ITW Article: Vaistron
In the latter half of 2005, SLG published a monthly magazine called ITW, featuring articles about upcoming comics, interviews with comics creators and a "How We Make Comics" feature. The magazine was distributed in comic book stores, but since I don't think most of SLG's readers ever saw an issue, I will be posting the articles here on Better Comics through Superior Firepower, the SLG News Journal.
-Jennifer de Guzman, e-i-c
First up, from ITW #1:
Vaistron: Guns, Cars, Money, and Robot Porno
Vaistron, home to flying cars and senseless killing.
If it’s true that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, then that’s why Gabriella Bukowsky is the toughest girl in town; she’s already been murdered once.
Gabby is the most hardened Road Killer there is; a seasoned hijacker and mercenary-for-hire that answers to no one but herself. But being a resurrected sky-pirate isn’t always the limitless alcohol, booty, and senseless killing that it should be. Gabby’s easygoing, felony laden daily life is starting to go from bad to worse. Her car is totaled, her credit is maxed out, her hostage is missing, and if she can’t get her business back up and running soon, she might find herself in a place worse than prison...like retail!
Welcome to Vaistron, the new comic book series by Boussourir and Andrew Dabb, a darkly humorous science fiction Fete de Boom with more robots, prostitutes, inept policemen, superfluous exhaust pipes, and headless monks named Stumpy than you can shake a stick at.
But who better to ask for insight into this shiny, metallic debauchery than the mighty brain responsible? Artist Boussourir tells us Vaistron is about “the little things that make life so enjoyable: Guns, Cars, Money and Robot Porno. More specifically, it is about a kidnapping gone horribly wrong in a chaotic, futuristic megapolis called Vaistron.”
Gabby Bukowski, the last of the courteous bounty hunters. Co-writer Andrew Dabb elaborates: “Gabby, our somewhat unstable main character, and her sin obsessed, robotic ‘gal friday,’ Rekoton, are our main characters. They thought kidnapping the girlfriend of the richest man in Vaistron and holding her for ransom would be a gold mine, but it hasn’t really turned out that way. Now pretty much the entire city is after them, and the destruction and carnage that’s going to follow is, well, it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Boussourir’s gritty, over-the-top storytelling, coupled with his highly stylized visuals, bold line work, and a healthy dose of irreverent humor bring to mind classics of the genre like Frank Miller and Geoff Darrow’s Hard Boiled. “We’re really trying to capture the energy of the ‘80s 2000AD stories: Marshal Law, classic Judge Dredd, things like that,” says Dabb. “Stories that were fun and mean all at the same time, and didn’t need a moral at the end. Vaistron is really just an excuse to do some entertaining, crazy things we couldn’t get away with anywhere else.”
The overall sense of design in Vaistron is very impressive; readers will immediately be struck by the cohesiveness of the world and the amount of detail that goes into creating the setting for each page. “Visually, there is a strong 1930-45 influence,” says Boussourir. “Just as an example, Gab’s car is built like a Messerschmitt, with machine gun bulges and 30mm automatic cannon going through the spinner, and a reflex visor on the HUD to decide where to vomit lead.” That’s right, folks. Not only do you get solid design and a good sense of humor from Vaistron, you also get lead vomit.
Vaistron is like Sin City sans the noir, ten times the sin, and more jokes and explosions. Sometimes simultaneously. It’s a tale of dystopian city life set against a backdrop of corrupt policemen, mutant cannibals, porn-obsessed robots, and cultists who believe in better living through decapitation. A definite crowd pleaser to anyone who has ever wished their car had machine guns in the headlights, you know, just in case. And you know who you are.
So stop making those silly ‘kaboom’ sounds with your mouth when people cut you off and go read some Vaistron instead. It’s much more constructive, and it will save you some saliva.
Vaistron is a 32-page comic book series scheduled for release in September 2005.
All excerpts from Vaistron are ™ and © Andrew Dabb and Boussourir.
-Jennifer de Guzman, e-i-c
First up, from ITW #1:
Vaistron: Guns, Cars, Money, and Robot Porno
Vaistron, home to flying cars and senseless killing.
If it’s true that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, then that’s why Gabriella Bukowsky is the toughest girl in town; she’s already been murdered once.
Gabby is the most hardened Road Killer there is; a seasoned hijacker and mercenary-for-hire that answers to no one but herself. But being a resurrected sky-pirate isn’t always the limitless alcohol, booty, and senseless killing that it should be. Gabby’s easygoing, felony laden daily life is starting to go from bad to worse. Her car is totaled, her credit is maxed out, her hostage is missing, and if she can’t get her business back up and running soon, she might find herself in a place worse than prison...like retail!
Welcome to Vaistron, the new comic book series by Boussourir and Andrew Dabb, a darkly humorous science fiction Fete de Boom with more robots, prostitutes, inept policemen, superfluous exhaust pipes, and headless monks named Stumpy than you can shake a stick at.
But who better to ask for insight into this shiny, metallic debauchery than the mighty brain responsible? Artist Boussourir tells us Vaistron is about “the little things that make life so enjoyable: Guns, Cars, Money and Robot Porno. More specifically, it is about a kidnapping gone horribly wrong in a chaotic, futuristic megapolis called Vaistron.”
Gabby Bukowski, the last of the courteous bounty hunters. Co-writer Andrew Dabb elaborates: “Gabby, our somewhat unstable main character, and her sin obsessed, robotic ‘gal friday,’ Rekoton, are our main characters. They thought kidnapping the girlfriend of the richest man in Vaistron and holding her for ransom would be a gold mine, but it hasn’t really turned out that way. Now pretty much the entire city is after them, and the destruction and carnage that’s going to follow is, well, it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Boussourir’s gritty, over-the-top storytelling, coupled with his highly stylized visuals, bold line work, and a healthy dose of irreverent humor bring to mind classics of the genre like Frank Miller and Geoff Darrow’s Hard Boiled. “We’re really trying to capture the energy of the ‘80s 2000AD stories: Marshal Law, classic Judge Dredd, things like that,” says Dabb. “Stories that were fun and mean all at the same time, and didn’t need a moral at the end. Vaistron is really just an excuse to do some entertaining, crazy things we couldn’t get away with anywhere else.”
The overall sense of design in Vaistron is very impressive; readers will immediately be struck by the cohesiveness of the world and the amount of detail that goes into creating the setting for each page. “Visually, there is a strong 1930-45 influence,” says Boussourir. “Just as an example, Gab’s car is built like a Messerschmitt, with machine gun bulges and 30mm automatic cannon going through the spinner, and a reflex visor on the HUD to decide where to vomit lead.” That’s right, folks. Not only do you get solid design and a good sense of humor from Vaistron, you also get lead vomit.
Vaistron is like Sin City sans the noir, ten times the sin, and more jokes and explosions. Sometimes simultaneously. It’s a tale of dystopian city life set against a backdrop of corrupt policemen, mutant cannibals, porn-obsessed robots, and cultists who believe in better living through decapitation. A definite crowd pleaser to anyone who has ever wished their car had machine guns in the headlights, you know, just in case. And you know who you are.
So stop making those silly ‘kaboom’ sounds with your mouth when people cut you off and go read some Vaistron instead. It’s much more constructive, and it will save you some saliva.
Vaistron is a 32-page comic book series scheduled for release in September 2005.
All excerpts from Vaistron are ™ and © Andrew Dabb and Boussourir.