A Pioneering Plot From Publisher Darby Pop

by Vince Brusio

Jeff Kline had a goal. He wanted to take what he knew about how stories were produced by Hollywood, and use that skill set to make comics from his own kingdom. A long and winding road? Sure. Would it be worth it? A young daughter in his life made him answer “yes.” Here we are today, with Darby Pop breaking away from IDW Publishing to strike out on their own. In this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview, Darby Pop founder Jeff Kline relates how the company was founded, and what road signs are dead ahead as Darby Pop begins its own magical mystery tour in publishing for the direct market.

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Vince Brusio: What's the history of Darby Pop? What faces and names have been associated with the company, and who's moving the company forward?

Jeff Kline (Founder): Darby Pop Publishing was officially "announced" at San Diego Comic Con in July '13, and we dropped our first floppy — Indestructible #1 — in December of that year.  Back then, we were doing all our own editorial (which hasn't changed), but IDW handled our distribution.  I think we were IDW's first creator-owned label, actually.  David Wohl was our initial editor, and his experience proved invaluable. Very early on David brought Renae Geerlings on board. They'd worked together at Top Cow.  Renae has been with Darby Pop as managing editor and all-around "it" girl ever since.

The first five titles we released were all written by well-known movie and TV scribes; "Hollywood" had been my life for the prior 20+ years.  And many of our artists were (and are) plucked from the ranks of animated series I've produced.  For example: Brandon McKinney, who drew the entire first arcs of Doberman and Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises, had been a board artist for me on everything from "Men in Black: The Series" to "Transformers: Prime".

The intent was always to work with a combination of experienced comic book talent and relative "newcomers."  So, on the one hand, we've featured covers from Andrew Robinson (The 7th Sword), Howard Chaykin (Dead Squad), Steve Rude (Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises), and Bernard Chang (too many to list) ... while on the other hand, we've "introduced" talents such as Jeff Langevin (Indestructible: Stingray), Steve Defendini (Fake Empire), and Ben Bishop (Fake Empire).

Once we started taking submissions, we found ourselves working with an even wider breadth of talent. Though, we do tend to rely on a core group of artists, inkers, colorists, letterers and designers; once you find folks who share your level of passion, you want to keep 'em close.

Vince Brusio: What's the mission of Darby Pop? What makes Darby special? What kind of material can readers expect to see when they pick up one of your titles?

Jeff Kline: The most selfish mission of Darby Pop Publishing is to allow me to continue to make-up stories with friends old and new without actually having to be in Los Angeles.  (I've lived in New England since my daughter — the "Darby" of Darby Pop — turned 5). And an equally selfish mission revolves around a life-long love of comic books.

From the beginning, Darby Pop's goal was to tell high-concept, cinematic stories from a very grounded place.  In general, comics are a lot like series television: sequential, character-focused, and driven by both long and short-term story arcs.  Our hope when you pick up any one of our titles is that you are initially "hooked" by the concept, but you stay for the people.  We don't have one "house style." And, obviously, with dozens of creators, we don't have one "voice."  But, I do think there's a consistency to Darby Pop's line-up: each and every book tries very hard to be smart, surprising, and fun.

Vince Brusio: What titles are now on the front burner for Darby Pop?

Jeff Kline: Darby Pop has published 11 series to-date, plus a few one-offs. We're actually dropping expanded editions of two of our previously sold-out trade paperbacks in July: Indestructible Vol. 1: Not So Much... and Side-Kicked.  July is the first month in which we'll be distributed to retailers via a direct relationship with Diamond vs. "renting" the pipeline of other publishers. 

Vince Brusio: What books are on the horizon for Darby Pop? What future plans could you announce?

Jeff Kline: In August, a fantastic sci-fi/thriller — Things You Shouldn't Remember — hits stores as a trade paperback.  The basic premise: people across the country are recalling random things like song lyrics and minor events that seem to have been erased from both collective memory and recorded history. When those very same folks start dying violently... well... it becomes clear that something nefarious is going on.

Things You Shouldn't Remember was actually a "submission."  But, I use the word "submission" with quotation marks around it because we tend to get very invested creatively with everything we publish — no matter its origins.  We probably aren't the best choice for a creative team who are looking for someone to "rubber stamp" their work; we're apt to have a strong POV, re: script, layout, colors, etc. but, it's always in service of making the book the best it can possibly be.  And nothing is more satisfying than a successful collaboration.

We've also run three different "Breaking into Comics" contests to date, offering writers and artists the opportunity to both get published and interact with professionals across the whole of the process — from editors to our PR and marketing departments to sales.

In September, the trade paperback of Bastard's Waltz drops. Visually, Bastard's Waltz couldn't be more different from Things You Shouldn't Remember... or from any of our other titles. But, that's part of fun of this endeavor: experimenting with all sorts of different styles and forms.

Vince Brusio: How can people find Darby Pop online, and where are announcements first likely to break if people want news first and fast?

Jeff Kline: To find the very latest on Darby Pop Publishing, start with our website at darbypop.com.  We also have a pretty robust presence on Facebook (facebook.com/darbypoppublishing), Twitter (twitter.com/darbypopcomics), Instagram (instagram.com/darbypop) and even Tumblr (darby-pop.tumblr.com) — courtesy of our social media maven, Kristine Chester.

We tend to set-up at 16 - 20 conventions each year; from Emerald City Comic Con, New York Comic Con, and the Los Angeles Comic Con to more regional shows, especially up and down the East Coast.

And, if any retailers happen to be reading this, we love, love, love in-stores and signings.  And, often, we bring our own booze!

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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.