47. The Making of a Comic: Super Best Friend #1-3 with Jason Inman and Jordi Pérez
The series finale is here!
Howdy Brave Being,
Welcome back, dear readers, to The Making of a Comic! To kick off this month, I’m spotlighting the superhero adventure series SUPER BEST FRIEND #1-3 by Ringo award-nominated writer Jason Inman, artists George Kambadais and Jordi Pérez, colorist Alivon Ortiz, and Ringo award-winning letterer Taylor Esposito with edits by yours truly.
I’ve chatted with Jason before issue #2 launched on Kickstarter, and now he’s back with artist Pérez—a newcomer to the series—and they’re here with me to talk about the third and FINAL issue. But before we jump in I must say:
This series is near and dear to my heart. Jason asked me to edit it back in 2018, and it’s been an incredible 5-year journey helping him tell the story he wanted to tell. It’s also been humbling to see each Kickstarter fund in the first 24 hours—a testament to Jason and the team’s painstaking hard work, and all the super fans out there who have shown their love for this series (wipes thankful tears from cheek). Without further ado, let’s hop to it!
The Writer: Jason Inman
Brittany Matter: Catch us up on Mattie and Terrific's journey. What's ahead for these two?
Jason Inman: The first issue dealt with the accident in which Mattie revealed Captain Fantastic's secret identity. The second issue dealt with Mattie going deep into the world of superheroes and supervillains and causing him to get injured to try and repair that. The third issue deals with the consequences of those first two moves. Since they both left their normal lives for a few days, Citizen Tyranny was able to essentially take over Mattie's entire livelihood and Mattie's entire fandom. As a result, they have turned against our two heroes, and now we are left to figure out how to survive in a world where everything is against us?
BM: Is the villainous Citizen Tyranny still a thorn in their collective sides?
JI: Citizen Tyranny in this issue is so thorny that now he controls Mattie's super best friend channel. Tyranny is going to gain new powers as he absorbs all the power of Mattie's fans and Captain Terrific fans, and is going to become a new monstrous threat to them both.
BM: How has working on this series about friendship and fandom challenged you as a writer?
JI: The biggest challenge about writing Super Best Friend is not to be too preachy. That would be a challenge for most people when working on comic books. I had to just tune in and listen to Mattie and Captain Terrific. Everything in the story must be balanced through their friendship, not through the fandom or super-heroics. It's their friendship that matters at the end of the day, not the fandom or super relics.
BM: Tell us your top three favorite things about this story.
JI: The fact that Super Best Friend exists is number one of my top three favorite things about it because this was a dream I had in high school that I am finally getting to realize. The second thing I like most in the series is Mattie's smirk, especially the way Jordi draws it. Third, I have been thinking about the final page for about five years now, and I'm so glad everyone is finally going to see it.
BM: Do you see a future for the characters beyond this last issue?
JI: I'd love to do a hardcover collection for the series eventually, but I don't think Mattie and Captain Terrific have a future after the series. Their story really concludes in this mini-series.
Having designed every other supporting character for a miniseries of their own, I'm still not certain if I'll ever return to this world. However, the idea for spinoffs is definitely present, especially with Machine Marine.
The Artist: Jordi Pérez
BM: Jordi, you're coming on to this series in the final issue! Welcome to the fold. What got you most excited about this story?
Jordi Pérez: The relationship between the two friends, it might seem that the force is provided by Terrific and the brain by Mattie, but this is only a priori, but I will not spoilers, hehe.
BM: What kinds of things inspired your art in this issue?
JP: The pulp comics of the golden age, not only superheroes, classics like Milton Caniff, too, also the manga from the 80/90s, like Shirow or Otomo, I always keep them in mind.
BM: How has working on this series challenged you as an artist?
JP: It has been a great challenge to make a superhero comic, since I had not had the opportunity at a professional level, only sample pages, but afterwards I have enjoyed it a lot.
BM: Who's your favorite character in this series and why?
JP: Mattie, I really like his personality, he's adorable.
BM: What's been your favorite part so far about working on SUPER BEST FRIEND?
JP: The ultimate fight, without a doubt.
Team Super Best Friend
BM: Jason, how did you find Jordi, and what did your collaboration consist of?
JI: I found Jordi on Twitter, which is how I find most of my artists. When George Kambadais became unavailable to draw this issue, I took to Twitter seeking a new artist and Jordi answered the call.
Jordi is always willing to try something new, and he's always thinking about a different way to present each panel in a way that I think most artists wouldn't, and I appreciate his playfulness in the series.
BM: What were your goals for this last issue and how did you accomplish them with Jordi?
JI: This series was intended to put a smile on somebody's face, and I don't see how Jordi's beautiful art couldn't accomplish that, so if we accomplished that, I think we did a good job. Simple goal, I know. But that's it.
BM: Tell us about working with colorist Alivon Ortiz, who's also a newcomer to this series.
JI: She was the colorist for Ashley Victoria Robinson's Aurora and the Eagle series and she did some beautiful work there. That's why I'm so glad to have her on issue three, she has such an interesting way of looking at lighting that I would never have considered. Every panel by her has these nice little touches that really really make them pop. I think issue three's coloring is just perfect.
BM: What unique things will Ringo award-winning letterer Taylor Esposito bring to this final issue?
I have always been able to rely on Taylor Esposito, who has played Leonardo da Vinci (The master) in every single comic book I have ever done.
And what I mean by that is that I know I can always count on Taylor to make the story, the word balloons, and the letters clear, concise, and easy to read. He's the master of this Super Best Friend crew, and we're all just trying to learn from him!
BM: Cheetos: Puffs or crunchy?
JI: Crunchy!!! They're the best.
BM: I love crunchy Cheetos too! (This isn’t an ad for Cheetos, I swear).
Now that you know where we stand on that hot debate, be sure to check out SUPER BEST FRIEND #1-3 on Kickstarter before it ends! You can get the first two issues as well in case you missed them, and the campaign is completely funded, which means it’s going to print! So be sure to snag your copy without delay! ⬇️