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Adventures of Simone & Ajax

Eisner Award-winning designer Andrew Pepoy has serviced such diverse books as Katy Keene, The Simpsons, as well as Jack of Fables. This month, IDW is using up a collection of creator-owned characters in The Adventures of Simone & Ajax. Westfield’s Roger Ash just recently contacted Pepoy to discover a lot more about this book.

SPECIAL OFFER! If you buy The Adventures of Simone & Ajax with Westfield this month, you’ll get a special print signed as well as numbered by Pepoy!

Westfield: For those who have never checked out The Adventures of Simone & Ajax before, who are they?

Andrew Pepoy: Simone is a fun-loving 20-ish woman who normally acts very first as well as concerns about the consequences later, while Ajax is a small, eco-friendly dinosaur who doesn’t look for experience however has it thrust upon him by Simone. Simone & Ajax were the result of doodles in the margins while taking notes in college as well as very first appeared in my university arts magazine. It’s generally a friend comedy: they have shared interests as well as are the very best of friends, however their different characters play off each other, often driving each other crazy, however they’re always there for every other even when dealing with the Dark Lemming of the North or when in Valkyrie training School. Their adventures can take them to any type of time, place, or genre. Simone & Ajax appeared in a number of anthologies as well as their own one-shot in the ‘90’s. one of my preferred recent comments I got was that they have the look of an Archie comic however the sensibility of a Marx siblings movie.

Simone & Ajax: Simone, Queen of the Jungle page

Westfield: What can you tell us about the three stories that are in this new collection?

Pepoy: These are all the newer, full-color stories that have been serialized on ComicMix.com, done just in the last couple years. We begin out with Simone, Queen of the Jungle, a short story where Simone gets to play a Sheena-type, which picks up from where the last black-and-white story left off. then the other two stories are graphic-novel length adventures. very first up is The situation of the Maltese Duck, a somewhat hardboiled detective tale with Ajax as the tough-as-nails P.I. as well as Simone as his gal Friday on a zany around the world duck-hunt. Lot’s of noir-ish environment as well as a supporting cast out of 1940’s central casting. then there’s A Christmas Caper, a holiday tale of exactly how Simone & Ajax, who’ve tangled with Santa in the past, are called in by him to assist him out against mysterious sabotage. throw in some commando Penguins as well as heartless business types as well as Simone & Ajax discover themselves in a genuine Yuletide mix-up.

Simone & Ajax: A Christmas Caper page

Westfield: What kind of extras are in the book?

Pepoy: I’m lucky sufficient to have an introduction by one of my preferred artists, a genuine master of women as well as dinosaurs, mark Schultz. Plus, there will be a gallery of different color drawings of Simone & Ajax done throughout the years as well as some other sketches.

Westfield: What are your motivations for Simone & Ajax as well as your other work?

Pepoy: I utilized to explain Simone & Ajax as “Tintin satisfies storage tank Girl”, as well as definitely both of those were influences, Tintin for the fun around the world adventures as well as storage tank woman for the zaniness of her escapades. Wallace & Gromit, Sam & Max, as well as other friend comedy comics. undoubtedly from the look of the art, Dan DeCarlo as well as his work on Betty & Veronica, Josie, as well as Sherry the Showgirl, is a significant influence. I’m likewise a significant fan of the old experience newspaper strips, my preferred of them being Roy Crane’s laundry Tubbs & Captain Easy, which influenced my storytelling as well as art. as well as other non-comics comedies, like Laurel & Hardy, The Marx Brothers, great deals of British radio comedy like “The Goon Show” as well as “Round the Horne”. So much more, too.

Simone & Ajax: The situation of the Maltese Duck page 3

Westfield: are there a lot more Simone & Ajax stories on the way?

Pepoy: I’ve got lots of concepts for a lot more as well as have even started composing one more graphic novel, however I assumption part of what occurs will depend upon exactly how these new stories as well as this book go over.

A collection of all the black-and white comics is likewise in planning for later in 2010, once again from IDW.

Westfield: are there any type of other jobs you’re working on that you’d like to mention?

Pepoy: I’m finest understood for my inking work, as well as I’m still doing lots of that. I’m the routine inker on DC/Vertigo’s Jack of Fables as well as often assist out on Fables. Over at Bongo I ink a lot of problems of Futurama as well as different Simpsons comics. as well as now I’m working for one of the huge French publishers, Soleil, inking two volumes of their #1 seller, Lanfeust Odyssey, as well as a spin-off book called Alunys.

Simone & Ajax: The situation of the Maltese Duck page 13

Westfield: any type of closing comments?

Pepoy: This Simone & Ajax book is the job I’ve been wanting to do for years, so I’m truly delighted to get it out there. It’s my preferred thing I’ve ever done, so I hope people will provide something a bit silly as well as fun a chance. I try to make it type of all-ages, definitely 12 on up, written on several levels so there’s something there for everyone. youngsters can have fun with the goofy adventure, however adults will pick up on a few of the parody as well as hidden jokes. At least that’s my hope. thanks in development to any individual who tries it.

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Adventures of Simone & Ajax GN