Considering that she started as a character in a line of greeting cards, Strawberry Shortcake really has endured. Created in the 70’s, she went from greeting cards, to toys, to animated television specials and finally comic books.
The Strawberry Shortcake comic book is currently being published by Ape Entertainment under their KiZoic imprint, and written by local author Russell Lissau. While working full-time as a reporter for the Daily Herald, Erwin also teams up with his daughter to create new adventures for the little girl who lives under a berry patch. In this interview, Lissau talks about growing up a fan of comic books; what it’s like to partner with his ten-year-old daughter; and how he had to prepare to write Strawberry Shortcake stories:
Geek To Me: How did you get into writing comics?
Russell Lissau: I’ve been reading comic books since I was 6 — I still have the first “Star Wars” comics I owned. So it’s fair to call me a lifelong fan. I didn’t start writing comics professionally until I was well into my 30s, however. I’d been writing about comics for the newspaper and for a variety of newspapers, magazines and webzines — including The Baltimore Sun, Wizard, Chicago and North Shore — for years, and I’d become friends with many people working in the industry. Some of them encouraged me to try writing. They thought I was a good writer, fortunately, and realized I knew a lot about comics. I wasn’t interested, though — I liked simply going to my local comics shop every week and reading those adventures. But one day I got an idea for what I thought would be a great comic book story, and I proposed it to a friend, and he introduced me to his editor at DC Comics. That story wasn’t purchased, but the editors at DC invited me to pitch other stories — and that led to my first comic, the short story “A Friend in Need” in “Batman Allies Secret Files and Origins 2005.” From there I did some independent work and became a regular contributor to DC’s “The Batman Strikes,” which was an incredible experience. Since then I’ve written crime comics, horror comics, comedy — just about every genre.
Geek To Me: How did you get involved with writing Strawberry Shortcake?
Russell Lissau: I’d already worked with the publisher, Ape Entertainment. That was a short piece in their “Shrek” series. An editor there invited me to pitch for Strawberry Shortcake after that series was announced, and two of my pitches were published in the first mini-series. The second mini-series launches this summer, and I have two 4-page stories in that.
Geek To Me: Were you a fan of the character as a child?
Russell Lissau: I did, about three hours’ worth. I did it with Meredith, so it was fun.
Geek To Me: I know that the My Little Pony series has a very avid fan following that can be very vocal over how their favorite characters are being treated, have you encountered anything like that with Strawberry Shortcake?
Russell Lissau: American Greetings owns Strawberry Shortcake, and the company has kept the license and the characters alive. You’ve got to admit, they’re pretty adorable. And the comic is proof girls want to read comics, too. At comic book conventions, it’s my best-selling book.
Russell Lissau:
At their local comic book shop, of course! I’ll also be a guest at the
in
Rosemont
from
Aug. 9-12
, and people can buy the books directly from me there. Autographs are free!
Russell Lissau: My big project in 2013 will be a story in “The Graphic Textbook,” the second publication from the non-profit group Reading With Pictures. It’s a textbook covering reading, math, science and social studies that is made entirely of comic book stories. It follows national core curriculum standards, and hopefully kids across the country will be using it in their schools very soon. My story is called “Field Trip,” and it’s drawn by mpMann.
I’ll also be self-publishing a short horror comic called “Sweet Dreams” with artist Christine Larsen. This one is not for the kids! To learn more about that and my other comics projects, you can visit facebook.com/russell.lissau.
Learn more about Strawberry Shortcake and the other titles from Ape Entertainment’s KiZoic line by visiting their website!
