Interview with Peter Bagge, creator of Reset

Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics

I had a chance to chat with Peter Bagge about his upcoming series, Reset.  You may recognize Peter from his work on Apocalypse Nerd.  The book blurb from the Dark Horse Comics press release really explains Reset best:  "If you could relive major events in your life, would you take a stab at making things better—and would your best attempts only make things worse? Or would you use your second chance to put your most twisted, perverted fantasies in motion? These are questions washed-up actor and comedian Guy Krause asks himself after he signs up to be the main research subject for a virtual-reality experiment."   Doesn't that sound awesome?  Just wait until you see what Peter Bagge had to say about it!




IGH: Can you give us a intro into the world of Reset?

PB: It's about a fictional character named Guy Krause, who's a stand up comedian and film actor whose career has recently fallen apart.  As a result, he's agreed to take part in a new computer program allowing him to re-live his own life.  It also allows him to keep paying his bills.

IGH: What inspired Reset?

PB: My own wondering what I would do if I could relive my own life, knowing what I know now.

IGH: Is Guy Krause living in your fantasy world?  Do you wish you had the power to change things or be incredibly perverse?

PB: Well, Guy doesn't have that power.  He can only go over his past in detail and play "what if."  But yes, of course I wish I could relive my life, albeit with current knowledge.  Who doesn't?

IGH: What parts of his life will Krause play "what if" with?

PB: Well, without giving TOO much away: He's pressured to revisit the must stressful moments of his past, which he understandably tries to avoid like the plague.

IGH: In one of the interviews for Reset, you said “I originally envisioned Reset mostly taking place in the virtual fantasy world of protagonist Guy Krause’s imagination, but soon discovered that the events occurring simultaneously in his real life were far more interesting..."  What insights will we see into Krause's real life?

PB: You're asking me to give away too much of the plot!  But it does allow him to see himself and others in a whole new light.

Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics

IGH: What's the deal with (I'm guessing) Krause in the monkey suit on the variant cover?

PB: You'll have to read the first issue to find out!  Though it's obviously loaded with allegory.

IGH: How close is Krause's reality to our own?

PB: "Our" own?  Meaning anyone who's middle aged?  That would be everyone, I'd imagine.  Unless you have everything you want and then some.

IGH: Meaning our modern day culture.  Is his everyday universe similar or differing?

PB: His everyday life is indeed as ordinary and mundane as the rest of us.  For a while he was living the life of a minor celebrity, but those days are now largely behind him.

IGH: Do you have any other projects that you want to share or spoil?

PB: Two: One is a collection of collaborations I've done over the last 25 years called "Other Sfuff," due out this year from Fantagraphics., the other is a comic biography of Margaret Sanger, published by Drawn and Quarterly, due out some time in 2013.

Make sure to add Reset to your pull list today!  The journey through Guy Krause's mind starts April 18th!


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