IDW’s Interview With Jem Features First Glimpse of a New Take on Rio

It's not unusual at all for the release of a new comic to be accompanied by interviews with the creative team --- as you may have noticed, we tend to do a few of those ourselves around here. What is unusual is when it's the characters within the comic conducting the interviews themselves.

Which is exactly what's going on at IDW, where Rio Pacheco, erstwhile love interest of Jerrica Benton interviews Jem in a nifty little promotion for Kelly Thompson and Sophie Campbell's upcoming Jem and the Holograms comic. Not only does it drop a few interesting tidbits about how the new take on Jem is going to work, but we finally get our first look at the redesigned Rio.

From the headshot accompanying the interview, we can see that Rio has kept his purple hair, in a slightly more contemporary style than the original design for the 1985 cartoon, though it seems that of all the things that could've changed, he's kept that collar-popped Members Only jacket well into the 21st century.

Even more interesting, though, is recasting him as a music reporter rather than a vague tour manager/engineer for the Holograms. If the interview is meant to represent his first meeting with Jem (and Jerrica), then the love triangle dynamic between the two characters makes a lot more sense than if he's been Jerrica's boyfriend for a while and has suddenly fallen for her glamorous alter-ego. Basically, he's now her Lois Lane.

It's also neat to see Jerrica's shyness coming through in Jem's responses:

And you? You weren’t with them all that time?

I…no. I have been singing since I was young, in a way. Not officially I guess you could say.

What does unofficial singing sound like?

The shower I guess?

You haven’t fronted any other bands before?

No, this is my first band.

That’s pretty surprising, you’ve got real stage presence.

Thank you.

Do you write the songs?

No. Jerrica Benton and Kimber Benton write all the songs.

Jerrica Benton? Eldest sister and band manager, that’s a little unusual isn’t it?

Is it? She’s a talented songwriter, I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s unusual.

So…elephant in the room…why isn’t it Jerrica and The Holograms then?

I…I guess she didn’t want to be Jerrica and The Holograms? You’d have to ask Jerrica.

For more, read the full "interview" at IDW.