Interview: ‘The 27 Run’ Promises Monsters, Mecha, and Mayhem

Mechs! Monsters! Mayhem! Sounds like a lot of fun, right! Hell yeah, it does. And publisher A Wave Blue World is going to give you all that and then some. It happens in the pages of The 27 Run, a kaiju blockbuster hitting your local comic shop this week! PREVIEWSworld hung out with writer Justin Zimmerman and artist Russ Brown to discover what The 27 Run is all about!

DIAMOND: So what can you tell us about The 27 Run? How did this project come about

Justin Zimmerman: This would be somewhere in early 2016. A Wave Blue World was launching an innovative new online comic series called Under Current. The idea being, each of the (eventually) four titles would be doled out weekly and, at the end, get collected as graphic novels. Personally, I like to at least outline – if not a script – an entire series at the beginning, long before it goes to art. Except, on THIS one, I decided to throw all that out the window, and I wrote in short bursts. As art came in, I adapted, played and truly challenged myself to improvise all the way to the end. I just went where the world and characters took me. Now, Dostoevsky or Dickens I ain’t, so I needed an artistic partner who would really deliver BIG on the page to keep me moving. That’s when I reached out to Russ.

Russ Brown: For as long as I’ve known him, I’d been giving Justin regular ear-beating about my love for all things Kaiju. We share a love for mechs in anime as well: where Justin loves Robotech, I’ll tend to fall somewhere in the realm of Evangelion. We’d talked about doing something related to those topics for some time, but it was a chat at Emerald City Comic Con that really sparked the book. He pitched me a very unique take on the concept, which was excellent. But the REAL moment that stuck with me was hearing the premise: our pilot was very possibly the last known living, edible human, and in a post-apocalyptic Earth filled with 27 very hungry giant monsters. Then he dropped the title. I was sold immediately.

JZ: I’m not completely insane, so I did come up with broad strokes and ran through a huge batch of prepro designs with Russ before pulling the trigger. I found my initial direction in an early email: “Hyper-kinetic. Tons of detail. A scorched earth. Big monsters. Made to order for your skills.” Tyler signed off on the pitch, schedule and promo art in August of 2016… and we got to work.

DIAMOND: Any favorite moments from the book?

RB: My favorite scene began with the first appearance of the huge Goliath. I enjoyed the heck out of the moment where he bursts out of the Earth, interrupting a chase in a very chaotic image. Our buff little Rail Mech is my favorite character (I think of him as far more than simply a vehicle), but drawing him always seemed to take ages. But I love him, so the effort was worth it.

JZ: Fran Gamboa came on to brilliantly color the book shortly thereafter. And Thomas Mauer, who I’d worked with on The Broken Frontier Anthology, climbed aboard to letter. We launched in early 2017… and the reception was awesome.

RB: Fran Gamboa is a secret weapon. Everyone should have one. Watching him turn in page after page of vivid colors was a thing to behold. The man can set a tone, and he made us look good. The same goes for Thomas Mauer. Then to see it in print! A WAVE BLUE WORLD has never produced an ugly book. They are all beautiful, thoughtful, and infinitely readable titles. While they may look great on the shelves, they are even better in your hands! This was the most fulfilling part of the process. And the reactions we’ve had with our readers has been amazing.

JZ: The book hit RIGHT when AWBW signed with Diamond Comics, so it was a fast and furious launch. But The 27 Run really caught fire at conventions. Graced with Clayton Crain’s glorious cover, and printed to oversized hardcover perfection thanks to Tyler and Wendy (AWBW co-publishers), we couldn’t bring enough of them to our signings. And I still get letters to this day from cool kids… of every age!

DIAMOND: What can readers expect from the series?

RB: It’s monsters fighting mechs! It’s hilarious. It has some excellent social context, and it’s lovely to behold. Did I mention mechs and monsters?  

JZ: And here we are, four years later, ready to launch The 27 Run: Crush. Bigger, bolder and even more fun, I can’t wait for people to read this one. New hero, new sidekick, new enemies… it’s just insane. We also added lead artist Ethan Claunch to the mix, and our featured covers by Robbi Rodriguez, Ken Lashley and Leo Colapietro are just beautiful. I’d love to do more  The 27 Run, so please ALSO join us in 2021… and bring all your friends!