The Mega Man Network Interview with Archie Comics: Your Questions Answered! (Part 1)

It has been a little while since we put the call out to you for your questions for the Archie Comics creative staff behind the new Mega Man comic. The folks there have been working at a feverish pace to get the book going, and as some of you have already seen, the effort appears to be paying off.
Fortunately, with the first issue set to hit comic shops later this week, we have received answers to some of your questions! Writer Ian Flynn and artist Patrick Spaziante are still hard at work, and so the questions passed along to them may take a little more time to get back to us. In the meantime, editor Paul Kaminski has stepped up to help field some of the broader questions surrounding the book.

Do note that quite a few of you asked similar questions, so in the interest of time and space, those will likely be condensed to one general question for the team.

And now, on to questions from you, The Mega Man Network’s visitors and readers!

1) At some point in time, are you planning on ending the Classic storyline and lead into the X storyline? –Shawn Adair

Paul Kaminski, Editor (PK): It will take a bit of time, but we’re looking forward to exploring all the corners of the Mega Man Universe, X especially!

2) SEGA has been known to keep certain game characters/concepts off limits in the Sonic comic. Can you tell us if/what Capcom says is off-limits for now? –Stephen

PK: Capcom has been extremely helpful and encouraging throughout this whole process, and so far everything we’ve wanted to try or include has been met with nothing but helpful and positive feedback. I wouldn’t presume to speak for Capcom here, but I think as long as we remain respectful to the characters and tell a good story with them, everything is on the table!

3) Will the series cover games from 1-10? –tropena@gmail.com

PK: It’s our hope to include all of those games into the comic series – but we can’t tell you the why or the how yet – you’ll have to read the series to find out!

4) Will there be any custom Robot Masters, such as Barrage Man, Express Man, and Multi Man from the Dreamwave comics? –steev

PK: Archie’s Mega Man is much more game-inspired in terms of plot, look and feel than the Dreamwave books were. Starting out, we feel that the Mega Man Universe already has so many awesome characters and Robot Masters that are begging to be explored that we won’t need to re-invent the wheel just yet. But you can expect to see an original character or two integrated along the way.

5) Will it be reaching worldwide ;-;?

PK: The Mega Man comics will be available to North American territories, which includes Mexico, so you should be covered! Again, other countries outside of North America are encouraged to write us at MegaMan@archiecomics.com and let us know you want to see Mega Man comics worldwide!

6) Will I be able to purchase the cover variants separately or is it like a luck of the draw kind of thing? –Elvin Daniel Padilla

PK: All Mega Man variant covers will be available for purchase in comic stores only – subscribers and newsstands will get the “main” cover only. For a comic shop near you, call 1-888-comicbook.

7) What changes/additions have been made story story wise to enrich the tale? Is it deeper than the games or has nothing really been changed? –Tornado Man

PK: Well we can’t give those details away, but we can say that Archie’s Mega Man will be extremely faithful to the games, using comic book storytelling that is quintessentially American.

8 ) How did you sign on with Capcom? I think its a great idea and i already have the comic pre-ordered! Great job with Sonic the Ongoing-series! –Eagon

PK: About this time last year we started discussing how to expand our videogame comic book titles beyond Sonic. As some word got out about such an expansion, Capcom approached us about the possibility of a Mega Man comic, and the rest is history!

9) Any chance of a Blue Bomber (Mega Man) meets the Blue Blur (Sonic) in a crossover? Or will SEGA and Capcom not allow this? –Henmo24

PK: Wouldn’t that be cool?? It’s really up to Capcom and SEGA, but no plans at the moment.

10) Will Ian write the whole series for the foreseeable future, or will other writers write stories, too? –MKK

PK: Ian was heavily involved in the pitch for the series and will be its sole writer, at least for the foreseeable future.

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In addition, keep an eye on Archie’s official Mega Man blog, where you will soon find two questions from our very own MMN staffers, LanceHeart and Oakie620, over on , where they inquire about getting a subscription through PayPal and opening international subscriptions.

And that’s it for this round! Keep your eyes peeled, as there were quite a few questions sent, and we hope to have more answers coming your way soon! In the meantime, you can check out more news, info, and other tidbits in the official Archie Mega Man blog, and subscribe at The Archie Comics Shop!

LanceHeart