It’s a new era at Broken Frontier and to usher in the next stage in BF’s evolution we’ve been building an expanded writing team to broaden our scope and approach to our coverage. Every week we’ll be introducing you to a member of our committed crew of comics commentators with a view to connecting you to the names behind the bylines.
This week we continue our ‘Meet the Broken Frontier Team’ features with a chat with some insights into the behind-the-scenes reality of Contributing Writer Matthew Box…
Introduce yourself to our audience in 50 concise words or less…
By day, I’m a mild-mannered sales manager for a thriving e-commerce business selling pop culture posters. By night, I loosen my tie, peel off my shirt, and play bass guitar for a few rock bands in the local music scene. And, I have a cat.
How, when and why did you become a part of the Broken Frontier team?
I got back into comics a little over a year ago, after a hiatus of about 20 years. Upon returning, I was awe-struck by how much the comics landscape had changed since the mid-90s. The art was different. The names were different. Heck…even the paper was different. Frankly, I had no idea where to start. So, I had a confab with a few comics-loving friends, sought advice on what to look for, and dipped my toe back into the torrent – I kicked things off with the first Saga TP and was immediately hooked all over again!
While Googling prospective new books one night, I came across the Broken Frontier site and zoned out for a few hours reading articles by the likes of Tom Murphy, Andy Oliver, Jason Wilkins, Frederik Hautain, and others. I had visited a few “comics blogs” before this, but BF was definitely different.
The things these folks were writing about (and the way they wrote about them) were totally unique and really appealing to me. They made me see that comics encompassed more than just the “tights-and-fights” tropes I was accustomed to in the old days. In essence, comics could be about anything, spanning the unhinged to the mundane, and BF was covering it all. Moreover, here were articles free of the superficial hype that one commonly encounters elsewhere in the comics blogosphere; here was a group of people who seemed to fully grasp and appreciate the artistic substance embodied by the medium.
Then, I noticed the “Join Us” link on the BF contact page…
Having always had a deep desire to be a writer in some form or another, I saw my chance to finally try a hand at it. I sent an email, and it wasn’t long before I heard back from then-Creative Director Frederik Hautain who brought me aboard. It’s been one of the coolest things that’s ever happened to me!
Tell us about your role at BF? What are your areas of coverage?
At the moment, I’m a Contributing Writer – I do my best to contribute regularly by doing weekly Staff Picks blurbs and the occasional review. Additionally, I’ve had some excellent opportunities to interview a handful of creators whose work I highly admire. Being able not only to have access to such creative people, but also to peer behind the curtains of the comics industry, is utterly fantastic!
As for areas of coverage, I mostly stick to a small group of publishers for now – Image, Dark Horse, Vertigo, IDW, and the like. However, I’m always on the look-out for anything new regardless of where it comes from. If it floats my boat, I’m ready to set sail.
Down the road, I hope to hit the convention scene and meet some new like-minded creators and fellow fans. Additionally, I try to visit comics shops while out of town or on vacation from work. I’ve been to some of America’s best shops so far – Baltimore MD’s Atomic Books, Columbus OH’s The Laughing Ogre, and Cleveland OH’s Comic Heaven. I’d really love to do a travelogue series focusing on the experience of retailers and their take on the industry.
What’s your very first memory of comics?
I come from a rather rural part of Ohio, and I spent my childhood growing up in the country. Those were pre-internet times, and I was pretty far-removed from multi-media stimuli that folks nowadays would take for granted.
A few times per week, my mother and I would drive the 20-mile trip to the city for groceries and other sundries. The little mom-and-pop market we went to had one of those aluminum magazine racks that spun on its base, and it was filled top-to-bottom with comics. One day I decided to investigate while mom went for milk and tomatoes.
It was then that I saw a comic book that I knew I had to have – Marvel Comics Wolverine issue #17 from November 1989. John Byrne’s outstanding cover of Wolvie, claws extended, jumped right out at my 13-year-old brain. I knew very little of Mr Logan or the X-Men, but that cover absolutely captivated me! My mom reluctantly sprang for the $1.50 cover price and the rest, as they say, is history. I still have the comic to this day.
What is it about comics as a storytelling medium that you are most passionate about?
I wish I could wax philosophical about the literary value of comics and their ability to express or critique socially-relevant themes, as this is certainly one of the medium’s strengths. But, if I’m honest, I really don’t know what it is about comics that appeals to me. I can say, though, that I know intrinsically when a book is a good one. A great story is a great story, and I get an electric surge inside that keeps me turning the pages.
I now better understand the amount of long hours and hard work that goes into making a comic. It’s clear when a creative team has done their due diligence and put the time in to making something special. The experience of reading a comic where the writing, the art, the coloring, and the overall design of the book are jiving and in perfect harmony… there’s nothing like it. This is what keeps me coming back for more.
Name three current favourite (plus three all-time favourite) graphic novels or comics…
It’s incredibly difficult to choose favorites from such a vast universe of amazing comics! Nevertheless, there are a handful of writers and artists whose work I really enjoy – Warren Ellis, Brian Wood, Alan Moore, Brubaker/Phillips, Moebius (above), R.M. Guera, Howard Chaykin, and pretty much anything colored by the skilled hand of Jordie Bellaire. This list is by no means exclusive, as each week around the world something new and incredible goes to press. I believe in the old adage that “variety is the spice of life”, so I really try to keep an open mind.
Are you involved in comics or any other artistic practice outside of your Broken Frontier work?
Currently, my only other artistic outlet, as mentioned above, is playing music. I’ve been going strong on the local music scene pretty steadily since 1999 or so, and I’ve played in dozens of projects over the years. Right now, I’m in five active bands, so it isn’t unusual for me to end up playing bass in every band on a bill for a given show on a given night! And, somehow, I even manage to find the time to write and perform my own songs on occasion.
I’d like to use this space, though, to make a vow: I WILL be involved in a comic book project at some point, if it’s the last thing I do!
And, finally, give us one creator or project you think we should be looking out for in 2017 and tell us why?
Sorry, but I’m going to give you three:
Ryan K. Lindsay. I came across this Australian writer’s recent three-issue “surf noir” series Chum last year, and it blew my mind! He’s a master of taut, pulpy stories full of great characters and unique ideas. He’s also behind the Deer Editor one-shots which are absolutely amazing too. Very soon, he’ll be releasing a new short-run series called Beautiful Canvas that looks fantastic – I look forward to writing about it for BF. I think he’s also doing a writer’s workshop at DC Comics, so, sooner or later, he’s destined to become a household name.
Ryan Ferrier. His five-issue series for IDW called Hot Damn was probably the best thing I read all year. Some of you might know him from D4VE, D4VE2, and/or D4VEocracy, also from IDW. This guy’s work is super-cool, socially relevant, and hilarious!
Chris Monday. Chris is a long-time friend of mine who’s been self-publishing his own comics work from our hometown of Athens, OH on his imprint Flying Weevil Productions. So far, he’s most well-known for writing/drawing a book called Drink More Water – a compendium of stories and vignettes culled from his own wild musings on life. It’s a personally revealing (and funny) collection, but also completely relatable to anyone who looks deeply at existence. Right now, he’s working on a far-out sci-fi graphic novel, and, knowing Chris, it’ll be something the world of comics has never seen before. I’ve been eager to write a BF feature about his work for quire a while now, so stay tuned for that!
You can check out Matthew’s past work at Broken Frontier here and follow him on Twitter here.
