Posted in: Comics | Tagged: bobs burgers, Comics, dynamite, entertainment, Fox TV, Loren Bouchard

"Comics And Animation Are Intersecting Circles In The Venn Diagram Of The Life Of A Nerd" – Loren Bouchard Talks Bob's Burgers

Published Thu, 19 Jun 2014 17:00:31 -0500

Bob's Burgers, the animated series running on Fox since January 2011, is going to make the jump to comics in a unique way. The creative team who does the show will also be doing the comic for Dynamite. I got to chat with series creator Loren Bouchard about handling both mediums for his creation and where else he may want to go with it.

Bleeding Cool: Why take the jump into comic books? Were you comic book fans growing up?

Loren Bouchard: All of us were comics fans to varying degrees. Comics and animation overlap in so many ways, there probably isn't a single person in either field who hasn't at least browsed in the other. They're intersecting circles in the Venn diagram of the life of a nerd.

BC: Since the series is being done by the television series crew, one can assume that it will be close to the cartoon. How will the comic differ from the series and what types of things can you do in comics that you can't do on Fox?

LB: We're going deep into the internal lives and imaginations of the characters in a way that we can only do fleetingly on the show. This isn't just the comic made by the same people who make the show – this is the comic as if it was made by the characters on the show.

BC: How different is it working on a comic from working on an animation series?

LB: Working without sound was daunting at first but then we realized that the sound was still there – it was just provided by the imagination of the readers. That was helpful. After that we let go of our fear and just decided we could do it, even if that wasn't true.

BC: Will the comic stories be considered part of the cartoon canon or will they be their own thing?

LB: The comic tells stories in a far flung style that comes straight from the fantasy life of the kids. In this way it can exist alongside the show without either violating or contradicting the other.

BC: For the cartoon viewer who doesn't read comics… why should they pick up this new series?

LB: For the cartoon viewer who doesn't read comics maybe we can be their first – their gateway drug – that little taste that becomes a hunger. OR things could go badly and we'll diminish their appreciation for both comics AND Bob's Burgers. We hope that doesn't happen.

BC: Now with Television and Comics… what other medium would you like to take Bob's Burgers out to next? Any plans for a feature film? Video Game?

LB: We feel that if we're being true to the characters then almost any form of storytelling-tainment is fair game – Bob's Burgers the call-in radio show, Bob's Burgers the fashion competition reality show, and Bob's Burgers the sex advice column are all in the works.

For more on Bob's Burgers #1 coming this August from Dynamite, click here.

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