Next month, Joe Casey and Ulises Farinas unleash their kick-ass, head-banging heroes on the world in New Lieutenants of Metal #1 from the Man of Action imprint at Image Comics. Ahead of the first issue release, I caught up with Joe Casey to talk about what we can expect from the new series, teaming up with Ulises Farinas, and being in a metal state of mind. We also have preview pages from the first issue!
Q: How did you come up with the idea of New Lieutenants of Metal and what can our readers expect from the new series?
JOE CASEY: Believe it or not, the idea was delivered to me by a man on a flaming pie (as these things often are). The New Lieutenants of Metal are an elite strike force of heroic headbangers that exists to mete out harsh justice whenever and wherever necessary. They're a new breed of superhero, created for the times in which we live.
Q: How did you meet up with Ulises Farinas and why was his art style perfect for the story you're telling?
JOE CASEY: I don't quite remember how we met, but Ulises and I have known each other for awhile now. We worked together on Dark Horse's Catalyst Comix anthology and Dynamite's Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers series and we both seemed to dig the collaboration... so when the planets were in proper alignment, we just rolled on into this project... which is a bit more significant, since we own it.
Q: Since there is suggested playlist accompanying each issue, can you give us a tease of the tracks that will accompany the first few issues?
JOE CASEY: A little of this... a little of that. Some Metallica, some W.A.S.P... my metal tastes are all over the map. For me, metal is more of a state of mind than anything else.
Q: Man of Action Entertainment works on a variety of multi-media projects. Do you see a future for New Lieutenants of Metal as an animated series or video game?
JOE CASEY: Y'know, I get that question a lot, about this project in particular. Maybe it's because of Ulises' art style. But the truth is, I make comicbooks to be comicbooks and that's all they're ever meant to be. I'm never making them with an eye towards translating them into some other medium. Think about it -- who would've ever thought that Officer Downe would've ended up as a live action feature film? Not me, that's for sure. Besides, comicbooks are the greatest storytelling medium ever invented. 'Nuff said.
Q: Aside from New Lieutenants of Metal, what else do you have in the works?
JOE CASEY: As usual, tons of shit. Lots of TV animation. Some live action stuff. There's always so many projects churning, it's hard to know what I'm even allowed to talk about. But there's more comicbooks coming, beyond NLOM. One of them should be announced any day now. It never ends!
---------
"From Joe Casey and Ulises Farinas—they are the most kick-ass, head-banging heroes ever assembled! They are a precision strike force, ready to face any threat! They are a metal militia of mayhem and they mean serious business! If you like blood and explosions... or if you like bloody explosions... this is the book you've been waiting in line outside the coliseum to read! Their names are legend: The Mighty Kreig! Vandenborg Riot! Manowarrior! Steppenwulf! Beset from all sides by a growing roster of vicious foes, the New Lieutenants of Metal have arrived to bust down the doors of perception and deliver you to a greater comic book glory! Featuring the first appearance of Spike!"
About Man of Action Entertainment
Man of Action Entertainment are Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steven T. Seagle, the writers' collective behind comic's largest franchise characters as well as original characters published by their Man of Action imprint at Image Comics. Their creations include Ben 10, the $4.5 billion boys' action franchise for which they're executive producing the new iteration, now in its third season, and Generator Rex, both for Cartoon Network. Dentsu handpicked them to create, write and executive produce the all-new Mega Man series coming to Cartoon Network this year and they also created the Zak Storm series for Zag that airs on Netflix. Man of Action previously launched Disney XD's Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man and Marvel's Avengers Assemble as EXP/writers. Man of Action created the characters and team featured in Big Hero 6, Disney/Marvel's Academy Award®-winning feature. In addition to creating successful video games, toy lines and comic books, Man of Action are the creator/producer/writers of current and upcoming feature films and live-action TV series based on their original comic books and graphic novels including the critically-acclaimed I Kill Giants feature film that was released this Spring, Officer Downe, Kafka, The Crusades and The Great Unknown.
http://manofaction.tv; http://www.Facebook.com/ManOfActionEnt; http://www.Twitter.com/ManOfActionEnt; http://instagram.com/ManOfActionENT
After spending more than 10 years as a consultant in the tech and entertainment industry, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his interest in horror and sci-fi. Since then, it has grown into an online magazine with a staff of writers that provide daily news, reviews, interviews, and special features.
As the Editor-in-Chief of Daily Dead, Jonathan is responsible for bringing the latest horror news to millions of readers from around the world. He is also consulted with as an expert on zombies in entertainment and pop culture, providing analyses of the zombie sub-genre to newspapers, radio stations, and convention attendees.
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
