Tell us why you are passionate about comic books?
I guess because it’s a combination of text and pictures. You can get wrapped up and the visuals and still enjoy the words. With books, the only limit is your imagination but sometimes it’s hard to picture what the words are communicating. For example, the Quintessons from Transformers: The Movie. If I was writing in prose my description of them would be “The Autobots gazed at an eggshaped, tentacled creature buoyed by an energy beam. The creature had five faces, each rotating to chuckle at their victims pain.” That can be difficult to wrap your head around if you read the description. Yet with comics you get the picture so you can continue enjoying the story while immediately understanding the creator’s intent. There’s also a freedom with comics that you don’t get with movies. Where else would we get something like Spider-Man? Movies are beholden to budgets. And if a concept is too imaginative, studios are gun shy about green lighting the project because it’s more likely to bomb. Comics are a place where you can experiment and tell different types of stories without worrying about people telling you “this is too expensive” or “too strange.”
Tell us about ROBOTS VS. PRINCESSES. Where did the inspiration come from?
I can tell you exactly where the inspiration came from. I was in Ms. Z’s First Grade class at Columbus Elementary School. I was a building substitute at the time and she had coloring pages for the kids once they completed their work; robots for the boys, princesses for the girls. Then it hit me, “robots vs. princesses.” From there my brain went to work. “Who are these princesses? Who are these robots? Why are they fighting? Why were they separated?” I wrote down my answers to these questions. That’s when I knew I had a story and started outlining it.
You got a Kickstarter for the comic book. Tell us about the exciting rewards.
We have physical and digital copies of the book. Variant covers by artists like Andrea Tamme, Sean Von Gorman (Toe Tag Riot), and Rod Epsinosa (The Courageous Princess). We have a printable coloring book and paper dolls available at the digital level. At the physical level you can get a map of the kingdoms and you can have my artist Nic Chapuis draw you as a Princess, Prince, or robot. We have some fun stretch goals that will be unlocked once we’re funded. Finally, if you are one of the first 100 backers of a physical reward you will get a set of “Team Robot” and “Team Princess” buttons added to your order.
Do you have any upcoming appearances where fans can meet you?
Nothing planned at the moment but that can change. Check out robotsvsprincesses.com or toddmatthy.com for that information when it becomes available.
Besides comic books, what else are you passionate about in life?
Professional Wrestling, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal music, going to concerts, Game of Thrones, animation, classic anime, doing impressions, and karaoke. I read a lot too.
Where can people follow your journey on a website or social media?
Go to toddmatthy.com and robotsvsprincesses.com. You can check out the Kickstarter here.