Buckaroo Banzai : Part 2

Last week I looked at the original Buckaroo Banzai movie and its effect on pop-culture and movie history. This week I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to speak with Joe Gentile, Editor In Chief of Moonstone, who at this time is working on a new Buckaroo Banzai comic series. Joe was also kind enough to forward the above image which is a page of new art from the new series, seen for the first time here.

1)BB was a bomb as far as a theatrical money maker, but has gained a incredible cult following since its release onto video/dvd. Why do you think this occurred and where you a fan from the theatrical or subsequent video release?

Yes, I went to see it upon its theatrical release. I dug it right away. It was basically a comic book on film, with a dose of pulp magazine thrown in for good measure!

I grew up reading The Shadow, Doc Savage and The Avenger novels, so BB played out like an updated version of those.

2)Why do you think it is still so popular?

Well, it certainly does appeal to a certain kind of sense of humor, for I laughed out loud many time, but some folks just don't get it.

Its got elements of SCi-Fi, comics, pulps, comedy, drama, and the kitchen sink!
Really everything one can possibly want.

It also starred some pretty big names that weren't very big at the time, so the casting was good: John Lithgow, Peter Weller, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd, etc! Think of what a movie like that would cost today!

I guess its just a fun movie!


3) What prompted you to seek out the rights to produce a new BB comic and was it a difficult process?

Seeking rights to anything can be quite the pain. BB was on my list when we started tracking down properties, but we couldn't make sense out of who owned what. We had many fans request that we look into it, and eventually one fan took it into his own hands to get us in touch with the right people.

It took a couple years (!), but out of the blue I got a phone call from director WD Richter, and off we went!

With almost any movie or TV project, the rights are a convoluted mess.

4) Will your stories follow the film premise or will you be adding new and original material?

Well, our story was written by BB's creator (Mac Rauch). It was originally intended for a TV movie in the late 1990s, but nothing ever came of it.

We took that story, and gave it some of our own Moonstone Magic, and voila! A cool NEW BB story, written by BB's creator, that remains VERY true to the original integrity of the film!

5) Who will be working on this new title?

Who wont be might be the question! NO, really, lets see.

Max Rauch, WD Richter, and myself are handling the writing aspect.
David Tischman (of DC/Vertigo American Century fame) will be editing.
The pencils will be handled by Stefan Thompson (of Dark Horse's Star Wars), with the inks by Keith Williams (Who inked Marvels adaptation of the filme many moons ago!)
Cover will be by: Matt Haley, Michael Stribling, David Michael Beck, and maybe more.
Colors are TBA.

6) Will this be a ongoing series or a mini-series?

This will start out as a 3 issue mini series.

7) When is the new issue slated for release?

The schedule is not set in stone yet, but we hope for Fall.

8) Moonstone has gathered quite a stable of cult figures including Kolchak and The Phantom, are there any new properties you are aquiring that you can tell us about?

We are nibbling on a few other licenses, but its too early to tell
I CAN tell you that we have quiet a FEW other cool things coming out soon:

The BIG Kolchak/Sherlock Holmes mini series!
The Kolchak prose short story collection!
Chuck Dixon gives us a Wyatt Earp vs The Cisco Kid face off!
A fully painted Phantom GN by Doug Klauba!
New titles: Lai Wan, Mummy, Revisionary, etc!

I can't wait for the release of this new comic. It has been many years since Buckaroo's last comic appearence in the Marvel movie adaptaion, and a new original story is long overdue. If you would like to know more about this title or any of the other cool books put out by Moonstone, make sure to check out thier website at www.moonstonebooks.com . Also look for the Moonstone crowd live at the 2005 San Diego Comic Con and at Wizard World Chicago in August.

I would like to thank Mr. Gentile for giving up some of his time for this article and for the piece of exclusive new art seen above.