Indie Edge: The Laphams

Please tell us a bit about yourself!

For the past 25 years David and Maria Lapham have been producing one of the acknowledged masterpieces of crime comics, Stray Bullets, first under their own El Capitán imprint and more recently with Image Comics. They’ve also created and published the noir graphic novel, Murder Me Dead (MAY140634), and the surreal sci-fi character Amy Racecar, as well as numerous creator-owned and freelance comics for nearly every publisher in the industry. They currently live in Arizona with their five amazing children.

What are your favorite projects you’ve contributed to over the past decade?

For the past four years we’ve put all our energy into our first love, Stray Bullets, with two new story arcs: “Killers”, and the current “Sunshine & Roses”. Before that, a number of projects stand out like the miniseries David did for IDW’s 30 Days of Night universe, 30 Days ’til Death (APR090901), and the two creator-owned projects with Shelly Bond at Vertigo, Silverfish and Young Liars... which brings us back around to our current project for IDW’s Black Crown imprint, Lodger (Issue #1 / AUG180823)!

What are you currently working on?

We’re currently working on the “Sunshine & Roses” arc of Stray Bullets (Part 1 / MAR180618) for Image, and our newest creator-owned book, Lodger, for Black Crown. It’s a cross-country cat-and-mouse thriller about a travel writer/serial killer and the damaged young woman who pursues him with the aid of her only confidant — a golden gun named ‘Golddigger’. Like Murder Me Dead, it doesn’t fit into the continuity of Stray Bullets. So, with “Sunshine & Roses” coming toward it’s finale, and before we started the next Stray Bullets story arc, “Virginia”, the timing was perfect to pull the trigger on Lodger.

What fun titles are you reading?

There’s a real creative golden age taking place in our medium right now, for sure! Jillian Tamaki, Gabriel Hardman, Jeff Lemire, Gabrielle Bell, Diiraj Mann… it almost seems unfair to mention just a couple of the books or creators we’re moved, entertained or horrified by, because the list is so long! That said, our all-time favorite continues to be Love and Rockets (L&R Companion / NOV121179) Say what you want about any of the seminal works in comics, Love and Rockets takes a back seat to none of them. It IS the “driver’s seat”! What Gilbert and Jaime have done — and continue to do — is perfection.

EDGE ESSENTIALS

Pick up these books to learn more about Adam Green’s Indie Edge style!

• Stray Bullets: Über Alles Edition TP (JAN140530)
• Stray Bullets Vol. 6: Killers TP (OCT140658)
• Lodger #1 (AUG180822)