‘Family Guy’ will add twists, depth in print version
Steve White, editor of the upcoming “Family Guy” comic book, is keenly aware of the franchise’s history of both drawing laughs and making viewers cringe.
That’s why he says the new series – published by Titan Comics and debuting July 27 in comic book shops and on newsstands – will not only uphold the tradition of the Emmy-nominated animated TV show, but delve deeper into the characters and comedy of Peter Griffin, his family and friends.
“The ‘Family Guy’ universe is an amazing wellspring of ideas to plunder,” White said. “It’s given us a lot of latitude to develop stories ranging from one-page gag strips to more extended full-length scripts and pretty much everything in between.”
The series will be drawn by S.L. Gallant, whose previous work includes runs on “G.I. Joe” and “Torchwood,” and Anthony Williams, who has drawn for “Judge Dredd” and “Batman.”
Unlike a rigid 23-minute block of time, having the stories in print means more plot twists and concepts. The typical issue will have three stories: a main story, a short tale and a gag strip.
“We’re even looking at recurring one-pagers, but as I said, really, the world is our oyster here,” White said.
“Family Guy,” a Seth McFarlane creation which debuted on Fox in 1999, was off the air for a time and returned in 2005, targets everybody and everything in its story lines: Cookie Monster in an asylum battling his cookie addiction; Dick Cheney as a foul-mouthed greeter at Walmart.
The show is set at the Griffin homestead in Quahog, R.I. Peter, a cheery, melon-bellied dolt, is married to randy redhead Lois, a closet psycho who enables Peter’s almost limitless shortcomings.
Their dog, Brian, stands upright, speaks several languages, reads the paper, likes his martinis dry and has an unrequited lust for Lois.
Teenage son Chris is not only slovenly and overweight, but, by every indication, mentally challenged, while dowdy daughter Meg hates herself.
Stewie, the Griffins’ baby, is a pint-sized megalomaniac, raging at humanity with a British aristocrat’s haughtiness. (“Fie on your toilet!” the diapered toddler blasts his elders on the issue of potty-training – “it’s made slaves of you all!”).
“We felt that ‘Family Guy’ TV show to ‘Family Guy’ comic was a natural progression, but Fox needed a little convincing,” White said. “In the end, we winged it and did a two-page comic strip off our own back and that actually seemed to do the trick.”
While the TV show’s producers will be “casting their eyes” over the book’s stories and art, he added, “if Seth ever fancied taking time out to write a comic strip or do a cover, we’d be pretty appreciative.”
The comic won’t just focus on the Griffins. Glen “Giggity” Quagmire, Cleveland Brown and Joe Swanson, among others, will be in the book, too.
“There’s no way we would want to miss out on using the likes of Quagmire. There’s also a wealth of other characters we’d want to include,” White said, adding the editorial team are deep fans of the show.
“We’re not just paying lip service to the show. We’re really immersing ourselves in it.”