Rich Johnston/Bleeding Cool: The Interview

Hot on the heels of my Comics-Op "Rumors Vicious Rumors" article, here is an interview with Rich Johnston (formerly of "Lying in the Gutters," now of "Bleeding Cool" fame). Enjoy!

BONUS: awesome Bleeding Cool "continuing trainwreck" forum thread starring a cast of hundreds: "The Darker Side of Bleeding Cool"

OS: The announcement regarding your last "Lying In The Gutters" for CBR shocked many long-time readers of your column. Do you feel sad/sentimental about leaving that gig?

RJ: Oh very much so. Lying In The Gutters is where my particular brand of writing really found both a home and a larger audience. I was there for seven years, and publisher Jonah Weiland was very much a partner in the column. But, of course, it was Jonah who brought me to CBR for my last column with the promise of money. And it was money that saw me leave.

OS: In a nutshell, what is "Bleeding Cool?"

RJ: I'm not sure yet. Simply, a daily Lying In The Gutters. But it's more, there are columnists like Warren Ellis, features, reviews, previews, interviews, a lot more - but hopefully still with the same tone that has found me an audience before. It also seems to have more actual journalism, which surprised me.

OS: Will there be any cool gossip on "Bleeding Cool?"

RJ: Hope so. Breaking the Mark Millar/Dave Gibbons comics project story was quite cool. As was the brian Blessed cast as Odin. More to come I hope!


OS: What is the connection between "Bleeding Cool" and Avatar Press?

RJ: Avatar have created the site and are paying my mortgage to write the site daily for them. They'll be getting a much higher profile for their books through the site. And it helps Avatar's image of the place where idiosyncratic talents go to express themselves.

OS: "Bleeding Cool" is already seeing a lot of action on its forums. Have you carried a lot of readers over from your previous gig?

RJ: I hope so. I couldn't get a link to Bleeding Cool in the last Lying In The Gutters, and a number have been emailikng me bemoaning the lack of LITG in their lives. Though they seem happy when they discover Bleeding Cool. Hopefully the Brian Blessed story will have reached many of them.

OS: You are also a comic book writer; do you find it difficult to balance the columnist and writing roles, or do they complement each other?

RJ: It's all writing really. They seem fairly seperate, unless I'm making some kind of satirical comic industry point. Civil Wardrobe and Watchmensch were both very column-based, Flying Friar, Doctor Who, Trip Into Space, Chase Variant, Holed Up, very much not.

OS: How was your recent "Watchmensch" received?

RJ: Mostly favourably I believe, with some glowing reviews. Including one from your good self. It was, I fear, an excercise in preaching to the converted, but it was a rather fun exercise nevertheless.

OS: Do you have any new comic books coming out or that you're currently working on?

RJ: Doctor Who: A Room With A Deja View is out next month, Trip Into Space came out the other week in the This Is A Souvenir anthology, I have a story in an upcoming Western anthology, and... lots of plans. Any artists out there looking for work?


OS: Comic book media & news sites are becoming somewhat of a crowded playing field. What sets "Bleeding Cool" apart of the rest of the pack?

RJ: Me really. And Warren Ellis. No one else has got those. Some fun other people coming too. I always wanted to get some of the more idioscyncratic voices in comics together, in one site, including my own. Maybe this is where I start.

OS: Is there any story that you ran in "Lying In The Gutters" that in retrospect you wish you hadn't or had handled differently?

RJ: I wish I'd run the Rick Olney story a week early. I wish I'd trusted my gut and run the Dreamwave stories earlier. Running the X-Statix/Princess Diana story and getting the Daily Mail newspaper onto it seemed to kill the storyline and the book, after Elton John gave Avi Arad an earful. Yeah, that one was a big regret. Who knew that Marvel would get so tabloid-sensitive so suddenly?

OS: What investigative piece/item/analysis that has ran in your past columns are you most proud of?

RJ: Stinging Josh Hoopes, who was faking Art Adams commissions was a good one. As was taking apart Diamond's changing terms and conditions. Maybe following up on all the Dreamwave bankuptcy inconsistencies? Giving a warning to everyone at CrossGen to get out while they could still save their mortgages? Stop making me choose between my children. You're a nasty woman.