BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO Everyone is stronger with a union, even super-villains? Matt Bergin and Jeremy Donelson's comedic three-part Division 18: The Union of Novelty Costumed Performers, tries to prove just that by recruiting more members and causing havoc in River City. Bergin tells us about his zany cast and situations that will unfold in the Silent Devil mini.
THE PULSE: How did you come up with the idea for Division 18: The Union of Novelty Costumed Performers?
MATT BERGIN: The short version is that the concept came out of a jam comic Jeremy Donelson and I were doing at work with our dear friend (and soon to be major fantasy novelist) Peter Brett. Side note: Jeremy and I actually met over a decade ago, through the other guy from the jam comic, with whom I worked with at a comic shop and several jobs since. We’re all very close, long-time friends.
The long version is that, in this jam comic (which we were doing almost exclusively on company time, tee hee), we followed the misadventures of protagonist Ken Random through various realities generated by a wish-granting Crocodile with a Red Hot Chili Peppers tattoo and a cruel sense of irony. After a few misfired wishes, Ken settled into the form of a superhero of sorts, who generated his powers at random (natch). He faced off against a group of super villains, a drunken old clown lady, and, I believe, Gumby and Pokey. We killed Gumby. The sequence of events in our story is a little fuzzy to me, but at some point amidst all of this nonsense, we brought in Boss Tony, and his costumed goons Snake and Lou, to stir things up even more.
We had a lot of free time at this job. A lot. So we ended up doing about 60 pages of the jam comic, and no matter what crazed turn the story took, we just kept going back to Division 18, adding new members and growing more and more attached to the core characters.
THE PULSE: What inspired you to do something like this?
BERGIN: Boredom. A general dissatisfaction with work. Professional immaturity. And, of course, it was just a lot of fun to do this on-the-fly jam with my friends. We weren’t doing it to publish or make money or even to be read by anyone else at all, so we never had to stress ourselves over “Is this good enough?” We were just doing it to pass the time and make each other laugh. If we were a little more ambitious or confident, I think we could have actually developed a following, but whatever. That came later, when Jeremy and I realized we could lose the magic gator, and polish Division 18 into something other people might enjoy.
THE PULSE: Who are some creators in and around comics who are influencing your work now?
BERGIN: I am a total Big 2 fanboy. I don’t know that their stuff is directly influencing anything I write in Division 18, but I am all over Bendis, Millar, Brubaker… Grant Morrison blows my mind. I actually enjoy reading about his work as much if not more than I do reading the work itself. I would take a class or read a book on writing by Brian K. Vaughn. How all of this translates to me writing about a chain-smoking drunk in a mascot costume, I don’t know. I guess the one thing on the stands today that I sometimes find myself striving for with D18 is Eric Powell’s The Goon. But we don’t have zombies. Yet.
Non-comic influences would be TV shows like “Seinfeld,” “Cheers,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” We don’t go to the horrible and hysterical places that “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” goes, but whenever I watch that show, I wish we did. Maybe we’ll make the comedy pitch black after these first three issues. But for now, we try to wrap our funny in a little bit of the old ‘warm and fuzzy’… kind of like Snake in his costume.
THE PULSE: When you were thinking about the villains to make a part of Division 18, how did you come up with your leads?
BERGIN: The first part of this question fascinates me, because I don’t see any of the characters as villains at all…, which must reflect poorly on my character, since I do describe them as low-life criminals. But the whole notion of the Union being a cover for criminal activity is more of a backdrop to the more mundane character interactions that drive the book. Ha, that’s gonna sell books! ‘Division 18 – Now with more mundane character interaction!’
As for how we came up with them… it all came out of that free-flowing stream-of-consciousness jam comic. Almost all of the characters in Division 18 made an appearance there. When it came time for Jeremy and I to cast the series, it was fairly easy to cherry-pick our favorites – Snake, the hard-boiled hot head in the 8-foot mascot suit; Lou, soft-boiled meathead buddy; Mimi, who dresses like a French maid, and really takes care of the Union’s dirty work, etc. – and give them a little more depth. In our second issue, we introduce a brand new character, Boss Tony’s niece, who becomes sort of the straight man (er, woman) to the Union. With such a silly premise and all these ridiculous characters, it just makes sense to insert that “normal” perspective to shine a light on just how insane Snake and the gang really are. Without her, the book is just farce without focus.
THE PULSE: What were some of the biggest challenges of coming up with your losers, having them be unique -- in the sea of losers out there -- and then making them characters that readers will feel something for?
BERGIN: It can be tricky to bounce from broad shtick to genuine character moments. And some of the characters are designed specifically to be a little shallow or generic. The danger with that is that those characters might instead come off as one-note. But we focus primarily on Snake, and later on the niece, and I think they come off as believable, relatable individuals. But at the end of the day, this is a goofy comedy book by two first-time creators – so time will tell if we did successfully overcome the challenges and if readers do respond to these characters.
THE PULSE: Which one of these villains do you think is the most "redeemable"? Why?
BERGIN: I have the most compassion for Snake. I think, under his fuzzy green costume and his tough-as-nails sociopath exterior, he has a sweet candy center.
THE PULSE: How does one become a part of this villainous union?
BERGIN: Well, first of all, you need a costume. You also need to pay the application fee and regular dues. Most members of the UNCP have an actual gimmick and go on to earnest careers as novelty costumed performers. It’s just the River City branch, Division 18, that tends to dabble in more underhanded business under the leadership of wannabe godfather Boss Tony.
THE PULSE: We've seen villains taking the spotlight lately in a variety of ways. Why do you think people are interested in reading about the "dark side" lately? What's the appeal?
BERGIN: Well, I don’t think Division 18 will ever be mistaken for the Thunderbolts, but, yeah, as a reader and a writer, I have very little interest in a story about kind, decent people doing good deeds and having happy lives. It is always more fun to watch good people going bad, bad people trying to go good, or any of the shades of gray in between. With Division 18, we have this group of maladjusted shmoes bullying their way through life and doing whatever they have to do to get by… and you can just sit back and enjoy the mess they make of things.
THE PULSE: What were some of the things you enjoyed about mixing comedy with this genre?
BERGIN: As far as I’m concerned, comedy is the genre. This isn’t Sin City with fart jokes. Our first issue centers around a Scottish immigrant selling haggis on the streets!
THE PULSE: What's coming up in your three issues?
BERGIN: The first issue, as I mentioned, focuses on the haggis vendor, Seamus, who Snake is trying to recruit for the Union. Snake gets wind of a finder’s fee -- an employee referral bonus of sorts – and decides he’s going to cash in using the guy in the skirt selling street meat. In the second issue, Tony’s niece, who is not a fan of the shady operation her uncle is running, challenges Snake to clean up his act and take a 9-to-5 office job. Dress-code violations are the least of his worries. In the third issue, the newest member of Division 18 takes a peek at Snake and the gang’s past while digging through "The Union Files."
THE PULSE: Division 18: The Union of Novelty Costumed Performers sounds like a limitless concept, do you have any plans for a sequel if this is met well by comic fans?
BERGIN: Our arrangement with Silent Devil is for three issues, with an “and then we’ll see how it goes” clause. We definitely have plans to continue Division 18… be it in print or online, as a series of minis or one-shots (holiday specials seem like a no-brainer). It would be great if the book were successful enough to interest Silent Devil in another run. But we’re all (Silent Devil included) realistic about the hard-sell of black-and-white, non-superhero independent comics, so Jeremy and I have got a few ideas about how to keep Division 18 going on our own if necessary.
THE PULSE: What other comic projects are you working on?
BERGIN: I have a few ideas percolating, but it would be arrogant of me to pretend they were anything more than that – percolating ideas. Division 18 is my very first comic, so I am focusing on making sure the book is awesome, on time, and successful. If my comics career begins and ends with this book, I will be happy to have at least lived my dream of working in the comics industry, however briefly… and, well, I guess unsuccessfully. Hrm. Actually, that would totally suck. Please buy my book!
ONE LAST PLUG: Division 18: The Union of Novelty Costumed Performers is a three-issue black and white comedy from Silent Devil, about a gang of bottom-feeding costumed criminals trying to get a leg up on the man, and make an honest (and sometimes dishonest) buck in their run-down blue-collar town of River City. Check out the official site, http://www.division18.com and Befriend “Division18” at http://www.comicspace.com/division18/Posts: 21381 | From: PA | Registered: Aug 2002
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