1984 Publishing has never shied away from the wonderfully weird, and their latest release, Cereal Savages, might be their most delightfully unhinged swing yet. Artist Joe Simko and writer Hans Rodionoff take the bright, bouncy world of breakfast‑aisle mascots and flip it into a feral, pop‑culture fever dream — a place where the cartoon smiles crack, the sugar rush hits hard, and nostalgia gets a sharp set of teeth.
Renowned Artist Joe Simko brings the explosive, hyper‑stylized energy fans know from his Garbage Pail Kids work, while Rodionoff leans into his genre instincts to build a world that’s equal parts satire, horror, and Saturday‑morning chaos. Just the kind of scenario that brings back fond memories to me. Together, they’ve cooked up a project that feels like a love letter to the characters we grew up with… and a gleeful takedown of the corporate sweetness that shaped them.
Recently, we sat down with Joe and Hans to talk about the origins of Cereal Savages, the creative chemistry behind their collaboration, and why these mascots were practically begging to be unleashed.
ARTIST: JOE SIMKO
GVN: Thanks for sharing a bit of your day guys. Let’s jump right in, starting with you Joe. Cereal Savages has a hyper‑stylized, anarchic look. What visual DNA did you want the book to carry from the start?
JOE: My inspiration for the design of the book is rooted in long form graphic novel storytelling. Blending superhero aesthetics like The Watchmen with underground black and white horror comics with a cup full of Mad Magazine style humor. The characters are deliberate memories of the 1980s pop culture I absorbed from my formative years, such as Saturday morning cartoons, music, and of course cereal box mascots.
Blending Nostalgia with Subversion
GVN: Your work often blends nostalgia with subversion. How did you approach parodying
cereal mascots without simply recreating them?
JOE: I’ve always been invested in creating my own characters. There has to be a unique vision even when pulling from past pop culture references. I suppose my years working at Topps as a lead Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages artist has helped in the art of the parody.
The Influences of Pop Culture
GVN: Since you mentioned it, as the lead artist for Garbage Pail Kids, you have a familiarity with the pop culture and frenetic energy of the genre. Which artistic influences—1980s cartoons, trading cards, punk zines, advertising art—shaped your visual concept and the book’s tone?
JOE: Thank you. ‘80s pop culture was and is my world. I’d like to think capturing the fantastical with reality grounded characters was part of a lot of ‘80s films. E.T., The Lost Boys, and Back to the Future, to name just a few of ‘80s core cannon. The Misfits punk band heavily influenced the design of my main character Krank and secondary character Rex. Krank’s personality is like Ash from Evil Dead 2. A character that strandles between having a superiority complex and an inferiority complex. My Chomps character is a nod to the ‘80s Pac-Man cartoon. And the two-headed FrostyFreaky is pukely pointing to my Garbage Pail Kids life.
Designing the Characters
GVN: When it came to characters for the story, what was the first character you designed for
this world, and how did that design set the tone for the rest?
JOE: Krank was the first character to be designed. He was much more twisted and gnarly looking. It was an acrylic painting. That’s what people will see as the fake cereal box design inside the book. I purposefully redesigned him to have a more commercial style. Something that could be a tad more reasonable in a realistic world. Once I did that change, the other characters were easy to design.
Collaborating with Hans
GVN: As you progressed, how closely did you and Hans work during the visual development? Were there any
designs that changed dramatically as Hans’ script evolved
JOE: Hans and I spent a lot of time over email and zoom making sure we had the right tone for the story and characters. Our first plan for the story was to have Krank hanging out with 3 pre-teens who had a cereal podcast. Then our mutual friend, Adam F. Goldberg suggested making the kids into adults. Hans and I liked that idea and made it one adult, a 48 yr old named Mike, meeting his childhood cereal mascot heroes. From that point things really picked up with the story. It felt right.
WRITER: HANS RODIONOFF
GVN: Thank you, Joe, but I’d better not leave Hans out of this party. What was the spark that led to Cereal Savages? Was it satire, nostalgia, or something more pointed?
HANS: The spark for me was seeing Joe’s first design for the Kranken Crunch cereal box and the maze on the back. I immediately understood what he was creating, and I wanted to be a part of it.
Riffing on Consumer Culture
GVN: The book riffs on consumer culture and childhood iconography (both of which I can relate to). As you developed the narrative, what themes were most important for you to explore?
HANS: I am drawn to stories about characters that have been underestimated, cast aside, or forgotten who become unlikely heroes. With the consumer culture that you spoke of being accelerated by social media, it’s easier than ever for heroes to be churned out of the news cycle and forgotten. But heroes are still heroes, even after they’ve faded from the public eye. That’s a big part of what Cereal Savages is about.
Pushing the Absurdity
GVN: As the narrative advanced, how did you approach writing characters inspired by cereal mascots without relying solely on parody? As a follow-up, how did you decide how far to push the absurdity while still trying to keep the story somewhat grounded?
HANS: I just thought about the Cereal Savages like human characters. Joe and I even did a brainstorming session where we basically cast actors as each of the Cereal Savages to get an idea of their voice and personality. I didn’t really think of them as cartoon monsters, I thought about them as people. If you treat cartoon characters like people, and you imagine that you want to try and get an A-List actor to play Krank, you make choices that make that character feel grounded and real.
Collaborating with Joe
GVN: As you mentioned, you are working with the talented Joe Simko. How did Joe’s art influence your writing choices or character voices?
HANS: The main way that Joe’s art influenced me was by bringing me constant joy with every piece of art that he sent. Once we had mapped out the story, Joe started sending me sketches and concept pieces, and every piece of art that came in just made me more excited and anxious to start writing.
GVN: Were there any moments where Joe’s visual ideas changed the direction of the script?
HANS: Not really. The script and the art were symbiotic. They both evolved at the same time and spurred each other on. I would suggest a story move, and Joe would disappear for a few days and then return with designs for the characters and the locations.
JOE SIMKO & HANS RODIONOFF
GVN: Well, I interrogated you separately. Now, let’s gather you both in. How did this collaboration initially begin, and what made Cereal Savages the right project for the two of you?
JOE: Way back in the year 2018, I first approached Adam F. Goldberg with the idea of Cereal Savages to be a TV show. I still see it as a show by the way. Adam introduced me to his writing partner, Hans, to work up a show pitch. As things went on, (cough, cough – covid years) it was feeling like the best way to really showcase this story and get it out there was to do it ourselves through the graphic novel medium.
HANS: I had just started working for Adam at his new production company, and the first thing Adam asked me to do was go down to Comic Con specifically to buy toys and meet Joe. Joe and I just hit it off immediately, I really appreciate Joe’s enthusiasm and love for pop culture, and he’s such a talented artist. I love the way he renders monsters and humans and everything in between. When he showed me the characters he had created for Cereal Savages, I was reminded of my childhood heroes: Frankenberry, Count Chocula and Boo-Berry. Why those General Mills characters didn’t have a cartoon series on Saturday morning, I will never understand. So as soon as Joe showed me the Cereal Savages, I saw the potential for creating a whole universe and a rabid fan-base around Cereal Monster Mascots.
Their Shared Vision
GVN: What was your shared vision for the tone—chaotic, satirical, nostalgic, rebellious—and
How did you align on it?
JOE: We both knew it had to be grounded in reality. We both love horror and comedy. Everything gelled well.
HANS: The tone we were aiming for was ‘Galaxy Quest’ or ‘Cobra Kai’ with Cereal Monsters. Both of those stories are about characters who are in a bit of a time warp, they’re still kinda living in the past. The world has changed around them, but they’ve stayed the same. It’s always fun to put those type of characters into a pressure cooker where they are forced to adapt and grow. When you tell that kind of story with Cereal Monsters who were a big deal in the 80s but nobody really knows who they are now, it just naturally gives you a satirical, nostalgic vibe. As soon as we agreed that we wanted to tell that kind of story, the tone was aligned.
World Building Fun
GVN: As the book came together, what part of the world was the most fun to build together?
JOE: For me, it was seeing my characters come to life through Hans’ writing. I had an idea of what the Cereal Savages looked like, but didn’t really know how to approach them as actual characters with personality let alone a story. Going through many, many final drafts, Hans and I polished something that I am very proud of.
HANS: I have to answer that question by saying the most fun thing for me about the whole project was the worldbuilding. We got to basically create a world where Cereal Monsters exist and hang around at 80s conventions. When Joe and I were putting this whole universe together, I was working on a Muppet show, and what I realized about every Muppet show and movie is that the Muppets exist in the real world, alongside everyone else. The show I was working on was about the Muppet band: The Electric Mayhem – and we had a great time blending the Muppet band with modern musicians. What we got to do with the Cereal Savages was create a whole world where Cereal Mascots are living among us, and they’re just like the rest of us, with the same emotions and shortcomings. And I really love all the extra touches that Joe added to give that world weight and substance – the lunchboxes and the fan club and the old cartoons on YouTube… it all helps transport readers into a world where Cereal Monsters are real.
1984 Publishing
GVN: You have partnered with 1984 Publishing to bring this book to reality. How did you decide that 1984 was the right home for this project?
JOE: I liked the idea of this graphic novel being released by a non-comic book publisher. 1984 Publishing has a great dedication to pop culture books and music. I know the owner of 1984 Publishing, Matthew Chojnacki, from a previous publisher we both had books with. Matthew also jumped on board my Garbage Pail Kids documentary film as Executive Producer back in 2015. So I knew that he would be someone with great work ethic and top marketing skills. Matthew has been helpful in every step of the way planning the production and publicity for Cereal Savages.
GVN: When it came to the physical book, were there any production choices—format, printing, packaging—that felt essential to the book’s identity?
JOE: It had to be hard cover. I also feel having the sequential panel pages as a black ink with monotone color juxtaposed with full color supplemental pages adds a layer of bringing the characters to the real world. The supplemental pages randomly inserted throughout the book are Cereal Savages cereal box designs, fake product, newspaper and magazine articles, cartoon screenshots and much more, all filed as if taken from the 1980s.
The blue foil gilded pages are a perfect match to the blue cover, giving a uniform cereal box vibe. We also have a very cool limited edition large cereal box package that contains the book, a Cereal Savages cereal bowl, spoon, magnet, stickers, and more.
Why Does this Subject Resonate?
GVN: Thank you both once again for your time. Finally, why do you think cereal mascots and childhood branding still resonate so strongly with adults today? I know for me, it touches on many fond memories of the past.
JOE: I think it’s like anything nostalgic that people hold strong feelings towards. It’s keeping that good moment from your past alive in the present. For me, the kids cereal of the ‘80s were a strong part of fostering my growth during a time that may have been otherwise difficult. With cereal, every sense is awakened. Taste the crunch of the cornpop. Smell the fruity of the pebbles. Hear the crackle of the krispies. Touch the metal of the spoon. And finally, See the colorful mascot art of the box.
HANS: I think Cereal mascots are especially potent because they’re kind of forbidden. Like horror movies and rock and roll. Any kind of pop culture thing that your parents or teachers say is ‘bad for you’ immediately becomes the only thing you want in the world. It’s the reason that Garbage Pail Kids cards hold such a strong place in the hearts and minds of people that grew up in the 80s. Those cards were considered inappropriate and too gross for kids, and were actually banned in a lot of schools. That only made them more popular. Growing up, my mom refused to buy me sugar cereals. She’d always say, “Read the ingredients. If sugar is the second ingredient, we’re not getting it.” So I ate a lot of Cheerios. But there was one time where I managed to convince her to get me a box of Count Chocula, which I squirrelled away in my room and ate little handfuls of for the next month or so. Now, years later, every Halloween, when Count Chocula shows up on the store shelves, I buy a box – because I can, and because, if I’m being honest, it makes me feel like I’m being a little bit of a rebel.
1984 Publishing’s “Cereal Savages,” by Joe Simko and Han Rodionoff, is scheduled for release on June 30th.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
