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mikeywayarchive · 9 months ago

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SDCC 2024: Mikey Way Rings in Holidays All Year Long with Christmas 365 (Interview)

By Justin Epps - Published Sep 7, 2024

Dark Horse Comics

☰ SUMMARY

• Christmas 365 from Dark Horse Comics releases this year, a festive series about a family celebrating Christmas all year round. • Co-writer Mikey Way talks about the nostalgia and magic of Christmas, and the importance of family in his work. • Way collaborates with Jonathan Rivera and Piotr Kowalski to craft a dream project embracing the 80s/90s Christmas movie feel.

Full interview under the cut:

Christmas has come early for Dark Horse Comics readers. During this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, the publisher revealed it would be releasing Christmas 365 later this year. This festive new series comes from the creative team of Mikey Way, Jonathan Rivera, Piotr Kowalski, Brad Simpson, and Joshua Reed.

Christmas 365 tells the story of a family who has gone through a particularly challenging year and their attempts to come back together through a Christmas season that lasts the whole year round. Screen Rant caught up with Christmas 365 co-writer Mikey Way and dug into his thoughts behind this unique holiday story.

Screen Rant: From the premise I'm guessing you're a big fan of Christmas. But why Christmas 365?

Mikey Way: As a child of the 80s, a lot of my favorite movies were Christmas movies. I think the holiday stuck with me, the the mythology of it, the imagery really resonated with me. I know I'm not alone on this, the world is obsessed with Christmas. You go in stores and the Christmas stuffs out in August. It was after 9/11 I noticed Christmas started earlier at the store. I remember taking a mental note of that. People needed it at that time. I feel like with social media people have been able to express their love of Christmas and find like-minded people that are like-minded. There's Christmas podcasts, there's Christmas basements.

Mikey Way: Anyway, child of the 80s. Christmas Story, Scrooged, Christmas Vacation, Gremlins, Die Hard, Santa Claus: The Movie, all those great Jim Henson movies. These were important stories to me. And so I've always had that itch in me to tell a Christmas story. And I think it was around 2013 I watched a bunch of Christmas movies in a row and it wasn't Christmas time, it was summertime, I think. I remember watching Home Alone and Christmas Vacation and being like "What stories are left to tell?". Then it hit me like a bolt. "What about a family that're kind of disconnected and one of them gets the the wild idea to celebrate it all year long?". Like that's gonna fix everything.

With Christmas, there's this effort to see the world through the eyes of a child and recapture that feeling of wonderment. Is that what you wanted from your story?

Mikey Way: It's the one month out of the year where you can forget about life's pressures a little bit. And there's wonder and magic and hope and promise. Especially when you have children. It's the Super Bowl. For a child things revolve around "Christmas is coming!". So getting to see it through my two girls' eyes...that's what it's all about. There's so many layers to it. It's a layered holiday. But it's just something that's so great. In a world full of gloom and doom, it's something that's just awesome and great. Like there's a velvet cloud around you in December. Even November.

Mikey Way: There's there's a lot of bad stuff that happens in the world. People get busy, people get stressed, people have responsibilities. And it's the time where you can celebrate being a family, celebrate the people you love, and you could show them how much you love them.

You're co writing this with Jonathan Rivera. Both of you guys did books for DC Young Animal which was definitely a more experimental line, but you guys are trying to tell a more grounded story here, correct?

Mikey Way: We're very like-minded. He went to art school with my brother. We all like the same stuff. Trainspotting, Britpop, Stone Temple Pilots, The Crow, action figures, X-Men, anime. Jon was a kindred spirit. He's one of my best friends in the world. He's someone I wanted to write a story with. This was the perfect opportunity because he feels the same way about this 80s/90s Christmas story. He's got the same itch to scratch.

Your previous book, Collapser, had a real strong family theme to it, which seems carry on in Christmas 365. What is it about family that speaks to you so strongly in your work?

Mikey Way: Family's everything. As you get older you start to realize that. And it plays into the holiday of Christmas. When it comes down to the family's all you got. You can have an important job. You can have all the material possessions in the world. You could have fancy this and that. But when it comes down to it, who's sitting at the dinner table with you? Those are who's important and the people that pick you up when you're needing it. They're there for you, you're there for them. So the family unit has always been something extremely important to me. Especially as I get older and have children and extended family. That's really all you got in this world and it's the most beautiful thing there is.

In addition to Rivera, you're also working with Piotr Kowalski. How was it crafting this dream project with him and his art?

Mikey Way: What's interesting about him is he's mostly a horror guy, really. When we got his artwork, most of the demonstration pages and pieces were horror and then I went on his Instagram recently and it's all horror and I'm like "It kind of works, because this is supposed to be an 80s/90s Christmas movie.". If you watch these movies, they're all dark and they always tried to sneak a horror element into it. In Home Alone there was the scary boiler.

For me, it was A Christmas Story when Ralphie goes on the slide and the Santa just boots him down.

Mikey Way: There's always a moment of playful scariness in those movies. So I think it fit the tone, because you want it to look a little VHS. I feel like he was able to tell it exactly. Like if we closed our eyes and we were envisioning Christmas 365 as a movie, that's what it would look like. Me and Jon saw his art and were like "This is the guy.".

You previously spoke about the influence of suburban genre movies like The Burbs and Better Off Dead. How did these movies inform your Christmas story?

Mikey Way: So the story goes me and my brother watched Better Off Dead probably a couple of times a week for years. That and One Crazy Summer, those those two movies for me and my brother were very important. There was this Gonzo stuff in it. It was a slightly grounded, suburban comedy that had all these kind of wacky, fantastical ideas in it. All those movies had a sport. Better Off Dead was skiing.

Oh, like Heathers and croquet?

Mikey Way: Team Wolf had basketball. They all had a sport. Also there's a weird claymation dream sequence, remember? There was all this weird stuff, but there's something about that movie that struck a chord with me and my brother and we watched it literally once or twice a week for decades. But yes, Savage Steve Holland was a big influence on me and Jon Rivera.

Christmas 365 #1 is available on December 4th from Dark Horse Comics.

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mikeywayarchive · 1 year ago

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Electric Century: My Chemical Romance's Mikey Way on Blending Music and Comics

The My Chemical Romance bassist reveals the inspiration for his new graphic novel.

BY MIKE AVILA

UPDATED: APR 28, 2021 2:06 PM

POSTED: APR 28, 2021 1:53 PM

Full interview under the cut:

Mikey Way is busier than ever.

Despite having many 2020 plans derailed by the pandemic, the former bassist for My Chemical Romance (and brother of lead singer Gerard Way) revived his musical project, Electric Century, and turned it into a multimedia outlet for his creative energies. The result is EC’s self-titled sophomore album which reunites Way with singer David Debiak, as well as a new companion graphic novel written by Way and Shaun Simon and illustrated by Toby Cypress, and published by Z2 Comics.

In an exclusive interview with IGN, Way opens up about the personal inspirations behind the GN, which tells the tale of a burnt-out former TV star who winds up trapped inside a hypnotic fever dream in mid-'80s Atlantic City. Way describes talked how his childhood in New Jersey and the immense fame he experienced during the My Chem era informed key aspects of the story.

The Origins of Electric Century

EC in many ways has been a lifeline for Way ever since MCR broke up in 2013. Meant to be the outlet for his and Debiak’s love of new wave and Britpop music, the first album came out just as Way checked into rehab in 2014. That scuttled any plans for touring with the album.

Now this one is out, and Way had some big ideas for taking the new record out on the road, in a way that would bridge the worlds of music and comics he’s constantly traveling between. Except, COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill.

“There were cool plans at San Diego Comic Con [in 2020] for this graphic novel,” Way says. “We were going to play at Comic-Con, too, and then, bam! The pandemic happened. This is maybe the second time that happened where we were planning to do an Electric Century show and it didn't happened. So it was like someone was telling me, “Am I not supposed to play a show?”

The writer-musician did like everyone else did; He adjusted to the restrictions of pandemic life. After discussions with Z2 Comics, it was decided to take a more organic and less calendar-timed approach to the release of the Electric Century GN. Available directly through Z2’s website , fans can either order the book separately or as part of a package with the album and other merchandise. It’s also available through other retail outlets.

"But we pivoted and we're going to do other different, cool stuff with it," Way adds. "And the cool thing about this project is there's no timeline. We’re just going to let this organically grow.”

Of course, 2020 was also when Way was supposed to be rejoining his brother Gerard and the rest of My Chemical Romance for the highly anticipated reunion tour. Like nearly all other musical tours, those plans have been put on hold while the world recovers from COVID, so there is no practical update for MCR’s return. Given the nature of such mega-band tours, lots of I’s must be dotted and T’s crossed before things can happen, so Way politely steers clear of tour talk.

With regards to Electric Century, however, he’s an open book. The graphic novel came into play as recording for the album was nearly complete. It was conceived to be a parallel creative journey to the music that exist independently of each other. Way credits some of the inspiration for the dual project to the hitmaking virtual band Gorillaz.

“I have a lot of respect for [Gorillaz co-creator] Damon Albarn, I'm a huge fan of all of his musical projects. He always thinks outside the box, and it was brilliant what he did with Gorillaz, where it was this fictional band and video projections and screens. So basically, my mind just went from there. I started listening to the album over and over and an old idea I had for a story kind of peeked out.”

The seeds for the story that would eventually see print in the graphic novel were planted in 2014, after Way had exited rehab for drug and alcohol abuse. Seeking different types of therapy to help with his recovery, he attempted hypnotherapy, where hypnosis is used to create a state of focused attention during which positive suggestions and guided imagery are used to help people deal with issues. That experience made a lasting impression on him, especially as a potential story.

“I kind of had the idea of writing a story where somebody goes through hypnotherapy but they actually get transported somewhere and they can't get back,” he says.

Who Is Johnny Ashford?

That’s how Johnny Ashford came to be.

Ashford is the alcoholic former sitcom-star who is the main character of EC. He sees a hypnotherapist who transports him to his “happy place,” which turns out to be the Electric Century casino in Atlantic City in the 1980s. The visits to the Boardwalk spark new obsessions and before long he realizes his life depends on figuring out how to escape the Electric Century.

Having grown up in the Garden State and visited Atlantic City often, Electric Century afforded Way the chance spend quality fictional time at a place he visited often as a kid. It also gave him a chance to tap into his familiarity with the pitfalls and pressures of immense fame, having experienced it during MCR’s halcyon days.

“I used some of my personal experience [for the book],” he admits. “But I also had a fascination with eighties child stars since I grew up in that time. You know, back in the eighties, celebrity was different. If you were famous, you were like, legit famous. Everyone knew who you were, but there was intrigue. The only information was what was in magazines or on television. There was no social media, nobody was willingly giving any information about their lives on a daily basis. So these people seemed larger than life.”

For young Mikey Way, the young stars of shows like Diff’rent Strokes and Charles in Charge seemed to be kids you'd hang out with after school. Which is what he did, coming home from school to watch reruns daily.

“And then at some point, as I got older, I saw the sad side of show business and how a lot of [child stars] get discarded. That always made me sad because they were so important to people.”

Nostalgia plays an important role in Electric Century. New Jersey landmarks like Lucy the Elephant, the oldest surviving roadside attraction in America, show up in the book. But the the remembrances are soaked in melancholy.

“I wanted to play upon everyone's natural inclination to be nostalgic about something,” Way says. “That concept fascinates me because I often think if you could walk through a tunnel and be in some other time in your past, would you love it still? Or would your perspective now be, “I'm not into this anymore.” I'm a 40 year old man now; how would I process Atlantic city in 1988? No idea.”

Even though the two Electric Century projects were designed to exist separately, the track “Alive” is a seamless fit to accompany the graphic novel. It’s a song that Way wrote about five years ago – it was originally meant to be on the first Electric Century record – and he considers it one of his best compositions. “It's kind of reminding you to be alive and be in the moment,” Way says of the song. “And I think that's something I'm guilty of not doing, I think everyone in the world is guilty of not doing. I like to think about that when I hear that song to, you know, snap out of it, live in the now and stop worrying about where you've been.”

What's Next After Electric Century?

Way has several comics-related assignments in various stages of development. Up next is a story he’s writing with his big brother Gerard for the graphic novel tribute to the Anthrax album Among The Living, which Z2 is releasing on May 12. He also couldn’t contain his excitement over one project. “I’ve got something that I'm very excited about that I'm working on right now,” he says. “I don't know where it's going to end up. We're talking to some places, but it will be very cool.”

Finding himself at this stage in life where writing comics is such a big part of his life isn’t some fluke. Way doesn’t view comics as just a fun side project to do in-between albums and tours. Like his brother, comics have been a part of his life longer than music.

“I’ve been a fan almost the entirety of my life,” he says. “When I was three, four years old, I was thumbing through comic books at the barber shop, learning how to read from comic books, because I wanted to know what they were saying instead of just asking, “Gerard, what does this say?””

The Way Brothers became hooked on comics with titles like Superman, Spider-Man, Captain America and other superhero series. But for Mikey, G.I. Joe was a major influence. He not only enjoyed the stories but studied the format and how the story unfolded over 22 pages. When it came time to do his first full-length comic, Collapser for DC Comics’ Young Animal imprint, he took the same approach he had when MCR was formed. And he’s continuing to work at the craft.

“I was a super amateur guitar player-turned-bassist for My Chemical Romance and it was something I just had to practice,” Way says. “That's kind of what is going on with me and comic books now. I'm learning from all my peers that are top-tier professionals.”

Some of the comics pros Way reaches out to for advice include DC’s Chief Creative Officer and comics legend Jim Lee.

“Jim was somebody who was very instrumental in my comics career. He'd come to me numerous times and be like, 'When are you going to write a comic?' That's kind of how Collapser came about.”

He admits to being afraid to make that jump into comics, for a number of reasons.

“I was busy a lot and I'm a bad multitasker, so I always just kind of pushed comics to the side,” he says. “I would write stuff out. But when My Chemical Romance broke up, Jim had mentioned to me, 'When are you going to do this?' And then I pitched him something, which turned out to be Collapser.”

As he continues to sharpen his comic book storytelling chops, Mikey Way is also trying his hand at yet another skill: Cooking. Being on lockdown during the pandemic motivated Way to apply his creativity to the kitchen.

“Cooking is a new thing for me. For the whole duration of My Chemical Romance, I think I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at a restaurant. Even when I was home, I would just eat out, or I would order takeout.”

“It’s definitely fun, but it's difficult. It's very, it's very difficult,” he continues. “There's a learning curve, but my family is very encouraging to me in my endeavors. But yeah, I'm a novice. A true novice.”

Electric Century is available in bookstores now.

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