Interview Lucha Free / Part 2: Jerry Frissen

Let's continue our trip to the Lucha Libre universe by asking some questions to Jerry Fridge, a screenwriter and creator of the project, Belgian and staying now in California. He has an excellent blog (muttpop.blogspot.com) or he will teach you full of dozens of thousand things because the gentleman is not born from the last rain and tastes highly recommendable and very varied in graphic culture. How does the story of Lucha free cut out? The Volume 1 gives pride of place to the Luchadores Five, and the Volume 2 is more centered on tequila. Is there a continuity between stories or will it have to wait a few numbers before returning to the history of the starting protagonists? There are in all five series, Luchadores Five, Tequila, Tikitis, Luchadoritos and Furia Profesor. They all overlap into the magazine and all have links to each other. In number 2, in addition to the beginning of Tequila, there will be the rest and the end of the first story of the Luchadores Five. The format, the cutting, the contents of Lucha Free is really different from the majority of the French-speaking production of comics, is it easy to convince a "traditional" publisher such that the humanos to publish this New format? In fact, it was not very difficult to convince them, even if the format took months of discussion before being decided. For the content, I feel like a total freedom. So far, no one has ever told me that I could not do or say that or such. The humor is Omni present, very varied, very squeaky and very black in the main story 'of Volume 1. What are the references and inspirations for the tone of Lucha Free? It's hard to say, it comes naturally. But I feel strongly influenced by US comedians like Bill Maher or George Carlin or series like the Simpsons, King of the Hill or Curb your enthousiam. Otherwise, for the influences of the characters or the universe, I find inspiration in my everyday life and people I meet. I like going to walk and observe weird people. How did the distribution and choice of designers? Did you create a story based on the characters that designers had submitted to you or have you chosen designers to develop characters around a story that you created? As I said, it's an exchange. For the Luchadores Five, I have the first 12 pages before you have talked to Bill, but his intake has been huge that it is in the narration or in the design of the characters. With Gobi, it was a little different. It has sent me a drawing with the first version of Tequila. Gobi is an incredible machine to create characters. I write Tequila based on his characters. For Fabien, we also spoke before I start to write. I like to work like that. And then, to continue what I said above, I can write a story in a few weeks, but they will have to draw it for months, so it's important that they find their account. Apart from the designers working for the "central" story How is it going with others? Do they write short stories or do you also describe this part? I write that too, but I am helped by the charming inex Vargas. What do you think about the market and quality of the comic book in the US right now? I worked for DC as Graphic Designer for nearly two years. It was enough for me to lose all the interest I could wear. The big publishers have corporate philosophies and no artists. Sometimes we received memos that said genre stuff: "No longer showing decapitations. Just because they spend their time thinking how to avoid the trials that could be done. They also have all kinds of rules of patients that they change all the time, for example "from such a date, we do not capitalize the letters I ... I felt like a bosse for the Chinese Communist Party. But I continue to follow what's going on on the Fantagraphics or Drawn and Quarterry side. I like authors like Chris Ware, Dan Clows or Charles Burns. Do you think that Lucha free could find his audience everywhere in particular in the US? Is an English version planned? We are talking right now with two American publishers. How is the traditional French-speaking cartoon (present and past) in the US? It's super respected, but it sells very bad. An article by the New York Times said "Comics Aren't for Kids Anymore" Do you share this review? Do you think that Lucha Free is destined for an adult audience exclusively? As a reader, I tell myself that it's not too early that the press realizes it. It is obvious. I must say that I never understood why the comics were so badly considered in the USA. It is the country of pop culture, tens of millions of people vote for American Idol and read a comics, it's considered a bitter thing ... with what is Lucha free, writing, I do not think Never who I'm talking to. But thinking about it, my fantasy would be to get to something like the simpsons with several levels of readings. I look at it with my 10 year old daughter, we love both and I'm sure you have two different stuff. How many volumes are planned for Lucha Free? Is there a limit and an end envisaged or is it a free project that can evolve freely? A priori, it's limitless. Until we are fed up. How did the idea come out of the figurines and a fairly enigmatic website (Luchalibre.fr) several months before the publication? The website is the responsibility of the Humanos. I do not have much to say. Toys, on the other hand ... When one of my friends, Robert Silva, saw the drawings of Bill and Gobi, he flashed and convinced me to leave my job, create Muttpop and buy the license for derived rights Lucha free to the Humanos. Our goal is to develop LUCHA free in several areas and start with vinyl toys seemed a logical first step. So we started by Tequila and El Panda de Gobi, Red Demon from Bill is currently in production. We have two others during sculptures, Dr. Destruction of Bill and King Katch of Fabien. Frank Kozik will continue to make a version of each.