Cody of Keeping it Geekly welcomes Ross Radke, creator of the Kaiju series Stomped, the WebToon SpandEx, and Bill the Playtypus, to chat about his current campaign for the Deluxe Anthology of Stomp which is currently live until February 15th on ZOOP! It's time to look deeper at a world filled with Kaiju!!
COMIC BOOK YETI: Welcome on into the Yeti Cave, Ross! Thank you for keeping the kaiju hybrids at the door, those things look dangerous!! We are here today to chat about the Stomped Deluxe Anthology and what goes into creating this monster-sized universe. Feel free to tell us a bit about yourself!
ROSS RADKE: Hello! I grew up near Seattle and spent many “rainy day recesses” in the elementary school library, reading books about monsters and aliens, and dreaming up my own wacky adventures filled with strange creatures. I’ve been writing and drawing stories about monsters and superheroes my entire life, but only started seriously pursuing my interest in comics around 2015, when I started showing my work to pros at comic cons. Since 2020, I’ve used Kickstarter to self-publish four giant-sized issues of my kaiju anthology series Stomped, which is now being collected into a deluxe 180-page paperback available on Zoop.
CBY: Have you always been a fan of kaiju or was it a developed interest along the way? What aspects of the genre are the most captivating for you?
RR: I’ve always loved monsters, everything from Gremlins to the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers made a huge impact on me at a young age. I’ve also always been an animal lover, fascinated by reptiles, insects, and sea creatures, so I suppose my love of kaiju is an extension of that. But I have to admit, I didn’t grow up watching classic daikaiju films. Other than the 1998 American Godzilla and a few later films like Peter Jackson’s King Kong (2005), and Cloverfield (2008), I wasn’t very well versed in the genre. When I started developing Stomped, I was determined to remedy that and ended up watching every single Godzilla, Gamera, and Kong film over the course of the year, as well as lesser-known Toho films like Rodan and Space Amoeba. I’ve easily watched over 100 giant monster films over the last five years.
One thing I love about the genre is how versatile it is. You can tell any sort of story you want and improve it by throwing in a giant monster to serve as an oversized metaphor for the themes you want to explore, whether that’s the existential threat of nuclear annihilation or a child’s power fantasy about being strong enough to stand up to a bully.
CBY: What does the creative process look like for you when constructing these stories? Do your plots come first or is it the designs?
RR: Stomped began as an idea for a graphic novel that outgrew my ability to write and draw it while I was grinding away for over 60 hours a week as a manager at Walmart. I decided to introduce the world of Stomped in smaller bite sizes and wrote eight standalone short stories, to be released in four “double feature” issues. The idea was that each story would be my take on a classic kaiju or monster movie trope, set in the more grounded world of Stomped. This is a bit of a look behind the curtain, but I’d ask myself questions like, “What is The Thing equivalent in this world?” and see where that thought experiment took me. As the project organically evolved from issue to issue, I started to add a little more connective tissue to the stories than I’d originally intended, added some backup shorts, and scrapped some ideas in favor of new ones inspired by real-world experiences during the pandemic.
When it comes to the designs of the creatures themselves, that was typically informed by their function in the story. Sometimes I had a very specific idea in mind and sometimes I gave the artists I collaborated with complete freedom to design it on their own.
CBY: Tell us a bit about the world of Stomped. This Deluxe Anthology collects issues 1-4 and is chronologically re-ordered for a more cohesive reading experience. What can our readers expect when diving into it?
RR: For diehard daikaiju fans: Stomped is a collection of stories that give you different flavors of a genre you love, told from perspectives you don’t typically see. For those who predominantly love watching giant monster slugfests - I love that too - but that’s not the primary focus of Stomped. I really wanted to explore how humanity would react to living with giant monsters, treating them as if they were natural disasters. There’s still plenty of sci-fi action and horror, but also some slice-of-life stuff that I know many readers have really connected with.
For people who aren’t as familiar with the kaiju genre, I think this is still a fun entry point. I hope the promise of incredible art and character-driven storytelling intrigues you enough to dip your toes in the water. Just watch out for gargantuan lobsters!
CBY: Were there any challenges or difficulties that you faced when creating this series? What goes into creating an anthology that connects together like this?
RR: Originally I wanted each story to be drawn by a different artist, but a few people ended up having to back out, so I ended up drawing three stories myself and asking one artist to come back for a second story. Part of that decision was the reality of budgeting. I paid everyone a good page rate (except myself) and more or less broke even after printing and shipping expenses. I did a lot of research before launching my first Kickstarter and was fortunate to be able to pay my collaborators and put out an amazing comic, but growing my audience over multiple campaigns has still been a challenge in the current social media landscape. I’m very grateful for all the amazing supporters who helped make this project a reality.
I approached this project as a kind of collaboration workshop. I tried writing different style scripts for different artists, did layouts for some, did some of the coloring, and lettered one story. I actually used the notecard method early on in the development of Stomped, writing somewhere between 70-100 ideas on different notecards and arranging them on the floor to figure out an outline for the larger story. Some of the cards would be paragraphs about specific characters or scenes, others just said stuff like, “do kaiju poop?” It was a great learning experience, somehow the pieces all came together, just not in the way I originally planned. You have to be flexible, realistic about your goals, and disciplined in order to successfully create a comic and run a successful crowdfunding campaign.
CBY: What would be the first thing you would do in a real-life Kaiju invasion? Any advice on avoiding getting Stomped on?
RR: The Stomped Anthology recounts stories taking place over a 20-year period and we actually show how people have adapted to living in the shadow of the kaiju. Populations would shift away from urban areas into more rural parts of the world. Houses, business buildings, entire neighborhoods, public transportation, early warning systems, etc, would all be designed to facilitate safer mass evacuations. Keep in mind, kaiju attacks would be relatively isolated events. Just like most people don’t live their lives in fear of being caught up in a tornado, I think society would more or less function the same as it always had… So long as the number of kaiju didn’t start to increase at an exponential rate. (Wink, wink)
CBY: What are some of the bigger inspirations for you when creating stories about kaiju? Do you have any special routines or rituals when crafting plots and designs?
RR: I used to get a lot of “writing” done while walking my late dog Rudy around the boardwalk by my apartment. He actually makes a cameo appearance in one of the stories! Taking at least 30 minutes to walk each day, away from screens and the stresses of life, is a great way to exercise your body and imagination.
I think watching movies and reading comics is essential to understanding your own taste. Thinking somewhat analytically about what works for you and what doesn’t, along with having a general understanding of what general audiences respond to, is important if your goal is to create work that has the “cool factor” while also emotionally resonating with readers. You want to know what’s out there so you can show them something new, or at least be intentional about wearing your influences on your sleeve.
I usually listen to film scores while writing and drawing. Instrumental music helps me focus and I try to pick something that fits the mood of the story I’m working on.
CBY: Do you have any social media platforms you would like to shout out to our fans?
RR: I’m easy to find by searching my name - there aren’t many other Ross Radke’s out there and none of the others draw comics! I’m currently most active on Bluesky, but also still post art on Instagram. Right now, I’d really like people to subscribe to my free newsletter on Substack. That’s the most effective way I can share what I’m working on with people who want to stay in the loop. I just started it, but I like that I can use it to send quick updates on my current projects or write longer pieces about my creative process or even artist spotlights for my collaborators.
CBY: Thank you so much for hanging out with us in the Yeti Cave today, Ross! We wish you great success on your campaign and can’t wait to see what else you have in the future!
RR: Thank you for helping us get the word out about the Stomped Deluxe Anthology on Zoop! This first volume is only the beginning. I have big plans for the future of Stomped and this campaign is essential to laying the foundation for what’s to come, while also working perfectly well as a standalone collection of rad monster comics.
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