Through weekly issues and specials galore, the folks at Rebellion/2000 AD have churned out some truly bonkers stories. That includes Judge Dredd’s ongoing adventures in the criminal justice system; the harrowing combat dispatches from Rogue Trooper; and the always creepy machinations of Judge Death. Now, outside the proper “universe,” they’ve offered up something that’s equal parts radical and charming with BIG-ASS SWORD.
The English language debut of German writer-artist Andreas Butzbach (The Thirteenth Floor, Smash!), BIG-ASS SWORD is described as “The Mighty Boosh meets Head Lopper.” Here, Robot wields the titular weapon in “a world far from our own reality,” where he (and his companion Skull face) “strange lifeforms and mechanical beings left over from a long, forgotten war.” If the Boosh–Looper description holds no weight for you, it’s basically WALL-E meets Samurai Jack.
But don’t let the seemingly simple storyline (or the even more direct title) fool you whatsoever. BIG-ASS SWORD is both a stirring sci-fi adventure alongside a meditation on friendship and the nature of war itself. What it lacks in size (it’s just 96 pages), BIG-ASS SWORD more than makes up for in terms of heart, depth, and personality. Oh, and really big swords, duh.
BIG-ASS SWORD is out this week (November 4). Ahead of the release, we caught up with Butzbach via email to ask some of our most burning questions (not all of which were sword-related, FYI). That includes his entrance into the English comics market, his artistic beginnings and development, the Robot-Skull dynamic, and even a future for the world of BIG-ASS SWORD.
Courtesy of Rebellion/2000 AD.
AIPT: How do you feel about entering the English-speaking market for the first time? Are you nervous about how you’ll be received in a new place?
Andreas Butzbach: Yes, I’m kind of nervous but rather in an excited way. Making comics is something that is very important to me, always has been. For my little trash strips to reach such a vast audience is something I did not really expect. I mean, I worked hard for it, it should not surprise me, but it sure does somehow!
You were described as “starting out as a locksmith with an urge to draw.” How do you think that “unconventional” start influences how you make arts and comics?
AB: Where I’m from, art was not perceived as something you can make a living from. When you are a kid it is fine, but later, people started to question the urge I had, and still have. The working class is not supposed to thrive in art and media. We are supposed to work in factories, workshops, or behind the counter. I did all that at one point but I also drew a lot. When melting polyethylene pipes together, you have a lot of waiting time (you wait for pieces to cool off before you can take the pressure from them).
Courtesy of Rebellion/2000 AD.
Anyways, I was working on three machines simultaneously, still had time to kill in between, which I filled with drawing. Of course, my fellow workers talked smack, but my work was good enough to compensate for it. That was a long time ago, I was just 15 when I started to work for a living, and thinking back about it, the early years of my work life definitely influenced how I draw pipes and industrial machinery.
AIPT: Where did the idea for BIG-ASS SWORD come from in the first place?
AB: It was not present as one big idea, I just did let it flow. The characters did their thing and I did mine. It grew strip by strip out of boredom. Or, the need to make my time in lock-down worth something? A mix of both probably.
AIPT: There’s some real Heavy Metal vibes to this story. Was that famed magazine an inspiration? What other comics, films, games, etc. influenced the look and feel of BIG-ASS SWORD?
AB: Indirectly it surely was. Let me think about Heavy Metal and how it influenced my work: My first encounter with it was the movie. It felt forbidden to watch, mostly because it actually was. I was too young for it but there was no lock on a VHS player and my parents [were] both working. I did not understood the movie the way I do today but it was animated, it had blood and boobs, therefore it was good. Great soundtrack as well.
We also had our version of the magazine which went by the name Schwermetall over here in Germany. I remember I tried to buy it once using my pommes frites money at a swimming pool kiosk but the seller decided I was too young. Which I was.
Courtesy of Rebellion/2000 AD.
The anthology-style concept always works great for me, just like 2000 AD, a solid mix of fantasy and sci-fi from great writers and artists. I especially adore the black and white sci-fi war-strips featured in Heavy Metal [from] April and September 1981 by Juan Gimenez. I knew only his painted works before that ([Alejandro] Jodorwsky’s Metabarons is a must-read and fest for the eyes), but his short stories and inked drawings are amazing as well. Also, “Melting Pot” and the “Rogue Trooper War Machine” issue come to mind.
Around 1998, Akira was popping up in regular bookstores to furthermore change my perception of comics. It has a special place in my heart and many nostalgic connections. It is just fitting a homage [that] one of the most recognized pop-culture moves found [a] place on the [cover] in form of Robot doing Kaneda’s powerslide. Besides Otomo, I pay tribute to many artists that influenced me in one way or another as I read all sorts of comics from Europe over to the U.S. to Asia and they all do leave something behind. Mike Mignola’s Hellboy and Frank Miller’s Sin City were treated like the bible by me for years. They both are a huge influence, I consumed and studied their work a lot.
Influential films might be anything along the line of Sergio Leone spaghetti western to Kozure Okami movies. Those flicks have atmosphere most modern movies can only dream of. I enjoy the slow stuff but really don’t watch a lot of films anymore. (I did that a lot in the past.) When I can find time for no drawing nowadays, I prefer to play video games. They are long-ass films in which I can participate. And, surely, the way games are made and work, game-design in general, influenced the book and its theme heavily. BIG-ASS SWORD would be my kind off game; vast environments to discover, a cool bike to ride through deserts (it would take hours from one place to another and you have to fix the bike sometimes by getting off and kicking it, whilst Skull talks down to you). A few riddles and ancient servers to fight along the way as well as doing lots of secondary quests for interesting characters we will never see again.
AIPT: I love the dynamic between the Robot and Skull. How would you describe their relationship, and why was it important to have that be central to this book?
AB: I knew I wanted someone to wander through vast lands, and as comics do work better with speech-balloons, it seemed to be a good idea for the wanderer to have some kind of trash talking side-kick. I’d describe their relationship as an agreement to waste time together. You don’t know why Skull is in that cage, or why he is only a skull. Maybe there is a reason [why] Robot decided to take him along; I won’t spoil yet.
Courtesy of Rebellion/2000 AD.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite page or panel – something that maybe speaks to the heart of the story in general?
AB: This is a hard choice. I think I have to go with the cover art. It was only the second or third drawing of Robot and Skull ever. I will never sell the original.
Second, the panel with the Kaneda-slide, which is also used as the front-paper design. [Of] the images describing the story most, would be those where Robot is hanging out on some kind of structure, overseeing the surroundings, deciding what to do next. There will always come a little adventure out of it. Originally, these were printed in German magazine Fantasy 3000 by Weissblech Comics. It is an anthology title, so it was critical for them to work alone and not be a continued story. The strips are collected in this book for the first time, and there is also a segment between stories titled “The Road Less Traveled,” five snippets which together form the longest strip in the book in which Robot is driving through the lands of BIG-ASS SWORD on his motorcycle.
This is not a book with a storyline in the classical sense of start, middle, and ending. The book is filled with self-supporting strips from the world of BIG-ASS SWORD, which can be enjoyed single and may form a bigger picture the more often you read them.
AIPT: The story’s mentioned as taking place in “a world far from our own reality.” Why’s that distinction important – why not just set this in our own near/far future?
AB: Maybe I’m spilling too much but one does not cancel out the other. We have different realities in our reality already.
Courtesy of Rebellion/2000 AD.
AIPT: Could we see more adventures from Robot and Skull? How far would you want to take this “universe”?
AB: As far as I can! I’d love to get back into the world of BIG-ASS SWORD and see where it takes Robot and Skull next. More comics could totally happen, but apart from realistic expectations, I’d love to make the world explorable in [the] form of a video-game. Directed in parts by me, [Hideo] Kojima and Fumito Ueda! Produced by Rockstar [Games] from the past.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite giant sword in comics, games, films, etc.? I’m a fan of Guts’ Dragon Slayer from Berserk.
AB: Me too! The only over-sized weapon which I feel like it could actually be swung by its bearer. My book’s title is a direct nod to the classic created by Miura. It was such a sad ending for his manga; just when the story finally showed traces of hope and peace for the characters. But that’s how it goes…no life without death and vice versa. Many great artists were taken by time and other circumstances as I was working on the book. May they rest in peace and may their art be enjoyed and read for generations to come.
AIPT: Do you have anything else you’d like to add about BIG-ASS SWORD, comics, giant swords, robots, etc.?
AB: Yes, there [was] a BIG-ASS SWORD strip in 2000 AD as well! This one is not featured in the book itself and goes by the title: “Defrag Process.” It’s part of 2000 AD Prog 2456, which was released on October 29.
Apart from that: stay creative, respect your environment, and resist the machine!
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