SPY NINJAS: VIRTUAL REALITY MADNESS! - MY INTERVIEW WITH CHAD WILD CLAY

'Spy Ninjas: Virtual Reality Madness!' is a 128-page graphic novel that stars the titular team of YouTubers on a quest to save the internet from an evil group of hackers named Project Zorgo. Recently, I had the good fortune to speak with one of the co-founders of the Spy Ninjas, Chad Wild Clay, who was kind enough to respond to the following Q and A. Please enjoy.





1) Name three words that best describe who you are.   I'd say, creative, analytical, and entrepreneurial.

2) Can you tell us about some of the comic books you've read as well as your amazing YouTube channels?   I started reading Spider-Man comic books at the age of eight, and soon after I began reading Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics too. Both franchises were influential when my wife, Vy Qwaint, and I created the Spy Ninjas, who are a group of friends that battle evil hackers intent on taking control of the internet.

Our YouTube series started in 2018 and quickly gained a large following of over 40M subscribers. Since then, the Spy Ninjas have released a mobile game earning 10M+ installs, a toy line with Playmates Toys (toymakers of TMNT), a clothing line, a book series with Scholastic, and we're nearing completion of a Spy Ninjas Theme Park in Las Vegas.

3) What song would you say best represents your graphic novel and why?   To answer this question, I'm going to select the song, 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World', by Tears for Fears. Not only because it's an awesome song from the 80s and the Spy Ninjas love to incorporate retro 80s themes, jokes, and references during their adventures, but in addition to this, I must also say that the main villain of our graphic novel, Project Zorgo, wants to rule the world.

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?   I'd like to choose the writer/artist, Todd McFarlane, because his stories really got me obsessed with reading and collecting comic books. Well, when we were creating our graphic novel, I wanted to achieve a blend of Todd's 80s and 90s style mixed with the current modern style that's popular with younger readers today. I think the artist for 'Spy Ninjas: Virtual Reality Madness!', Mike Anderson, really pulled this off quite perfectly.

5) What have you learned about yourself during this endeavor?   I've learned that I love creating comics and graphic novels just as much as I love reading them. Granted, the team at Scholastic did most of the hard work, but I still love the thought of introducing comics to a new generation of readers who've grown up being entertained by videos on a phone.

'Spy Ninjas: Virtual Reality Madness!' is a 128-page graphic novel written by Vannotes, illustrated by Mike Anderson, and published by Scholastic. For further information, please feel free to check out the official Spy Ninjas Website, Instagram, and YouTube pages. Or better yet, why not pick up a copy via Amazon!