5 Questions With: Batton Lash

With the arrival of Simpsons Comics #155, a storyline that’s been fifteen years in the making has finally been launched. Bongo Comics Group presents the first multiple-title crossover since 1994’s “When Bongos Collide!” In a three-part tale that’s told in three consecutive weeks, “The Great, Extreme, Ultimate, and Totally Awesome Radioactive Man Event!” kicks off with a bang as Krusty the Clown is now the new publisher of Radioactive Man comics. He’s looking for a new marketing ploy to reinvigorate the character and bring in new readers. And what does writer Batton Lash think of this new business platform for the curmudgeon Clown? In a series of questions asked by PREVIEWS Brand Manager Jenny Christopher, we get to find out how things play out!

1. Jenny Christopher (JC): It's been 15 years since Bongo's last Crossover event. What do we have to look forward to in this pinnacle event of 2009?

Batton Lash (BL): For any reader who is fed up with never-ending sagas, tedious crossovers, and insipid reboots of favorite characters from the major comics publishers, he/she may find our little “event” a refreshing remedy. It begins in The Simpsons Comics #155, continues in Bart Simpson Comics #48, and concludes in Simpson Super-Spectacular #9 —a week apart from each other, no less! Bongo takes great care to make their crossovers a very special event, which is why it takes us15 years to do one! Wait until you see what we have planned for 2024.

2. JC: Will the circumstances in this Crossover Event have long-reaching effects on the individual series?

BL: I’m not at liberty to reveal anything, but after you read it, you’ll be saying to yourself: It’s only a comic book . . . it’s only a comic book . . . it’s only a comic book . . .

3. JC: We've seen Radioactive Man depicted in different decades, from the 1950s through the 1990s. Will we be seeing a 2000 era Radioactive Man?

BL: Glad you asked that! I’m working on “Radioactive Man meets Retro-Active Man,” which is not a pastiche or parody of comic book styles of past decades, but rather a current era, straight-forward super-hero story (or as “straight-forward” as a Radioactive Man story can be).

4. JC: How would you say the tone of Bongo Comics is similar to The Simpsons TV show? How would you say they are different?

BL: What I like about the Simpsons comics is that the stories are unique to the comics medium and work best on the printed page, rather than animation. The recent “Spirit” parody in Simpsons Super Spectacular #9 is a perfect example of that. And I think Bongo’s annual Treehouse of Horror has trumped the TV version for years, since the title allows a variety of styles and approaches, which is very effective when spoofing the horror genre. Plus, it’s a real kick to see renditions of The Simpsons by such artist as diverse as Gene Colon and Peter Kuper. It’s just not done in the TV version! 

5. JC: How would you say writing for Bongo Comics vs. writing for Exhibit A changes your "writing voice"?

BL: When writing Supernatural Law, my approach is low-key and button down, since Wolff & Byrd are lawyers. With Radioactive Man and The Simpsons, I go a little broader since I’m dealing with either super-hero take-offs or a dysfunctional family. I’m also mindful of the “universe” created for The Simpsons, and write within those parameters. But I do try to put a bit of myself in every story so my “writing voice” can be recognized. You could probably recognize my “writing voice” by the way. It’s not much different from my “regular voice” — very nasal!

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Check out “The Great, Extreme, Ultimate, and Totally Awesome Radioactive Man Event!” in these Simpsons titles now available to order! 

Check out more Batton Lash lunacy from Exhibit A!