GVN Talking Comics Interview: Writer Jordan Morris For First Second Books ‘Youth Group’

Jordan Morris

Jordan Morris is a prolific writer. Throughout his career, he has penned scripts for television shows on HBO Max, Disney Plus, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, and YouTube Originals. In the realm of comics, he created and co-wrote the twice Eisner-nominated graphic novel “Bubble,” which is based on the popular Maximum Fun podcast that he also created. Currently, “Bubble” is in development as a feature film by Sony Animation and Point Grey Productions.

In addition, Jordan’s 2nd graphic novel “Youth Group” will hit the shelves on July 16. Published by First Second Books, it’s penned by Jordan with artwork by the talented Bowen McCurdy. “Youth Group” is a young adult horror-comedy that revolves around a band of churchgoing teenagers who battle demons in their spare time, when they’re not crafting religious songs inspired by popular hits. They’re just your typical, everyday teenagers. Unless you count the demons.

Recently we sat down with Jordan to discuss his beginnings, his television work and working with Bowen on “Youth Group.” So, let’s welcome the multi-talented Jordan Morris to GVN Talking Comics.

Beginnings

GVN: Thank you for sharing a bit of your time with us Jordan. Since this is our first opportunity to chat, let’s start with your creative beginnings. When did you take an interest in writing and what kinds of books or media inspired you to pursue those dreams?

JM: I started writing sketch comedy as part of a comedy group in college (UC Santa Cruz! Go Banana Slugs!). The performing aspect was fun, but the writing part was always the biggest thrill for me personally. I’ve been writing professionally for a while now, but comics are a recent (and thrilling!) development. I’ve been a comics reader my whole life (X-men, Spidey, Archie and Mad Magazine were my jams growing up) but always thought getting to work on them would remain a dream. My first comics project was the sci-fi comedy graphic novel Bubble, co-written with Sarah Morgan and art by Tony Cliff. It was an adaptation of a scripted podcast I created for the Maximum Fun podcast network. First Second approached us to do the adaptation and I’ve never said yes to anything faster in my life! That book opened the door for doing subsequent comics projects and I’m so grateful that it happened.

Writing for Television

GVN: You have written for a diverse collection of television shows (HBO Max, Disney Plus, Comedy Central, and Cartoon Network). Have you always preferred writing for comedy or child-oriented shows, or did you take the work available?

JM: The first animated kids’ show I worked on was Unikitty! for Cartoon Network. In my initial meeting for them they told me not to worry too much about gearing it towards kids. Obviously, there couldn’t be swearing, realistic violence, etc. but they wanted the show to be funny for anyone of any age. They encouraged the writers to follow their funniest ideas and make a show that they would want to watch. I love this value and try to keep it in mind no matter what I’m working on.

Youth Group

GVN: Your upcoming book “Youth Group” is a wonderful mix of teen life and horror. Filled with likable main characters, it walks a tightrope between relatable teen issues, comedy, and demonic possession. Not an easy trick to pull off, but you and talented artist Bowen McCurdy make it work. Where did the idea for this story come from and was Bowen always your choice for bringing the story to life?

JM: I love religious horror but it’s always so dire and apocalypse-y. Horror comedies have always been favorites of mine and I thought it would be fun to do for religious horror what Shaun of the Dead did for zombie stories. I was part of a goofy teen Bible study growing up where we sung Jesus-themed parodies of popular songs, lightly and safely “moshed” to Christian punk rock, etc. I thought it would be fun to graft my silly childhood specifics onto an exorcism-based horror story.

I’m so happy Bowen agreed to work on this project. I pitched the story to Calista Brill over at First Second with a premise and some of the initial pages. The first artist she sent me during the search was Bowen. I was immediately blown away by their work and told Calista to call off the search if Bowen was game to do it. Luckily, they were! Bowen worked on a great series called Spector Inspectors that has some similar possession/exorcism-based story elements so I knew they had great ideas for how to make the genre work in comics. Their characters are so lively and expressive, you like them immediately (even the demons from Hell).

Writing Comedy

GVN: Part of the appeal of “Youth Group” for me is the naturally flowing humor that doesn’t appear forced but is just a natural part of the personalities you have created. Kay’s line when presented with the “just breathe” rock almost choked me. “Crap! Have I been forgetting to breathe this whole time?” (As Clairee from Steel Magnolias might have said, “Spoken like a true smart-ass.) As an experienced comedy writer, does such dialogue come naturally or do you go through several drafts to tighten your script?

JM: Thanks for the kind words about the rock joke! I like that one too. Some of the jokes came naturally but some of them we obsessed over. There’s a moment where two burnout-type characters make a chore wheel but it’s full of lazy stoner “chores” like “max and relax.” These were really fun to come up with, so we did a few pages of options before we landed on the ones we put in the book. Some of them were courtesy of our amazing editor Ben Wilgus, who is an amazing comics writer himself.

Dealing with Parents Separation

GVN: Another part of the story that might ring true for some readers is the difficulty in dealing with a divorce between parents. The dialogue between Kay and her mother is very well done and relatable for those who might have gone through this process. Was this story element always included or did it come as you developed your narrative?

JM: Yeah, the story changed quite a bit from pitch to comics page (there was a ghost character that was cut, probably for the best) but that relationship between Kay and her Mom was always there. Divorce can make kids feel so powerless and I thought it was an interesting place to meet a character who will discover that they are actually very powerful.

GVN: Thank you once again for visiting with us, Jordan. Before I let you go, I want to let you tell our readers when “Youth Group” will be released and about any other upcoming projects you might have.

When “Youth Group” Drops

JM: Thanks for these awesome questions! “Youth Group” comes out 7/16 and you can get it anywhere you get your books but do please consider grabbing it from your local indie bookshop or comic bookstore!