Rob Guillory illustrates the award-winning / gastronomically-daunting / thought-provoking CHEW comicbook series, published by Image Comics, and currently in development for television!
Q: What was the wildest and most unexpected thing you ever witnessed at a comic convention?
A: I saw an old (and I mean, old) man in a Nixon mask on a Rascal scooter blazing down the sidewalk and shooting the deuce, followed by an old woman, who was clearly his disenchanted wife, also riding a Rascal scooter. This was San Diego Comic-Con, of course.
Q: Do you keep your Eisner Award on display?
A: Yeah, I keep my two Eisners hanging out with my Harveys in the front room of my studio. Nothing fancy, just on a little cabinet where I store supplies. I keep them on display for all the typical reasons: To remind myself that I’m Awesome lest I forget, and to remind others should they forget. (Kidding.)
Q: You’re standing in a gigantic room, with every single coin-op arcarde game known to man. The Hourly Planet hands you a roll of quarters, and says “Okay, Rob. Game it up, bro!” Which game eats all your quarters?
A: Mortal Kombat!
Q: Which Mortal Kombat character do you enjoy playing most?
A: Liu Kang. DUH!
Q: Tell us a funny John Layman story?
A: He has a coin purse that he uses at cons. And it has “Mrs. Affleck” embroidered in the side. THE END.
Q: Where do you suppose John Layman got that coin purse from?
A: On the set of “Gigli”, I believe. But Layman doesn’t like to talk about it much.
Q: Your home state in Louisiana. What are some of things that you like most about living there?
A: I like that it’s quiet and that I’m anonymous here. Coincidentally, these are sometimes the same things I hate about living here.
Q: You were published in Popgun. Tell our readers a little bit about that particular publication?
A: Popgun is a gigantic comic anthology that mixes just about every genre of comic into one huge, oversized book. It’s the ultimate comicbook mixtape. I did short comic in it with writer Mark Sable years ago. It was called “They Shoot Ponies, Don’t They?”, and it featured a midget cowboy.
Q: Tell us more about that midget cowboy?
A: Basically, it was the story of a midget cowboy that lived in a town where ponies were murdered, which is PURE EVIL. So he murdered the bastards and lived the rest of his days being hunted by a gang of midget desperadoes. The end. As best I can recall it.
Q: Is the creative process behind CHEW loose and improvisational, or is it tightly structured?
A: Both. John and I know what we’re doing, so we know when to get in each other’s way, and when to get out of it. It’s really the perfect collaboration. He inspires me, and I inspire him, I think. At the same time, this is a story with a predetermined ending that we’re making here, so we are working improvisationally within a pretty tightly structured story, if that makes sense.
Q: Name five of your favorite contemporary comicbook artists?
A: Jim Mahfood, Gabriel Ba, Dave Crosland, Skottie Young, Gabriel Rodriguez.
Q: Name five of your favorite comicbook titles presently in print?
A: Locke & Key, Walking Dead, Scalped, the new TMNT series, and Casanova.
Q: You can choose one older single issue, trade, or graphic novel to enjoy today. Which do you choose, and why?
A: Locke & Key Volume 4. Because that’s what I’m reading right now. And because I know it’s going to be amazing, as always.
Q: What is it about Locke & Key that you enjoy most?
A: Just the care that Hill and Rodriguez are putting into telling this story with integrity and total dedication to their vision of it. Locke & Key is no one’s story but theirs, and I totally respect that. It’s what we’re doing with CHEW.
Q: Do you listen to music while you draw? If so, what kind of music?
A: Sometimes music, and sometimes podcasts. I like some hardcore rap, like the new Eminem/Royce da 5’9 album, and some more subdued stuff like Mayer Hawthorne. Podcast-wise, I love the Adam Carolla Podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, Comedy Bang-Bang and You Look Nice Today.
Q: Are you a vegetarian?
A: No! I’m about to eat fried chicken when I’m done with this!
Q: What’s your favorite thing about Image Comics?
A: That they let us tell the story we want to tell. I’ve fought SO many editors over the years over creative direction, and it’s nice to just be left alone to create.
Q: Favorite superhero movie this year?
A: Er. I only saw Thor, and that was not it!
Q: Is manga a big influence on your work?
A: Yeah. I’m a big fan of Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama.
Q: You’re an old-timey pirate king. What’s the name of your ship?
A: The Questionable Scab!
Q: You’re in a pizza parlor. What toppings are you getting on that slice?
A: Pepperoni and sausage. I’m boring that way.
Editor’s Note: I can assure you, fearless readers, Rob Guillory is anything BUT boring. Don’t let him fool you. And if you’re new to the CHEW comicbook series, why not give it a try? We recommend beginning at the beginning, with Taster’s Choice (the first tradepaperback, collecting the first story arc), available wherever the finer comicbooks are sold!
