Interview: Andrew MacLean on the Increasingly Wild World of 'Head Lopper'

The third volume of Head Lopper, the high fantasy adventures of Norgal, a powerful warrior of few [...]

By Chase Magnett

Andrew MacLean Head Lopper Interview - Cover
(Photo: Image Comics)

The third volume of Head Lopper, the high fantasy adventures of Norgal, a powerful warrior of few words, and his companion Agatha, the decapitated, cackling head of a witch, hit shelves last week. This new installment is already off to a big start with lots of new characters and a conspiracy that will both expand and change the world of Head Lopper forever. For any fans of action comics and auteur cartoonists, the series remains a must read.

ComicBook.com contributor Chase Magnett had the opportunity to talk with Head Lopper creator Andrew MacLean about the newest volume of the series and his big plans for the future. Whether or not you've read Head Lopper before, consider this an invitation to check out one of the most exciting voices published by Image Comics today.

ComicBook: I imagine the concept of a third volume of Head Lopper was not something you were giving too much consideration when the first issue was published by Image in 2015. How does it feel to still be with this series after several years?

Andrew MacLean: I'd say I fantasized about making the book for a long time but I didn't actually think I'd ever get to do it. It feels great. I always imagined Norgal and Agatha to be characters I could enjoy working with for a while. I'm shocked it's worked out this way and I'm super grateful.

Andrew MacLean Head Lopper Interview - Agatha
(Photo: Image Comics)

Now that your working on the third volume, has your approach to developing the story or the world of Head Lopper changed much?

Yeah, I've wanted each volume to have its own tone and identity. Volume one and two had very different structures upon which they were built, but I'd say there's a greater difference between two and three, than there was between one and two.

Volume one was sort of a linear story. It's pretty clear where Norgal is trying to get, and he and Agatha have to pass through a set of trials to get there. In volume two I built a sort of elimination game where the characters had to collect items to be able to move forward. In volume three there are a lot of moving parts and characters. When they come into contact with each other they set each other off spinning in new directions towards other characters. Eventually it should all come to a head and we'll take stock in who's still standing.

Are you planning further ahead now?

Yeah. A bit. I've had a large-world structure in my head that I've really only hinted at along the way. I want volume three to feel like the end of a first act. I want volume three to be a big bookmark in the series as a whole, where things move forward into a bigger world.

One of the things that stands out about Head Lopper is that it balks at the norm for comics in the direct market, including 50 to 60 pages per issue, publishing on a quarterly basis, and taking long breaks between stories. What have you found to be upsides of this style of publication, either personally or professionally?

Before taking it to Image, my wife Erin and I, published two Head Lopper comics. The first one was 23 pages of story, the second was 45 pages. I didn't like how short the first had felt. It felt like I could only cover a fraction of the story I wanted to cover. But the 45-pager felt good. With the larger page count I thought I had enough time to include action, and plot, and humor, and atmosphere. In 45 pages I could really make it the comic I wanted to make.

So when I first started talking with Image, I really wanted to keep making longer issues, the only way I would have time to draw all the content for each issue is if it only came our every three months. Image was totally cool with it, much to my surprise.

I was just making the medium fit the vision, rather than making the vision fit the medium. I love it though. It's really satisfying.

Andrew MacLean Head Lopper Interview - Monster
(Photo: Image Comics)

As someone who's also a comics reader, is this variation of publication style something you would like to see more of within mainstream comics?

Yeah, totally. One of my pet peeves in comics is to get an issue one that I'm excited for the creative team on, only to find that after 20 pages and a cliffhanger I didn't have enough time with the characters to even care what happens to them in issue two. I'd love there to be more long comics.

Digging into the new issue and story, what would you consider to be your biggest personal aims or desires when starting to plot and draw "Knights of Venora"?

I want to take Norgal and Agatha places that look and feel different from the other volumes. So the earliest things I came up with were that I wanted it set in a large city and I want there to be war. Neither of those ideas have come up in Head Lopper thus far. I also want to share the origin of Norgal and Agatha's relationship. I thought it would make a big step forward, and I thought it would be something returning readers would be excited to see.

What do you think will make the new story stand out the most from the prior two volumes for readers who have been with Head Lopper from the start?

I think the stakes are higher than ever. The outcome of this adventure will set a course for our characters they will really never leave. And I think it will be crazier and more unpredictable than ever before. It's loaded with surprises that should be fun to watch unfold.

Andrew MacLean Head Lopper Interview - Norgal and Agatha
(Photo: Image Comics)

You began working with Jordie Bellaire in the second volume of Head Lopper. Would you care to characterize how your collaboration has evolved over the past year or more, and what you appreciate about her colors in the series?

When we first started working together, I described the overall tone of things. I told her what was in my mind including some color themes for volume two. In that story the characters are trying to locate these crystal eyes. Each eye has an identifying color and each eye is hidden inside a world designed to kill our characters. Each of the worlds had color palettes based on the color of the eye that was being hunted down within it.

In volume three, the handcuffs are off. We no longer have themes to guide us. It's just Jordie unchained. As we've moved through the story there are a few colors that have gained importance and Jordie takes it upon herself to use some of these colors to highlight story. Her ability to use palette as a storytelling tool is really something else. I've learned a lot from her. I mean she always makes things look great. But she also guides the reader to a deeper understanding of the story.

There's one final question I like to ask creators when discussing a specific series: Looking ahead to Head Lopper & The Knights Of Venoriah, is there something that has you particularly excited to see readers, new or old, discover and respond to?

I'm really curious to see how people will respond to the origins of Norgal and Agatha. They get led through that little by little throughout the arch. Piece by piece, until the picture becomes clear and nothing can really be the same again for our characters.

But I'm also just excited to lead people to the pinnacle of the story. At some point the whole house of cards collapses and chaos sort of reigns over Venoriah in some pretty unexpected ways.

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