Cosmic Scoundrels

The Humble Bundle deals on comics are usually a pretty good way to catch up with older stories that you may have missed out on, but every now and then, there's one that features a brand new title to love --- and right now, the IDW Creator Showcase bundle is offering up a pretty good mix of both. Not only is it full of old favorites like Locke & Key and 30 Days of Night, it also features the debut issue of Andy Suriano and Matt Chapman's Cosmic Scoundrels --- and friends, that is a comic book that hit shelves last week that can be yours (along with a ton of other great titles) for as little as a buck.

Cosmic Scoundrels is one of those comics where everything about it is the best thing about it. Created a few years ago by Homestar Runner co-creator Matt Chapman and Samurai Jack artist Andy Suriano, the series follows the adventures of two spacefaring crooks who find themselves dealing with intergalactic hijinx that --- according to the creators - are inspired by nothing so much as '70s cosmic superheroes, 2000 AD, and blacklight posters. Until now, the series has been running as an irregularly updated webcomic, but this week, IDW announced that it had picked up the series for a print release starting next year, complete with new content that's exclusive to the print versions. We checked in with Andy Suriano to learn about his artistic approach to this cosmic world, and the weird ideas that have shaped it.

Cosmic Scoundrels was already one of my favorite comics before I even started reading it. The creation of artist Andy Suriano (of Samurai Jack) and Matt Chapman (the co-creator of Homestar Runner), it was the product of two creators whose work I've obsessed over more than just about anything else in the world, which made it something I was pretty much fated to love. Fortunately, it paid off with a rollicking, two-fisted space adventure of a couple of dirtbags in a ship called the S.S. Fistpuncher and one of the most ill-conceived heists in galactic history. We recently honored the webcomic as part of our best-of-the-year awards, but to find out more about the origins and influences of Cosmic Scoundrels, I talked to Suirano and Chapman to find out how it all got started, why they printed it as a massive 11 x 17" convention exclusive, and just what Matt Chapman's favorite comics are, as well as getting an exclusive look at art from the development of the series.

It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that I was going to love Cosmic Scoundrels. The very idea of it, two bros cruising through space on a starship called the S.S. Fistpuncher, hijacking precious cargo from malevolent aliens and just generally pissing everyone off, is right up my alley from the start. I've been a sucker for outer space buddy comedies for as long as I've been reading, so I'm al