Jet Metal Creator Hopes to Introduce Biker Heroine to the Mainstream

Cartoonist and storyboard artist Andy Sparrow, whose Bloodrunners and Jet Metal are well-known among motorcycle enthusiasts in the U.K. (that's "bikers" to those of you who don't need to be overly specific), just surpassed the £4,000 goal he had set on Kickstarter in an attempt to print a 140-page collection of the series and bring it to a wider audience. He joined us to speak briefly about the character and what the Kickstarter means for bringing her out of the A4 page and into the worldwide comics consciousness. What made you decide it was time to branch out and print a version of this story that could be found more easily by people outside your regular audience?

I had just passed my fourth anniversary of 48 A4 page sized episodes, which seemed like enough for a 120 - 140 page book. Each page has about 12 - 16 panels crammed into it each month, so an episode expands comfortably over a few pages in the comic-book. I had consciously moved away from it just being biker oriented, into a more mainstream theme to appeal to a wider range. I like my magazine audience, but they have already read the story and thus don't need a trade paperback! My plan was to do the two arcs in separate books, but the consensus is that it'll be a better read in one go. ComicBook.com: It's interesting - in your case, you were using Kickstarter, which is hardly a guarantee that the product will be made...but you opted to go for slightly more expensive raw materials in some cases rather than cutting corners to go outside the UK. Why was that important to you? Andy Sparrow: I'm not in it for the profit. I want to make a cool book, using local people, at a price which means they can make a profit too, without using slave labour. I am still shocked every time a company gets bought up by a big corporation and they immediately sack everyone and move the operation to China, just to make that extra buck. ComicBook.com: Will we see new editions of your older work, as well? Ideally editions that we Americans can buy in one way or another? Sparrow: One of the Kickstarter rewards is a digital download of Bloodrunners, another monthly page I did for a few years. I guess once the Kickstarter is over I'll release this on my website too. ComicBook.com: Here in the States, we're forever talking about how women characters are never taken seriously. Yet you've taken a character and put her in the middle of a biker book, which isn't exactly the daintiest of settings. Has that ever been a conversation you've found yourself wrapped up in over Jet Metal? Sparrow:  It is a conversation I've had and my answer is that I invariably choose a girl to be at the center of my stories as I much prefer to draw the female figure. Especially when they're hot! My work is quite tongue in cheek so I'm not that concerned if she isn't taken seriously but I try my best to make her character well defined. Making her a mechanic gives her an edge, but she is also an immigrant in a new land. She is a fish out of water in this setting, but then so is Jack Sh-t, her alien lodger...