ROSS PEARSALL - THE GREATEST TEAM-UPS THAT NEVER HAPPENED, BUT SHOULD HAVE

A couple of weeks ago I was given the privilege of featuring a handful of cleverly creative comic book covers, created by my mate, Ross Pearsall. And so, today, Ross has given me yet another privilege. The privilege of interviewing him about his cleverly creative comic book covers. Or as he likes to call them: 'Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues'.

1) What are your own origins, Ross? Plus what path did you take in life prior to getting to where you are today?   I'm a fan of comics that hails from Massachusetts, where I have recently returned after spending a couple of decades in New York City.

2) What inspired you to create, ‘Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues’?   One day I was thinking about the comic book, 'The Brave and The Bold', about how I loved those Batman team-ups, and was sorry to see the series end, despite enjoying Batman and the Outsiders, which replaced it, as well. There were so many cool characters Batman hadn't met in the series, such as: Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, Starman, etc. etc. etc. And I wondered what it would have been like if the series had continued, so I decided to use MS Paint to make up some imaginary covers. 

At first I was very strict with myself, and used only DC characters that appeared during the years that B&B was published with Jim Aparo artwork wherever possible. Soon enough, though, my interest in inter-company crossovers came through and I began adding heroes from Marvel and elsewhere to team up with the Dark Knight Detective.

I posted these on a comics message board, and it was suggested that I start a blog featuring them. I thought the quality of these early covers were pretty rough, but what the heck, some folks might get a kick out of them. Thus began 'The Brave and the Bold: The Lost Issues!'.

Over time people seemed to like these covers, so I decided to keep things going by switching to 'Marvel-Two-In-One: The Lost Issues!'. It was fun to use Ben Grimm as an anchor, as he is always enjoyable to write for. When the time came to switch to another title, I decided to blow the doors wide open with 'Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues!'.  This time I decided to present the issues with chronological numbering, rather than random as I did with B&B and MTIO. While I was happy with what I had been able to accomplish with a simple program like MS Paint, I felt it was time to kick things up a notch. So after 350 issues or so, I bit the bullet an bought a copy of Photoshop, which has really allowed me to stretch creatively.

3) What song would you say best represents your site and why?   Maybe the Super Friends' theme song, as it's still one of the best superhero themes ever, and I would hope that looking over my covers gives comic fans the same kind of excitement that hearing it used to instill in me as a kid on Saturday mornings.

4) If you could get a celebrity – either living or dead – to promote your wares, who would you choose, and why would you want to choose this particular person?   Bob Haney, creator of Metamorpho, and writer of many classic Brave and The Bold tales. He had a "continuity be damned, let's just tell a fun story" attitude that I really loved.

5) What have you learnt about yourself through this endeavour? And were their any unforeseen obstacles you had to contend with along the way?   I wasn't sure how long I would be able to keep the blog going when I began. I have been happy that I've been able to keep producing regular new content on a daily basis for just about five years now.

6) During your time in this field, what is the one thing that has kept you in good stead?   The reception from fellow comic fans and even some pros has been gratifying. It is nice to know that I have been able to share my love for the characters and creators that have inspired me throughout the years. I am very grateful to the handful of followers of my site that have lent their support by purchasing ads, clicking on the "Donate" button, or becoming a Patron of the site by visiting here.

7) If ‘Super-Team’ had a motto, what would it be?   It already has one: "The greatest team-ups that never happened... but should have!"

And on that note, dear reader, I'd like to thank Ross for telling us about his site, 'Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues’, before directing you towards it as well as his twitter and facebook pages.