FCBD18 Interview: SpongeBob Creators Discuss Their FCBD Title, and Why Comics Matter

WHOOOO lives in a pineapple under the sea?!

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!

Absorbent, and yellow, and porous is he! And he’s back with more antics in another SpongeBob Freestyle Funnies! In this Free Comic Book Day special, Plankton teams up with underwater supervillains to steal the crabby patty secret formula. But what starts as a small group of aquatic bad guys spirals out of control into a large congregation of every Mermaid Man enemy the creators could pack into one book! Expect to see some of your faves like Man-Ray and the Dirty Bubble.

Free Comic Book Day spoke to two of the creators behind this exclusive SpongeBob comic, James Kochalka and Robb Bihun. These outgoing creators delivered an interview that is just as bold and bubbly as SpongeBob himself! You can read it below. Then, click here to read through our PREVIEWS Prevue of the comic!

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Free Comic Book Day (FCBD): What has been your favorite part of the book or main character(s) to tackle?  

James Kochalka: I’ve been writing and drawing SpongeBob comics for over a decade now. Maybe way over a decade! But the thing I like best about drawing him is that I get to draw & write him my own way. Working on SpongeBob is just like working on my own comics.

FCBD: What other titles would you compare to yours?

James Kochalka: If you like what I do in SpongeBob Comics, you’ll get a big kick out of my Glorkian Warrior series for First Second or my Johnny Boo series for Top Shelf.

FCBD: Tell us why everyone should read comic books!

James Kochalka: I think comics are great because the kind of stories people tell are often quite different than the kind of stories people tell in other mediums. Comics often place imagination above plot or story, and I really like that.

FCBD: What do you think is special or unique about comic book stores?

Robb Bihun: Back when I was a kid living in rural Ohio (long time ago), the closest access I had to comics was one small grocery store in our township.   It had one spinner rack of books. I used to walk there every week to make sure I did not miss a single issue of my favorite comic, The Amazing Spider-man.  During one year, the latest issue, #157, knocked my socks off. Doc Ock had returned from the “dead” and was being haunted by the ghost of Hammerhead and at the end of the issue, Spidey was in a free fall from a helicopter to his apparent doom!!! I could not contain my excitement for the next issue!

I patiently went to the grocery store every week, bursting at the seams, looking for the next issue (#158), not knowing if my beloved Web-head would survive or not!   Weeks and weeks went by until FINALLY, the new issue had arrived!….But wait, it was issue 159!  They had skipped an issue! Where was issue 158!?!?

As I opened the book anyways, I saw that Spidey survived, but Hammerhead had somehow regained his human form! Oh my gosh, I missed so much. Where was #158? I checked back thru the rack, over and over, just to make sure I didn’t miss it. It was nowhere to be seen.  How was this possible!?!?

I was devastated knowing I had missed an entire chapter. The disappointment lingered. It was the worst feeling in the world! I soon learned that this would not be an isolated occurrence. Over my childhood, many storylines would go incomplete!

Well, a few years later, my family took a trip to Detroit, Michigan to visit the relatives. I had heard rumors about a store in the area that sold only “comic” related stuff. An ENTIRE store of comics??? Was this possible? I begged my mom to take me, which she happily did.

I remember walking into the store for the first time. It was pure nirvana. Comics, toys, and posters EVERYWHERE, from wall to wall.  I could not believe what I was seeing. I quickly ran to the employee and asked him if he had issue 158.  He pointed to a row of boxes that were titled SPIDER-MAN.  I ran there, slid open the box, and flipped thru, book after book, until finally, THERE IT WAS, IN MY HANDS…. issue 158 in all its glory. The excitement overwhelmed me.  I continued to look for other issues that were missing in my beloved collection. What a truly magical place, I thought. I literally spent an hour in there as my mom patiently waited in the car.

It was from that day forward that I fell in love with the “comic shop” experience. Here was a place purely devoted to the dreams of my youth!

Years later, when each of my two kids were born, my wife and I brought our newborn infants to the local comic shop on our way home, fresh from the hospital (true story!). We still take frequent visits to this day (my kids are now teens).

Decades later, there is still nothing quite like the feeling of walking into a comic store. Every time I see a new store, I ALWAYS stop in. It’s like reliving that very first moment from my childhood, a brand-new world to explore.

Even during times I visit, when I'm not looking for anything in particular, I always come out with something I did not know I couldn't live without!

 

 

Find a comic shop near you to celebrate Free Comic Book Day 2018!