Dave Roman interview

By David Rasmussen
25th Nov 04

David Rasmussen : So, from the beginning, tell us a bit about yourself and how did you first get into the manga/anime genre?
Dave Roman : Like a lot of people my age, I was pretty blown away by seeing the Akira anime in the late 80's. As a teenage boy, it was as intense and violent as I could want any cartoon to be. I started seeking out other Anime that was available at the time, like Ninja Scroll, Venus Wars and Robot Carnival. It was mostly violent action stuff, until one night I saw My Neighbor Totoro and it was just such a unique experience. It was all about the characters and there were no villains or supernatural conflicts, just real kids confronted surreal situations. I've been a die-hard Miyazaki fan ever since. There's only like one movie of his I haven't seen yet. I have a European dubbed version of Kiki's Delivery Service that is one the best things I've ever bought. I wasn't so crazy about the Disney dubbed version that was released here.

Rasmussen : You say there's only one Miyazaki movie you haven't seen yet? Which one?
Mr. Roman : Pom Poko is the only non-Miyazaki film from Studio Ghibli I haven't seen yet. I'd like to see all the other films too though. I have My Neighbor the Yamadas and Grave of the Fireflies, but I need to track down the rest.

Rasmussen : As for Kiki's Delivery Service, why is the European dubbed version you own considered by you "one of the best things I've ever bought"?
Mr. Roman : Because I love that movie soooo much. I totally identify with Kiki, and the tone is so beautiful. And since the version I have is so rare, it makes it feel so much more valuable to me. I think the voice acting is much better, especially for Gigi the cat. I'd hate to be stuck with only the Disney version!

Rasmussen : What it is about how Disney dubs Miyazaki's movies that you dislike, and is there anything else about how they trea t the movies (distribution into theaters, promotion, etc) that you like or dislike?
Mr. Roman : Well, Disney helped get Spirited Away an Academy Award, so I can't give them too much flack. I didn't like some of the minor dialog changes in Kiki, so that kind of bugged me. But overall, I think it's good that they at least make the films publicly available to an American audience, and try to get talented people involved in the adaptations. It's cool that they got Michael Keaton to do the voice of Pocco Rosso.

Rasmussen : Right now Miyazaki is working on his next project, Howl's Moving Castle. Are you looking forward to seeing this movie, and have you had a chance to see the literary material that this upcoming movie will be based upon.
Mr. Roman : Not yet. Of course, I'm really excited that Miyazaki is still making anything!

Rasmussen : Ok, for those readers who may not know your credit list -- please give us -- The Letterman List. (Top Ten titles you've worked on prior to doing Astronaut Elementary)
Mr. Roman : (his top ten list)
10. In elementary school I did a comic called Rad Brad that was sort of like Spaceman Spiff meets Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

9. When I was in junior high I did a few issues of a comic called Samurai Jack (complete coincidence), as well as comics for my school paper about a character named John Doe.

Rasmussen : You did a few comics called Samurai Jack in Junior High? Strange. Ok. Curiousity consumes me -- how does it compare with G.T.'s Samurai Jack on Cartoon Network, and how strange is it that something you did in Junior High would end up being the name of a now major show on a channel like Cartoon Network?
Mr. Roman : It's VERY strange. I remember being at San Diego Comic-Con right before the show premiered, and every now and then I'd hear somebody mention it and I'd do a double take. It was like, "Huh? How do they know about Samurai Jack?" But I've sort of gotten used to it. It helps to know that the show is better than anything I could ever do! Genndy is a genius, and surrounds himself with awesome people. I just wish his show was called "Samurai Jeff" or something! I told the story to Linda Simensky (one of the producers on the show), and she thought it was a strange coincidence, mainly because the character's name isn't really even Jack! The reasoning behind naming my character Samurai Jack was because he was from England (like Union Jack), and then ended up in Japan where he was trained as a Samurai. Both my creation and Genndy's are pretty much mixes of comedy and action, but mine was badly drawn and probably only seen by about 50 people!

Rasmussen : Speaking of Samurai Jack, change of venue here for a second, the rumored Live Action movie that's supposed to be in the works for Samurai Jack -- if Cartoon Network solicited your opinion about who should play Jack? Who would you pick (and why)?
Mr. Roman : If it was up to me? They wouldn't even bother. The cartoon is beautiful. If they try to adapt it...it frightens me to think about it.

(continues top ten list)
8. In high school I did a comic called Realmsend (some of which has been adapted into my current works), and a holiday themed graphic novel called Darkness in December.

7. In college I created Quicken Forbidden with my roommate John Green, which was our first "professionally" printed and distributed comic. It stars a teenage sorceress named Jax Epoch, and we've published 12 issues so far. John and I also started doing a mini-comic series called Teen Boat. It's the first and only book that captures the "ANGST of Being a Teen...and the THRILL of being a boat!"

Rasmussen : About Teen Boat ... "captures the "ANGST of Being a Teen...and the THRILL of being a boat!"" -- uh, please elaborate -- I just don't get it.
Mr. Roman : It's the type of thing you have to see to believe:
http://www.realmsend.com/comics/teenboat.htm

(continues top ten list)
6. The summer before my last year of college, I started freelancing at DC Comics and was paid to write letters columns for the Scooby Doo and Cartoon Network Presents books.

Rasmussen : Can you tell us a bit more about the work doing the letter columns for DC Comics? Did they make you become "one" with Scooby to write the responses (In a metaphysical sense of course)? And what else did you do response wise?
Mr. Roman : Sort of. I had to write most of the responses as if Scooby were a real dog. Most of the letters were like "Can Scooby come over to my house for my birthday?" So I'd respond with things like, "He'd love to but he and the gang are in the middle of solving a big mystery."

Rasmussen : Were there any letters that you responded to while working for DC that you'll never forget? Something cute, or bizarre, or strange, or funny that just sticks in your mind?
Mr. Roman : One kid from another country wrote Scooby asking for a Gameboy. A few parents wrote to us about their kids who were very sick, and that was always really sad. It was amazing how many letters said the exact same things: "I love it when Scooby & Shaggy eat"..." I love it when Scooby and Shaggy get scared." Sometimes both!

5. Then I wrote a few issues of Dexter's Lab, one of which was adapted into the cartoon short that debuted with the PowerPuff Girls movie.

Rasmussen : Uh-huh. So you were the one who wrote the Dexter short for Powerpuff Girls the Movie?
Mr. Roman : Well, I wrote the comic that they sort of used as a springboard. They were both called "Chicken Scratch," and start out the same, but the cartoon has a very different ending. That's often the case with adaptations.

Rasmussen : OK then, looking at how it performed in theaters that year -- ? Did it meet your expectations as a theatrical release (Powerpuff Girls the Movie) or did it fall short in terms of how the p ublic reacted to it?
Mr. Roman : I didn't get the sense that they promoted the movie too well. All the ads I saw made it seem like it was going to air on TV. I went to see it the day it came out though, mainly to see the Dexter short. I ended up enjoying the film, too, for the most part.

Rasmussen : Is any of your other work being adapted for a short to perhaps go with -- say -- the rumored Ed, Edd & Eddy theatrical movie that CN is supposidly working on?
Mr. Roman : I doubt it!

4. I currently work for Nickelodeon Magazine, where I edit comics based on shows like SpongeBob Squarepants and Fairly Odd Parents. I also wrote a few stories for the Rugrats Comics Adventures Magazine.

Rasmussen : Recently TOKYOPOP has acquired the rights to make CineManga of Spongebob Squarepants -- good idea or overexposure (is there such a thing as too much of a good thing)?
Mr. Roman : The stories they do are strict adaptations of episodes, so they aren't really anything like the Spongebob comics we make for Nickelodeon Magazine. Our comics are 100% new material, often drawn by people who work on the show. We've just started working with TOKYOPOP, but they seem really cool and I've always been a fan of what they produce.

Rasmussen : And if TOKYOPOP had an opening as Editor for their Spongebob CineManga would you be interested in the position?
Mr. Roman : I wouldn't rule it out. They are a great company. But I'm pretty happy editing the comics for Nickelodeon Magazine, and hope to continue being a part of that. I'm really proud of the work we produce there, and I get to collaborate with lots of really talented artists. I personally prefer comics that are hand drawn and made specifically for print over comics created from digital screen grabs. I don't find those to truly take advantage of the sequential art medium. I'd rather just watch the original cartoons than read cut and pasted adaptations.

3. I wrote and drew a mini-comic called Go Tortoise Boy Go!, which was sort of a children's book parody.

2. I did a story for 911: Emergency Relief (from Alternative Comics), about my commute into New York City the day of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Rasmussen : About your involvement in the 911: Emergency Relief book, how did you become involved in the project?
Mr. Roman : I was on the mailing list of the book's publisher, Jeff Mason, so I knew he was accepting submissions. When I found out how few of the featured artists were actually from NYC, I decided to contribute something. Many of the stories ended up being about watching the events on TV, and I felt there should be more reactionary pieces from people who where trapped in the city that day.

1. I edited an anthology for Friends of Lulu called Broad Appeal, which collects the works of prominent female cartoonists. The book hit stores about a month ago and had a big release party at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in June.

Rasmussen : What Animes do you watch these days, which are your favorites, and are you watching anything now, which inspires your work?
Mr. Roman : The last thing I saw were some subtitled episodes of Cardcaptor Sakura on DVD. I've been meaning to watch my DVD copy of Metropolis for ages, but I finally saw my first episode of Trigun. There's a ton of stuff that was playing at Big Apple Anime Fest in August that I would have loved to check out, but I was too busy in the artist alley selling my stuff!

Rasmuseen : Tell us a bit more about Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden (of which you are credited as the Writer)?
Mr. Roman : Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden is a science fiction twist on fantasy in the real world. One of the basic pitch lines we have is, it's like Alice in Wonderland meets Akira. The comic stars a teenage girl named Jax Epoch, who chases a white lab rabbit into a magic portal that takes her to an alternate dimension. Jax is a bit of a kleptomaniac, so she ends up swiping some stuff (like an old book and magic armor) and brings it back to her world. This sort of causes a ripple effect called the "Quicken Forbidden" which destroys the boundary lines between reality and fantasy. So dragons fly over Manhattan, giant worms dig through the planet, armored knights stampede through traffic, marshmallows talk, and Jax is responsible for it all.
Although John draws the comic in a mostly American comics style, a lot of what we do is influenced by manga/anime. When we were starting out, a lot of people though it was weird to do an action series that focused on an average-looking teenage girl that wore glasses. But if you look at what was going on in Japan at the time, many books and shows like Appleseed and Silent Mobius had girl heroes-and often the ones who wore glasses were still considered cute and powerful. The giant metal boots Jax wears are straight out of anime culture, obviously, and the plot lines involving magic versus science, and military robots as sidekicks, evoke a lot of what I saw growing up.

Rasmussen : Jax Epoch (on the reverse side of the Ron Weasley fanzine) is a sneak peek, right? Is there an ongoing series to this (either in publication or on the web) and what can you tell us about that series?
Mr. Roman : Yep, it's a full-fledged series. The first five issues were recently reprinted as a trade paperback from a publisher called AIT/PlanetLar (http://www.ait-planetlar.com/jax.shtml). The remaining issues (12 completed so far) were self-published by John and I under the banner Cryptic Press. The twist is that the individual issues are titled Quicken Forbidden, and the trade paperbacks are titled Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden. The reason for the name change is because a lot of people felt that since the focus of the book is on the character Jax, her name should be in the title. And hopefully that makes it clearer for the book market. We have a website dedicated to the series: www.quickenforbidden.com

Rasmussen : What is John Green's involvement in Jax Epoch?
Mr. Roman : John is the artist and co-creator. We created it as a class assignment at the School of Visual Arts (where we were both students), and also because we really wanted to do something that combined our strengths. John draws so differently than I do, and it's neat to see how he interprets my scripts. My drawing style is usually simple and iconic, so when I write for myself I try work within a box where I feel comfortable. But it can be kind of limiting. John, on the other hand, is an extremely versatile artist who has a natural ability to draw from life as well as from his imagination, so working with him is often really exciting: I can write an elaborate sequence that involves men on horses stampeding over moving cars, subway cars crashing into sewer systems, or entire worlds collapsing, and I know that he can pull it off. It's a lot of fun anticipating what the final comics will look like and compare them to my initial thoughts and doodles, which are really rough and sketchy.

Rasmussen : I liked the Harry Potter fanzine doujinshi (Ron Weasley and the Bloody Brilliant Day!) which can be found on the reverse side of the Jax Epoch sneak peek minicomic, but how did that fanzine come about? I take it you're a Harry Potter fan? How did you come up with this one?
Mr. Roman : John Green and I are definitely big Harry Potter fans (we were even Ron and Harry last Halloween). I'm so impressed by the world that J.K. Rowling has created-and the fact that it's so fleshed out with so many side characters, places, products, back story, etc. The characters are just so enjoyable to spend time with. I realized recently that I have a "thing" for Sidekicks. I became a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan because I love Xander and Willow. It's the same with Ron and Hermione. I imagined at some point, those two would become so popular, they could do spin-off books about them. I thought it would be funny to do something like the old Superman's Pal: Jimmy Olsen comics with Ron. At first it was just a single image (the cover), and then I couldn't help but do more. Knowing that John was turning into a huge fan as well,I insisted he do a story too. Originally it was just intended t o be something to give away at Harry Potter related events. It wasn't until we attended Shoujo Con last year, and discovered all the Harry Potter Doujinshi (fan manga) produced in Japan, that we realized there was a market for these sorts of stories. Anime conventions seem to bring out a lot of Harry Potter cosplayers too!

Rasmussen : Ok, quick question. What's scarier? Harry Potter cos-players or Final Fantasy cos-players (and why)? (And have you ever done any of the stuff cos-players do)?
Mr. Roman : Well, none are that scary. I'm a bigger HP fan, so I have a soft spot for people who openly celebrate it. Still, I have to give the Final Fantasy people credit because those costumes are way more complicated Sailor Moon cos-players are the scariest. Especially the ones who aren't built to wear mini skirts!

Rasmussen : Just to nitpick -- in the fanzine Ron has both Pigwidgeon and Scabbers (but not in the same skits since Scabbers stops being Scabbers after "Prisoner of Azkaban"), but which of the two is your favorite? Rats (Scabbers) or owls (Pig) (and why?)
Mr. Roman : Yeah, the strips in the fanzine definitely jump around in time and place. Those strips were actually drawn the day before I printed the book because I realized I had a page to fill. I definitely think that owls are much cooler, but rats are easier to draw! Plus "Pigwidgeon" is just so much fun to say.

Rasmussen : Astronaut Elementary. How did you come up with the idea for that, and are any of the characters in this series based on any particular person you know?
Mr. Roman : It was originally created because I was asked by Tintin Pantoja, the editor of School of Visual Arts' ShoujoManga Anthology to submit something. I had done these sketches of this little girl and her dinosaur car, and decided to flesh them out into something for the anthology. I! wanted to do a cute crush-type story, and fill it with a lot of parod y elements from Manga and Anime. By the time I was done, I'd had so much fun that I just kept drawing new strips until I had enough to fill an 8-page book. And I haven't stopped. I'm constantly surprised at how many ideas I get for these little kids in outer space that talk in run on sentences. So far no characters are based on real people, but many are inspired by Voltron, Silverhawks and G-Force. I'm really motivated by jealously of cute Japanese icons like Sanrio's Hello Kitty stuff, and Rodney Greenblatt's Parappa the Rapper videogames. And a lot of the way the characters talk is based on the descriptions found on Japanese and Korean products sold in Manhattan: "You will be loving its taste"

Rasmussen : The School of Visual Arts' ShoujoManga Anthology -- can John/Jane Q Public purchase any back copies or is it something you can only get a hold of if you're a student going there? (Also what can you tell us about this anthology?)
Mr. Roman : It's funded by the school, and they've put out two issues so far.

Note...
To get more information on The School of Visual Arts' ShoujoManga Anthology I e-mailed the man in charge, one Tintin Pantoja, and this is the information I got.
Tintin Pantoja (School of Visual Arts') - "They're not for sale- each copy was distributed for free, and sold at comic shops in NYC and at MoCCA only to prevent people from picking them up and discarding them indiscriminately. All proceeds were used to contribute to the publishing and transportation expenses of the anthology itself."
"We are working on an archival system of comics published by SVA students under our new name, 'The Cartoonists Alliance'. Most of Shojomanga comics will be there."

Rasmussen : Is there any works you've done to date that, after some reflection and retrospect, you suddenly wished you did differently?
Mr. Roman : Every day!!!!
Mostly I just try to live with it, and find ways to make it seem l ike my mistakes were on purpose.

Rasmussen : (why?)
Mr. Roman : Sometimes I get an idea for something new after already publishing a few issues, but I realize it can't be done because I've already established something specific about the character or whatever.

Rasmussen : Did you enter the "Rising Stars of Manga" contest (by TOKYOPOP)? If you did, what did you enter with? If not, why not (enter, that is)?
Mr. Roman : No, I totally missed it! Probably because I wasn't aware of it until after it was over! But I'd love to enter something like that in the future.

Rasmussen : Now that you know of TOKYOPOP's Rising Stars of Manga -- will you try to enter the present contest -- or the rumored upcoming 3rd Rising Stars of Manga contest (after the 2nd one is resolved)? (It's presently a running theme with TOKYOPOP it seems where this contest is concerned).
Mr. Roman : Yeah, I've just got to get my pitch together!

Rasmussen : What else can you tell us about Astronaut Elementary that hasn't been revealed in the release you sent me (and which intro'd the review of it just recently)? Do you have any long term goals with the title?
Mr. Roman : I want to see if I can tell a big soap opera type story about kids in love, robots, bunnies, and a school in chaos...but in one- to nine-page short stories. The goal is to make each story self-contained, so they can work well either as a single web comic or in an anthology...but if you read them all together, they tell the larger story. A lot of it will have to do with a cyborg that is sent to the elementary school to kill Hakata Soy, but keeps getting distracted by Yu Gi Oh playing card games. Hakata used to be the leader of a group of kids who drove vehicles that transformed into a giant robot, and he made enemies with a group of troublemakers called the Gotcha Birds. The Gotcha birds are sort of a cross between the characters from Battle of the Planets...and Big Bird's Birdkateers from Sesame Street.

Rasmussen : What kind of "school" would the characters of Astronaut Elementary fit into? In other words if they were to be transferred to any school in the wide galactica of schools in the Anime/Manga omniverse, where would they best fit in (and why?)
Mr. Roman : Probably Ninja High school or something like that. Hakata would definitely end up being in a Macross/Robotech program. Doug Hiro would probably live in a videogame or just float aimlessly through space.

Rasmussen : The first book (mini manga) contained five mini-sketch stories, while the #2 mini manga was one whole story (beginning to end). Of the two, which works better with the series? (The mini sketches of #1 or the one continuous storyline format from #2) and which will we see more of in upcoming issues?
Mr. Roman : I'd actually like to do mostly shorter stories, like two to three pages each, but the more I develop the characters the harder it is for me to keep things brief and gag-driven.

Rasmussen : Will you ever consider gathering up all your Astronaut Elementary work and publishing it in one easy to buy Graphic Novel in the future? Maybe a giant One Shot perhaps?
Mr. Roman : That would be really awesome. I'd love to do that a lot. I just gotta keep drawing them so I have enough to really make it feel "meaty". I try to cram as many jokes and funny drawings into each story as I can, because I want the book to feel like something that you can just read over and over.

Rasmussen : Speaking of ordering. Let's say some of our readers become interested in your titles, and they want to see more. Now then, how would they go about placing an order for your mini mangas like Astronaut Elementary?
Mr. Roman : Many comic shops carry them (especially the Jax Epoch/QF stuff). They can also order them directly from me, by writing to Cr yptic Press 101 Poet Street, North Babylon, NY 11703. I'm hoping to set up a Pay Pal store on my site www.realmsend.com really soon too. If people email me, I can send them a mini-catalog.

Rasmussen : Speaking of Mangas, what Mangas are you interested in, and why do these series pique your interest the most?
Mr. Roman : I enjoy a lot of what Studio CLAMP puts out, like Sakura and Angelic Layer. They create fun, easy-to-like characters, and have great fashion sense and attention to detail. Lately I'm especially interested in this new emergence of Goth-Manga. At this year's Shoujo Con in Rye NY, I picked up an awesome-looking import of a Studio CLAMP "goth" series that I think is called Holic, but I'm not sure since I can't actually read Japanese! Something seems really cool about that combination to me. So much Manga is hyper-kinetic and full of expression, and the goth world is sullen and stiff. I'm also really enjoying the Shadow Star series by Mohiro Kitoh (published here by Dark Horse) and am a sucker for the Digimon mangas that are starting to come out. Whenever I'm at a manga convention, I like to track down Harry Potter doujinshi-except when it's the racy adult kind!

Rasmussen : CLAMP "goth" series? You're referring to CLAMP's xxxholic right?
Mr. Roman : Yeah, that seems to be it! It's neat cuz the sides of the paper are dyed purple.

Rasmussen : CLAMP's xxxholic is coming April 2004 from Del Rey's new up-and-coming manga line whose also publishing CLAMPs Tsubasa-Reservoir Chronicles, Gundam SEED and a Ken Akamatsu title -- speaking of which, what are your thoughts on Del Rey, the sci-fi/fantasy book company, suddenly throwing their hat into the manga ring, and do you plan on purchasing any of their mangas when they release in 2004?
Mr. Roman : If they are good, I'll check 'em out for sure. I think it's great to see big-name publishers making more Manga avail able. It gives Manga even more mainstream credibility, and confirms that the marketplace can keep growing-beyond how much it already has. And in my opinion, the more the better...I'd love to live in a world were everyone reads some kind of comic/manga/graphic novel.

Rasmussen : Where does inspiration come for your work? Not just Astronaut Elementary but all your work? From any particular source or a wide range of sources (depending on the job at hand)?
Mr. Roman : Mostly from eating bowls of cereal late at night! That's when I do my best thinking. Something about the sound of "Snap Crackle Pop" really motivates me. I also enjoy the process of creating things, and especially love seeing the finished product. So I'm always working on tons of stuff at the same time because my mind is always racing, and I want to see that finished book. A lot of it is stuff just meant to entertain myself, so it's very cool when I put out abook like Go Tortoise Boy Go! and people really respond to it. One of the comics I co-created with John Green, Teen Boat, sort of just came out of talking about old dumb cartoons. We thought it would be really funny if there was a cartoon about a teenage boy with the power to transform into something silly, rather than something cool like a robot or a car. So a year later we decided to just go ahead and make it into a short comic-and we've been delighted to find that a lot of people get the joke!

Rasmussen : So far we have 2 issues of Astronaut Elementary, is a #3 in the works?
Mr. Roman : Definitely. I hope to have it ready in time for the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco this coming February. I've already drawn the first 4 pages!

Rasmussen : Is there any other upcoming works of yours that you can clue us in on? Anything you're working on now that we can look forward to?
Mr. Roman : I'm finishing up a graphic novel called Agnes Quill which is a my stery/horror anthology about a teenage detective-sort of like Nancy Drew in a H.P. Lovecraft world. I wrote all four stories that make up the book, and each one is illustrated by a different artist. It's very different from anything I've done so far.

Rasmussen : Any final words to our readers out there?
Mr. Roman : To quote Abe Lincoln: "Be Excellent to Each Other".

-- David Rasmussen 25th Nov 04