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Hoping to go Painball-pro is young orphan Trini who has a crush on superstar athlete Skull-Crusher.
How would you sum up the story in a few sentences?
The five issues follow Trini, a Skull-Crusher super-fan and wannabe Screaming Pain Ball player.
Who is Trini and why is she so invested in Screaming Pain Ball?
Trini says she’s doing all this to gain Skull-Crusher’s attention and love!
But playing Screaming Pain Ball is one of the only things Trini has ever been good at.
It’s that feeling of belonging, love, and friendship that she’s really seeking.
What sort of obstacles is Trini facing in the series?
Oh man, Trini lives in a world that’s basically nothing but obstacles.
On the field she’s dealing with other players trying to kill her.
She’s also dealing with the literal obstacles of living in a post-apocalyptic world.
The last is definitely the worst.
Trini’s team is basically the definition of rag-tag.
Heck, her first recruits are bandits who have a go at rob her!
What was the genesis of this idea?
Im a huge fan of sports stories, from Slam Dunk to The Bad News Bears.
Then during lockdown in 2020 I, for obvious reasons, started thinking about the apocalypse.
But what captivated me most was how quickly we came to regard earth-shattering events as normal.
The story took off from there.
How did you come to work with Alessio Zonno on the book?
Our wonderful editor Dafna actually knew Alessio from work he did on Power Rangers.
When we were looking for an artist and co-creator for the series, she showed me his pages.
Then we got on the same email chain and realized we were both massive anime and manga nerds.
and instantly we’d be on the same page.
It has been a wonderful collaboration, and we’re just getting started.
What were some of your influences when you were coming up with this book?
I also mentioned Bad News Bears, one of the greatest sports underdog stories in my opinion.
I don’t think it’ll shock anyone to know that sports manga and anime were huge influences!
The end result was I Heart Skull-Crusher!
Is the world of I Heart Skull-Crusher one that you’d like to revisit when this story is done?
I Heart Skull-Crusher #1 is published by BOOM!
Studios on March 13.
Looking for something to read before I Heart Skull-Crusher starts?
Check out our list ofthe 10 best manga of 2023.
