Daily Archives: January 12, 2012
The Comic Stop Exclusive Interview: It’s Peanuts Creative Team Shane Houghton & Matt Whitlock, Charlie Brown!
In last week’s edition of The Comic Stop, I raved about the first issue of the new ongoing Peanuts comic book from KABOOM! You can read all about it here, but suffice to say combining classic stories from Charles Schulz with new ones written by a variety of creators could have gone very badly. Instead, it looks as though Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy et all could very well be introduced to a whole new generation thanks to the skill and reverence of teams like writer Shane Houghton and artist Matt Whitlock, whose story Cat Cash is one of the highlights of Peanuts #1. Shane and Matt were kind enough to talk to Biff Bam Pop via email about their work on the series, what it’s like playing in the world of the Peanuts gang and so much more.
Andy Burns: Shane and Matt, congrats on your work in Peanuts #1. As a longtime fan of the entire gang, I thought Cat Cash managed to capture so much of what makes the characters so beloved. How did you each come to work on the new series?
Shane Houghton: Thanks Andy! We’re definitely happy to hear that our story is gelling with what people have come to know and respect about Peanuts. I was brought into this project by our editor, Adam Staffaroni, who knew about the all-ages, bear-riding cowboy book I write for Image Comics, Reed Gunther. Adam was interested in having me and my brother Chris (who illustrates Reed Gunther) test for Peanuts, but Chris is jam packed with drawing a full monthly book and couldn’t fit it into his schedule. Luckily, our mutual friend, and alum of the same hometown in Michigan that Chris and I are from, Matt Whitlock, is the BIGGEST Peanuts fan in the world. Matt works as a storyboard artist for animated TV shows and has been trying to get on a Peanuts project for years. I called up Matt, he was ecstatic, we tested, and BOOM! really liked our stuff.
Matt Whitlock: Shane pretty much summed it up. I jumped at the opportunity and owe the super-cool Houghton Brothers big time. I love Shane’s brother Chris, but he’s lucky that he couldn’t fit Peanuts into his schedule. Had it been otherwise, Chris may have suffered a mysterious hand injury.
