Charles Forsman @charlesforsman also drew me this sketch of Elliott Gould from my favorite movie, The Long Goodbye. HeroesCon rules!
BFFs and comic geniuses Charles Forsman (Revenger, TEOTFW) @charlesforsman and Michel Fiffe (Copra) @zegas pal it up at HeroesCon 2016!
Michel Fiffe @zegas is a Brooklyn-based cartoonist who’s made a name for himself over the past few years with his rigorously produced self-published comic Copra, as well as for his work for Marvel (All-New Ultimates, Secret Wars: Secret Love), Dynamite (Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers), Image (Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies) and Valiant (Bloodshot Reborn Annual 2016).
This week, he launches a new self-published title, Copra Versus, and I got the chance to chat with him about it…
CX: Greetings, Michel. Care to introduce yourself and your work to our readers?
MF: Michel Fiffe is my name and Copra is the comic book series that I write, draw, color, letter, publish & distribute. It’s a violent team book that’s about 26 issues in.
CX: Tell us a bit about your latest book, Copra Versus.
MF: It’s an all-villains limited series featuring the roster of enemies that the Copra team has built. Since the regular book is already pretty jam packed, I wanted more elbow room to spotlight some of these creeps one issue at a time.
CX: One creator we’ve talked about a lot, who we both love and who I know is a big influence/inspiration on Copra, is original Suicide Squad writer John Ostrander. What do you think it is about Ostrander’s writing that attracts you?
MF: Ostrander is technically brilliant and in complete control of the 22 page comic book structure. More importantly, he’s excellent about making you give a shit about the characters he’s writing. A difficult and rare task in comics.
CX: Favorite Ostrander comic?
MF: Suicide Squad #10, “Up Against the Wall”, the quintessential Squad story. Deadshot #1 is a close second, but just barely.
CX: Have you ever gotten to meet Ostrander?
MF: I haven’t! I’ve interviewed him before and e-mailed him a few times but never in person. I would love to.
CX: You’re part of a group of creators, along with Chuck Forsman (Revenger), Ben Marra (Terror Assaulter) and Rich Tommaso (Dark Corridor), whose work is both influenced by and feels, in some ways, like a response to, action movies and comics from the 1980’s. What is it about that particular moment in popular culture that is currently resonating so much?
MF: It all stems from a desire to build and maintain a visceral momentum in our work, I think. Marra was ahead of the game on that one and he’s certainly an influence on me, at least in terms of approaching genre in a personalized way. Whereas before, I was resisting my instincts in the name of some nebulous ideal. It’s something I still wrestle with, but that’s what makes Copra fun and challenging to work on.
CX: Follow up question, are you, Forsman, Marra and Tommaso in a gang? What is your gang called? Can I join your gang?
MF: To tell you the truth we’re not even friends. We despise one another. On a strictly professional level, we had a summit in Vegas years ago and field-tested tons of ideas. We came to the conclusion that, to further our careers, we should all talk about [filmmaker Abel Ferrara’s ultimate anti-catcalling/urban revenge movie) Ms. 45 as often as possible.
(edtior’s note- since Michel didn’t answer, everybody please contact these guys and tell them to let me join their gang).
CX: Finally, can you give us any hints of what Copra Versus has in store for us, and what you plan on doing next?
MF: On top of the regular Copra issues, which are still coming out, the Versus mini will feature Klaus and his gang of cyborg mercenaries, last seen in Copra #4… the Latin-American death squad known as Los Asesinos… the Vitas crew who ambushed Copra in the very first issue… and the four individuals (see Copra #s 11 & 12) who were sacrificed/transformed by a government cult trying to bring forth the Age of Ochizon. Don’t miss an issue!
Read Copra and Copra Versus on comiXology!
comiXology Unlimited Staff Selects
TEOTFW
Writer/Artist: Charles Sanford Forsman
How you discovered it: Handed the GN by a co-worker
Why you like it: It’s simultaneously a love story, a tragedy, and a thriller.
Favorite characters: There are only two, both of them.
Favorite moments: The climax in the section titled “Forced Feelings”
-Josh Doyle-Elmer, Email Marketing Specialist
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GET REVENGERED
Charles Forsman’s Revenger ( @charlesforsman ), the vigilante who makes the Punisher look like a little wussy baby, is on sale now! Pinups by Benjamin Marra @traditionalcomics, Michel Fiffe @zegas, Josh Bayer @joshbayer and Alex Schubert
Check out the first 3 pages of REVENGER IS TRAPPED!!!
Get yourself a paper copy at https://gum.co/Trapped
And digitally on comixology
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A comiXologist Recommends:
Mike Isenberg recommends
Revenger #2
Revenger #2 is out! Charles Forsman’s (charlesforsman) ultra-violent action tale has had me on the edge of my seat since issue #1 came out back in January.
My colleague Harris Smith wrote up a great review of issue #1 when it came out, but if you’re just hearing about Revenger for the first time, let me tell you that you’re in for a treat. The book follows a badass leather-clad androgynous black woman who “travels a broken United States helping the weak and exploited through the use of extreme violence.”
Revenger takes inspiration from the gritty and violent action films of the early 1980s. And Forsman’s love of the genre shines through. There’s some fascinating tension here, though, in that Forsman is clearly delighting in the fun of playing in this style and bringing this sort of story to life, yet “delightful” and “fun” aren’t the sort of adjectives you’re likely to find in the pages of the book itself. Revenger’s world is dark. Its characters are compromised and vicious. Its action is brutal and frightening. It can be hard to look at. But it’s also hard to put down.
Issue #2 features our heroine making her escape from captivity in the brothel she had been investigating in the previous issue. We’re also introduced to some of the villains who run the place, and are treated to some great characterization of some seriously slimy folks.
All-in-all, Revenger is a fantastic crime action story from a wonderfully creative and singular talent. You need to pick this up!
[Read Revenger #2 on comiXology]
Mike Isenberg is an Associate Production Coordinator at comiXology, co-writer of First Law Of Mad Science, and contributor to the New York Times bestselling FUBAR anthology series. He lives in Harlem with his cats, Tesla and Edison.
