Birds Of A Feather Steal Together

by Vince Brusio

No one likes a thief. And the problem with catching thieves is that they don’t wear uniforms. It’s not like a thief is a member of an opposing continental army. The culprit can look like the person right next to you ordering takeout. A thief blends in with the general population. But you get a leg up catching a thief when the guilty party is an Egret. Especially a large Egret. Yes. We’re serious. And imagine how much easier it would be to catch the Egret since it eats what it steals? Right? Yeah. If only it were that easy. Do we have your attention now? An unconventional story about unconventional thieves is what you’ll be reading when you pick up Eleanor & The Egret #1 (FEB171092) from John Layman and Sam Kieth. Mind your manners, be polite, and read how this new series from Aftershock Comics blends crime with composure and calamity.

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Vince Brusio: Let’s set the table with the right silverware. Tell us the premise for Eleanor & The Egret #1 (FEB171092).

John Layman: Eleanor & The Egret is a story of a girl and her giant talking pet bird, and both of them happen to be art thieves. Making this even more peculiar is the fact that the Egret, Ellis, grows larger each time he eats a stolen painting. The more they steal, the larger Ellis grows. But also, the more they steal, the more people are determined to stop them— and Eleanor’s enemies list grows progressively longer and more dangerous.

Vince Brusio: If we were to make trading cards of the main characters in this tale, we, of course, expect to see their shining/glum faces on the front of the cards. But what stats would we read on the backs of those cards? What would we learn about their strengths? Their weaknesses? Their guilty pleasures?

John Layman: I don’t know. Without trying to appear uncooperative, this is not something I consider, or want to consider. Or, if I do “stats," it’s subconscious, and something I’d prefer not to lay out for the reader. Reading and writing is an act of both creation and discovery, and laying things out like stats, strength and personality too narrowly defines and sets borders for a character, especially early on. 

Vince Brusio: How does John Layman get together with Sam Kieth and make this book happen? What were the circumstances involving you two brainstorming for this book? How did it come together?

John Layman: Sam and I have been longtime friends, and after a few pitches with Marvel and DC went south, we decided we’d have more luck, and likely more fun, doing something of our own creation, and for ourselves. Once we were free to do that, it just snowballed out of conversations, about what Sam would like to draw, and about the sort of story, and tone, that would be both fun and… something different for the two of us.

Vince Brusio: What were some of the challenges in making this book? Or was it free of headaches entirely? Did you finally catch that creative stairway to heaven?

John Layman: Sam and I are both guys with a lot of irons in the fires, and neither of us are speedy youngsters. The biggest adversary is the schedule, but at least for me, once I am free to sit down to work on the book, to produce and create, the end result has been very satisfying.

Vince Brusio: If you were to isolate a key scene in Eleanor & The Egret that would make for a good movie trailer, what would we see?

John Layman: There is an opening scene in #1 where Eleanor and Ellis break into an art gallery. Ellis uses his beak as a key to get through doors, and to cut through windows, and then flying Eleanor deftly through a security array of lasers to get to the painting they are after. That to me feels like a good trailer and fun encapsulation of the entire series.

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Vince Brusio writes about comics, and writes comics. He is the long-serving Editor of PREVIEWSworld.com, the creator of PUSSYCATS, and encourages everyone to keep the faith...and keep reading comics.