Broken Frontier

Anyone who grew up in the 1980s will have their own personal list of iconic imagery from that decade. Whether it includes dandy highwayman Adam Ant, robots in disguise The Transformers or the bewildering  Rubik's Cube, there is one figure from that era who surely embodies Eighties nostalgia for one and all - the irrepressible Mohawk Muscleman, Mr. T!

Out now from Mohawk Media is the special Mr. T: Limited Advance Edition Graphic Novel with a regular edition to be released later in the year. Broken Frontier spoke to Mr. T writer Christopher Bunting to get the lowdown on the former A-Teamer's return to the world of comics...

BROKEN FRONTIER: This isn’t the first time Mr. T has made the leap to comic pages. Marvel published an A-Team miniseries in 1984, there was an ongoing Mr. T and the T-Force book from Now and a short-lived Mr. T comic from AP a couple of years back. Why is the time right now to bring the "Mohawk Muscleman" back to the graphic novel arena and how did the project come about?

CHRISTOPHER BUNTING: Let me begin in Mr. T mode, and set you straight!

It’s important that we distinguish between "comic book" and "graphic novel". These are two distinct, separate creatures in many ways, both creatively and commercially.

Publisher Mohawk Media has launched with the "Mr. T: Limited Advance Edition Graphic Novel". This is to precede the regular edition of the Mr. T graphic novel, due for release later in 2008.

Is this graphic novel just a bunch of comic stories stuck together? No. Did we originally conceive it as a comic? No.

It was the intention from the start of this project to do it as a graphic novel. This relatively new, exciting, and growing, graphic novel medium was ideal for Mr. T. A graphic novel offered the chance to do an epic story on a large canvas: which suits the larger than life character of Mr. T.

That said, we weren’t oblivious to the fact that the comic book is the forefather of the graphic novel, so as a sign of our respect, we even went so far as to make many of the graphic novel’s chapter pages homages of classic comic book covers.

Is the time right for Mr. T’s return because so many current celebrities haven’t earned their stripes, so to speak, getting noticed via reality shows, or their love lives and off-screen antics? Is Mr. T’s honesty a refreshing change from all the distasteful superficiality surrounding what makes celebrity today? Or is it because he stands for so much more? I think it’s a bit of all of the above, but more that we all need a hero, someone to believe in.

The Greeks had many in their mythology, whereas in contemporary culture, we find our heroes within entertainment such as graphic novels, films and TV. Mr. T is up there too, on latter day Mount Olympus, partly a product of the aforementioned entertainments, yet with the added advantage that he is real.

BF: What teasers can you give us for the storyline of the opening graphic novel? What is the set-up for Mr. T’s comic book adventures and what sort of threats will he face?

CB: One of my first major goals as writer was to find a suitable premise for Mr. T, one that was high concept yet both natural and exciting for the character. The thought occurred to me that it would be great to have Mr. T as a bodyguard, a role he once had in real life.

This opened up so many possibilities. It was also fresh, as to my knowledge, there’s not many, if any, heroes who have this occupation.

As for teasers, I always hate to give anything away, but what I can tell you is, when the story opens, we find Mr. T, in his role as bodyguard, being less than gently persuaded into taking on a job he’d already declined. It goes without saying that it’s not the best idea to try to strong arm Mr. T.

As the story progresses, Mr. T gets drawn further and further into a complex series of events, which, as they begin to unfold, show the real target may not be his clients, but himself.

The threats Mr. T has to deal with are like nothing Mr. T or the audience has had to see him deal with before, ranging from an armored egomaniac to someone who is rather familiar. But that’s all I’m saying!

BF: You’ve been slowly revealing details on the website but what can you tell us about the graphic novel’s supporting cast?

CB: One of my other major goals with the Mr. T graphic novel was to do something that had not been attempted before: give Mr. T some bona fide bad guys. Every hero is defined by the villain, but this was something that was sorely missing for Mr. T.

As these enemies form a large part of the supporting cast, and as the graphic novel opens up a whole new universe for the reader, I had to keep a careful balance in order not to overload things. Mr. T’s first ally, Indigo Jo, is brought on stage, while other supporting cast members are more gradually introduced.

And, as you’ve stated, we are also steadily releasing exclusive and detailed character bios on the Mohawk Media website. This has created a metatextual link between the Mr. T graphic novel and the website, and I think readers are really going to respond to that.

BF: Mr. T himself is credited as an executive producer on the book. How far was he involved in the project and what was it like dealing with the great man himself?

CB: Mr. T was very involved. He even wrote us a personal foreword and took the time to answer all our fanboy questions. My favorite has to be: Who would win in a fight between Clubber Lang and B.A. Baracus?

What was his answer? You’ll have to pick up the graphic novel to find out!

It’s a true privilege to be able to work on a project starring Mr. T as, like he was for so many other people, he was a major influence during my childhood years, and he remains as a positive iconic force up until this day.

BF: What is it about Mr. T, do you think, that makes him such an enduring iconic figure?

CB: As with any icon, I’m not sure it’s only one trait that makes them what they are: I think it’s a number of traits coming together. And when they’ve come together, successfully gelling into something special and unique.

Mr. T is also a positive role model, and relating back to what I said earlier, there’s always a primeval thirst within us to know that there are heroes in real-life, people who will choose right over wrong, and I think Mr. T fits nicely into that opening.

This only helps build on his everlasting appeal.

BF: What has artist J.L. Czerniawski brought to the feel of the comic?

CB: Illustrator J.L. Czerniawski has a beautiful flowing, clean and vibrant style of art. His art has excitement and dynamism, yet also incredible warmth and depth – very much like the character of Mr. T.

This was the main reason we decided to use only minimal ink work, in order that we could retain the very integrity of J.L.’s pencil art. This also gives the Mr. T graphic novel a very distinctive visual identity, something fresh and exciting, and different to anything else out there – again, like Mr. T!

I’ve worked with a fair few artists in my young writing career, but J.L. is one of my favourites, in every respect. His work on the Mr. T graphic novel is a feast for the eyes.

BF: You recently announced a potential Mr. T Versus… series. How close is that to being a reality and when can we hope to see the first edition pitting T against Dracula?

CB: That’s right, a while after Mohawk Media announced the Mr. T graphic novel, they followed up with another announcement, on April Fool’s Day 2008, of a comic book series called "Mr. T Versus".

While part of the series was a joke in the April Fool’s Day tradition, and a nod that Mr. T would be the patron of any fool’s day, part was not. There is actually every intention of making Mr. T Versus Dracula.

As for time scales, Mr. T Versus Dracula will be a good while yet until it sees light of day, and will no doubt come some time after the release of the regular edition of the Mr. T graphic novel in autumn/fall 2008. I’m not sure, but I’m guessing Mr. T Versus Dracula will have a 2009 launch.

As and when Mr. T Versus Dracula work becomes available, we will provide Broken Frontier with some exclusives.

BF: What is your target audience? I would assume your looking to a younger demographic but, of course, the retro market in books has become a huge pull of late amongst thirty to fortysomethings for whom 80s nostalgia is a big thing…

CB: Absolutely, you hit the nail on the head there.

There are also other major demographics for the Mr. T graphic novel: for example, you’d be surprised how big a female following Mr. T has. After all, Mr. T WAS television in the 1980s, which meant many girls grew up watching him, or watched him at the same time as their brothers did.

Perhaps this was why a strong female character like Indigo Jo has been so successful in the story. Our other demographics range from film fans to students, wrestling enthusiasts to cult TV devotees: the universal appeal that Mr. T has is remarkable.

And while I wanted the story to serve hardcore Mr. T fans, I didn’t want it to be for that contingent alone. I wanted a story that can be equally enjoyed by the mainstream audience. I’m confident enough to say that we succeeded, as the Mr. T graphic novel really has it all.

This also relates back to your earlier question about why the time is right for Mr. T. It’s the golden era, excuse the pun, for the nostalgia boom. We’ve had Rocky, Rambo, Indiana Jones, and now Mr. T.

The scale and warmth of the reception that we’ve received has surprised even us!

BF: You also appear to be looking to a wider European audience with a possible Mr. T Versus Dinosaur Man title… What’s the scoop on this rather intriguing potential "team-up"?

CB: As with Mr. T Versus Dracula, Mr. T Versus Dinosaur-Man looks to become a reality. I can’t say too much about this yet, but it’s my hope that these crossover stories will interlink.

I see Dinosaur-Man as having lots of similarities to Mr. T: he’s tough, no-nonsense and straight talking. And, like Mr. T, he uses his job to help others. What I can’t see is the two of them getting along whatsoever. When these two big characters come face to face, I think I’ll have to work hard to add any sort of theme to the story, as there may not be room among the ensuing chaos.

BF: When can we expect to see the graphic novel on the shelves?

CB: The "Mr. T: Limited Advance Edition Graphic Novel", limited to 4,000 copies, is available now from the Mohawk Media website.

It has just gone onto Amazon (USA, UK, Japan, etc) and hopefully the listings will be functional by the time this interview goes live. You can also order it in bookstores worldwide by quoting its ISBN: 978-0955680403.

The regular edition of the Mr. T graphic novel will launch Autumn/Fall 2008.

BF: What are some of the tricks you’ve got up your sleeve that should make readers want to give the book a try? What else that we haven’t covered here should people know about?

CB: The Mr. T graphic novel has lots of good old-fashioned fun, something sadly missing in so much entertainment nowadays.

At the same time, it tackles some highly controversial issues too, such as sex offenders and kidnap. My thinking was why have a real-life star only to shy away from important topical, real-life issues? Expects lots of twists and turns too, as I really aimed for a mystery action thriller.

I also think the graphic novel unleashes the greatest, and coolest, fictional incarnation of Mr. T ever seen. While he remains as the Mr. T we all know and love, we do see him undergo a pretty nifty … redesign.

For more on the Mr. T graphic novel and Mohawk Media's future publishing plans be sure to check out their website here.