet Strikes”) and he’s got a little bit on anime in him. So, you’ll see the essence of what you are looking for. You’re going to get the feel of Voltron.
Is this going to be an extension of the old series?
I don’t want to say it’s a re-imagination but if you think of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, it was everything you knew and if you weren’t a “Star Trek” fan you could become acclimated to it but if you were you still got the characters you loved but with a new setting and a new adventure. You could start again and that’s what Voltron really is. It’s not a reboot but it is being refocused so that the fans who are aware of Voltron will be able to buy the comic and say, “Yeah, this is good.” Obviously we’re not going to make everybody happy but with all the attention Mattel, Classic Media, World Events, THQ, and all the partners are bringing to Voltron we really think there will be existing and new comic collectors that will check out “Voltron” so we’re putting our best foot forward. We got Brandon Thomas writing it, Ariel Padilla doing the art, and covers by Alex Ross, Sean Chen, and Wagner Reis.
Would you say the book will have the tone of Go-Lion (the Japanese series Voltron was developed from) in terms of content?
There will be references to not only the American TV series but also Go-Lion. There’s going to be a lot of Easter eggs.
Are there plans for members of the Vehicle Force or Drule Empire to appear in some capacity?
Like many good comics you are going to have characters that you know but you also have to introduce new villains. Much like Batman, you still have the Joker and Two-Face but you get a new character like Hush and you wonder, “What’s his story? What’s his angle?” So, there’s going to be a lot of that.
Are you going to delve into the character’s pasts?
Eventually, but not right away.
So the introductory arc will be, well, an introduction.
We hit the ground running. I really like that Brandon is not telling a decompressed story. I think there’s a lot of decompressed stories in comics and it’s getting to be lazy writing.
Will we finally see Voltron vs. the Transformers?
Write to IDW (publishers of Transformers), I’d do it.
Thank you to Nick Barrucci for taking the time to speak with me at New York Comic Con 2011
Todd Matthy.com 