RUTHVEN: CITIZEN INVESTIGATOR - A COMIC THAT ACTS OUT ON ITS HUNCHES

As I cross the street I see him standing there, dawdling about in front of the old Gibson place. 'Hey you!' I yell out, 'get your ass away from the shade and try and do something productive with your life'. 'But I am!' he reply's, 'I am doing something productive. I'm going to read the following interview with the one and only, CQ'. And the rest, as they say, is history, comic book history.





1) What are your own origins, CQ?   I'm from Cleveland, Ohio, USA, the Home of Superman. So if lightning can strike twice in the same city, let it be Ruthven this time around! Admittedly, this is a tough act to follow, but we're still reaching for that Superman level of endurance where it comes to story and character.

2) What inspired you to create, ‘Ruthven: Citizen Investigator’?   What started it was that we were dissatisfied with most of the comic books available today. We found that the premise of any given story-line was not well thought out and didn’t engage our thoughts enough, nor did we have any concern for the characters. From cover to cover they reflected hopelessness and horrible, unrelenting despair. For us, we didn’t need, nor want that in “entertainment”. And to top it all off, nowadays there are flat out just too many angry super hero characters, with chips on their shoulders. (They're in desperate need of anger management therapy!) 

So we challenged ourselves to quit complaining about it, and to try to develop a series that we ourselves would enjoy. We wanted characters that are multi-dimensional, that one can relate to on many levels. Each with varying attributes, as all humans have. 

3) In your own words how would you describe this story?   Ruthven: Citizen Investigator is a sci-fi / detective series set in a fictional City-State of the near future. The story follows Maria Topka, a waitress at a bar and grill run by Marianas Kublai Khan. Her career takes a detour when she gets kidnapped by members of the Scrap Metal Dudes gang. After a disturbing dream, James Ruthven, a citizen investigator, thwarts her murder and inadvertently stumbles upon a plot to overthrow the City-State. But with the clock ticking, how can Ruthven prevent the putsch from succeeding? Or is it already too late?

Ruthven: Citizen Investigator is a story about empathy and compassion combined with high-tech adventure, intrigue; innovative technology, and complex character development to keep the reader fully engaged to the end of the books. It looks like a movie, but it’s a comic book! 

4) What song would you say best represents this comic and why?   We really don't know of a singing song that would represent this comic. It would have to be something instrumental that invokes intrigue, dilemma, resolution and triumph. 

5) 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?   Roy Thinnes (The Invaders) comes to mind. His calm-under-great-pressure acting style makes him one of the few actors who would be able to accurately portray the character of James Ruthven. 

6) What have you learnt about yourself through this endeavour?   That we really have what it takes to persevere on a project together despite numerous setbacks. If we can look back sometime in the future and still say, “Yeah, we did an excellent job on this project,” then it’s a success to us. It is also our desire that others find worth in the story on some level as well. 

7) During your time in this field, what is the one thing that has kept you in good stead?   The brainstorming sessions. Wrestling with the “what if’s” and taking the time to iron out rough patches to our satisfaction. 

8) If ‘Ruthven’ had a motto, what would it be?   Listen to and act on your hunches, and always carry backup.

And on that note, I'd like to thank CQ for telling us about his comic book, Ruthven: Citizen Investigator, before directing you towards his website, twitter, and facebook pages. And while you're at it, don't forget to pick yourself up a copy via Drive Thru Comics.