Occupation: Highly respected assistant manager of a very, very popular comic store.
Group Affilliation: I have chosen to grace the SBC with my wisdom.
Base of Operations: Florida
First Appearance: Nearly 40 years ago.
History: For more than seven years I have been an invaluable asset to the comic industry as a knowledgeable and talented assistant manager.
Powers and Weapons: Unlike so many other columnists and "professionals," I know the truth about comics. I will not waste your time with opinions, dear reader, I will give you only the facts.
In an attempt to raise the intellectual bar at Silver Bullet Comic Books, my editor has begged me to try my hand at interviewing comic creators; in the conventional manner. Not one to crush the lofty goals of my editor, I accepted the challenge and was given the contact information for David Hahn, the creator of the Slave Labor Graphics’ title, Private Beach.
After reading the interview, I am sure you will agree; I am the single most informative and entertaining interviewer on the internet. This is the truth!
I have reviewed David’s work and painstakingly put together a world-class interview, that you will find below.
Hal Roth: Why are you making a comic for girls? Don't you think this is tantamount to marketing condoms to priests?
David Hahn: First off, Private Beach isn't for girls, per se, it just happens to appeal to a lot of them, and women as well. Why? Because it lacks elements that most women don't like about superhero comics and it is a swell comic in it's own right. Second off, are you kidding? Girls got plenty of money and I want some! Their market niche is a vast untapped resource in comics.
HR: What does the title Private Beach mean? I have yet to see a private beach in what I have read. Don’t you find this misleading?
DH: It may be misleading, but certainly not disappointing. Who wants to read a comic about a deserted beach? In all honesty, I hate the name and want to change it. Maybe to something like "A Comic For Women Dragged Into The Comic Store Buy Boyfriend/Husband"
HR: Who do you prefer: Kirk or Picard, and why?
DH: Hmmmm.....Leonard Kirk has done amazing work pencilling Supergirl, but Auguste Pickard made significant headway in high altitude ballooning experiments in the 1930's, so I'd have to go with him.
HR: Your comic art shows promise. Have you read my column on how to draw comics?
DH: It shows promise?! Really?! Right on! I knew I'd be better off not reading your column!
HR: Why don't you draw your characters idealistically, like they should be drawn in a comic?
DH: Drawing muscles is too hard and I don't have a circle template to draw breasts with.
HR: Wouldn't you rather be working on a superhero comic?
DH: Well, sometimes the money is better there, but then you get fucked when you are drawing your dreambook and Phil Jimenez says "I think it's my turn to draw Wonder Woman now."
HR: Your series, Private Beach, relies on characterization and dialogue rather than dynamic superhero action. Why?
DH: Drawing fight scenes is hard! I'd much rather draw attractive women hanging out and talking. Also, I write my own stories, so I am God to my characters. I don't have to check with some continuity editor or some suit to see if it's okay for Trudy to have an abortion.
HR: When will there be a superhero in Private Beach? I could write a fill-in issue where Trudy or one of the other characters gains the equivalent of the power cosmic, if you like.
DH: I don't like.
HR: I have a treatment for a Green Lantern vs. Space 1999 crossover; would you like to draw it?
DH: Another one?
HR: Do you prefer black and white comics to color comics?
DH: Yes, I am a snob that way. Color becomes too much of a crutch for artists sometimes and I prefer solid, well constructed art.
HR: Death Star vs. a Borg Cube: who wins?
DH: Wow. I would have to say Death Star. Scenario- Death Star fires at cube and destroys it. Second cube approaches and gets destroyed as well . "But the second cube would adapt to the Death Star's energy beam and deflect it!" And how the fuck would it do that? Allow itself to be hit by the beam, analyze it's power, find a weakness, design and construct a shield, and erect it before the beam reaches the cube's core in a nanosecond? I don't think so. Death Star wins. The only thing that can beat Death Star is scissors.
HR: Don’t you know that color superhero books are what allow comic retailers to pay their rent? Why don’t you get with the winners?
DH: Why? Because I would outfit my female heroes in proper crimefighting attire and they wouldn't have a lot of skin showing or gravity-defying breasts. As far as my male heroes, they wouldn't do good deeds, but use their powers to pick up women and rob banks. The sound of Diamond orders dropping thru the floor would be deafening.
HR: What comics did you read as a child?
DH: I didn't read many comics as a kid, mostly Mad and Star Wars comics
HR: Are any of the influences from those comics in Private Beach?
DH: No, most of my influences come from the likes of Dan Decarlo, Alex Toth, and Jaime Hernandez.
HR: Wouldn’t you rather draw She-Hulk than Trudy?
DH: Well, it would pay better, I'm sure, but it wouldn't satisfy my writing urge. I would certainly love to write She-Hulk, however.
HR: You spend a lot of time on dialogue in your stories. Don’t you think you should give a little equal time to superheroes?
DH: Why do Superheroes need equal time in this medium?! They dominate the industry in this country, so if anything, superheroes need to give creative black and white indy books equal time.
HR: Private Beach #3 is on sale now; what can we expect from Private Beach in the near future? Superheroes in color?
DH: In near future, you can expect Private Beach #4, followed by #5 and #6, and so on. Also, there will be collected editions of the original series and the current series in there as well. I get a lot of feed back on how much people enjoy the slice-of-life aspect over the weirdness factor of the book, so I might concentrate more on the characters' relationships with each other more than the otherworldly elements of the story. As far as superheroes in color, I cannot compete with the big Two, so why even try? I'd rather make a cottage industry out of Private Beach because I believe my strength is there. While superheroes in color are lot of fun, there are people far better than me already drawing them.
The opinions expressed above are entirely the author's and do not represent those of Silver Bullet Comics, or any of its staff, or contributors.
