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Falling Down Made Funny In A Venture Bros. Hardcover

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If you’re a fan of Adult Swim’s The Venture Bros, then you’re going to find that the holiday season comes early this year to the comic shops. Dark Horse Comics has revealed in the April PREVIEWS that it is rolling out Go Team Venture!: The Art and Making of The Venture Bros. HC (APR170090) for shipping to comic shops this June. In this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview, we speak with Ken Plume about this project, and how it looks to be a geek’s godsend from the gutter.

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Vince Brusio: Common input is that The Venture Bros. is a tip of the hat to the 1964 animated science-fiction adventure television series Jonny Quest. We start there. Is that the cold open that pulls back the curtain on this book, beginning with Comedy Central rejection, and then later critical reception leading up to episode 71?

Ken Plume: The book covers the complete history of the show, from its conception by creator Chris McCulloch (a.k.a. Jackson Publick) as a sketchbook doodle of Hank and Dean to the pitches which eventually landed it at Adult Swim, and right on through the end of the most recent episodes composing season 6.

Vince Brusio: Publick and Hammer are said to have commented that one of the main themes of The Venture Bros. is failure. Will that theme be emphasized throughout the book? The beauty of failure, and the failure that happens to all of us? What faces might we see lying in puddles of rainwater? How are the characters dissected in this book?

Ken Plume: Certainly, one of the core driving forces of the characters on the show is failure. Rest assured, the book goes in depth in discussing all of the main and supporting players. The book is a celebration of the show, so every aspect is touched upon.

Vince Brusio: “Slacker optimism,” “male nerd culture,” and “great comedy” have been descriptors used to give screenshots for the totality of the Venture Bros. TV show. What tags would you use? #WhatSayYou?

Ken Plume: It’s a salty reflection of the nerdiest aspects of our souls.

Vince Brusio: Criticism of the cartoon has been that it indulges in the sitcom fad of the ’90s, and that its pop culture references were better developed over time. Will that kind of historical commentary have any place in this book? Or is the narrative of the book more focused on the production of the series?

Ken Plume: It’s the whole enchilada — the history, development, production, and reflection of every single bit of the show is to be had in here. There’s not a single obsessive tidbit that we didn’t chew on. This book is an Everlasting Gobstopper of Venture Bros. minutiae.

Vince Brusio If you could give us a glimpse into the remaining nuts and bolts of this book, what would you call out? Is there exclusive material? We’ve learned that Patton Oswalt has done a foreword for the book. How do all the parts come together for this collectible hardcover?

Ken Plume: Nearly every bit of this book features art that hasn’t been seen before by the general public, from sketchbooks and full-on production background paintings to storyboards and model sheets. And then the commentary from Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer is just the icing on an already ridiculously rich cake. It’s a lot of cake. A lot. Like, a stupid amount of cake. But so, so good. We make a really awesome cake.

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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.

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