David Land

EYES ONLY

For more than a year now, we at S.H.I.R.T.S. have been operating under the assumption that issue #13 of Agent Fleming's comic book/propoganda tool, Spyboy had been stolen by agents of S.K.I.N.S. (you'll recall that this is the situation which led to the elimination, um, removal of the book's editor; a move that was not at all overzealous in the least, I might add, despite what some of my seditious co-workers might say. Not that I want to name names, but I will, just give me the word, sir). It has now come to our attention that the supposed missing issue was in our hands all along and will see print later in the year. This extremely suspicious development led to our bringing in current editor, Agent Dave Land, for a frank and, I might add, completely voluntary exchange of ideas. After a few minutes alone in a room with Bruno, Land was more than willing to exchange a few ideas, I can tell you. Below is the transcript of the interview, more of a chat really, where he told us everything he knows about the upcoming Spyboy #13.1: The M.A.N.G.A. Affair. Sadly, this was not very much, sir.

Presiding Agent: This series is being touted as the missing issue #13 of the original Spyboy run; how did that issue come to be missing?

Dave Land: Yeah, that was all a misunderstanding. See, Phil, the book's previous editor, had it in his office, he just claimed that someone had stolen it to create a sense of mystery. But it was sittin' right there in his office the whole time. After he left I scavenged a file cabinet from his office and I found issue #13 inside.

PA: Pop Mhan's art style on this series is very different from that on the original series. Has Pop been kidnapped and replaced by an evil doppleganger penciller?

DL: Pop was doing some personal experimentation while he was drawing this series. He lived on a diet of eggshells and filtered water for the entire time he was drawing it. I think that's reflected in the art.

PA: How do you keep getting a comics heavyweight like Peter David to keep coming back to the world of Spyboy?

DL: Cold hard cash, baby! And lots of it! There are small nations that don't make as much in a year as Peter does on an issue of Spyboy. We're talking a Bill Gates level of money here. And of course we give him a lot of creative freedom on the book. We want to keep him happy lest we incur his wrath... I hear that he just bought a pet volcano.

PA: What can we expect from Spyboy and his friends this time around?

DL: Running, fighting, screaming, more running, some more fighting. A bit of talking. Flashback, action scene, narration, action scene. Humorous aside. Flashback, reveal, flash forward. And finally, cliffhanger.

PA: This is your first time editing Spyboy, how difficult was it to jump into his world and get started?

DL: Other than the ritual scarification it was pretty painless.

PA: Is it true you had to take over editorial duties on the book when the original editor was revealed to be a hermaphroditic hunchback egomaniac bent on world domination through the power of comics?

DL: Yes.

PA: Are there any more plans for Spyboy coming up?

DL: YEAH, BABY! And you heard it here first. More Spyboy will be coming your way shortly. Keep watching the Dark Horse web site for more details!

PA: Don't try and distract us here, Land! Now, part two of the above question: the Spyboy story in this summer's Reveal featured a much edgier story than we're used to and darker art by Alex Maleev: is this the kind of thing we can expect from Spyboy in the future, or was it just something Peter David had to get out of his system?

DL: If I told you that it would spoil the fun, wouldn't it?

PA: Finally, a personal question: when can we expect to see that life-sized Bombshell doll in stores?

DL: I don't think there are any plans for that. You'll have to make due with the super-deformed pvc version... pervert...

At this point the tape is filled with the sound of punching and someone (you know who) crying like a little girl. The only relevant piece of information we were able to obtain was that Spyboy #13.1: The M.A.N.G.A. Affair a dossier written by Peter David and illustrated (possibly, we're still waiting for the results of the DNA test to come back from the lab) by Pop Mhan will be available in comics shops April 23.