First Comics News: Hello Dan, it’s great to chat with you again regarding another new comic series that you’ve created and written for your artists to illustrate. This new title is called G.W.P.: Guys With Powers!
I took a look at this upcoming series through the link you provided. I have copied the description from your Kickstarter page and included it below for our readers:
After months of relative quiet from his organization, Elijah Smoke is now making moves to control all of New York. Smoke has influence, money, power, and the near-limitless resources and manpower that come with it. All Cosmos has are his wits, his abilities… and these GUYS WITH POWERS. While mega-powered individuals may be a dime a dozen in this town, MEGAHEROES aren’t.
Elijah Smoke has been running weapons and drugs in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, for years, but he’s too clever and powerful for the cops or feds. Anyone who crosses him, he buys or kills. It’s been a difficult and delicate time trying to figure out how to bring him down, but finally they know where to begin. Finally, the GWP can strike back!
COSMOS, RADIOACTIVE GIRL, PHAZE, DOMINICO, and the TURBO TWINS. They are the GUYS WITH POWERS!
Writer: Dan Sehn
Dialogue: Ray MacKay
Artist: Ron Charles Williams
Colors: Téo Pinheiro
1st: Are the superheroes, or “Megaheroes”, in this new series also brand-new, like the title itself, or have some or all of these characters appeared previously in other comics you’ve published through Thunderzone Comics?
Dan Sehn: This is the first appearance of all these characters. A couple has appeared in Thunderzone promotional images, but never in a story before.
1st: Who are these characters, and what are their abilities? I’m interested, and I bet our readers are too, in learning both their hero names and their civilian identities.
Dan: We have COSMOS, a.k.a. Hal Johnston. He is the team leader, with the powers of flight, enhanced strength, and cosmic energy manipulation.
RADIOACTIVE GIRL, a.k.a. Jazmin Wayne, is a physics graduate student who was exposed to a rare isotope, giving her the ability to fly and generate radioactive fire.
PHAZE, a.k.a. Ted Lecourt, is a man who lives in multiple dimensions at once, giving him the ability to shift between them and harness the residual chaos energy that results from it.
DOMINICO, a.k.a. Rey Fernandez, is a former amber miner who was experimented upon, giving him super strength and near-indestructible skin.
The TURBO TWINS, a.k.a. Trey and Shamika Walker, are second-generation superheroes and Cosmos’s niece and nephew. They possess unmatched acrobatic fighting abilities, specializing in coordinated two-person moves that make them nearly unbeatable in combat, as long as they remain within five feet of each other.
1st: From the skin tones shown on both Issue #1 covers, would I be correct in assuming that four of the six Megaheroes are African American, one is Dominican, and one, the gentleman sporting the full beard, is Caucasian? I ask because I think that’s a refreshing change from many superhero teams.
Dan: Yes, four of the six are African American, with Dominico being from the Dominican Republic and Phaze being Caucasian. I like comics that reflect real life, with a variety of ethnicities represented, but I don’t require that of every book I do, as though filling a quota or adding token characters. I am half Dominican myself, so it was nice to include that representation in one of my comics.
1st: I agree. I have a lifelong platonic friend, Cynthia, who has been my friend for over forty years. My brother James and I first met her in Toronto when we were in our twenties.
Has the villain mentioned in the Kickstarter, Elijah Smoke, appeared in any previous comics? Have the Guys With Powers encountered him before?
Dan: Elijah Smoke is a crime boss operating out of Bedford-Stuyvesant, often called Bed-Stuy, in Brooklyn, New York. He has not appeared previously, and while the team is aware of him, they have not encountered him yet. At the start of Issue #1, Cosmos has been monitoring Smoke’s activities and acting cautiously because Smoke wields considerable power and influence.
1st: Is “Guys With Powers” or “Megaheroes” the name of this superhero team? If not, what is their official team name? Is it Thunderzone? I noticed that logo in the upper left corner of both covers.
Dan: Guys With Powers, or GWP, for short, is the team’s name. “Megaheroes” is a substitute term I’ve used because Argo Comics originally used it in place of “superheroes,” which at the time was a trademarked term.
1st: Yes. It is my understanding that “superheroes” was jointly trademarked by Marvel and DC Comics.
Though that is no longer the case, I have continued using the term “Megaheroes” because Superman inspired the term “superheroes,” and Argo Comics had Megamax, who similarly inspired my universe’s costumed crime fighters to be called Megaheroes.
I did a quick Google search and found this explanation:
Marvel and DC Comics jointly trademarked the term “Superhero” in 1977, with approval granted in 1979. However, recent developments indicate that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has canceled this trademark, allowing other companies to use the term without permission. This means that the term “Superhero” is now available for general use, and independent creators may use it freely.
Dan: Thunderzone acts as a separate imprint from Argo Comics. The Argo Comics line contains only books featuring my own characters and stories. The Thunderzone line is more like the early Image Comics universe, where multiple creators have books and heroes that all exist on a shared Earth. I participate in that universe, but the characters are completely different from those in Argo Comics.
1st: Who is Cosmos, their leader? Is he depicted on either of the two covers?
Dan: Cosmos is the hero wearing the hoodie and sunglasses. He was once a member of another superhero team that no longer exists, and that story unfolds throughout the series.
1st: Elijah Smoke sounds like quite the villain! What else can you tell us about him? Based on both the description and the covers, this looks like a comic I definitely want to read.
Dan: Elijah Smoke has many connections and plenty of people on his payroll throughout the metropolitan tri-state area. He also possesses vast wealth and resources, which he uses to expand his criminal empire. The GWP will attempt to stop him and ultimately shut down his corrupt operation.
1st: Is Guys With Powers a one-shot, a miniseries, or an ongoing series?
Dan: At this point, it is planned as a three-issue series. After that, we’ll evaluate reader feedback and demand to determine whether to continue the title or move on to new projects.
1st: None of these Megaheroes wear masks or disguises. Doesn’t operating without secret identities put their families and loved ones at greater risk, especially considering your description of Elijah Smoke: “Anyone who crosses him, he buys or kills”?
Dan: Yes, there are no secret identities, but they pretty much only have each other. That said, they do operate somewhat covertly, so you won’t see them on talk shows or doing celebrity endorsements.
1st: I see. Have you worked with scripter Ray MacKay, artist Ron C. Williams, and colorist Téo Pinheiro before?
Dan: Yes. Before creating dialogue for this story, Ray worked on the Lauren Order/Night Ranger story from Argo Comics Double Shot #5. The art and colors had already been completed, and while I had some dialogue planned, Ray really brought it all together.
I’ve worked with Ron for years. He illustrated the story I just mentioned, as well as two issues of Thunderzone’s Big House Blues.
Téo has also been a longtime collaborator, coloring Argo Comics titles long before the Thunderzone line began. He has worked on many issues of our flagship titles, Argo 5 and Sorority of Power.
1st: I Googled Bedford-Stuyvesant, assuming it was a fictional location, and was amazed to discover it is a real neighborhood in Brooklyn.
For our readers:
Bedford-Stuyvesant, often called Bed-Stuy, is a historic and culturally rich neighborhood in northern Brooklyn, New York City, known for its Victorian architecture and significance to Brooklyn’s African American community.
It is bordered by Flushing Avenue to the north, Classon Avenue to the west, Broadway to the east, and Atlantic Avenue to the south. The neighborhood includes Bedford, Stuyvesant Heights, Ocean Hill, and Weeksville. Major streets include Fulton Street, Bedford Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, and Stuyvesant Avenue, which serve as important commercial and transit corridors.
That was a pleasant surprise for me!
Dan: Yes, I spent most of my life in New York, so readers who have done the same will recognize a certain level of authenticity in the book. Thanks for all the insightful questions!
1st: I really enjoyed chatting with you again, Dan, about another exciting new comic series. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me for the benefit of our readers here at First Comics News. Cheers!
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