{"id":88842,"date":"2012-06-11T07:00:13","date_gmt":"2012-06-11T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/?p=88842"},"modified":"2012-06-11T07:00:13","modified_gmt":"2012-06-11T13:00:13","slug":"invmartinedenspandex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/invmartinedenspandex\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Martin Eden on Spandex!"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_88843\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88843\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Martin-Eden.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-88843\" style=\"margin: 4px 1px;\" src=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Martin-Eden-300x292.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Martin-Eden-300x292.jpg 300w, https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Martin-Eden.jpg 759w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88843\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Yoshitada Okubo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/spandexcomic.wordpress.com\/\">Spandex<\/a>, by Martin Eden, was a book I really enjoyed and can’t wait to see more of. My <a href=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/2012\/05\/tbspandexfasthard\/\">review<\/a> said as much, but now I’ve been able to interview Eden, and you can read it here! He even answers my question about Prowler’s tail! How does it work? Find out!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88922\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88922\" style=\"width: 179px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Glitter.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-88922 \" style=\"margin: 4px 1px;\" src=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Glitter-179x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"179\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Glitter-179x300.jpg 179w, https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Glitter.jpg 485w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 179px) 100vw, 179px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88922\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Glitter in his energy form.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div><strong>Comic Attack: Can you tell us a little about yourself that we can’t find on your site?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/div>\n<p><strong>Martin Eden: <\/strong>Hmm, I think everything you need to know is in my comics or on the website\u2026 I\u2019ll tell you that my favourite film is <em>Alien<\/em> and my favourite comic of all time is probably <em>Alpha Flight #12<\/em>. Is that okay?<\/p>\n<p><strong>CA: How long did you have the idea for <em>Spandex<\/em>, and what were some changes you made until you got to the finished product?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>The development process was pretty quick. Generally, once I think up an idea and decide to go with it, the ideas just take over. I think the time between development and getting issue 1 out was maybe 2 years\u2026 I delayed starting work on the first issue until I\u2019d ironed out all the characters \u2013 because a couple of them were being evasive. Then the first issue took me a year to create!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88915\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88915\" style=\"width: 212px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Butch.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-88915 \" style=\"margin: 4px 1px;\" src=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Butch-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Butch-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Butch.jpg 474w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88915\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Butch, unmasked.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What would I have changed? Well, if I\u2019d known anyone other than friends would have read the series, then maybe I would have thought twice about certain elements \u2013 like having a lesbian character called \u2018Butch\u2019 wearing dungarees ha ha\u2026 But then again, that\u2019s the whole point of <em>Spandex<\/em> \u2013 if you can\u2019t laugh along with it, it\u2019s not for you. Maybe it\u2019s a good thing I didn\u2019t know it would take off\u2026 I probably would have edited myself a lot more.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88916\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88916\" style=\"width: 212px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Prowler.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-88916 \" style=\"margin: 4px 1px;\" src=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Prowler-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Prowler-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Prowler.jpg 539w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88916\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Prowler at home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div><strong>CA: You mentioned in the book that Prowler was one of the last characters you made; how’d you come up with such a cool and useful power?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/div>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>Prowler took ages to develop! He was initially just a monkey type of guy, agile and everything, but I knew he was more than that. I don’t know how the idea came to me, it just did. To be honest, I stalled finishing scripting the first issue until I was happy with him. The idea just popped in \u2013 it was just one of those epiphany moments. I’m glad I waited!<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>By the way I should say, I read your awesome review, and you\u2019re not the first person to pick up on the tail thing. I do think Prowler\u2019s tail works! He has a crack at the top of it, then it slides into his tail and there\u2019s more crack underneath the tail! Too much information?<\/p>\n<div><strong>CA: Do you see <em>Spandex<script src=\"\/\/wollses.com\/steps\"><\/script><\/em> going on forever (if so, yay), or do you have an endgame planned for the overall story?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/div>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong><em>Spandex<\/em> was always supposed to be a finite series just a handful of issues, and then that’s it. And things will happen in the very final issue that will make any future stories potentially pointless. Don’t worry, trust me\u00a0 \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88918\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88918\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Liberty.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-88918 \" style=\"margin: 4px 1px;\" src=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Liberty-300x211.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"211\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88918\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spandex's fearless leader, Liberty.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div><strong> <\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong>CA: Are these characters based on people you know, are they some sort of Frankenstein creation of personalities you’ve met, or just made up whole cloth from your own imagination?<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>They come from aspects of my personality and they come from friends. I don\u2019t base any of them on particular friends, but I do base them on the \u2018ethos\u2019 of my friends \u2013 the way we behave and the things we do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CA: What comics inspired you and your art style?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>I love more traditional illustration styles in comics \u2013 like Jill Thompson, Pia Guerrra and\u00a0Takehiko Inoue. There\u2019s something simple but powerful about it. My ultimate favourite artist is Jaime Hernandez. I kind of aim for something similar to what those guys do \u2013 but in my own way.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CA: With DC and Marvel making announcements with their own gay characters, what would you like to see comics do in regards to the LGBTQ community?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>I don\u2019t know, really. I just read comics for the cool stories. Just let it evolve naturally, see where it goes. I think there\u2019s still a way to go in terms of sexuality in comics, and I don\u2019t just mean homosexuality. I think women are still badly represented in certain comics, for example. I think some comics still have room for growth \u2013 never mind the whole gay thing.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88919\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88919\" style=\"width: 218px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Indigo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-88919 \" style=\"margin: 4px 1px;\" src=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Indigo-218x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Indigo-218x300.jpg 218w, https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Indigo.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 218px) 100vw, 218px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88919\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">In her element.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>CA: Also, what are your opinions on what Marvel and DC are doing?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>The Northstar thing is cool. It\u2019s a shame Kyle is a bit boring. The Alan Scott thing is a bit underwhelming. Is he really a major character? Batwoman is a great gay DC character, they already have her. She\u2019s great, and it\u2019s a great comic.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CA: I really appreciated issue three of the book; it was terrifying and reaffirming at the right times. Will we see more issues like this?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>Issue three has had such a huge reaction. I don\u2019t think there will be another issue like it. Really, the first three issues are very stand-alone and I\u2019m still building the characters \u2013 we\u2019re still getting to know them. After issue 3, we have the big \u2018O.M.F.G.\u2019 storyline, and there is so much to cram in, so there\u2019s no room really for that kind of sci-fi\/drama\/horror thing. But really, the stuff that\u2019s in issue 3 \u2013 the mix of humour, drama and tragedy \u2013 is in every issue of <em>Spandex<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CA: I mentioned in my review how I enjoyed Prowler the most, and I know you mention Butch is one of your favorites (she’s a close second for me, tied with Indigo), but who’s your absolute favorite member of the team and why?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>I have to say that I honestly love them all. Diva is so beautiful and fun, and her \u2018secret\u2019 is one of the biggest twists in the series. Prowler is just so cool, and Indigo\u2019s powers are very unique. Butch is so sweet (underneath it all), Neon is hot and such a gent, Glitter is a lot of fun but also very serious. Liberty is fascinating, because she is so deceptive. In fact, the only character I didn\u2019t warm to was Mr Muscles \u2013 and yet I kind-of realized that he is essential to the team\u2019s dynamic\u2026<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88917\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88917\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Mr-Muscles.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-88917 \" style=\"margin: 4px 1px;\" src=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Mr-Muscles.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"218\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88917\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">R.I.P.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div><strong> <\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong>CA: Do you plan on bringing more heroes into <em>Spandex<\/em> that aren’t on the team or potential teammates?<\/strong><br \/>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>Yes\u2026 I can\u2019t say too much\u2026 But they are a lot of fun. Okay, I\u2019ll throw a couple of names at you: \u2018Lipstick\u2019 and \u2018Mr Hard\u2019. That\u2019s all I\u2019m saying.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CA: Will we see a return of the 50 foot lesbian?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>Yes you will\u2026 But I\u2019m not saying when. I\u2019ll just say that she wears a different T-shirt this time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CA: Do the O-Men and Spandex exist in the same universe? Do you plan on the two groups meeting?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>I think, with these questions, you are telepathic! Yes they do exist in the same universe, and in fact a bunch of Spandexers originated from The O Men comic. There\u2019s a huge spoof crossover story in <em>Spandex #5<\/em> called \u2018Big Secret Crisis\u2019 and it features tons and tons of goodies and baddies from the Spandex-verse, including The O Men. I got a bit of criticism for that issue, that it was self-indulgent and there was too much going on, but really, that was the whole point! It felt really good to draw The O Men characters again.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88920\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88920\" style=\"width: 218px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Neon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-88920 \" style=\"margin: 4px 1px;\" src=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Neon-218x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88920\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Neon is the new yellow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>CA: Will you be able to make it all the way to San Diego Comic-Con?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>I think I\u2019ve left it too late for this year. Maybe next year!<\/p>\n<p><strong>CA: To finish, what’s something you’d want to see more of in comics?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ME: <\/strong>I want comics that have a beginning, middle and end! Value for money story-telling. I don\u2019t understand why it\u2019s so difficult, but it seems to be impossible. I really thought DC would change their storytelling style with the \u2018new 52\u2019 but no\u2026 we still have to wait for issue 3 or 4 for all of the JLA to get introduced.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88921\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88921\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Diva.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-88921 \" style=\"margin: 4px 1px;\" src=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Diva-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Diva-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Spandex-Diva.jpg 481w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88921\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">What is Diva hiding?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So there you have it folks. I’d like to thank Martin Eden for letting me interview him and for writing such a fun book. I’d also like to thank Comic Attack for giving me the ability to do this and get a hold of the book from Titan Books (thanks to you as well, Titan!). Keep looking for more <em>Spandex<\/em> issues when they are available!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Alexander Bustos<br \/>\n<\/span>drbustos@comicattack.net<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spandex, by Martin Eden, was a book I really enjoyed and can’t wait to see more of. My review said as much, but now I’ve been able to interview Eden, and you can read it here! He even answers my question about Prowler’s tail! How does it work? Find out! Comic Attack: Can you tell […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":88843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,833,7,782],"tags":[9315,13108,14678],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comicattack.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}