Jaunary 24, 2006

CATCHING UP WITH CLIFF METH & METHo.d.
by Rik Offenberger

Cliff Meth is a comic book columnist and author, known for knowing every past master in the industry. Cliff stopped by Newsarama to chat about his new book, METHo.d. coming from Aardwolf Publishing which collects thirteen stories with illustrations by some of his friends. It's a book he guarantees you'll love.

Newsarama: Let’s start with the cover, how did you get Jim Steranko to do a cover for you?
 
Cliff Meth: Jim and I have known each other for many years, so it was no trouble at all to pick up the phone and ask him. It was really as easy as that.

NRAMA: Moving inside, what are the stories about?

CM: Half of the them are about the misadventures of Hank Magitz, a character I created some years ago who suffers through the pangs of an on-going midlife crisis, complete with the go-go bars, the anxiety, the drinking and desperation. When I "invented" Hank some ten years ago, I didn't know him that well. Now that I'm experiencing my own mid-life crisis, we've become much better acquainted. It's easier to write him. The other stories are dark fantasy, borderline science/horror fiction with political overtones.

NRAMA: Where did the title of the book come from?
 
CM: The title of the book was suggested by Jim Steranko. I have great admiration for Jim--he has an extraordinary sense of drama and is very much the noir character he plays. I had used the working title "Mean Little Stories" because that describes the book to a T, but Jim said, "Call it METHo.d. -- you'll get the double-entendre of 'method to his madness' and over-dosing. It's darker and it fits." I was uncomfortable with this, at first--the idea of playing with my last name was a little too cutesy, but Jim has certainly been down more roads than I, and arguing with a legend is silly when he's doing your cover. It would be like J.D. Salinger offering to write the intro. Even if it were about the menstrual cycles of ballerinas in the Ukraine, I wouldn't mind the association.
 
NRAMA: For those that may not have read your previous books and stories, how would you describe your writing?
 
CM: That’s hard because I never write the same thing twice. I grew up reading Harlan Ellison, Charles Bukowski, and Stan Lee, so I guess my writing combines the worst elements of all three, if that’s possible.
 
NRAMA: Aside from a Jim Steranko cover, what artists do you have working on this book?

CM: Steve Lieber (Hawkman), Al Milgrom (Thor), Jordan Raskin (Penthouse Comix), Michael Netzer (Batman), Wm. Messner-Loebs (The Flash), and Paty Cockrum (Claws of the Cat, Elf Quest).
 
NRAMA: That’s an impressive list of talent, are they providing spot illustrations through out the book or single illustrations?
 
CM: It’s all different. Jordan Raskin did a real composition for a single story that should really be a cover, it’s that good. Same thing with one of Netzer’s pieces, he has several. Messner-Loebs did sequential art.
 
NRAMA: Some of the stories in your book have already been optioned as movies. Which stories?
 
CM: The contract isn’t signed yet, so I’d best not say. But my story “Snakes” and “The Legion of Dysfunctional Heroes,” which I did with George Perez, were previously picked up by Richard Saperstein, who is the new head of Weinsteins.
 
The whole option business is funny. Perhaps 1% of stories optioned will actually get scripted, but it ups your stock, and the money is good.
 
NRAMA: How does a story get optioned before it is published?

CM: Several directors had asked my agent for a first-look. I’m hardly in a position to say no to that.
 
NRAMA: There is something a little different about this book too, it’s got an unconditional money back guarantee. Who came up with this idea?
 
CM: Jim Reeber, who owns Aardwolf Publishing. From day one, he’s been in my corner. He’s had more faith in my career than I’ve had. He suggested the money-back guarantee as a vote of confidence on my last book, God’s 15 Minutes. As far as I know, not a single book was returned.
 
NRAMA: For the publisher this is really a losing proposition, since the distributor and retailer each get a percentage. Aardwolf is really going to give back more money then they receive for the book?
 
CM: The guarantee is for books bought directly through Aardwolf. I don’t believe that arrangement was made with Diamond, although I *do* know that smaller distributors like Bud Plant have special arrangements with Jim.
 
NRAMA: This is a limited edition of 1500 copies. Why would you want to limit the orders?
 
CM: It seemed like a good idea at the time.

NRAMA: Along with being in stores in March, where else can people get a copy of the book?

CM: AardwolfPublishing.com