Though Roger Langridge has been working in comics for years, he’s probably best known now for two comics he didn’t finish. Or rather, he did, they just haven’t been finished by the Publisher. The first is Muppets, the second is Thor the Mighty Avenger. Recently at HeroesCon we chatted with Langridge about those two titles, as well as his upcoming Lewis Carroll epic, Snarked:
MTV Geek: Let’s kick things off talking about Thor The Mighty Avenger, which I’m sure you get questions about… ALL the time.
Roger Langridge: [Laughs] Well, certainly this show.
Geek: Why this show in particular?
RL: Well, it’s a hero oriented show, really. And it’s very comics-centric. With the small press shows, that tends to be very off their radar more, they’re more concerned about my old stuff. “The funny ones,” as they like to call it.
Geek: Not to start off on a negative bent, because I love the series, but… It didn’t sell very well.
RL: This is true!
Geek: But, at the same time, it’s had a bit of a snowball effect, gaining fans after the series was cancelled.
RL: It’s the kind of book that was never going to do well in the Direct Market. It was going to sell well – ever – it was going to be when it was collected in some form, and available in bookstores. It wasn’t really for the Direct Market, really… That was my brief, not to write it for them, but for a general audience. And then they wouldn’t sell it to the general audience, so… [Laughs]
Geek: Why is it that a title like this doesn’t work in the Direct Market?
RL: I think if it doesn’t quote unquote “matter…” You know, there’s a zillion titles you have to buy to keep up with the Marvel Universe, and if my title – however good it might have been – isn’t part of the Marvel Universe, and you have a limited budget, and you want to keep up with this ongoing soap opera, the one that “doesn’t count,” is going to be in trouble there. Read More...
