Ask Tick Creator Ben Edlund

The non-cartoon Tick debuted on Fox last night, so this is an ideal time to have Tick creator Ben Edlund as a Slashdot interview guest. Before you start typing, you may want to read this May 2000 interview with Ben to keep from duplicating questions and to see what kind of person he is. Then ask away. As usual, we'll send 10 of the highest-moderated questions to Ben, and publish his answers as soon as we get them back.

copyright issues?

[turbine216]

now that we're all aware of the still-pending copyright issues between Sony and Fox concerning certain Tick characters and trademarks ("Spoon!"), is there any hope in sight for a resolution that would allow the use of these copyrights? Or is this a totally dead issue?

Drugs?

[FortKnox]

What type of drugs/alcohol were you high on when you created the character and premise of the tick? ;-)

Also, is the tick more of a boxer, brief, or boxer-brief man?

Where did you get the idea?

[Anonymous Coward]

So, enlighten us. Where did you even get
the idea of 'the tick', and all the other wierd
superheros and villains you have?

Available in Europe?

[tdye]

As an American and a fan living overseas, will this show be available on any UK/Irish stations? Where might I see it if I'm living in Ireland?

Which RPG?

[Dane_Johnson]

I read some time ago that, at a convention, you had admitted that The Tick started out as a character in a Superhero Role Playing Game. Of course, they failed to say (or perhaps you didn't tell them) which game! So which was it? Champions? V&V? Superworld? Marvel Super Heroes? Do any of the other "standard" Tick Universe characters come from the game? Do you still play?

What were your inspirations?

[wrinkledshirt]

First of all, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this soliloquay:

"So the mustache was in love. Oh, that's cool. Love is cool. That mustache is cool. But it didn't make me cool. It made Sewer Urchin swing ten miles by his upper lip!"

"And look at Jim Rave. He should have been cool. He had a cool eye patch, cool RV, cool gadgets, and he traveled the world with three vivacious, exciting, talented beauticians. That's cool! But he wasn't cool."

"You know, Arthur, I may have lost my mustache, but I've gained... heh... I haven't gained a thing."

As for the question... Comic book hero farce as a genre doesn't exactly have a huge tradition. Where did you draw most of your inspiration from?

Timeslot

[ReadbackMonkey]

What evil Fox executive stuck you in such a lethal timeslot? Why didn't they slot you behind the Simpson's then move you to the lethal Thursday timeslot?

I had to fight with my girlfriend to watch the show last night since 'Will and Grace' was on.

Why?

[jmccay]

Why do a live version when the cartoon series didn't last that long?

Are you satisfied?

[dasmegabyte]

Are you satisfied with the finished product of the live action Tick? I was a huge fan of both the comic and the cartoon series and am sure that if you can keep up the quality of dialog and acting you had in last night's episode that I'll be glued to it as well. But the differences between the three are immense...especially in the humour department (for example, my favorite joke from the comic was "We are hedge. Move along." which probably wouldn't work in either the cartoon or the live action). Do you, as the characters' creator and a comic artist, find yourself looking at the finished product and saying, "yes, that's what I see when the Tick jumps along the rooftops of my dreams?" Which of the three incarnations is your favorite?

Why the change?

[Jaycatt]

I noticed that Deflator Mouse and American Maid had been changed to Batman-uel and "Captain Liberty". Why the change from the animated series? Those characters and their rivalry were a great side story, and to use similar characters but have them deeply in love with one another seems like a major switch.

Perspective of a drunken viewer

[ackthpt]

Ok, I had a few beers and was attempting to make some kind of dinner without A) cutting my fingers off B) burning it, yet again and sat down to watch with a plate of curried rice with asparagus.

Patrick Warburton was absolutely perfect as The Tick, Nestor Carbonell was great as Batmanuel, Liz Vassey as Captain Liberty and David Burke was a great fit as Arthur. Since these shows were originally filmed in 2000, will this cast be preserved? Is there any plan to do a 1 hour show or movie? It was fun to watch, and just because of the beer!

How do the Tick's antenna work?

[Lumpish Scholar]

Sometimes they seemed remote control, sometimes they seemed computer generated.

Re:Why?

[FatherOfONe]

great question. I have to add that my wife hates most cartoons and liked the cartoon of the tick. We use to laugh at most of the stuff. However, her quote last night after watching the show.
"I didn't laugh", I sadly agreed. It just wasn't funny. I hope that they get better.

My hope for future epsiodes...
1. Be less edgey, the tick would have NEVER said "BITCH". Unfortunately, that comment alone probably killed a lot of familes from watching it.

2. Don't cram the hispanic mouse guys love of women down our throats.

And yes I realize that most of the episodes have allready been shot...

Just my 2 cents...

Origins

[Luminous]

Will we ever see the 'origins' of The Tick?

Working with Fox

[Wind_Walker]

Given Fox's track record of hyping up incredibly gimicky or out-of-place shows (Alien Autopsy and Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire come to mind) while simultaneously burying shows that have real potential (Family Guy, for instance), how concerned are you that Fox will simply bury you after one unsuccessful (or successful) season?

Where is Sewer Urchin?

[YouAreFatMan]

Was Sewer Urchin the casualty of the intellectual-property fight, or was he removed because of political correctness? There are equivalent characters to American Maid and Die Fledermaus, but no bizarro Sewer Urchin. Was it just too much to have a autistic live-action hero on primetime?

Egad! My melon!

[Codex The Sloth]

Why were the costumes for the Tick and Arthur so different from the cartoon / comic (which I loved, BTW)? In particular, the Tick's eyes are not covered and Arthur's outfit doesn't look the same at all. Having a mask is a big part of being a super hero!

Will we see:
The evil midnight bomber?
Pineapple Pocopo?
The civic minded 5?
Hang 10 for justice!

...so, uh, when's the next issue of the comic?

[babbage]

I've been reading the comic since the early 90s, when a high school friend lent me a copy of a comic that his sister's friend had written -- that would be you :). I loved "The Tick" from the start and have been a fan ever since, so I was delighted to find out yesterday -- just in time to watch it -- that there was now a live action tv show version. I remember many of the later comics saying this sort of thing was in the pipeline, but considering how long it has been in coming, I was a bit skeptical that anything would come of it. Glad to see that I was wrong on that one.

So, now that you have your show, I'm curious:

• How involved in it are you? Writing? Producing? Can we expect a cameo? How much creative control do you have over where the show goes, particularly considering some of the copyright issues that I've been hearing about?
• Do you have the time or the interest to go back and do any more issues of the comic? It seemed like each issue took longer & longer to come out, until eventually they seemed to just peter out (not counting for the moment variants written by others). Is there any chance that there could be another original Ben Edlund penned Tick comic someday, or are your interests elsewhere now?
• It's kind of outside the scope of the original contest, but will getting a question to you on Slashdot make anyone eligible for one of the Super Rare Uncut Copies Of Issue #2? I suppose by asking I've disqualified myself, but still I can't help but wonder :). How many of those were there, and are they all gone now?

Congratulations on your success, from a fellow southeastern Mass person... :)

Target Audience

[rnb]

Judging from the first episode alone, it seems like the live-action Tick is automatically shooting for an older audience than the cartoon was (for perhaps obvious reasons). Arthur getting drunk, The Tick using the word "bitch," some of Batmanuel's references to Captain Liberty, etc. I always got the feeling from the cartoon that it was aimed at both adults and kids, with some jokes perhaps flying over the kids' heads while the adults would get them (a snake accusing The Tick of not dating much during a wrestling match in The Tick vs. Proto-Clown comes to mind).

Will the live-action series be aimed more at adults and less at younger viewers? I'm not really complaining if that is the case, it just seemed like there was definitely a shift in tone.

Female Super Heros and Cartoons

[toupsie]

Do cartoonists get women like rock stars or are the sexist representation of women in comics a result of a lackluster love life and multiple failures in attracting the opposite sex?

Do you feel guilty that the women portrayed in your cartoons are 1 dimensional pin-up girls while the male characters are given more depth? Can a woman be a super hero if she does not have big breasts that look good in spandex?

Paul the Samurai, Karma Tornado -- what happened?

[jabbo]

I used to be an avid Tick and PTS fan. Collected them and Milk And Cheese, that about covers the comics I actually found amusing. The Tick was great because it wasn't so horribly cynical and angry as Dorkin's (Milk and Cheese) work, but was almost as funny. Then at some point the Tick stopped being funny. Man Eating Cow, Karma Tornado, all the spin-offs besides Paul The Samurai were terrible from the beginning. I never could figure out why this was.

Did you break with NEC at some point, leaving the Tick and Paul the Samurai series to be written by somebody else? The first dozen or so Ticks were hysterical, as was the first Paul the Samurai, and then everything dissipated. (the original Tick cartoon show was pretty funny, but nowhere near as good as the comic book)

I don't collect comics anymore (gave them all to my little brother) but I did enjoy the Tick and M&C. M&C lost a lot of its punch after a while, maybe everyone runs out of material, but it seemed like much more of an abrupt transition with the Tick, and I was wondering what happened. Also I hope you're back for good, some of my college friends had never heard of the Tick and really got hooked on it after I dug out some old issues of the comic. The comics were great stuff.

"Unnecessary Rockets: On/Off"

Fox

[SilentChris]

Do find being on Fox to be a potential downfall? It seems like a lot of semi-decent shows ("Family Guy") get killed and resurrected fairly often on the network.

DVD?

[Count Fecal]

When will the cartoon series Tick be available on DVD?

Comic to TV Adaptations

[Anonymous Coward]

will there be a possibility of adaptations of Tick comic issues. I would love to see the Tick face off with Barry in real-time along with a follow up to show the results of Barry's defeat.

Origins of "Spoooon!"

[dbretton]

Ever since I first heard the battle cry of The Tick, I always wondered, "How did these guys come up with the idea?"
I tried to visualize the circumstances which brought forth the famous Tick line, and always end up picturing some semi-intoxicated discussion over battle cries during dinner, then someone started holding up utensils.

So, how did it happen? What were the circumstances? What were the alternative/runner-up battle cries?

(if you say, "chopstick & spork", you'll get me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.)

-Dennis

The Tick's Language

[quiller]

While I'm a big fan of the Tick and enjoyed the show last night, I found one thing discordant while watching it. The Tick using words like bitch, and gonads. He has always struck me as having very anachronistic language. Stuck back in the Father Knows Best days. Spreading his brand of creamy justice on the toast of the city, sure. Make Evil my Bitch, doesn't work for him. Borderline profanity might work for some of the other characters, particularly Bat Manuel, but it seems wrong for the well intentioned, but naive hero that is the Tick. Is this a direction they are trying to take the Tick for some reason, or just a matter of unfamiliarity with the characters that will be ironed out over time?

The Beginning

[Prof_Dagoski]

I wish I still had my first Tick comic. It was a freebie from New England Comics, announcing that they were going to try publishing their own comics. I thought it pretty decent, but had to make more strategic decisions in my collecting habits at the time. Sorry Ben, I just had to have Akira. Fast forward a few years and suddenly I see the tick everywhere. So my question is this: Where did you think this comic would end up way back at issue one? Were you jsut hoping to have some good stuff in your portfolio by the time you got out of college(or wherever)? Were you hoping for a moderately successful underground classic? Just when did you realize that the Tick was a big hit? What happened then in your life and how did it affect your creation(the comic as well as the character)?

Do you still read Cerebus?

[weatherbee]

Most people probably don't realize that the Tick is a direct adaptation of the "Roach" superhero parody character from Dave Sim's Cerebus. Do you still keep up with Cerebus despite the fact that the Roach (and his attendant humor) have been missing from the story for 100 or so issues now? What do you think of how Cerebus has unfolded? Has Dave Sim, a notorious hater of the television medium, given you any grief over the new series?

Why "SPOON!!!"?

[nick_burns]

Where did you come up with The Tick's world famous battle cry?

Re:The Tick's Language

[Anonymous Coward]

+5, Insightful!

Please ask this question! I loved the premier, but the Tick saying "bitch" simply DOES NOT FIT, and IMHO, takes away from his child-like personality.

Two questions

[Flounder]

Ben, been a huge avid fan of The Tick since issue 1. Still got all my issues (including my uncut #2) and still read them on occasion. Got every episode of the cartoon series, still watch them on occasion (and to introduce my 4 year old boys to The Tick).

Here's my questions...

As the creator / executive producer / high goddess of all that is Tick-y, what would be the one thing you wish to be done with the new live action show? Guest appearances? (BTW, nice shot of you and Barry on the couch) Better special effects? Hot dog cut into a little octopus?

And second, since it appears that characters from the cartoon exclusively will not be appearing due to copyright issues, can you give us a brief list of those that might appear from the comic? Chairface Chippendale? Chainsaw Vigilante? Paul the Samurai? Man Eating Cow?

Thanks for making Thurday night TV watchable again.

Sources of inspiration

[MikeyNg]

To me, the Tick was always a satire of his genre. You made fun of Batman, Wonder Woman, Galactus, etc., etc. My question would be: With the series moving to live-action TV, would you be satiring other things? Making fun of Galactus would go over the heads of most your audience. However, targetting Friends or Survivor would surely hit the spot. (Survivor especially, given your current time slot.) Where is the comedy and the storyline going to come from?

Creative Control

[CleverNickName]

How much creative control do you have, and how much will you maintain, if the show is a success?

I have firsthand experience with the idiocy of networks, so I'd be very interested to hear how you pitched the idea.

I'd also like you to know that I have been a fan from issue number 1, and used to curse your being in college, and not being able to put out new issues. Paul the Samurai is one of my favorite characters, in any medium, of all time.

Million Zillion Ninjas?

[sinster]

I know you get asked this with every Tick project that you do, but here it is again: are you guys open to the idea of redoing The Night of the Million Zillion Ninjas for the live action series? That story line was always the cornerstone of The Tick in my mind. I think it would work well in the live action. And since, in the previous interview, you mentioned that you might bring Paul the Samurai into the live action series, NofMZN seems like the perfect way to do it.