Conor McCreery’s Cartoon Crossover

by Vince Brusio

To write a story that later evolves into Adventure Time/Regular Show TP (JAN181378) is a feat that few can fancy. It takes wit. A desire to color outside the lines. The desire for oxygen not flavored. Oh, and a flair for playing the flute. After all, you will have people marching in lock-step to your tune, which eventually leads your feet over the cliff of reason. It’s true. Don’t believe us? BOOM! Studios did. They heard the trippy fantastic pitch from writer Conor McCreery and gave a green light for the Adventure Time/Regular Show six-issue crossover that was listed in the June PREVIEWS. In this exclusive interview, Conor McCreery tells us how the sounds of his own sensibility were silenced appropriately so that he could send us soaring into cartoon oblivion with some of the most fantastical characters that you’ll see on television.

Adventure Time/Regular Show TP (JAN181378) is in comic shops May 2.

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Vince Brusio: Conor, this is an opportunity that few writers get in mainstream comics: the opportunity to create chaos with not just one but two surreal animation properties straight from Cartoon Network TV shows. So how did you convince the gods that you were the right guy for the job? What tune did you play in your Pied Piper flute that showed your pitch was hands-down the best rainbow for BOOM! Studios?

Conor McCreery: I’ve learned that the Gods of Creativity are REALLY into ’70s prog rock. So, I went out there and learned a few cuts from Deep Purple and then I just wailed on that flute, baby! Now that I think of it, maybe I should have learned some Jethro Tull instead. (Look ’em up kids—it’ll be fun!) Either way, I got right to work on the pitch, but unfortunately, my idea to remake Almost Famous shot-for-shot with Finn in the Patrick Fugit role, Mordecai as Billy Crudup, Princess Bubblegum as Frances McDormand, and Benson as “Penny Lane” was unanimously called the “worst pitch in the history of BOOM!” (although I STILL think Rigby would have killed it as Jason Lee).

Thankfully, they gave me a second chance, and so I cobbled together an idea that we all agreed was pretty math — AND has some music in it. So in the end, the Pied Piper flute kinda helped.

(Oh, anyone need any rats? I’ve got a few lying around now.)

Vince Brusio: So how do you prep for such a gig? What were the parameters assigned since you’re working on a story for two licenses? Did you have to binge on all the old episodes to make sure you didn’t repeat a gag that was already written? Or did you have the liberty to cross the streams Ghostbusters-style?

Conor McCreery: I’ve been given an incredible amount of freedom. I went to BOOM! and CN with what I thought would make a cool story and they’ve both been so great at helping shape that idea so it best fits these two incredible worlds. I can’t say enough good things about how supportive those teams have been (especially my awesome editors, Whitney [Leopard] and Alex [Galer]. Love you guys!).

I definitely did a lot of watching (and re-watching) of the show. I used a lot of my fave episodes as touchstones, but a lot of what ended up in the book came from re-watching the first couple of seasons of both shows. I love it when stories are grounded in the mythologies of their worlds, and I wanted my Easter Eggs for the hardcore fans to be well-aged.

Vince Brusio: The solicitation text tells us that there’s a “powerful new villain” that debuts in this crossover. Might we get a peek behind the curtain, and learn a little more about this degenerate? Is he/she/it the crowbar that cracks open the universes separating the characters in Adventure Time and Regular Show?

Conor McCreery: Oh, man... you know this is going to get me in SO much trouble, right? (Looks around quickly.) All right... so here’s what I CAN say: The villain IS responsible, in a way, for the two worlds colliding, but... his/her goals go beyond that. In fact, what the villain is REALLY trying to accomplish is — AGHHHH! I’LL STOP. RIGBY, I’LL STOP! FOR THE LOVE OF SNOW CONES, PUT DOWN THE RAKE!!!

Vince Brusio: So how many references are there to past-show continuity in this story? Are there quite a few inside jokes that will cause fans in each camp to raise the roof? Or did you take a different approach to this story, and focus more on the shock of two universes colliding, and the fallout that’s probably radioactive?

Conor McCreery: It’s an interesting choice: Do you go the nostalgia route and hope that using old ideas in new ways feels fresh and satisfying but might be hard for new fans to get into, or do you build something totally new, but run the risk that you’re not using what makes the original idea so great in the first place?

I tried to have my cake and eat it, too... at least a little. As I hinted before, there are some definite Easter Eggs to be discovered for fans of both worlds, but hopefully I’ve weaved them in in such a way that it doesn’t matter if you “get” them or not. When I write Kill Shakespeare that’s a big part of the challenge — finding ways to work the Bard in that doesn’t alienate people who aren’t super into his plays, so I think I have some decent practice with that.

At the same time, there are some elements to the story that are completely new, like our secret villain, who is totally--- NO BMO, NO! LET GO OF THE SPATULA!!!

Vince Brusio: What was the most difficult and rewarding aspects of working on this six-issue series for BOOM! Studios? Does it move the needle for you as a writer, and what do you take away from it at the end of the day?

Conor McCreery: Whew. Good question. The most difficult aspect was DEFINITELY making sure that people knew that despite the fact that I am also a six-foot redhead who lives in the East End of Toronto, that I am NOT Ryan North writing under a pen name (but if he ever wants to write something as “Conor McCreery” that would be awesome).

All oddly specific jokes aside, it was trying to make sure that this story didn’t just rehash the existing jokes/adventures. Those shows have gone to so many places (literally and figuratively), that trying to make this story occupy its own place in two canons—beyond just having the characters meet—was really tough.

The most rewarding thing is the flip side of that coin — I got to let go of my writerly inhibitions. These are both “anything goes” kinda worlds, and it was fun to just indulge my weirdest instincts. I also started my career by writing comedy for younger audiences, so this was a lovely return to that.

Will it move the needle? Well, that’ll be up to the fans, but I hope so.

As for a takeaway? Um... you get a LOT of rats dropping in if you play an all-flute version of “Hush”?

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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.