First Comics News: How was Blue Moon Comics formed, and why was it formed?
Lloyd Smith: Blue Moon Comics was actually formed back in 1988. I wanted to try to publish my own comics—every fan’s dream, right? I had no idea what I was doing, but I had some stories and I “thought” I could draw well enough, but I had big plans for a 68-page, full-color comic. No way I could fill that on my own. I decided to put ads in Comics Buyers’ Guide (which was THE trade publication for comics back then), asking for talent to join me. And boy, did I get a ton of responses. Warren Montgomery, of Will Lill Comics, was one of them (one of the best). Jon Gilbert was another. Jon was a writer, and we became friends and pen-pals (no interwebs in those days), and it was a big help getting things going. We actually put together two issues of Awesome Comics (yeah, we had that name first), though they were black and white and 32 pages each. They looked really good. But then a bunch of bad luck piled up, and we weren’t able to go to print. About 10 years later, Jon Gilbert finally broke my will, and I restarted Blue Moon again, this time with the help of the Internet and some major talents like Seppo Makinen, Dick Ayers, and many others. We made a splash in the late 90s/early 2000s with comics I made on a rented photocopier, but eventually the good times ended, and it was over. For the next few years had my work published by friends like Mark Davis, John Michael Helmer, and Warren Montgomery. That experience gave me a new vision (and I’d developed new and better skills), so in 2019, Blue Moon came back, and we’ve been back ever since, publishing Diversions and collections of series from Diversions.
1st: How did you get the nickname The Groovy Agent?
Lloyd: My “Groovy Agent” handle comes from my blog, Diversions of the Groovy Kind (which is still around, just inactive; I have re-started DotGK on Blue Moon’s Ko-fi shop recently, though). I wanted a “persona”—a character to play as I reminisced about the comicbooks of the 1970s (which was the focus of my blog). When I write my posts as “Ol’ Groove”, I hear a voice that’s a weird combination of Stan Lee, Wolfman Jack, and Casey Kasem.
1st: What makes “Diversions” stand out?
Lloyd: I think Diversions stands out because it’s a very eclectic, very high-quality anthology. We nick-named it “A Spinner-Rack Between Two Covers” because our goal is to showcase a variety of talent and styles in each other—hearkening back to the 1970s when we had, not just super-heroes, but Westerns, horror, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, humor, etc. Each issue of Diversions is like a trip to the old-fashioned spinner-rack—you never know what you’re going to find!
1st: What type of characters are featured in “Diversions?”
Lloyd: Super-heroes, of course, but we also have science fiction, sword-and-sorcery, Western, mystery, horror, crime—and it’s not just a variety of characters, but of what I call “departments” which are like anthologies-within-the-anthology like Vault of Shadows and Otherworlds.
1st: Who is The Night Spider?
Lloyd: Night Spider is my version of Batman mixed with Spider-Man, Moon Knight, Daredevil, Nighthawk, The Spirit, Dick Tracy, Joe Friday, and the Lone Ranger. He’s more than meets the eye. He’s our creature of the night hero who handles street-level crime and criminals. I created him back in 1976, and though he’s gone through at least a half-dozen name changes, he’s always been that mix, and he’s always been Denny Knight.
1st: What do you think about artist Dana Black’s take on the U.S. Flag?
Lloyd: I think it’s incredible. Dana had a vision of doing a U.S. Flag story that was like a mix of a cartoon/horror movie, and newsreel (hence the decision to do the story in black-and-white). I think Dana is a genius, honestly. That story is filled with fun, action, character bits, and so much heart. It’s very Golden Age but very Modern Age at the same time.
1st: What personality do you give to Max Miracle in “Divisions # 22?”
Lloyd: Max Miracle is sort of a mash-up, personality-wise, of Superman, Reed Richards, and Doc Savage. He’s a true hero, a super-genius, and a tragic figure. Max has the souls (and minds) of four other deceased Max Miracles from four other realities living inside him. He’s a super-team in one body! I have some amazing ideas and a killer origin ready for when I get the chance to do Max as a regular feature.
1st: What makes “Ultimus” a must-read?
Lloyd: If you like mysterious, heroic, majestic COSMIC characters, Ultimus is definitely a must-read. And also, Louis Sollune’s art is AMAZING. Ultimus is another of my oldest and dearest creations (along with Night Spider and Kragor, who were all created when I was in the 7th-8th grades), originating in my very first hand-made comic (on typing paper with pencils and pencil crayons), Super-Star Comics. Back then,n Ultimus was known as “Heros” and was my not-too-subtle take on Adam Warlock. He’s still very similar, but he’s also grown into something very different. And we’ve only scratched the surface with this first cliff-hanger arc. Ultimus will continue eventually, with my compadre and co-creator JW Erwin taking over the art and co-plotting.
1st: How do you manage to come up with ideas for new comic book characters?
Lloyd: I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating comicbook characters. I discovered Batman at the age of two when the show debuted on ABC and got bitten by the Bat-Mania bug. Not long after that, I got into comics and have been—obsessed–in a good way (is there a good way to be obsessed?) with them ever since. I can’t help but create comicbook characters. That’s why I do Diversions—to give me a place to try out all of my creations—to get them “off my chest” if you will. It helps me see which ones can take on lives of their own.
1st: What does being a Publisher entail you doing?
Lloyd: I create (or co-create) most of the characters, schedule the books, choose/approve the material to be published, write most of the stories, interact with the creative teams, color, letter, write copy for the ads and text pieces, do all the graphic design (including most logos), production, pre-press work, create the digital files and ship them to the printer, promote, and package/mail books to the contributors and subscribers. Oh, and I upload the finished files to the sites that sell our comics digitally. I also run our Facebook and Ko-fi pages. I suppose you could say that my role as publisher is “chief cook and bottle washer”.
1st: What is coming next from Blue Moon Comics?
Lloyd: We just released Ultimus Special Edition #1, and now I’m putting the finishing touches on Diversions #24. Issue #24 will be an “all sci-fi” issue with the penultimate chapter of Chris Malgrain’s Sideral series; the concluding chapter of Brad Olrich’s first At Galaxy’s Core; and I’ll be reprinting an Alex Miracle adventure (Alex is Max Miracle’s cousin, btw). We’re also busy working on Diversions’ twenty-fifth issue, which will be an extra-thick comic with several all-new features and contributions from almost everyone who’s ever contributed to Diversions—plus a few surprise contributors. We have material in the works for Diversions #26, as well. Also, the second issue of Brad Olrich’s amazing Commodore Dinosaur will be out this year, plus Special Edition collections starring Max Miracle, U.S. Flag, and Midnight Stranger.
1st: Which comic books outside of Blue Moon Comics would you recommend?
Lloyd: Oh, that could be a whole ‘nuther article! I love the Indie Comics scene and have many favorite comics and creators. Gary Carlson’s Big Bang comics have always been an inspiration; Mike W. Belcher’s Man In the Mask is a jewel of a comic; Steven Butler and the gang at Mississippi Macabre are putting out a beautiful and unique book; Chris Malgrain’s Sideral, Dan Sehn’s Thunder Zone line, anything from Lenovations Press, Lucky Comics’ Beetle Girl, Will Lill’s John Kirby Firefox, Margood Comics’s The Last Abraxan, Dakota Alexander’s The Hunter, Fancy Funnies’ Rip Raymond, Nick Vernon’s Saviors of the Hollow, and of course the Rik Offenberger and the gang’s G-Man line of comics. (Sorry if I left anyone out!) If you want to truly enjoy reading comics again, hit IndyPlanet, DriveThruComix, or Kickstarter and start experimenting. There is much fun to be had in the Indie world!
1st: Which Blue Moon character would you most like to have the powers or abilities of, and why?
Lloyd: Oh, man, that’s the toughest question yet (and I love it!)…Mercury. I am sixty-two, and I am slowing down, lol. It would be so cool to put on that helmet and be able to run, jump, and do acrobatics. Shoot, I wasn’t good at much of that when I was young! Yeah, being super-fast and agile, helping people—that would be the coolest.
1st: What would you like to say to your many fans?
Lloyd: I’d just like to say, “Thank you.” Thank you for your support. Thank you for helping me make my childhood dream of making comics come true.
About Author
