The following is an interview with cartoonist, writer, editor, and publisher Matt Bors and filmmaker, illustrator, and artist Ben Clarkson on the release of the Justice Warriors sequel graphic novel, Justice Warriors: Vote Harder, in collaboration with AHOY Comics. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Bors and Clarkson about their shared creative process in returning to the characters of Swamp Cop and Schitt, their interest in utilizing the tone and style of the paranoid political thriller movies of the ‘70s, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the release of Justice Warriors: Vote Harder! While the original story was a scathing satire on capitalism and the police, police officers Swamp Cop and Schitt will now be steeped in election mania and partisanship in which we are collectively steeped. What has been your experience in returning to these characters to mine these prescient topics?
Matt Bors: We’ve always seen Justice Warriors as a series of stories exploring different aspects of this maximalist mutant society, and elections were always the top of the list for volume 2. They start as police, and the main format is the buddy cop genre, but we want to always send them in different directions and explore things outside of the regular beat on the street. Here, the characters get pulled into undercover work, assassinations, and becoming a body man for the Prince, whose governing during the Meatball Riots has made him a target of ire across the city.
Ben Clarkson: We tried to avoid talking about “this election” and tried to address elections from a more evergreen perspective. What is an election? Do I actually have a say? Should I try to kill the President? We wanted to make something topical but also something far broader than if you support a means-tested tax credit for small businesses.
BD: With such a humorously scathing story, how would you describe your creative experience in utilizing the narrative tools of the paranoid political thriller movies of the ‘70s to set the stage for Swamp Cop and Schitt?
MB: Those political thrillers were such a vibe—an era coming out of Vietnam where Watergate and CIA malfeasance had come to light and wrecked the credibility of government. It had, in fact, exposed the reality of how government functions at a high level that is often beyond the control of the ballot box. We’re bringing back that feeling for the online era of polarization, stan culture, and rampant conspiracism. In Justice Warriors, as our own world, you’re right to be paranoid even if you don’t have all your facts straight.
BC: We spent a lot of time hiding secret plots in the sight gags of the pages to make sure on the surface you get a political thriller but a close reading will turn the reader into a conspiracy theorist. We wanted reading the book to send you down a rabbit hole on the plot, and you might find how our society actually works.
BD: What do you feel is the inherent value of satire in storytelling and especially the sequential art medium?
MB: Comics rule, okay? I’m obsessed with them. It’s the medium I work in no matter what I have to say. I could spin up some grand answer about satire and how it works, but, ultimately, I run with the kind of comics I want to make and that amuse me: over-the-top, violent, satire, mutant dystopia, merging the highbrow and low culture in a symphony of cool ass art and writing.
BC: We lean into what cartoons are. We make everyone a wild mutant, we elevate everything to eleven and add psychedelic sight gags to every page. Meanwhile, we still have that pitch-black, razor-sharp edge underneath, ready to catch the reader unprepared.
BD: What makes AHOY Comics the perfect home for this graphic novel?
MB: Editor Tom Peyer is willing to stoop so low as to publish me, for which I am ever-grateful.
BC: Our publisher once drove me to the dispensary.
BD: Are there any other projects that you would like to highlight for our readers?
MB: I’m writing a new Toxic Avenger series, also at AHOY, that comes out October 9 in comic shops. I’m working with artist Fred Harper and we’re reimagining Toxie for the modern era and bringing in lots of touches from the Toxic Crusaders cartoon. It’s a violent mutant satire, so fans of Justice Warriors will not be disappointed.
BC: I have some animation projects on the horizon. Keep an eye out for a man made of blood beating up Richard Nixon.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Justice Warriors: Vote Harder?
MB: Between its covers!
