Comics Features

INTERVIEW: Todd Black, Creator of Guardians

In our second interview with the very talented Todd Black, we take a look at his project Guardians, prior to the release of Issue #12!

A Place to Hang Your Cape: Your project Guardians is on its very impressive 11th issue, can you tell anyone who doesn’t know, a bit about the story so far?

Todd Black: Guardians is about two beings named Element and Chaos, who were created by a deity to protect a city in need. And though they have perfect control of the powers bestowed upon them, they have no people skills. So when they’re done saving the people, they rush off towards a stone watchtower called The Perch and just watch Delta City until they’re needed again.

Eventually, Element begins to ask if there is more to their lives than just this purpose, Chaos says no, but Element thinks yes. Then the villains start coming, and the questions continue to grow, and the answers will surprise both them and the readers I would like to think.

AP2HYC: There are some really deep, big themes in Guardians which raise questions about morals, ideals and purpose. What makes you want to explore these themes in your work? Are they hard to tackle?

Todd: They are, and in some ways it’s unusual for a superhero comic to delve into something like this. But for me, it’s something I wanted to do since the beginning. I wanted a deep story that just happened to have action, not an action-packed story with no real point at the end of every arc.

I want every arc, if I can, to have a purpose or meaning, and having Element and Chaos be created the way they were, it gives them a unique perspective on the people of Delta City and life in general. And that’s really fun to write. I love it. Then when you add the villains and what they bring out in the Guardians, it’s just a fun ride.

AP2HYC: Alex Garcia is the artist for Guardians, can you tell us a bit about his work? What is the process for you guys working on Guardians?

Todd: Alex is phenomenal. He’s been with me since the first issue, and did full artist work since the second one. He’s improved so much, it’s not even funny. Look at Guardians #1, then look at pics I’ve shown of Guardians #11, and the style has evolved greatly. He does something different every time to help improve his style, I couldn’t do Guardians without Alex. And I wouldn’t be this far if not for Alex. He’s helped me in a lot of ways.

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AP2HYC: What or who are your inspirations in the world of comic books?

Todd: I read a lot of DC and Marvel, love Batman books, X-Men, Green Lantern, Avengers, and a bunch of others. They helped inspire me to not only do Guardians, but do it in a way that they don’t do in some ways. I’m going to do things that I can honestly say I don’t think they’d do in some ways, or only regulate to certain books. And that’s fine, I love having the freedom to show who I am in my comics.

AP2HYC:  The Guardians have some pretty awesome abilities but if you could choose, what special skills or powers would you want?

Todd: Just in general, I think flying would be awesome. I’m also an Avatar fan so Earthbending would be cool. More than anything though I’d want a power that’s easy to control. Don’t want to hurt anyone because I didn’t have it.

AP2HYC: Issue 12 is on it’s way, what can fans expect in this installment and are there plans for more to follow?

Todd: Oh there’s more to come! We’ll keep going until I can’t do it anymore or I have no more stories to write. The next issue is the conclusion of our most recent arc “What Makes A Hero?”, and I think fans will be surprised with what we do with a certain character. The issue to follow that is our first one-shot since the prologue issue, and features a character who I can’t wait to introduce called Aurora.

So if you’re not yet familiar with Guardians series, you’ve just about got time to catch up before Issue #12 is released! Head over to the Guardians website here – and you can even get Issue #1 completely free!

About the author

Grace Davis