What happens when the bottom of the barrel henchmen and has-been supervillains are forced to go after the biggest baddie in the world? Pure and utter chaos. “Minor Threats” is a comedy focused comic book series co-created by writer, comedian and actor, Patton Oswalt, known for his work on “Ratatouille” and “Secret Life of Pets,” alongside writer Jordan Blum, known for his work on “M.O.D.O.K” and “Community.”
Comics are a very collaborative artform marrying both writing and art. “Minor Threats” even more so with it having two writers. Despite living hours apart the pair still make an effort to collaborate through the internet.
“Our main challenge is scheduling,” Oswalt said. “We are both very busy with other projects, but this is such a labor or love that once we find the time, the writing process itself is pretty easy.”
However when they can find the time to write together in person they will.
“The best work comes out of brainstorming off each other in a room,” Blum said. “We’ll take turns, one at the keys, the other pacing like a madman rattling off ideas. We’ll also split scenes up. Send them back and forth. It’s just about our schedules aligning.”
Oswalt and Blum have both worked in a variety of mediums from film to comics to stand up comedy.
“I like to treat each medium I’ve ever worked in (stand-up, acting, writing and directing) as its own art form, but when it comes to comics, you can’t ignore the back and forth influence that screenwriting and directing have had on comics,” Oswalt said. “So many directors and screenwriters visualize things in storyboards — you try to figure out the specific images that will ‘pop’ in a sequence of actions that will tell the story. And, now that I think of it, I guess you also meditate on those moments that will live in someone’s memory, whether they’re watching a movie screen or turning pages.”
“Our story follows Frankie Follis aka Playtime, a second generation supervillain who tries to leave the life behind but ends up embracing it, rising as the Queenpin of supercrime in Twilight City (and then falling),” Blum said. “Our goal was to show you a little POV in the world of superhero comics.”
The comic would be nothing without its artwork from Scott Hepburn, who the pair had worked with in the “M.O.D.O.K: Head Games” comic.
“Once we started getting back artwork and early designs from Hepburn we realized that what we were trying to get across on the page was leaping very easily into the visuals,” Oswalt said. “That was a great feeling.”
“Minor Threats” has also gotten three spin-offs: “The Brood,” “The Alternates” and “Barfly,” all made by a variety of creators.
“Patton and I always write as if it’s our last comic ever,” Blum said. “We leave everything on the field, write ourselves into corners to give our readers complete stories. We had bigger ideas but we kept things pretty loose. All the spin-offs have just come out of great pitches that spiritually align with the previous books. We curate more than plan out a giant universe. We let the storytelling lead us as far as world building goes.”
