Interview: The Cookout Comes To You in ‘Pax Samson’
Interview by Troy-Jeffrey Allen
What do you get when you take shonen, superheroes, and Final Fantasy? And then season it with a heaping helping of “family?” You get PAX SAMSON, Jason Reeves and Rashad Doucet’s super-powered trilogy…with an appetite!
In the following interview, Rashad and Jason invite you to the cookout (mind your manners, though!), and share with us what exactly is in this fantasy-filled secret sauce.
PREVIEWSworld: Superheroes. Strange planets. Family cookouts. The book has a lot of unique ideas going for it. What inspired this?
Rashad Doucet: A good bit of things to be honest. My love for anime, manga, superheroes, fantasy RPGs, and a strong desire to create black characters who are the premiere heroes of their universe. So when the Thanos-level threat shows up these characters are the first and last people to solve it.
Jason Reeves: We’ve always wanted to create shonen with ourselves in mind. Little Black kids going on life-changing adventures and accomplishing extraordinary feats? That’s always been the move for us!
PREVIEWSworld: Catch us up to speed. What is the setting for PAX SAMSON? What is Soltellus?
Rashad Doucet: Pax is set in a modern fantasy world on a planet called Soltellus. It’s a place where you can find an orc rocking Beats headphones on its way to work at an Apple store. Think games like Final Fantasy meets all the classic superhero action comics. They all live in city-states, with one of the most prominent being Tri-City, where most of the Samsons reside.
Jason Reeves: In Soltellus magic and technology blend together seamlessly and because of that anything is possible. It’s not all advancement and harmony, Soltellus has a past of war and oppression that has a way of seeping through the cracks of history and burdening the present day. Like our own, Soltellus is a world in need of heroes. Thankfully the Samson family is on the job.
PREVIEWSworld: Tell us about PAX SAMSON. Why do we follow him through this story, specifically?
Jason Reeves: I think Pax is the most like Rashad and I. He’s a kid thrown into a destiny he may not have picked for himself if things were different. Pax isn’t a confrontational guy and superheroing ain’t for everybody. He has dreams of his own, but the pull of family is strong. We thought that was an interesting mix of pathos to explore through the lens of a young Black kid.
Rashad Doucet: Pax is a kid who’s at a crossroads. He’s a phenomenal chef but his family is in the business of saving the world and they want him to take on the mantle. In particular Grandma Samson, the centuries-old matriarch, who’s Soltellus’ most prominent champion. She’s looking to retire and pass on the weight of keeping the world safe on to her offspring and has a special stake in Pax being the one to lead it. However, he’s not so good at the hero stuff so he’s questioning should he just give up on it and just focus on what he’s actually good at.
PREVIEWSworld: Is this more family drama than superhero story? Or is it something else entirely?
Rashad Doucet: A bit of both. Family drama plays a part but Pax learning to also be a hero is just as prominent. It’s intended to be seamless, kinda like in the old Chris Claremont era Xmen or Wolfman and Perez Titans run where the drama and action flowed in and out of each other.
Jason Reeves: Nah. In the words of Thanos, it’s perfectly balanced, as all things should be [laughs]. Its storytelling is a juxtaposition of several influences: its superhero, sci-fi, fantasy, shonen, teen angst, there’s even some Tyler Perry-style family drama in there. It’s like hip-hop in that it can take in all the best of music and create a sound reminiscent and all its own at the same time.
PREVIEWSworld: Are you utilizing real recipes in this?
Rashad Doucet: [Laughs] Not directly. We thought it’d be fun to make fantasy dishes, like dragon noodle soup or elf egg tarts!
Jason Reeves: When we were writing Pax I was heavy on Keto and really into home-cooked meals. A lot of it was Rashad conjuring up a name for a dish and me trying to make it work as a recipe. Realistic in preparation with fantasy ingredients. So I guess the answer is ‘sort of’?
PREVIEWSworld: Rashad, you’re the artist and co-writer. What’s the creative process like between you two?
Rashad Doucet: A back-forth kind of deal. I tend to write a pass of the script then Jason comes in, add his part and after that, we discuss the changes we want together to get the final results. With the art, Jason helps with landscapes, buildings and creature designs, and we often go back and forth with each other on notes before it gets drawn in the pages. Also, I had some great color assists from Juan Murillo and Loris’s lettering really brought a lot to the final visuals of the book too.
Jason Reeves: A lot of riffing back and forth. A Seinfeld and Larry David kinda vibe.
PREVIEWSworld: Looking forward, what can readers expect from PAX SAMSON?
Rashad Doucet: If you’re a kid or adult who enjoys fantasy epics, shonen manga like Naruto, and old school superheroes then this is the book for you. And lol even if those things don’t work we have all the heart and character drama of middle age graphic novels and shows like Craig of the Creek.
Jason Reeves: Imagine your family BBQ and all the fun, drama, and hilarious situations that entails. Now imagine y’all had superpowers… it’s gonna be lit.
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Pax Samson (APR211830) is in comic shops now from Oni Press. Order your copy today using PREVIEWSworld Pullbox. More details below.
