When it comes to diversity, talented creator Ronald Wimberly has proven quite the knack for it. Starting out in 2014 with Gratuitous Ninja: Tangerine, which was published by Dark Horse Comics and leading to work with DC with Swamp Thing, Lucifer, Metal Hurlant, and Deadman. Wimberly then branched out with a collaboration with hip/hop artist Percy Carey (MF Grimm) in the critically acclaimed Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm. This garnered him two Eisner Award nominations and two Glyph awards. He followed this up with his first solo graphic novel, Prince of Cats in 2012. This book was optioned for film adaptation by Legendary Films in 2018 and is still in production.
If that wasn’t enough, Ronald is also the founder and editor of LAAB MAGAZINE, an experimental art magazine published and co-edited by the team at Beehive Publishing. Speaking of Beehive Publishing, Ronald and Beehive have recently brought to Kickstarter a deluxe version of his original GratNin. 600 plus pages of his action-packed webcomic in a unique, accordion style presentation. With all that going on in addition to all of his other projects, it seemed like a great time to sit down and talk to the talented creator about his career, the GratNin Kickstarter and whatever else he has going on. So, let’s welcome Ronald Wembley to GVN’s Talking Comics Interview.
Starting Out
GVN: Thanks for sharing a bit of your time, Ronald. Since we haven’t had an opportunity to chat before, let’s start out with a bit of your history. When did you take an interest in art, and comic work specifically, and who were the creators that inspired you to pursue that craft?
RW: I’ve been interested in the arts since I could hold a crayon. I switched majors from art direction to illustration at Pratt. I wanted to tell stories and joined the school comics magazine my junior or senior year. Otomo Katsuhiro, Takahashi Rumiko, Shirow Masamune, David Cooper, Dave Choe, Moebius, and Paul Pope were the cartoonists that were probably most important for me as I developed.
Doing it All
GVN: You have worked for the “big two (Marvel/DC)” as well as Dark Horse and Image and created your own characters. Which gives you the most satisfaction and perhaps, the bigger challenges? Working on an established character or working on your own?
RW: I’ve only worked as a pencil jockey for the big publishers. I’ve never written for them. That type of work is like drawing for licensed products; it’s a challenge the way working retail or doing my taxes was a challenge. I suppose if I wrote it would be different. I prefer drawing what I write or at the very least to work with other cartoonists with original ideas.
Kickstarter
GVN: Your upcoming project for Kickstarter is an impressively styled collection of your webcomic GratNin (Gratuitous Ninja). What was the inspiration for the series, and did you have any idea at the time it would be so well received?
RW: I grew up in the eighties in the middle of the Japanese economic bubble. Ninja were everywhere. The second comic I drew, after I’d seen Moebius’ Arzak, had to be silent and full of action. I chose Ninja as my subject. Years later, I continue to return to this concept. This recent version I had Shirato Sanpei in mind. A ninja dialectic. I am lucky that my reckless disregard of how my work is received hasn’t had lasting repercussions.
Special Presentation
GVN: You have been working with BeeHive Books for some time now and they are really going all out on this latest project as far as presentation goes. How did this concept come about as far as the collections look with the 600 accordion-folded pages? It shows some real outside the box thinking.
RW: GratNin was designed for the infinite scroll of a smart phone screen but I’d always wondered how it might translate to paper. After working with Josh O’neill and Chloe Scheffe on LAAB magazine, it was natural for us to tackle the job of translating the comic from screen to page. We just considered the materials and options and came up with a great solution. There were no great solutions “in the box”.
GVN: What kind of goodies will fans of GratNin find in your Kickstarter campaign?
RW: What kind of ninja would I be if I didn’t encourage chunin to follow their curiosity and search for themselves?
GVN: That’s what we call a tease folks. Thank you again for your time, Ronald. Before I let you go, do you have any other projects you would like our followers to know about?
RW: I am doing a lot right now. Aside from LAAB, which we plan to resurrect from its brief hiatus later this year, I have one more comic I’m wrapping up and will announce this spring/summer. After that I am taking a break from comics to focus on film/animation. I have three projects in the works, not including Prince of Cats, which is still in development at Legendary pictures.
Be sure to check out Ronald’s Kickstarter here.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first 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 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
